On Thu, Jun 19, 2025, at 6:10 PM, Lawrence Velázquez wrote:
> This changed in bash 5.2:
>
> There is a new shell option, `patsub_replacement'. When
> enabled, a `&' in the replacement string of the pattern
> substitution expansion is replaced by the portion of the
> string that matched the pattern. Backslash will escape the
> `&' and insert a literal `&'. This option is enabled by
> default.
>
> (Since '\' is now an escape character, the fact that it escapes
> itself is implied.)
To be clear, I meant that it is implied in that announcement excerpt.
The current man page states it rather explicitly:
Quoting any part of _string_ inhibits replacement in the
expansion of the quoted portion, including replacement
strings stored in shell variables. Backslash will escape
`&' in _string_; the backslash is removed in order to permit
a literal `&' in the replacement string. Backslash can
also be used to escape a backslash; `\\' results in a literal
backslash in the replacement.
--
vq
