Translations by Pekka Niemi

Execute commands as long as a test succeeds. Expand and execute COMMANDS as long as the final command in the `while' COMMANDS has an exit status of zero. Exit Status: Returns the status of the last command executed.

Execute commands as long as a test does not succeed. Expand and execute COMMANDS as long as the final command in the `until' COMMANDS has an exit status which is not zero. Exit Status: Returns the status of the last command executed.

Define shell function. Create a shell function named NAME. When invoked as a simple command, NAME runs COMMANDs in the calling shell's context. When NAME is invoked, the arguments are passed to the function as $1...$n, and the function's name is in $FUNCNAME. Exit Status: Returns success unless NAME is readonly.

Group commands as a unit. Run a set of commands in a group. This is one way to redirect an entire set of commands. Exit Status: Returns the status of the last command executed.

Resume job in foreground. Equivalent to the JOB_SPEC argument to the `fg' command. Resume a stopped or background job. JOB_SPEC can specify either a job name or a job number. Following JOB_SPEC with a `&' places the job in the background, as if the job specification had been supplied as an argument to `bg'. Exit Status: Returns the status of the resumed job.

Evaluate arithmetic expression. The EXPRESSION is evaluated according to the rules for arithmetic evaluation. Equivalent to "let EXPRESSION". Exit Status: Returns 1 if EXPRESSION evaluates to 0; returns 0 otherwise.

Execute conditional command. Returns a status of 0 or 1 depending on the evaluation of the conditional expression EXPRESSION. Expressions are composed of the same primaries used by the `test' builtin, and may be combined using the following operators: ( EXPRESSION ) Returns the value of EXPRESSION ! EXPRESSION True if EXPRESSION is false; else false EXPR1 && EXPR2 True if both EXPR1 and EXPR2 are true; else false EXPR1 || EXPR2 True if either EXPR1 or EXPR2 is true; else false When the `==' and `!=' operators are used, the string to the right of the operator is used as a pattern and pattern matching is performed. When the `=~' operator is used, the string to the right of the operator is matched as a regular expression. The && and || operators do not evaluate EXPR2 if EXPR1 is sufficient to determine the expression's value. Exit Status: 0 or 1 depending on value of EXPRESSION.

Common shell variable names and usage. BASH_VERSION Version information for this Bash. CDPATH A colon-separated list of directories to search for directories given as arguments to `cd'. GLOBIGNORE A colon-separated list of patterns describing filenames to be ignored by pathname expansion. HISTFILE The name of the file where your command history is stored. HISTFILESIZE The maximum number of lines this file can contain. HISTSIZE The maximum number of history lines that a running shell can access. HOME The complete pathname to your login directory. HOSTNAME The name of the current host. HOSTTYPE The type of CPU this version of Bash is running under. IGNOREEOF Controls the action of the shell on receipt of an EOF character as the sole input. If set, then the value of it is the number of EOF characters that can be seen in a row on an empty line before the shell will exit (default 10). When unset, EOF signifies the end of input. MACHTYPE A string describing the current system Bash is running on. MAILCHECK How often, in seconds, Bash checks for new mail. MAILPATH A colon-separated list of filenames which Bash checks for new mail. OSTYPE The version of Unix this version of Bash is running on. PATH A colon-separated list of directories to search when looking for commands. PROMPT_COMMAND A command to be executed before the printing of each primary prompt. PS1 The primary prompt string. PS2 The secondary prompt string. PWD The full pathname of the current directory. SHELLOPTS A colon-separated list of enabled shell options. TERM The name of the current terminal type. TIMEFORMAT The output format for timing statistics displayed by the `time' reserved word. auto_resume Non-null means a command word appearing on a line by itself is first looked for in the list of currently stopped jobs. If found there, that job is foregrounded. A value of `exact' means that the command word must exactly match a command in the list of stopped jobs. A value of `substring' means that the command word must match a substring of the job. Any other value means that the command must be a prefix of a stopped job. histchars Characters controlling history expansion and quick substitution. The first character is the history substitution character, usually `!'. The second is the `quick substitution' character, usually `^'. The third is the `history comment' character, usually `#'. HISTIGNORE A colon-separated list of patterns used to decide which commands should be saved on the history list.

Set and unset shell options. Change the setting of each shell option OPTNAME. Without any option arguments, list all shell options with an indication of whether or not each is set. Options: -o restrict OPTNAMEs to those defined for use with `set -o' -p print each shell option with an indication of its status -q suppress output -s enable (set) each OPTNAME -u disable (unset) each OPTNAME Exit Status: Returns success if OPTNAME is enabled; fails if an invalid option is given or OPTNAME is disabled.

Display possible completions depending on the options. Intended to be used from within a shell function generating possible completions. If the optional WORD argument is supplied, matches against WORD are generated. Exit Status: Returns success unless an invalid option is supplied or an error occurs.

Read lines from a file into an array variable. A synonym for `mapfile'.