echo(1)								      echo(1)



NAME

<h2>   echo - Writes	its arguments to standard output </h2>

SYNOPSIS

<h2>   echo [-n] [string...] </h2>

<h2>   [Digital]  The -n flag is valid only if the environment variable CMD_ENV is </h2>
<h2>   set to bsd. </h2>
				   Note
<h2>        The C shell has a built-in version of the echo command.	If </h2>
       you are using the c shell, and want to guarantee	that you
       are using the command described here, you must specify the
<h2>        full path /usr/bin/echo.	 See the csh(1)	reference page for </h2>
       a description of	the built-in command.

STANDARDS

  Interfaces documented	on this	reference page conform to industry standards
  as follows:

<h2>   echo:	 XPG4, XPG4-UNIX </h2>

<h2>   Refer	to the standards(5) reference page for more information	about indus- </h2>
  try standards	and associated tags.

FLAGS

<h2>   -n [Digital]	No newline is added to the output. The -n flag is valid	only </h2>
<h2>      if	the environment	variable CMD_ENV is set	to bsd.	Otherwise any -n </h2>
<h2>      operand is	treated	as a string rather than	as a flag. See the printf </h2>
     reference page for	use in portable	applications.

PARAMETERS

<h2>   string   The string to be displayed on standard output.  The echo command </h2>
	   recognizes the following special characters in the string:

<h2> 	   \a  Displays	an alert character. </h2>

<h2> 	   \b  Displays	a backspace character. </h2>

<h2> 	   \c  Suppresses the newline character.  All characters following \c </h2>
	       in the arguments	are ignored.

<h2> 	   \f  Displays	a formfeed character. </h2>

<h2> 	   \n  Displays	a newline character. </h2>

<h2> 	   \r  Displays	a carriage-return character. </h2>

<h2> 	   \t  Displays	a tab character. </h2>

<h2> 	   \v  Displays	a vertical tab character. </h2>

<h2> 	   \\  Displays	a backslash character. </h2>

<h2> 	   \number </h2>
	       Displays	an 8-bit character whose value is the 1-, 2- or	3-
<h2> 	       digit octal number, number.  The	first digit of number must be </h2>
	       a 0 (zero).

DESCRIPTION

<h2>   The echo command writes the specified	string to standard output, followed </h2>
  by a newline character.

<h2>   The arguments	are separated by spaces. Use the echo command to produce </h2>
  diagnostic messages in command files and to send data	into a pipe.  If
<h2>   there	are no arguments, the echo command outputs a newline character. </h2>

<h2>   [Digital]  The echo command described	here is	the program /usr/bin/echo. </h2>
<h2>   Both csh and sh shells contain built-in echo subcommands, which do not </h2>
<h2>   necessarily work in the same way as the /usr/bin/echo	command. </h2>

ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES

<h2>   The following	environment variables affect the execution of echo: </h2>

<h2>   CMD_ENV  [Digital]  This variable must set to	bsd for	the -n flag to be </h2>
<h2> 	   valid.  Otherwise any -n operand is treated as a string member. </h2>

<h2>   LANG	   Provides a default value for	the internationalization variables </h2>
<h2> 	   that	are unset or null. If LANG is unset or null, the correspond- </h2>
	   ing value from the default locale is	used. If any of	the interna-
	   tionalization variables contain an invalid setting, the utility
	   behaves as if none of the variables had been	defined.

<h2>   LC_ALL   If set to a non-empty string	value, overrides the values of all </h2>
	   the other internationalization variables.

<h2>   LC_CTYPE Determines the locale for the interpretation	of sequences of	bytes </h2>
	   of text data	as characters (for example, single-byte	as opposed to
	   multibyte characters	in arguments).

<h2>   LC_MESSAGES </h2>
	   Determines the locale for the format	and contents of	diagnostic
	   messages written to standard	error.

<h2>   NLSPATH  Determines the location of message catalogues for the processing </h2>
<h2> 	   of LC_MESSAGES. </h2>

EXAMPLES

<h2>    1.  To write	a message to standard output, enter: </h2>
<h2> 	    echo Please	insert diskette	. . . </h2>


<h2>    2.  To display a message containing special characters as listed in </h2>
<h2>        DESCRIPTION, enclose the	message	in quotes, as follows: </h2>
<h2> 	    echo "\n\n\nI'm at lunch.\nI'll be back at 1 p.m." </h2>


       This skips three	lines and displays the message:
	    I'm	at lunch.
	    I'll be back at 1 p.m.



					Note
       You must	enclose	the message in quotation marks if it contains
<h2>        escape sequences	such as	\n.  Otherwise,	the shell treats the </h2>
<h2>        backslash (\) as	an escape character.  The previous command exam- </h2>
       ple, entered without the	quotes,	results	in the following output:
	    nnnI'm at lunch.nI'll be back at 1 p.m.


<h2>    3.  To use echo with	pattern-matching characters, enter: </h2>
<h2> 	    echo The back-up files are:	*.bak </h2>


       This displays the message The back-up files are:	and then displays the
<h2>        file names in the current directory ending with .bak. </h2>

<h2>    4.  To add a	single line of text to a file, enter: </h2>
<h2> 	    echo Remember to set the shell search path to $PATH. >>notes </h2>


<h2>        This adds the message to	the end	of the file notes after	the shell </h2>
<h2>        substitutes the value of	the PATH shell variable. </h2>

<h2>    5.  To write	a message to the standard error	output (sh only), enter: </h2>
<h2> 	    echo Error:	file already exists. >&2 </h2>


<h2>        Use this	in shell procedures to write error messages.  If the >&2 is </h2>
       omitted,	then the message is written to the standard output.

EXIT VALUES

  The following	exit values are	returned:

<h2>   0   Successful completion </h2>

<h2>   >0  An error occurred </h2>

RELATED	INFORMATION

<h2>   Commands:  csh(1), ksh(1), printf(1),	Bourne shell sh(1b), </h2>
<h2>   POSIX	shell sh(1p) </h2>

<h2>   Environment:	environ(5) </h2>

<h2>   Standards:  standards(5) </h2>