Transfered from Linux Config:
Question:
Hi, in bash context what is the difference between parameter and variable?
Answer:
In a bash context a parameter is an entity that stores values. Furthermore, a parameter can be a name ( variable ), number ( positional parameter ) or special character ( special parameter ). Therefore, a variable is a parameter denoted by a name. ( see: man bash ). Let's have a closer look on all three bash parameters:
Variable
Variable has a value assigned to it. It also can have 0 or more attributes. A value may be assigned to a variable by a following statement:
Positional parameterCode:name=[value] Example: #!/bin/bash myname="Gnu Bash" printf "%s\n" "$myname"
Positional parameter is denoted by one or digits. It is assigned by one or more arguments supplied to a script upon the script execution.
Example:
Special ParametersCode:#!/bin/bash printf "%s\n" "My name is $1 $2"
Special parameters are denoted by a one or more special characters from a following list: *, @, #, ?, -, $, !, 0 and _ . For example * expands to positional parameters. In other words it prints all arguments supplied on the command line upon the script execution:
OUTPUT:Code:#!/bin/bash echo $*
Linux questions and answersCode:./special GNU Bash parameter vs variable GNU Bash parameter vs variable


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