Re: printf $variable inside initial parenthesis or use %s?

[Greg Wooledge]

On Thu, Jan 12, 2023 at 05:06:02PM -0500, Roger wrote:
> Another idea, initially write scripts using echo, then later re-code/fix and 
> use printf.
> 
> This will save a lot of typing time, with echo/printf statements being added 
> and removed during development (although I usually leave most echo/printf 
> statements for later debugging), that do not remain in the final end product 
> or 
> working script.  Like I previously stated, printf %s syntax format tends to 
> double typing time.  Albeit, using this tactic, most will just forget and 
> keep 
> the echo statements!

If you wish to continue using echo for convenience/brevity, you can
drop a function like this into your script:

echo() { local IFS=' '; printf '%s\n' "$*"; }

That will make echo behave the way most people want/expect it to:
print each argument verbatim, with spaces between them if there's
more than one, and then print a newline at the end.