Re: exec, redirections and variable expansions

[Chet Ramey]

On 1/25/10 8:32 AM, mike bakhterev wrote:

> Bash Version: 4.0
> Patch Level: 35
> Release Status: release
> 
> Description:
>       Something is wrong with variable substitution in the exec invocation.
>       When i try to close file descriptor whose number is in variable X with
>       command:
> 
>               exec $X>&-
> 
>       Bash reports:
> 
>                exec: NUMBER: not found

The file descriptor number must be a decimal number specifying the fd to
close; it cannot be a word and is not subject to expansion.  If you use
`eval', you will get the results you want.

Bash-4.1 introduces a new redirection syntax that does what you want:

        exec {X}>&-

Chet

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