OK, I'm feeling really stupid....export within a script

KenHorse · 02-25-2012, 04:58 PM

Assume the following script:

Code:

#! /bin/bash

if [ "$TEST" = "YES" ] ; then
  export TEST=NO
fi

I set the variable:

[murphy@localhost]$ export TEST=YES

run the script (yes, it's already executable)

[murphy@localhost]$ . ./test

and finally

[murphy@localhost]$ echo $TEST
YES

Ok, what am I doing wrong?

dugan · 02-25-2012, 05:00 PM

I carried out those exact steps, and I got the expected output of NO.

anomie · 02-25-2012, 09:10 PM

export makes the shell variable's value available to children. Since you're exporting a variable within a shell script (which is a child of your interactive shell), it will only be available to that script and its children. Not its parent.

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Oh, I just noticed that you're sourcing the script in to your interactive shell. In that case, I agree with dugan. Those steps produce the "NO" output for me too.