Best Practices and Tips
- Always quote variables to prevent word splitting and globbing.
- Use double square brackets for more complex conditions and to avoid some pitfalls of single square brackets.
- Use parentheses to group conditions for readability and logical grouping.
- Prefer
-e
over other file test operators when simply checking for existence.
Using Square Brackets in Bash
Square brackets ([
and ]
) are essential components in Bash scripting. They are used for a variety of purposes, including conditional expressions, string and numerical comparisons, and file tests. This article provides a comprehensive overview of square brackets in Bash, exploring their uses and functionalities.