What is the difference between $@ and $* ? 1

[signalsys]

Thx in advance

 

[khalidaaa]

Hi signalsys,

http://www.dartmouth.edu/~rc/classes/ksh/arguments.html#top

$* 
contains all of the arguments in a single string, with one space separating them. 
$@ 
similar to $*, but if used in quotes, it effectively quotes each argument and keeps them separate. If any argument contains whitespace, the distinction is important. 
e.g. if the argument list is: a1 a2 "a3 which contains spaces" a4
then: $1=a1, $2=a2, $3=a3 which contains spaces, $4=a4
and: $*=a1 a2 a3 which contains spaces a4
and: "$@"="a1" "a2" "a3 which contains spaces" "a4"

Only using the form "$@" preserves quoted arguments. If the arguments are being passed from the script directly to some other program, it may make a big difference to the meaning.

Regards,
Khalid

 

[sraj142]

very good answer...