How to include double quote within string while from value of variable

Question

I am trying to run a command in shell script which demands its argument to be passed in below format which includes double quotes with string.

command "string"

This string is stored in variable var1.

I tried below methods but, not able to achieve the requirement. Can someone please suggest the way to achieve it. I am using bash shell.

If you by "interpreted as" mean "the set -x trace output says..." then know that the trace output of the shell is only for debugging and that it is annotated for visual inspection (only). The output from set -x traces is not generally suitable for input to the shell. — Kusalananda
– Kusalananda ♦, Commented May 30, 2020 at 10:05
I think you're getting confused between syntactic quotes (which are not part of the actual argument to the command, they're just part of the shell syntax that protects the actual argument from unwanted parsing) and literal quotes (which are actually passed to the command). In command "string", the double-quotes are syntactic; they change how string is parsed by the shell, but are not actually passed to the command (and cannot be required by the command). — Gordon Davisson
– Gordon Davisson, Commented May 30, 2020 at 16:06

user232326 · Accepted Answer · 2020-05-30 03:40:29Z

3

The solution to your requirement is to use:

command \""$var1"\"

And no, the set -x output is not (exactly) what the command receives.

answered May 30, 2020 at 3:40

user232326

Stalin Vignesh Kumar · Accepted Answer · 2020-05-30 13:41:24Z

1

Either you can set variable like below :

$ var='"string"'
$ echo $var
"string"

OR

$ var=string
$ echo $var
string
$ echo "\"$var\""
"string"
$ ls "\"$var\""
ls: cannot access "string": No such file or directory

I believe this is what is expected.

answered May 30, 2020 at 13:41

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2 Answers 2