How to convert a String into Array in shell script

The name of the pictureThe name of the pictureThe name of the pictureClash Royale CLAN TAG#URR8PPP











up vote
1
down vote

favorite
2












I already read How to split a string into an array in bash but the question seems a little different to me so I'll ask using my data.



I have this line comming from STDIN :



(5,[a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i,j])


The five is my group ID and the letters are values of an array (the group data).
I need to get the group ID into a var and the letters into something I can work using IFS=',' read -r -a array <<< "$tline"










share|improve this question



























    up vote
    1
    down vote

    favorite
    2












    I already read How to split a string into an array in bash but the question seems a little different to me so I'll ask using my data.



    I have this line comming from STDIN :



    (5,[a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i,j])


    The five is my group ID and the letters are values of an array (the group data).
    I need to get the group ID into a var and the letters into something I can work using IFS=',' read -r -a array <<< "$tline"










    share|improve this question

























      up vote
      1
      down vote

      favorite
      2









      up vote
      1
      down vote

      favorite
      2






      2





      I already read How to split a string into an array in bash but the question seems a little different to me so I'll ask using my data.



      I have this line comming from STDIN :



      (5,[a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i,j])


      The five is my group ID and the letters are values of an array (the group data).
      I need to get the group ID into a var and the letters into something I can work using IFS=',' read -r -a array <<< "$tline"










      share|improve this question















      I already read How to split a string into an array in bash but the question seems a little different to me so I'll ask using my data.



      I have this line comming from STDIN :



      (5,[a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i,j])


      The five is my group ID and the letters are values of an array (the group data).
      I need to get the group ID into a var and the letters into something I can work using IFS=',' read -r -a array <<< "$tline"







      bash shell-script array






      share|improve this question















      share|improve this question













      share|improve this question




      share|improve this question








      edited Apr 9 at 8:16









      αғsнιη

      15.7k92563




      15.7k92563










      asked Oct 3 '17 at 1:37









      Magno C

      11717




      11717




















          4 Answers
          4






          active

          oldest

          votes

















          up vote
          5
          down vote



          accepted










          bkpIFS="$IFS"

          IFS=',()][' read -r -a array <<<"(5,[a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i,j])"
          echo $array[@] ##Or printf "%sn" $array[@]
          5 a b c d e f g h i j

          IFS="$bkpIFS"


          Explanations:



          • First we are taking backup of default/current shell IFS with bkpIFS="$IFS";

          • Then we set IFS to set of delimiters ,, (, ), ] and [ with IFS=',()][' which means our input string can be delimited with one-or-more of these delimiters.



          • Next read -r -a array reads and split the line into an array called array only based on defined IFS above from input string passed in Here-String method. The -r option is used to tell read command don't does expansion on back-slash if come in input.



            IFS=',()][' read -a array <<<"(5,[a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i,j,,k])"
            echo $array[@]
            5 a b c d e f g h i j ,k


            see the last ,k which it caused by having back-slash in input and read without its -r option.



          • With echo $array[@] we are printing all elements of array. see What is the difference between $* and $@? and Gilles's answer about $array[@] there with more details.


          • With printf "%sn" $array[@] also there is other approach to printing array elements.


          • Now you can print a specific element of array with printf "%sn" $array[INDEX] or same with echo $array[INDEX].


          • Ah, sorry, forgot to give IFS back to shell, IFS="$bkpIFS" : )


          Or using awk and its split function.



          awk 'split($0,arr,/[,)(]/) 
          ENDfor (x in arr) printf ("%s ",arr[x]);printf "n"' <<<"(5,[a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i,j])"


          Explanations:



          • Same here, we are splitting the entire line of input based on defined group of delimiters [...] in regexp constant /[...]/ which support in modern implementation of awk using split function. read more in section of split() function.


          • Next at the ENDfor (x in arr) printf ("%s ",arr[x]); ... we are looping over array called arr and print their corresponding value. x here point to the index of array arr elements. read more about awk's BEGIN/END rules.


