Re: [Help-bash] Awkward behavior of empty arrays

[Andy Chu]

>
> I would also like it if bash would provide a way to safely interpolate
> empty arrays with set -u.  Syntax idea:
>
> echo "${A[@@]}"
>
> That way there is no extra mode, which is harder to read IMO.
>
>
Given that I already complained that it takes 8 punctuation characters to
interpolate an array and 10 to copy it [1], I should take this suggestion
back.

A simpler and backward compatible syntax would be:

echo "address@hidden"    # like "address@hidden" but an empty array OK with set 
-u

I was thinking of using that syntax for arrays in OSH.  And if you have
arrays, you don't really need word splitting, so you can argue that 
address@hidden
(no quotes) should be the same as "address@hidden".  It's less consistent, but 
then
the common case with fewer characters is correct.  Or I might just leave
out address@hidden (syntax error) and only provide "address@hidden".

Andy


[1] http://www.oilshell.org/blog/2016/11/06.html