CODEWITHSUNDEEP
linuxbash
Alex Weitz
Alex Weitz

Reputation: 3399

bash - surround all array elements or arguments with quotes

I want to write a function in bash that forwards arguments to cp command. For example: for the input

<function> "path/with whitespace/file1" "path/with whitespace/file2" "target path"

I want it to actually do:

cp "path/with whitespace/file1" "path/with whitespace/file2" "target path"

But instead, right now I'm achieving:

cp path/with whitespace/file1 path/with whitespace/file2 target path

The method I tried to use is to store all the arguments in an array, and then just run the cp command together with the array. Like this:

function func {
    argumentsArray=( "$@" )
    cp ${argumentsArray[@]}
}

unfortunately, It doesn't transfer the quotes like I already mentioned, and therefore the copy fails.

Upvotes: 6

Views: 4259

Answers (1)

chepner
chepner

Reputation: 531165

Just like $@, you need to quote the array expansion.

func () {
    argumentsArray=( "$@" )
    cp "${argumentsArray[@]}"
}

However, the array serves no purpose here; you can use $@ directly:

func () {
    cp "$@"
}

Upvotes: 5

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