          Side-redirect to How to add/remove an element to the array in bash?.






          share|improve this answer






















          • As @J. Starnes answer yours seems very complext to me although it seems very professional. This complexity will prevent me to adapt the code to future needs and I'll come here again to ask similar questions. So I'll accept the Kusalananda's answer because of its simplicity. I don't like to just copy/paste code I don't know what are doing.
            – Magno C
            Oct 3 '17 at 11:20











          • I promise I'll try to understand you code later. As programmers we need to evolve and learn new things. Giving it a close look I think it's not a very ugly monster. Thanks !
            – Magno C
            Oct 3 '17 at 11:30







          • 1




            Jesus! Its enough... crystal clear now!! Many thanks.
            – Magno C
            Oct 3 '17 at 17:35










          • Tell me a little more about back-slash... I may have one in my inputs...is it a problem?
            – Magno C
            Oct 3 '17 at 17:39











          • Let us continue this discussion in chat.
            – Î±Ò“sнιη
            Oct 3 '17 at 17:40

















          up vote
          3
          down vote













          data=$(tr -d '()' | tr ',' 'n')

          readarray -t -n 1 group <<<"$data"
          readarray -t -s 1 letters <<<"$data"

          printf 'group = %sn' "$group"
          printf 'data: %sn' "$letters[@]"


          This will first get rid of all () and from the input data that is arriving on standard input using tr, and then it will replace the commas with newlines and assign the result to data.



          We then use readarray to parse this data.



          The first call will only read the first entry (with -n 1) and assign it to the variable group.



          The second call to readarray will skip the first entry (with -s 1) and assign the remaining entries to the array letters.



          The -t removes the actual newlines from each entry.



          Even though group is an array here, it's only containing one single element, and you may use it as $group.



          $ echo '(5,[a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i,j])' | bash ./script.sh
          group = 5
          data: a
          data: b
          data: c
          data: d
          data: e
          data: f
          data: g
          data: h
          data: i
          data: j



          The following retains the commas in the string and lets readline use these to delimit the entries, but for some reason, the last element of letters has a newline at the end:



          data=$(tr -d '()')
          readarray -d, -t -s 1 letters <<<"$data"

          printf '>%s<n' "$letters[@]"


          Running:



          $ echo '(5,[a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i,j])' | bash ./script.sh
          >a<
          >b<
          >c<
          >d<
          >e<
          >f<
          >g<
          >h<
          >i<
          >j
          <





          share|improve this answer





























            up vote
            1
            down vote













            POSIXly:



            string='(5,[a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i,j])'
            set -o noglob
            IFS=',['
            string=$string#'('
            string=$string%'])'
            set -- $string''
            gid=$1; shift 2
            printf '%sn' "gid=$gid; group-data:"
            printf ' <%s>n' "$@"


            It should work with any value for the group-data fields, even those with newline characters.






            share|improve this answer



























              up vote
              0
              down vote













              Given the formating of your data read would not put it into an array cleanly. sed can be used to "clean" the data.



              declare -a TLINEARRAY
              TLINEARRAY=($(sed -e 's/,/ /g' -e 's/[/ /g' -e 's/]//g' <<< "$tline" ))
              echo $TLINEARRAY[*]


              Using read as you tried.



              read -a TLINEARRAY <<< "$(sed -e 's/,/ /g' -e 's/[/ /g' -e 's/]//g' <<< "$tline" )"
              echo $TLINEARRAY[*]


              Both methods output an array containing 5 a b c d e f g h i j.






              share|improve this answer




















                Your Answer







                StackExchange.ready(function()
                var channelOptions =
                tags: "".split(" "),
                id: "106"
                ;
                initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);

                StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function()
                // Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
                if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled)
                StackExchange.using("snippets", function()
                createEditor();
                );

                else
                createEditor();

                );

                function createEditor()
                StackExchange.prepareEditor(
                heartbeatType: 'answer',
                convertImagesToLinks: false,
                noModals: false,
                showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
                reputationToPostImages: null,
                bindNavPrevention: true,
                postfix: "",
                onDemand: true,
                discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
                ,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
                );



                );













                 

                draft saved


                draft discarded


















                StackExchange.ready(
                function ()
                StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2funix.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f395742%2fhow-to-convert-a-string-into-array-in-shell-script%23new-answer', 'question_page');

                );

                Post as a guest






























                4 Answers
                4






                active

                oldest

                votes








                4 Answers
                4






                active

                oldest

                votes









                active

                oldest

                votes






                active

                oldest

                votes








                up vote
                5
                down vote



                accepted










                bkpIFS="$IFS"

                IFS=',()][' read -r -a array <<<"(5,[a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i,j])"
                echo $array[@] ##Or printf "%sn" $array[@]
                5 a b c d e f g h i j

                IFS="$bkpIFS"


                Explanations:



                • First we are taking backup of default/current shell IFS with bkpIFS="$IFS";

                • Then we set IFS to set of delimiters ,, (, ), ] and [ with IFS=',()][' which means our input string can be delimited with one-or-more of these delimiters.



