Re: Problem with pattern replacing when STRING is an expandable char

[Paul Jarc]

Heinz-Ado Arnolds <arnolds@MPA-Garching.MPG.DE> wrote:
>     a=111.1
>     echo ${a//[0-9]/x}
>
>     correctly gives "xxx.x", but
>
>     echo ${a//[0-9]/*}
>
>     gives a listing of files in current directory. Seems that the "*"
>     is expanded before replacing the pattern.

No, it's expanded afterward, because the variable expansion isn't
quoted.  This does what you want:
    echo "${a//[0-9]/*}"

>     It workes the right way at least up to bash-3.1.17(1)-release
>
>     But if you set
>
>     a=111
>
>     it doesn't even work in 3.1.17 right.

3.1.17 behaves the same way as 3.2.25.  You see a different result
because of a different set of files between the two situations, not
because of the different bash version.  If there are no files in the
current directory that match ***.*, then pathname expansion will leave
it unchanged.


paul