.bash_profile alias with variables [duplicate]

Question

I'm trying to create an alias that will create a file and open it in VS Code.

Create an alias called create <filename> that will execute touch <filename> && code <filename>.

For example create app.js should execute touch app.js && code app.js.

Amadan · Accepted Answer · 2018-08-22 06:16:23Z

2

From man bash, under ALIASES:

There is no mechanism for using arguments in the replacement text. If arguments are needed, a shell function should be used (see FUNCTIONS below)."

Thus:

create() { touch "$1"; code "$1"; }

edited Aug 22, 2018 at 6:16

answered Aug 22, 2018 at 2:03

Amadan

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7 Comments

Gordon Davisson Over a year ago

You should almost always double-quote variables (and parameters). Also, the function keyword is nonstandard; I'd recommend the syntax create() { touch "$1"; code "$1"; }

Amadan Over a year ago

@GordonDavisson: I agree about quoting. I disagree about function: the tag is bash, not sh, and so the standard is whatever man bash says.

tripleee Over a year ago

man bash says the function keyword is optional. Putting it there anyway simply makes your code less portable.

Amadan Over a year ago

@tripleee: I guess I should also replace all x++ in C with x += 1 because Ruby can't understand ++, just in case... Fine...

tripleee Over a year ago

That's reductio ad absurdum. Shell scripts can be portable or specific to a particular shell. If you need features from a particular shell then of course striving for portability doesn't make any sense; but gratuitously wrecking otherwise portable code is just lazy.

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