What is export
for?
What is the difference between:
export name=value
and
name=value
Export is a built-in command of the Bash shell. It is used to mark variables and functions to be passed to child processes. Basically, a variable will be included in child process environments without affecting other environments.
"Exporting" a variable in the shell makes it available to all subshells and processes created by that shell. It does not make it available everywhere in the system, only by processes created from that shell.
A local shell variable is a variable known only to the shell that created it. If you start a new shell, the old shell's variables are unknown to it. If you want the new shells that you open to use the variables from an old shell, export the variables to make them global.
Export Environment Variable Export is a built-in shell command for Bash that is used to export an environment variable to allow new child processes to inherit it. To export a environment variable you run the export command while setting the variable.
export
makes the variable available to sub-processes.
That is,
export name=value
means that the variable name is available to any process you run from that shell process. If you want a process to make use of this variable, use export
, and run the process from that shell.
name=value
means the variable scope is restricted to the shell, and is not available to any other process. You would use this for (say) loop variables, temporary variables etc.
It's important to note that exporting a variable doesn't make it available to parent processes. That is, specifying and exporting a variable in a spawned process doesn't make it available in the process that launched it.
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