                • Next read -r -a array reads and split the line into an array called array only based on defined IFS above from input string passed in Here-String method. The -r option is used to tell read command don't does expansion on back-slash if come in input.



                  IFS=',()][' read -a array <<<"(5,[a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i,j,,k])"
                  echo $array[@]
                  5 a b c d e f g h i j ,k


                  see the last ,k which it caused by having back-slash in input and read without its -r option.



                • With echo $array[@] we are printing all elements of array. see What is the difference between $* and $@? and Gilles's answer about $array[@] there with more details.


                • With printf "%sn" $array[@] also there is other approach to printing array elements.


                • Now you can print a specific element of array with printf "%sn" $array[INDEX] or same with echo $array[INDEX].


                • Ah, sorry, forgot to give IFS back to shell, IFS="$bkpIFS" : )


                Or using awk and its split function.



                awk 'split($0,arr,/[,)(]/) 
                ENDfor (x in arr) printf ("%s ",arr[x]);printf "n"' <<<"(5,[a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i,j])"


                Explanations:



                • Same here, we are splitting the entire line of input based on defined group of delimiters [...] in regexp constant /[...]/ which support in modern implementation of awk using split function. read more in section of split() function.


                • Next at the ENDfor (x in arr) printf ("%s ",arr[x]); ... we are looping over array called arr and print their corresponding value. x here point to the index of array arr elements. read more about awk's BEGIN/END rules.


                Side-redirect to How to add/remove an element to the array in bash?.






                share|improve this answer






















                • As @J. Starnes answer yours seems very complext to me although it seems very professional. This complexity will prevent me to adapt the code to future needs and I'll come here again to ask similar questions. So I'll accept the Kusalananda's answer because of its simplicity. I don't like to just copy/paste code I don't know what are doing.
                  – Magno C
                  Oct 3 '17 at 11:20











                • I promise I'll try to understand you code later. As programmers we need to evolve and learn new things. Giving it a close look I think it's not a very ugly monster. Thanks !
                  – Magno C
                  Oct 3 '17 at 11:30







                • 1




                  Jesus! Its enough... crystal clear now!! Many thanks.
                  – Magno C
                  Oct 3 '17 at 17:35










                • Tell me a little more about back-slash... I may have one in my inputs...is it a problem?
                  – Magno C
                  Oct 3 '17 at 17:39











                • Let us continue this discussion in chat.
                  – Î±Ò“sнιη
                  Oct 3 '17 at 17:40














                up vote
                5
                down vote



                accepted










                bkpIFS="$IFS"

                IFS=',()][' read -r -a array <<<"(5,[a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i,j])"
                echo $array[@] ##Or printf "%sn" $array[@]
                5 a b c d e f g h i j

                IFS="$bkpIFS"


                Explanations:



                • First we are taking backup of default/current shell IFS with bkpIFS="$IFS";

                • Then we set IFS to set of delimiters ,, (, ), ] and [ with IFS=',()][' which means our input string can be delimited with one-or-more of these delimiters.



                • Next read -r -a array reads and split the line into an array called array only based on defined IFS above from input string passed in Here-String method. The -r option is used to tell read command don't does expansion on back-slash if come in input.



                  IFS=',()][' read -a array <<<"(5,[a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i,j,,k])"
                  echo $array[@]
                  5 a b c d e f g h i j ,k


                  see the last ,k which it caused by having back-slash in input and read without its -r option.



                • With echo $array[@] we are printing all elements of array. see What is the difference between $* and $@? and Gilles's answer about $array[@] there with more details.


                • With printf "%sn" $array[@] also there is other approach to printing array elements.


                • Now you can print a specific element of array with printf "%sn" $array[INDEX] or same with echo $array[INDEX].


