How to assign xml node value to bash script variable

Question

I have a valid xml file which contains something like:

  <ConfigSettings>
    <pairs>
        <p>
            <Name>InstallDirectory</Name>
            <Val>/Library/Application Support/Home</Val>
        </p>

... other pairs follow ...

On the command line the following works to return the correct <Val> string:

echo 'cat /ConfigureSDK/ConfigSettings/pairs/p[Name="InstallDirectory"]/Val/text()' | xmllint --shell initsdk.xml | grep -v "^/ >"

However, when I try to assign the result to a variable within a script, e.g.,

ABC='cat /ConfigureSDK/ConfigSettings/pairs/p[Name="InstallDirectory"]/Val/text()' | xmllint --shell initsdk.xml | grep -v "^/ >"

then try

echo $ABC

nothing is printed.

I'm sure I'm missing something simple, but I have tried many variations to no avail.

Thanks for any help.

chepner · Accepted Answer · 2014-03-24 15:08:29Z

2

Use export and $(...) for capturing the output of a command.

$ export A=$(echo Hello)
$ echo $A
Hello

edited Mar 24, 2014 at 15:08

chepner

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answered Mar 24, 2014 at 14:42

Marboni

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2 Comments

user3444281 Over a year ago

Ignore the -1 I don't know what I'm doing Re voting, I was trying to give an up vote. Anyway, this certainly is the correct answer.

chepner Over a year ago

@user3444281 I'll edit the answer slightly, then you should be able to change your vote to an up vote.

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