How can I control how an array separates its elements? If you do:
echo ${array[*]}
it displays:
element1 element2 element3
and I would like it to be:
element1:element2:element3
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1 Answer
Elements are joined by the first character of $IFS (internal field separator).
(IFS=':'; echo "${array[*]}")
Modifying $IFS has a lot of side effects. I recommend only changing it for a short duration inside a subshell so the rest of your script isn't affected.
1 Comment
Gordon Davisson
Note that the double-quotes around
${array[*]} are required for this to work right. Without them, it would join the elements with colons, then immediately re-split them (based on colons, 'cause that's in $IFS and word-splitting is what happens to unquoted variable references). The re-splitting completely reverses the joining operation (and might also split any elements that contain colon). It then passes the re-split elements to echo, which re-joins them, but with spaces this time (because echo doesn't pay attention to $IFS). Always double-quote your variable references.