UNIX for Dummies Questions & Answers

Hi friends,

I am trying to add a newline char ('\n') between the query and the commit statement in the following shell script.

Code:

#! /bin/sh
echo "select * from tab; commit;" > data.sql

I have tried typing in "Ctrl-V + Ctrl-J" combination which has inserted ^@ (NUL) character but the commit statement is not in its own line as expected when I see the contents of data.sql file. I have even tried with "Ctrl-V + Ctrl-M" which has inserted ^M character but still I could not see the result. The output is completely weird this time.

Code:

$ cat data.sql
commit; elect * from tab;

I know, I can get the expected output through this:

Code:

echo -e "select * from tab;\ncommit;" > data.sql

Yet I want to achieve it through "Ctrl-V" key combination. Is that possible? Could anyone help me?

I am expecting the output to be like this

Code:

$ cat data.sql
select * from tab;
commit;

You are overthinking this. If you want a literal newline to be inside your string, hit your ENTER key.

That is what a literal newline character in the middle of your string really looks like:

Code:

echo "select * from tab;
commit;"

...because that's what newline does. You won't be able to 'trick' it into being on a single line.