Linux in a Nutshell, Third Edition

Name

echo

Synopsis

echo [-n] [string]

Description

This is the /bin/echo command. echo also exists as a command built into the C shell and bash. The following character sequences have special meanings:

\a

Alert (bell)

\b

Backspace

\c

Suppress trailing newline

\f

Form feed

\n

Newline

\r

Carriage return

\t

Horizontal tab

\v

Vertical tab

\\

Literal backslash

\ nnn

The octal character whose ASCII code is nnn.

Options

-e

Enable character sequences with special meaning. (In some versions, this option is not required in order to make the sequences work.)

-E

Disable character sequences with special meaning.

-n

Suppress printing of newline after text.

--help

Print help message and then exit.

--version

Print version information and then exit.

Examples

                     /bin/echo "testing printer" | lp
                     /bin/echo "TITLE\nTITLE" > file ; cat doc1 doc2 >> file
                     /bin/echo "Warning: ringing bell \a"