                • Ah, sorry, forgot to give IFS back to shell, IFS="$bkpIFS" : )


                Or using awk and its split function.



                awk 'split($0,arr,/[,)(]/) 
                ENDfor (x in arr) printf ("%s ",arr[x]);printf "n"' <<<"(5,[a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i,j])"


                Explanations:



                • Same here, we are splitting the entire line of input based on defined group of delimiters [...] in regexp constant /[...]/ which support in modern implementation of awk using split function. read more in section of split() function.


                • Next at the ENDfor (x in arr) printf ("%s ",arr[x]); ... we are looping over array called arr and print their corresponding value. x here point to the index of array arr elements. read more about awk's BEGIN/END rules.


                Side-redirect to How to add/remove an element to the array in bash?.






                share|improve this answer






















                • As @J. Starnes answer yours seems very complext to me although it seems very professional. This complexity will prevent me to adapt the code to future needs and I'll come here again to ask similar questions. So I'll accept the Kusalananda's answer because of its simplicity. I don't like to just copy/paste code I don't know what are doing.
                  – Magno C
                  Oct 3 '17 at 11:20











                • I promise I'll try to understand you code later. As programmers we need to evolve and learn new things. Giving it a close look I think it's not a very ugly monster. Thanks !
                  – Magno C
                  Oct 3 '17 at 11:30







                • 1




                  Jesus! Its enough... crystal clear now!! Many thanks.
                  – Magno C
                  Oct 3 '17 at 17:35










                • Tell me a little more about back-slash... I may have one in my inputs...is it a problem?
                  – Magno C
                  Oct 3 '17 at 17:39











                • Let us continue this discussion in chat.
                  – Î±Ò“sнιη
                  Oct 3 '17 at 17:40












                up vote
                5
                down vote



                accepted







                up vote
                5
                down vote



                accepted






                bkpIFS="$IFS"

                IFS=',()][' read -r -a array <<<"(5,[a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i,j])"
                echo $array[@] ##Or printf "%sn" $array[@]
                5 a b c d e f g h i j

                IFS="$bkpIFS"


                Explanations:



                • First we are taking backup of default/current shell IFS with bkpIFS="$IFS";

                • Then we set IFS to set of delimiters ,, (, ), ] and [ with IFS=',()][' which means our input string can be delimited with one-or-more of these delimiters.



                • Next read -r -a array reads and split the line into an array called array only based on defined IFS above from input string passed in Here-String method. The -r option is used to tell read command don't does expansion on back-slash if come in input.



                  IFS=',()][' read -a array <<<"(5,[a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i,j,,k])"
                  echo $array[@]
                  5 a b c d e f g h i j ,k


                  see the last ,k which it caused by having back-slash in input and read without its -r option.



                • With echo $array[@] we are printing all elements of array. see What is the difference between $* and $@? and Gilles's answer about $array[@] there with more details.


                • With printf "%sn" $array[@] also there is other approach to printing array elements.


                • Now you can print a specific element of array with printf "%sn" $array[INDEX] or same with echo $array[INDEX].


                • Ah, sorry, forgot to give IFS back to shell, IFS="$bkpIFS" : )


                Or using awk and its split function.



                awk 'split($0,arr,/[,)(]/) 
                ENDfor (x in arr) printf ("%s ",arr[x]);printf "n"' <<<"(5,[a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i,j])"


                Explanations:



                • Same here, we are splitting the entire line of input based on defined group of delimiters [...] in regexp constant /[...]/ which support in modern implementation of awk using split function. read more in section of split() function.


                • Next at the ENDfor (x in arr) printf ("%s ",arr[x]); ... we are looping over array called arr and print their corresponding value. x here point to the index of array arr elements. read more about awk's BEGIN/END rules.


                Side-redirect to How to add/remove an element to the array in bash?.






                share|improve this answer














                bkpIFS="$IFS"

                IFS=',()][' read -r -a array <<<"(5,[a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i,j])"
                echo $array[@] ##Or printf "%sn" $array[@]
                5 a b c d e f g h i j

                IFS="$bkpIFS"


                Explanations:



                • First we are taking backup of default/current shell IFS with bkpIFS="$IFS";

                • Then we set IFS to set of delimiters ,, (, ), ] and [ with IFS=',()][' which means our input string can be delimited with one-or-more of these delimiters.



