Fantastic!!!
Thanks for reply.

The data file would contain a section with the following tag
that is filtered from the other tags and loaded into an array.
The section is terminated either by another tag or end of file.

declare -a ARRAY

[script-nameofscript]
do bash stuff
[script-otherscripts]
more bash stuff

The tags are then removed leaving the raw bash code to be
redirected to bash to execute.

Would I need to include the bash header shebang (I think it's
called) at the beginning or does bash assume it's a bash script?
Having the option to use perl, python or ruby would be convenient.

Lastly, I'm not that familiar with the 'eval' command regarding
redirecting arrays that contain scripts to be executed in bash.
Therefore, an example would be greatly appreciated.

A.

---------- Post updated 15-01-10 at 08:59 AM ---------- Previous update was 14-01-10 at 10:48 PM ----------

Quick update.

I've found a number of examples that use strings that
contain commands to be executed with eval,

STRING="cmd args; cmd args"
eval "$STRING"

The way the install system works, will be to contain
a script in the vertical style in an array as opposed to the
horizontal scripting style associated with strings.

script example to be loaded into array
-------------------------------------------

Code:

#!/bin/bash
declare str
if $str
    then do something
    else otherwise
    fi

Although it is possible to convert the vertical script into a
horizontal script, I would like to preserve the first line
that identifies the script type keeping the system flexible
and hence my preference for the vertical scripting style.

This may seem obvious, but from experience I get the
feeling this will not work,

eval "${CMD[@]}"

I've also considered the possibility, but not tried due to
unfamiliarity, of using IFS=$'\n' and possibly echo or
printf.

Any help would be appreciated.

A.