bash-other-variables

Default Arguments

echo ${var_or_text:-$default_value}

Default args use the syntax :- in between the variables

• if var_or_text is empty or unset, it will use the variable default_value instead
• the first part can also be 1,2,3 as in arguments
• the second part (or default value) must contain $ if it’s a variable

Bash Script Location

${BASH_SOURCE[0]}

• this gets the absolute path of where the bash script is located, not the directory it’s being executed from

"$(dirname ${BASH_SOURCE[0]})"

• to access the folder containing the bash script (in case the script depends on another file in the same folder)