                • Next read -r -a array reads and split the line into an array called array only based on defined IFS above from input string passed in Here-String method. The -r option is used to tell read command don't does expansion on back-slash if come in input.



                  IFS=',()][' read -a array <<<"(5,[a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i,j,,k])"
                  echo $array[@]
                  5 a b c d e f g h i j ,k


                  see the last ,k which it caused by having back-slash in input and read without its -r option.



                • With echo $array[@] we are printing all elements of array. see What is the difference between $* and $@? and Gilles's answer about $array[@] there with more details.


                • With printf "%sn" $array[@] also there is other approach to printing array elements.


                • Now you can print a specific element of array with printf "%sn" $array[INDEX] or same with echo $array[INDEX].


                • Ah, sorry, forgot to give IFS back to shell, IFS="$bkpIFS" : )


                Or using awk and its split function.



                awk 'split($0,arr,/[,)(]/) 
                ENDfor (x in arr) printf ("%s ",arr[x]);printf "n"' <<<"(5,[a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i,j])"


                Explanations:



                • Same here, we are splitting the entire line of input based on defined group of delimiters [...] in regexp constant /[...]/ which support in modern implementation of awk using split function. read more in section of split() function.


                • Next at the ENDfor (x in arr) printf ("%s ",arr[x]); ... we are looping over array called arr and print their corresponding value. x here point to the index of array arr elements. read more about awk's BEGIN/END rules.


                Side-redirect to How to add/remove an element to the array in bash?.







                share|improve this answer














                share|improve this answer



                share|improve this answer








                edited Oct 3 '17 at 17:52

























                answered Oct 3 '17 at 6:04









                αғsнιη

                15.7k92563




                15.7k92563











                • As @J. Starnes answer yours seems very complext to me although it seems very professional. This complexity will prevent me to adapt the code to future needs and I'll come here again to ask similar questions. So I'll accept the Kusalananda's answer because of its simplicity. I don't like to just copy/paste code I don't know what are doing.
                  – Magno C
                  Oct 3 '17 at 11:20











                • I promise I'll try to understand you code later. As programmers we need to evolve and learn new things. Giving it a close look I think it's not a very ugly monster. Thanks !
                  – Magno C
                  Oct 3 '17 at 11:30







                • 1




                  Jesus! Its enough... crystal clear now!! Many thanks.
                  – Magno C
                  Oct 3 '17 at 17:35










                • Tell me a little more about back-slash... I may have one in my inputs...is it a problem?
                  – Magno C
                  Oct 3 '17 at 17:39











                • Let us continue this discussion in chat.
                  – Î±Ò“sнιη
                  Oct 3 '17 at 17:40
















                • As @J. Starnes answer yours seems very complext to me although it seems very professional. This complexity will prevent me to adapt the code to future needs and I'll come here again to ask similar questions. So I'll accept the Kusalananda's answer because of its simplicity. I don't like to just copy/paste code I don't know what are doing.
                  – Magno C
                  Oct 3 '17 at 11:20











                • I promise I'll try to understand you code later. As programmers we need to evolve and learn new things. Giving it a close look I think it's not a very ugly monster. Thanks !
                  – Magno C
                  Oct 3 '17 at 11:30







                • 1




                  Jesus! Its enough... crystal clear now!! Many thanks.
                  – Magno C
                  Oct 3 '17 at 17:35










                • Tell me a little more about back-slash... I may have one in my inputs...is it a problem?
                  – Magno C
                  Oct 3 '17 at 17:39











                • Let us continue this discussion in chat.
                  – Î±Ò“sнιη
                  Oct 3 '17 at 17:40















                As @J. Starnes answer yours seems very complext to me although it seems very professional. This complexity will prevent me to adapt the code to future needs and I'll come here again to ask similar questions. So I'll accept the Kusalananda's answer because of its simplicity. I don't like to just copy/paste code I don't know what are doing.
                – Magno C
                Oct 3 '17 at 11:20





                As @J. Starnes answer yours seems very complext to me although it seems very professional. This complexity will prevent me to adapt the code to future needs and I'll come here again to ask similar questions. So I'll accept the Kusalananda's answer because of its simplicity. I don't like to just copy/paste code I don't know what are doing.
                – Magno C
                Oct 3 '17 at 11:20













