Russell <rjshaw@iprimus.com.au> [2002-09-01 20:02:05 +1000]: > I'm getting too confused now. I could just use echo <variable>. > Time to stop i think;) In a script you can use : echo foo=$foo The ':' is a 'true' construct. The echo there means nothing but clues me in that it is only an echo. But then when tracing a script with the -x option I will see the value of that variable. It then shows up with 'sh -x script' but is silent otherwise. Useful for debugging a script without leaving noise in the script for normal running. sh -x script I frequently do this in a script to trace all of the commands in a script. # If we are being traced then pass it on to subscripts. trace=false case "$-" in *x*) trace=true ;; esac That way when I call the script with 'sh -x script' it will automatically go into a verbose mode and trace execution of the script. Functions reset -x so in a function '$trace && set -x' will turn it back on for that selected function. You can also use this in conjunction with the above. If you don't like using the : echo foo=$foo you can make them real echo statements. $trace && echo "foo=$foo" Bob
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