Shell scripting: How to add characters at the end of the line
 

How do I add new characters to the end of a line?

For example if I do:
I get:
I want it to be:
Basically I'm writing a script working with a CSV file. If a certain condition is met, I need to put at the end of the line an asterisk.

You could try not putting an end-of-line in your first echo. To keep the option open for doing it again, don’t put an end-of-line in any subsequent echo’s.

E.g.,
Alternatively, you can use sed (which will work even when you want to add characters to a line in the middle of the file). If you need help with that, just post.

Perfect! Exactly what I needed!!!!!!!!! Thank you! I'll try the echo -n first. I'll ask again if I need help with sed

another way is using printf

Awesome! Good to know about printf. It's always good to be able to do something more than one ways. I will try my script tomorrow on these CSV files at work.

Just an FYI. The '-n' option may not be present for some unix users. So printf tends to be used instead to make scripts more portable.

In general, are there any significant differences between using printf and echo? What are the advantages and disadvantages besides certain Unix shells not understanding echo -n?

For your specific qn, prob not a lot, but obviously printf gives you nice field formatting/control.
You may need this to construct a properly formed CSV, eg put quote marks around any data field that contains a comma.
Also, if you ever have to change the separator eg use tabs.