Why there is a difference between the output of 'echo $VAR | wc -c' and 'echo $#VAR'?

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I'm working on a Bash script and the length of the string contained in a certain variable is one of my conditions. The current string is W5u7TBTzF17GGFV8DBJHvgAAAAI. Initially I've count the string length by the help of wc -c:



$ echo 'W5u7TBTzF17GGFV8DBJHvgAAAAI' | wc -c
28

$ VAR='W5u7TBTzF17GGFV8DBJHvgAAAAI'
$ echo "$VAR" | wc -c
28


But my script condition [[ $#VAR -eq 28 ]] never pass. Then I decided to count the characters on by one. And actually the string length is 27 characters:



W5u7TBTzF17GGFV8DBJHvgAAAAI
---------------------------
123456789012345678901234567
1 2


Also the value of $#VAR is 27:



$ echo "$#VAR"
27


So I'm in wondering from where this difference comes from?










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  • 1




    This echo -n $VAR | wc -c give 27, so newline character is there
    – George Udosen
    54 mins ago







  • 1




    @GeorgeUdosen, probably this should be the answer :)
    – pa4080
    49 mins ago














up vote
1
down vote

favorite












I'm working on a Bash script and the length of the string contained in a certain variable is one of my conditions. The current string is W5u7TBTzF17GGFV8DBJHvgAAAAI. Initially I've count the string length by the help of wc -c:



$ echo 'W5u7TBTzF17GGFV8DBJHvgAAAAI' | wc -c
28

$ VAR='W5u7TBTzF17GGFV8DBJHvgAAAAI'
$ echo "$VAR" | wc -c
28


But my script condition [[ $#VAR -eq 28 ]] never pass. Then I decided to count the characters on by one. And actually the string length is 27 characters:



W5u7TBTzF17GGFV8DBJHvgAAAAI
---------------------------
123456789012345678901234567
1 2


Also the value of $#VAR is 27:



$ echo "$#VAR"
27


So I'm in wondering from where this difference comes from?










share|improve this question

















  • 1




    This echo -n $VAR | wc -c give 27, so newline character is there
    – George Udosen
    54 mins ago







  • 1




    @GeorgeUdosen, probably this should be the answer :)
    – pa4080
    49 mins ago












up vote
1
down vote

favorite









up vote
1
down vote

favorite











I'm working on a Bash script and the length of the string contained in a certain variable is one of my conditions. The current string is W5u7TBTzF17GGFV8DBJHvgAAAAI. Initially I've count the string length by the help of wc -c:



$ echo 'W5u7TBTzF17GGFV8DBJHvgAAAAI' | wc -c
28

$ VAR='W5u7TBTzF17GGFV8DBJHvgAAAAI'
$ echo "$VAR" | wc -c
28


But my script condition [[ $#VAR -eq 28 ]] never pass. Then I decided to count the characters on by one. And actually the string length is 27 characters:



W5u7TBTzF17GGFV8DBJHvgAAAAI
---------------------------
123456789012345678901234567
1 2


Also the value of $#VAR is 27:



$ echo "$#VAR"
27


So I'm in wondering from where this difference comes from?










share|improve this question













I'm working on a Bash script and the length of the string contained in a certain variable is one of my conditions. The current string is W5u7TBTzF17GGFV8DBJHvgAAAAI. Initially I've count the string length by the help of wc -c:



$ echo 'W5u7TBTzF17GGFV8DBJHvgAAAAI' | wc -c
28

$ VAR='W5u7TBTzF17GGFV8DBJHvgAAAAI'
$ echo "$VAR" | wc -c
28


But my script condition [[ $#VAR -eq 28 ]] never pass. Then I decided to count the characters on by one. And actually the string length is 27 characters:



W5u7TBTzF17GGFV8DBJHvgAAAAI
---------------------------
123456789012345678901234567
1 2


Also the value of $#VAR is 27:



$ echo "$#VAR"
27


So I'm in wondering from where this difference comes from?







command-line bash scripts echo wc






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asked 1 hour ago









pa4080

12.2k52256




12.2k52256







  • 1




    This echo -n $VAR | wc -c give 27, so newline character is there
    – George Udosen
    54 mins ago







