How do I inline an array of strings in a bash for loop?

Question

How do I inline an array of strings in a bash for loop ? This works:

array=(one two)
for i in ${array[*]};do echo $i; done

But I'd like to eliminate the extra local variable. I've tried many variations that seem reasonable, for example:

for i in ${("one" "two")[*]};do echo $i; done

or

for i in ${"one" "two"};do echo $i; done

In each case, it treats one and two as commands :(

What's the matter with `for i in "one" "two";do echo $i; done` ? — Gene, Dec 11 '15 at 22:06
You should change `for i in ${array[*]}` to `for i in "${array[@]}"` -- that will protect you from array elements that contain whitespace or globbing characters. — glenn jackman, Dec 11 '15 at 23:05

score 27 · Answer 1 · answered Mar 20 '16 at 09:45

27

Did you try with:

for i in "one" "two"; do echo "$i"; done

answered Mar 20 '16 at 09:45

Alija Bevrnja

1

That wouldn't be an array. – bufh Mar 20 '16 at 10:10
1

Sorry...I actually deviated from the question because I got the impression from: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/8880603/loop-through-array-of-strings-in-bash-script, that this functionality was being sought for (the current question asker commented there). I disregarded an option that one might want to reference another array element (not only the current one) in the body of the loop...should I remove the answer? – Alija Bevrnja Mar 20 '16 at 11:12
Even if it doesn't answer the question in its strictest interpretation, this answer was useful for me, and is probably for many who arrive here, judging by the upvotes. – trollkotze Oct 25 '20 at 08:54

score 10 · Answer 2 · answered Mar 12 '19 at 01:07

10

for i in {one,two}; do echo "$i"; done

answered Mar 12 '19 at 01:07

J.O.L.

2 Answers2