The Open Group Base Specifications Issue 6
IEEE Std 1003.1, 2003 Edition
Copyright © 2001-2003 The IEEE and The Open Group, All Rights reserved.

NAME

eval - construct command by concatenating arguments

SYNOPSIS

eval [argument ...]

DESCRIPTION

The eval utility shall construct a command by concatenating arguments together, separating each with a <space>. The constructed command shall be read and executed by the shell.

OPTIONS

None.

OPERANDS

See the DESCRIPTION.

STDIN

Not used.

INPUT FILES

None.

ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES

None.

ASYNCHRONOUS EVENTS

Default.

STDOUT

Not used.

STDERR

The standard error shall be used only for diagnostic messages.

OUTPUT FILES

None.

EXTENDED DESCRIPTION

None.

EXIT STATUS

If there are no arguments, or only null arguments, eval shall return a zero exit status; otherwise, it shall return the exit status of the command defined by the string of concatenated arguments separated by <space>s.

CONSEQUENCES OF ERRORS

Default.

The following sections are informative.

APPLICATION USAGE

None.

EXAMPLES

foo=10 x=foo
y='$'$x
echo $y
$fooeval y='$'$x
echo $y
10

RATIONALE

None.

FUTURE DIRECTIONS

None.

SEE ALSO

Special Built-In Utilities

CHANGE HISTORY

Issue 6

IEEE Std 1003.1-2001/Cor 1-2002, item XCU/TC1/D6/5 is applied so that the reference page sections use terms as described in the Utility Description Defaults ( Utility Description Defaults ). No change in behavior is intended.

End of informative text.
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