CODEWITHSUNDEEP
bash
Jimmythebassist
Jimmythebassist

Reputation: 23

Bash: No return value when calling a function

I'm new to stackoverflow and bash scripting, so go easy on me! I've been struggling with a bash script I've been writing: when I try to call a function 'main' from my script like so:

variable=$("main -t $path/$i")

I get the error "main -t ./folder: No such file or directory"; any ideas?

Thanks in advance!

EDIT: Thanks Jkbkot, I'm now calling it like this:

variable=$(main -t "$path/$i")

The original error is sorted but something is still up: 'variable' seemingly isn't being assigned the value echoed in the function, though calling the function manually prints the correct value. Why might this happen?

EDIT: It seems I'm calling and echoing correctly, but when calling 'main' it seems to behave differently when called recursively to the initial call. For example it runs fine up to:

variable=$(main -t "$path/$i") #A line within 'main'

Then begins again, as expected, but this time it stops as soon as it comes across a 'break', apparently breaking out of the entire function call rather that just the 'case' it's currently in. Is there some quirk to 'break' in bash that I'm unaware of?

NOTE: Unfortunately, the script is an assignment from my university, and many of its students and teachers use this website, so publicly posting my solution would likely have negative consequences.

Upvotes: 2

Views: 241

Answers (1)

Jakub Kotowski
Jakub Kotowski

Reputation: 7571

You have to call it without the quotes:

variable=$(main -t $path/$i)

and as @janos says, you might need the quotes around the variables in case they might contain spaces, etc.:

variable=$(main -t "$path/$i")

Upvotes: 5

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