Reading Input

Intermediate~20 min read

Read interactive input and files using read, handle spaces safely with -r and IFS, and collect words into arrays.

read Basics

Output

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Note: Use -r to prevent backslash escapes, and always quote variables when echoing user input.

Pro Tip: Set IFS=, (or another delimiter) temporarily for CSV-style parsing.

Caution: read without -r may treat backslashes specially and surprise you.

Output

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# Wrong
echo $name
# Correct
echo "$name"

# Wrong
read line   # backslashes get consumed
# Correct
read -r line

Task: Read a name,age,city line and echo fields on separate lines.

Output

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Show Solution

IFS=, read -r name age city
printf '%s\n' "$name" "$age" "$city"

Redirect outputs and manage file descriptors in Output Redirection.