                I promise I'll try to understand you code later. As programmers we need to evolve and learn new things. Giving it a close look I think it's not a very ugly monster. Thanks !
                – Magno C
                Oct 3 '17 at 11:30





                I promise I'll try to understand you code later. As programmers we need to evolve and learn new things. Giving it a close look I think it's not a very ugly monster. Thanks !
                – Magno C
                Oct 3 '17 at 11:30





                1




                1




                Jesus! Its enough... crystal clear now!! Many thanks.
                – Magno C
                Oct 3 '17 at 17:35




                Jesus! Its enough... crystal clear now!! Many thanks.
                – Magno C
                Oct 3 '17 at 17:35












                Tell me a little more about back-slash... I may have one in my inputs...is it a problem?
                – Magno C
                Oct 3 '17 at 17:39





                Tell me a little more about back-slash... I may have one in my inputs...is it a problem?
                – Magno C
                Oct 3 '17 at 17:39













                Let us continue this discussion in chat.
                – Î±Ò“sнιη
                Oct 3 '17 at 17:40




                Let us continue this discussion in chat.
                – Î±Ò“sнιη
                Oct 3 '17 at 17:40












                up vote
                3
                down vote













                data=$(tr -d '()' | tr ',' 'n')

                readarray -t -n 1 group <<<"$data"
                readarray -t -s 1 letters <<<"$data"

                printf 'group = %sn' "$group"
                printf 'data: %sn' "$letters[@]"


                This will first get rid of all () and from the input data that is arriving on standard input using tr, and then it will replace the commas with newlines and assign the result to data.



                We then use readarray to parse this data.



                The first call will only read the first entry (with -n 1) and assign it to the variable group.



                The second call to readarray will skip the first entry (with -s 1) and assign the remaining entries to the array letters.



                The -t removes the actual newlines from each entry.



                Even though group is an array here, it's only containing one single element, and you may use it as $group.



                $ echo '(5,[a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i,j])' | bash ./script.sh
                group = 5
                data: a
                data: b
                data: c
                data: d
                data: e
                data: f
                data: g
                data: h
                data: i
                data: j



                The following retains the commas in the string and lets readline use these to delimit the entries, but for some reason, the last element of letters has a newline at the end:



                data=$(tr -d '()')
                readarray -d, -t -s 1 letters <<<"$data"

                printf '>%s<n' "$letters[@]"


                Running:



                $ echo '(5,[a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i,j])' | bash ./script.sh
                >a<
                >b<
                >c<
                >d<
                >e<
                >f<
                >g<
                >h<
                >i<
                >j
                <





                share|improve this answer


























                  up vote
                  3
                  down vote













                  data=$(tr -d '()' | tr ',' 'n')

                  readarray -t -n 1 group <<<"$data"
                  readarray -t -s 1 letters <<<"$data"

                  printf 'group = %sn' "$group"
                  printf 'data: %sn' "$letters[@]"


                  This will first get rid of all () and from the input data that is arriving on standard input using tr, and then it will replace the commas with newlines and assign the result to data.



                  We then use readarray to parse this data.



                  The first call will only read the first entry (with -n 1) and assign it to the variable group.



                  The second call to readarray will skip the first entry (with -s 1) and assign the remaining entries to the array letters.



                  The -t removes the actual newlines from each entry.



                  Even though group is an array here, it's only containing one single element, and you may use it as $group.



                  $ echo '(5,[a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i,j])' | bash ./script.sh
                  group = 5
                  data: a
                  data: b
                  data: c
                  data: d
                  data: e
                  data: f
                  data: g
                  data: h
                  data: i
                  data: j



                  The following retains the commas in the string and lets readline use these to delimit the entries, but for some reason, the last element of letters has a newline at the end:



                  data=$(tr -d '()')
                  readarray -d, -t -s 1 letters <<<"$data"

                  printf '>%s<n' "$letters[@]"


                  Running:



                  $ echo '(5,[a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i,j])' | bash ./script.sh
                  >a<
                  >b<
                  >c<
                  >d<
                  >e<
                  >f<
                  >g<
                  >h<
                  >i<
                  >j
                  <





                  share|improve this answer
























                    up vote
                    3
                    down vote










                    up vote
                    3
                    down vote









                    data=$(tr -d '()' | tr ',' 'n')

                    readarray -t -n 1 group <<<"$data"
                    readarray -t -s 1 letters <<<"$data"

                    printf 'group = %sn' "$group"
                    printf 'data: %sn' "$letters[@]"


                    This will first get rid of all () and from the input data that is arriving on standard input using tr, and then it will replace the commas with newlines and assign the result to data.



