Menu
I've got a function that I want to reference and use across different scripts. Is there any way to do this? I don't want to be re-writing the same function for different scripts. Thanks.
498
To invoke a bash function, simply use the function name. Commands between the curly braces are executed whenever the function is called in the shell script. The function definition must be placed before any calls to the function.
It is generally accepted that in shell scripts they are called functions. A function may return a value in one of four different ways: Change the state of a variable or variables. Use the exit command to end the shell script.
Sure - in your script, where you want to use the function, you can write a command like
source function.sh which is equivalent to including the contents of function.sh in the file at the point where the command is run. Note that function.sh needs to be in one of the directories in $PATH; if it's not, you need to specify an absolute path.
164
Yes, you can localize all your functions in a common file (or files). This is exactly what I do with all my utility functions. I have a single utility.shinc in my home directory that's used by all my programs with:
. $HOME/utility.shinc which executes the script in the context of the current shell. This is important - if you simply run the include script, it will run in a subshell and any changes will not propagate to the current shell.
You can do the same thing for groups of scripts. If it's part of a "product", I'd tend to put all the scripts, and any included scripts, in a single shell directory to ensure everything is localized.
45
If you love us? You can donate to us via Paypal or buy me a coffee so we can maintain and grow! Thank you!
Donate Us With
