Linux in a Nutshell, Fourth Edition

Name

shift

Synopsis

                  shift [variable]

If variable is given, shift the words in a wordlist variable; i.e., name [2] becomes name [1]. With no argument, shift the positional parameters (command-line arguments; i.e., $2 becomes $1. shift is typically used in a while loop. See additional example under while.

Example

                  while ($#argv)      
                  While there are arguments
                  if (-f $argv[1])  
                         wc -l $argv[1]
                      else
                         echo "$argv[1] is not a regular file"
                      endif
                      shift           
                  Get the next argument
                  end