                    We then use readarray to parse this data.



                    The first call will only read the first entry (with -n 1) and assign it to the variable group.



                    The second call to readarray will skip the first entry (with -s 1) and assign the remaining entries to the array letters.



                    The -t removes the actual newlines from each entry.



                    Even though group is an array here, it's only containing one single element, and you may use it as $group.



                    $ echo '(5,[a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i,j])' | bash ./script.sh
                    group = 5
                    data: a
                    data: b
                    data: c
                    data: d
                    data: e
                    data: f
                    data: g
                    data: h
                    data: i
                    data: j



                    The following retains the commas in the string and lets readline use these to delimit the entries, but for some reason, the last element of letters has a newline at the end:



                    data=$(tr -d '()')
                    readarray -d, -t -s 1 letters <<<"$data"

                    printf '>%s<n' "$letters[@]"


                    Running:



                    $ echo '(5,[a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i,j])' | bash ./script.sh
                    >a<
                    >b<
                    >c<
                    >d<
                    >e<
                    >f<
                    >g<
                    >h<
                    >i<
                    >j
                    <





                    share|improve this answer














                    data=$(tr -d '()' | tr ',' 'n')

                    readarray -t -n 1 group <<<"$data"
                    readarray -t -s 1 letters <<<"$data"

                    printf 'group = %sn' "$group"
                    printf 'data: %sn' "$letters[@]"


                    This will first get rid of all () and from the input data that is arriving on standard input using tr, and then it will replace the commas with newlines and assign the result to data.



                    We then use readarray to parse this data.



                    The first call will only read the first entry (with -n 1) and assign it to the variable group.



                    The second call to readarray will skip the first entry (with -s 1) and assign the remaining entries to the array letters.



                    The -t removes the actual newlines from each entry.



                    Even though group is an array here, it's only containing one single element, and you may use it as $group.



                    $ echo '(5,[a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i,j])' | bash ./script.sh
                    group = 5
                    data: a
                    data: b
                    data: c
                    data: d
                    data: e
                    data: f
                    data: g
                    data: h
                    data: i
                    data: j



                    The following retains the commas in the string and lets readline use these to delimit the entries, but for some reason, the last element of letters has a newline at the end:



                    data=$(tr -d '()')
                    readarray -d, -t -s 1 letters <<<"$data"

                    printf '>%s<n' "$letters[@]"


                    Running:



                    $ echo '(5,[a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i,j])' | bash ./script.sh
                    >a<
                    >b<
                    >c<
                    >d<
                    >e<
                    >f<
                    >g<
                    >h<
                    >i<
                    >j
                    <






                    share|improve this answer














                    share|improve this answer



                    share|improve this answer








                    edited Oct 3 '17 at 6:56

























                    answered Oct 3 '17 at 6:48









                    Kusalananda

                    105k14209326




                    105k14209326




















                        up vote
                        1
                        down vote













                        POSIXly:



                        string='(5,[a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i,j])'
                        set -o noglob
                        IFS=',['
                        string=$string#'('
                        string=$string%'])'
                        set -- $string''
                        gid=$1; shift 2
                        printf '%sn' "gid=$gid; group-data:"
                        printf ' <%s>n' "$@"


                        It should work with any value for the group-data fields, even those with newline characters.






                        share|improve this answer
























                          up vote
                          1
                          down vote













                          POSIXly:



                          string='(5,[a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i,j])'
                          set -o noglob
                          IFS=',['
                          string=$string#'('
                          string=$string%'])'
                          set -- $string''
                          gid=$1; shift 2
                          printf '%sn' "gid=$gid; group-data:"
                          printf ' <%s>n' "$@"


                          It should work with any value for the group-data fields, even those with newline characters.






                          share|improve this answer






















                            up vote
                            1
                            down vote










                            up vote
                            1
                            down vote









                            POSIXly:



                            string='(5,[a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i,j])'
                            set -o noglob
                            IFS=',['
                            string=$string#'('
                            string=$string%'])'
                            set -- $string''
                            gid=$1; shift 2
                            printf '%sn' "gid=$gid; group-data:"
                            printf ' <%s>n' "$@"


                            It should work with any value for the group-data fields, even those with newline characters.






