UNIX for Dummies Questions & Answers

can anyone explain the difference between $* and $@?

Code:

pandeeswaran@ubuntu:~/training$ bash dollarstar 1 2 3 "4 5" 6
1
2
3
4
5
6
1
2
3
4
5
6
pandeeswaran@ubuntu:~/training$ cat dollarstar
#!/bin/bash

for i in $@
do
echo $i
done

for j in $*
do
echo $j
done
pandeeswaran@ubuntu:~/training$

thanks

See this. simple explanation.

bash - What is the difference between $@ and $* in shell scripts? - Stack Overflow

Thanks. It seems there is a difference only if the arguments are single quoted .
In my case I have double quoted arguments and hence no difference.

@pandeesh :

Remove the line :

Code:

#!/bin/bash

from your script, and give a try

Yes it will create difference. I can explain more about this.
Before going to that I can tell some problem in your script. You are not supposed to use $* & $@ alone, it should be quoted ("$*", "$@"), else you will find unexpected behaviour.

$* - Here all of the positional parameters are seen as single word.
$@ - here each parameter in commandline is seen as separate words.

In your program the out put will differ. You can see this by giving double quote to $* and $@.

The below program will give you more explanation of giving Commandline parameter in quotes.

echo "$@"
shift
echo "$@"
shift
echo "$@"
shift
echo "$@"
shift
echo "$@"

Output::
./code.sh 1 2 3 "4 5" 6
1 2 3 4 5 6
2 3 4 5 6
3 4 5 6
4 5 6
6