Linux in a Nutshell, 6th Edition

Name

declare

Synopsis

declare [options] [name[=value]]
typeset [options] [name[=value]]

Declare variables and manage their attributes. In function bodies, variables are local, as if declared with the local command.

Options

-a

Each name is an indexed array variable.

-A

Each name is an associative array variable.

-f

Each name is a function.

-F

For functions, print just the function name and attributes, not the function definition (body). Implies -f.

-i

Each variable is an integer; in an assignment, the value is evaluated as an arithmetic expression.

-l

Assign all values as lowercase only; convert uppercase to lowercase.

-p

With no names, print all variables and their values. With names, print the names, attributes, and values of the given variables. Used with -f, print all function names and attributes. This option causes all other options to be ignored.

-r

Mark names as read-only. Subsequent assignments will fail.

-t

Apply the trace attribute to each name. Traced functions inherit the DEBUG and RETURN traps from the shell. This attribute has no meaning for variables.

-u

Assign all values as uppercase only; convert lowercase to uppercase.

-x

Mark names for export into the environment of child processes.

With a + instead of a -, the given attribute is disabled. With no variable names, all variables having the given attribute(s) are printed in a form that can be reread as input to the shell.

Examples

$ declare -i val              Make val an integer
$ val=4+7                     Evaluate value
$ echo $val                     Show result
11

$ declare -r z=42             Make ...