                            share|improve this answer












                            POSIXly:



                            string='(5,[a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i,j])'
                            set -o noglob
                            IFS=',['
                            string=$string#'('
                            string=$string%'])'
                            set -- $string''
                            gid=$1; shift 2
                            printf '%sn' "gid=$gid; group-data:"
                            printf ' <%s>n' "$@"


                            It should work with any value for the group-data fields, even those with newline characters.







                            share|improve this answer












                            share|improve this answer



                            share|improve this answer










                            answered Oct 3 '17 at 14:37









                            Stéphane Chazelas

                            283k53522859




                            283k53522859




















                                up vote
                                0
                                down vote













                                Given the formating of your data read would not put it into an array cleanly. sed can be used to "clean" the data.



                                declare -a TLINEARRAY
                                TLINEARRAY=($(sed -e 's/,/ /g' -e 's/[/ /g' -e 's/]//g' <<< "$tline" ))
                                echo $TLINEARRAY[*]


                                Using read as you tried.



                                read -a TLINEARRAY <<< "$(sed -e 's/,/ /g' -e 's/[/ /g' -e 's/]//g' <<< "$tline" )"
                                echo $TLINEARRAY[*]


                                Both methods output an array containing 5 a b c d e f g h i j.






                                share|improve this answer
























                                  up vote
                                  0
                                  down vote













                                  Given the formating of your data read would not put it into an array cleanly. sed can be used to "clean" the data.



                                  declare -a TLINEARRAY
                                  TLINEARRAY=($(sed -e 's/,/ /g' -e 's/[/ /g' -e 's/]//g' <<< "$tline" ))
                                  echo $TLINEARRAY[*]


                                  Using read as you tried.



                                  read -a TLINEARRAY <<< "$(sed -e 's/,/ /g' -e 's/[/ /g' -e 's/]//g' <<< "$tline" )"
                                  echo $TLINEARRAY[*]


                                  Both methods output an array containing 5 a b c d e f g h i j.






                                  share|improve this answer






















                                    up vote
                                    0
                                    down vote










                                    up vote
                                    0
                                    down vote









                                    Given the formating of your data read would not put it into an array cleanly. sed can be used to "clean" the data.



                                    declare -a TLINEARRAY
                                    TLINEARRAY=($(sed -e 's/,/ /g' -e 's/[/ /g' -e 's/]//g' <<< "$tline" ))
                                    echo $TLINEARRAY[*]


                                    Using read as you tried.



                                    read -a TLINEARRAY <<< "$(sed -e 's/,/ /g' -e 's/[/ /g' -e 's/]//g' <<< "$tline" )"
                                    echo $TLINEARRAY[*]


                                    Both methods output an array containing 5 a b c d e f g h i j.






                                    share|improve this answer












                                    Given the formating of your data read would not put it into an array cleanly. sed can be used to "clean" the data.



                                    declare -a TLINEARRAY
                                    TLINEARRAY=($(sed -e 's/,/ /g' -e 's/[/ /g' -e 's/]//g' <<< "$tline" ))
                                    echo $TLINEARRAY[*]


                                    Using read as you tried.



                                    read -a TLINEARRAY <<< "$(sed -e 's/,/ /g' -e 's/[/ /g' -e 's/]//g' <<< "$tline" )"
                                    echo $TLINEARRAY[*]


                                    Both methods output an array containing 5 a b c d e f g h i j.







                                    share|improve this answer












                                    share|improve this answer



                                    share|improve this answer










                                    answered Oct 3 '17 at 5:38









                                    J. Starnes

                                    101




                                    101



























                                         

                                        draft saved


                                        draft discarded















































                                         


                                        draft saved


                                        draft discarded














                                        StackExchange.ready(
                                        function ()
                                        StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2funix.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f395742%2fhow-to-convert-a-string-into-array-in-shell-script%23new-answer', 'question_page');

                                        );

                                        Post as a guest













































































                                        Popular posts from this blog

                                        How to check contact read email or not when send email to Individual?

                                        Displaying single band from multi-band raster using QGIS

                                        How many registers does an x86_64 CPU actually have?