How to Modify a Global Variable Within a Function in Bash
In this article, we will learn about modifying a global variable within a function in Bash.
Modify Global Variable Within a Function in Bash
If you declare your variables inside a script, every variable in Bash will be global by default, which means that it will be accessible to any function, script, and even the outside shell.
If you declare a variable within a function to be global, you can access its value even while the function is not being executed.
Any variable you declare is a global variable
by default. If you define a variable outside of the function, you will not encounter any issues when using it inside the function.
Code Example:
e=2
function example1() {
a=4
echo "Today"
}
example1
echo "$a"
Output:
Today
4
On the other hand, if we assign the result of the function to a variable, the value of the global variable a
would not be altered.
Code Example:
a=2
function example1() {
a=4
echo "Today"
}
ret=$(example1)
echo "$ret"
echo "$a"
Output:
Today
2