a=bla\ bbb;echo $((a++))

[Dan Jacobson]

if you're gonna let me turn it into a number, why trip up on such
niceties like "if it had a space in it"?

$ a=bla;echo $((a++)) $((a++))
0 1
$ a=bla\ bbb;echo $((a++)) $((a++))
bash: bla bbb: syntax error in expression (error token is "bbb")
$ echo $BASH_VERSION
2.05.0(1)-release

OH AND BY THE WAY, ESC-. on these only gets the ")".  What fun is
that?
-- 
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