Code:
>
> fname="George "
> lname="Washington "
> full=$(echo $fname $lname)
> echo $full
George Washington
> echo "$full" "*"
George Washington *
> fullt=$(printf "%-50s" "$full")
> echo "$fullt" "*"
George Washington *
>
I used the "*" to help see spacing on the screen.
The printf commands was the key.
Also be careful of use of " " around variables; using means extra space characters are kept while not using and the shell will truncate extra space characters.
