Created SC2206 (markdown)

koalaman
2017-04-02 14:24:57 -07:00
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## Quote to prevent word splitting, or split robustly with mapfile or read -a.
### Problematic code:
```sh
array=( $var )
```
### Correct code:
If the variable should be a single element:
```sh
array=( "$var" )
```
If it's multiple lines, each of which should be an element:
```sh
# For bash
mapfile -t array <<< "$var"
# For ksh
printf '%s\n' "$var" | while IFS="" read -r line; do array+=("$line"); done
```
If it's a line with multiple words (separated by spaces, other delimiters can be chosen with IFS), each of which should be an element:
```sh
# For bash
IFS=" " read -r -a array <<< "$var"
# For ksh
IFS=" " read -r -A array <<< "$var"
```
### Rationale:
You are expanding a variable unquoted in an array. This will invoke the shell's sloppy word splitting and glob expansion.
Instead, prefer explicitly splitting (or not splitting):
* If the variable should become a single array element, quote it.
* If you want to split into lines or words, use `mapfile`, `read -ra` and/or `while` loops appropriate.
This prevents the shell from doing unwanted splitting and glob expansion, and therefore avoiding problems with data containing spaces or special characters.
### Exceptions:
If you have already taken care (through setting IFS and `set -f`) to have word splitting work the way you intend, you can ignore this warning.