  • 1




    @GeorgeUdosen, probably this should be the answer :)
    – pa4080
    49 mins ago












  • 1




    This echo -n $VAR | wc -c give 27, so newline character is there
    – George Udosen
    54 mins ago







  • 1




    @GeorgeUdosen, probably this should be the answer :)
    – pa4080
    49 mins ago







1




1




This echo -n $VAR | wc -c give 27, so newline character is there
– George Udosen
54 mins ago





This echo -n $VAR | wc -c give 27, so newline character is there
– George Udosen
54 mins ago





1




1




@GeorgeUdosen, probably this should be the answer :)
– pa4080
49 mins ago




@GeorgeUdosen, probably this should be the answer :)
– pa4080
49 mins ago










1 Answer
1






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5
down vote



accepted










It's the way echo works. Now do



echo koko


You get



georgek@georgek-HP-Pavilion-17-Notebook-PC:~$ echo koko
koko


But do echo -n koko and you get



georgek@georgek-HP-Pavilion-17-Notebook-PC:~$ echo -n koko
kokogeorgek@georgek-HP-Pavilion-17-Notebook-PC:~$


So wc is capturing the newline character too. Use



echo -n $VAR | wc -c


To get the desired result. The echo command will add the newline character, so that gets counted too. To remove this and get the real count use the -n option.






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    1 Answer
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    up vote
    5
    down vote



    accepted










    It's the way echo works. Now do



    echo koko


    You get



    georgek@georgek-HP-Pavilion-17-Notebook-PC:~$ echo koko
    koko


    But do echo -n koko and you get



    georgek@georgek-HP-Pavilion-17-Notebook-PC:~$ echo -n koko
    kokogeorgek@georgek-HP-Pavilion-17-Notebook-PC:~$


    So wc is capturing the newline character too. Use



    echo -n $VAR | wc -c


    To get the desired result. The echo command will add the newline character, so that gets counted too. To remove this and get the real count use the -n option.






    share|improve this answer
























      up vote
      5
      down vote



      accepted










      It's the way echo works. Now do



      echo koko


      You get



      georgek@georgek-HP-Pavilion-17-Notebook-PC:~$ echo koko
      koko


      But do echo -n koko and you get



      georgek@georgek-HP-Pavilion-17-Notebook-PC:~$ echo -n koko
      kokogeorgek@georgek-HP-Pavilion-17-Notebook-PC:~$


      So wc is capturing the newline character too. Use



      echo -n $VAR | wc -c


      To get the desired result. The echo command will add the newline character, so that gets counted too. To remove this and get the real count use the -n option.






      share|improve this answer






















        up vote
        5
        down vote



        accepted







        up vote
        5
        down vote



        accepted






        It's the way echo works. Now do



        echo koko


        You get



        georgek@georgek-HP-Pavilion-17-Notebook-PC:~$ echo koko
        koko


        But do echo -n koko and you get



        georgek@georgek-HP-Pavilion-17-Notebook-PC:~$ echo -n koko
        kokogeorgek@georgek-HP-Pavilion-17-Notebook-PC:~$


        So wc is capturing the newline character too. Use



        echo -n $VAR | wc -c


        To get the desired result. The echo command will add the newline character, so that gets counted too. To remove this and get the real count use the -n option.






        share|improve this answer












        It's the way echo works. Now do



        echo koko


        You get



        georgek@georgek-HP-Pavilion-17-Notebook-PC:~$ echo koko
        koko


        But do echo -n koko and you get



        georgek@georgek-HP-Pavilion-17-Notebook-PC:~$ echo -n koko
        kokogeorgek@georgek-HP-Pavilion-17-Notebook-PC:~$


        So wc is capturing the newline character too. Use



        echo -n $VAR | wc -c


        To get the desired result. The echo command will add the newline character, so that gets counted too. To remove this and get the real count use the -n option.







        share|improve this answer












        share|improve this answer



        share|improve this answer










        answered 48 mins ago









        George Udosen

        17.1k93660




        17.1k93660



























             

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