1.5 KiB
====== User selections ======
===== Synopsis ===== <code> select <NAME>; do <LIST> done </code>
<code> select <NAME> in <WORDS>; do <LIST> done </code>
<code>
alternative, historical and undocumented syntax
select <NAME> { <LIST> }
select <NAME> in <WORDS> { <LIST> } </code>
===== Description ===== This compound command provides a kind of menu. The user is prompted with a //numbered list// of the given words, and is asked to input the index number of the word. If a word was selected, the variable ''<NAME>'' is set to this word, and the list ''<LIST>'' is executed.
If no ''in <WORDS>'' is given, then the positional parameters are taken as words (as if ''in "$@"'' was written).
Regardless of the functionality, the //number// the user entered is saved in the variable ''REPLY''.
Bash knows an alternative syntax for the ''select'' command, enclosing the loop body in ''{<nowiki>...</nowiki>}'' instead of ''do <nowiki>...</nowiki> done'': <code> select x in 1 2 3 { echo $x } </code> This syntax is not documented and should not be used. I found the parser definitions for it in 1.x code, and in modern 4.x code. My guess is that it's there for compatiblity reasons. This syntax is not specified by POSIX(R).
===== Examples =====
===== Portability considerations =====
===== See also =====