Re: Changing the way bash expands associative array subscripts

[Chet Ramey]

On 4/13/21 6:36 PM, L A Walsh wrote:

> ----
>    So echo ${a[@]} = expansion of all, but
> unset a[@] would only delete 1 element w/key '@'....
> how do I echo 1 element with key '@'
>
> Creating arbitrary definitions of behavior for the similar syntax
> seems like a sign of random feature-ism.

The behavior of the `@' and `*' subscripts meaning all elements of the
array long predates associative arrays.

This is one reason for the ability to quote subscripts to defer evaluation.


--
``The lyf so short, the craft so long to lerne.'' - Chaucer
                 ``Ars longa, vita brevis'' - Hippocrates
Chet Ramey, UTech, CWRU    chet@case.edu    http://tiswww.cwru.edu/~chet/