http://www.perlmonks.org?node_id=999613

mianfeidewucan has asked for the wisdom of the Perl Monks concerning the following question:

Hi there,

When I wrote a bash file before (like ex.bash), I use a command like "perl example.pl;" in ex.bash. This bash file is for submitting jobs in a supercomputer. When I checked out recently, I found everything worked fine. Is it allowed in bash to write a perl command with semicolon? Or is it better for me to change "perl example.pl;" to "perl example.pl"?

Thank you,

Arrow

Replies are listed 'Best First'.
Re: semicolon for perl command in bash
by hippo (Bishop) on Oct 17, 2012 at 22:00 UTC

    The semi-colon in bash is the statement terminator. If you do not use a semi-colon then your statement is terminated by a newline. Both the semi-colon and the newline can be escaped. This is all to do with bash and nothing to do with perl.

    As examples try these:

    • $ echo foo
    • $ echo foo;
    • $ echo foo\;
    • $ echo foo; echo bar
    • $ echo foo\; echo bar

    Happy bashing!

      Hi,

      I didn't know the semicolon and newline are equivalent. Thank you very much!

      Arrow