GNU bug report logs - #28461
erreurs

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Message #10 received at 28461-done <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Assaf Gordon <assafgordon <at> gmail.com>
To: Eric Mariaud <eric.mariaud <at> gmail.com>, 28461-done <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: Re: bug#28461: erreurs
Date: Thu, 14 Sep 2017 12:00:53 -0600

tag 28461 notabug
stop

Hello,

On 2017-09-14 11:43 AM, Eric Mariaud wrote:
> eric <at> Eric-Xub:~/Bureau$ expr 2 + 3
> 5
> eric <at> Eric-Xub:~/Bureau$ expr 2 * 3
> expr: erreur de syntaxe

The asterisks ( * ) character has special meaning on the shell,
which you can observe by comparing the output of:

    echo 2 + 3
vs
    echo 2 * 3

Technically, the shell replaces the '*' character with the list of
all files in the current directory. The 'expr' program never sees it.

Add single-quotes around the '*' character to send it as-is to 'expr':

    $ expr 2 '*' 3
    6

Alternatively,
Most modern shells support built-in basic arithmetic using
the '$(())' syntax (dollar-sign and two parentheses):

    $ echo $((2*3))
    6


As such, I'm marking this as not-a-bug, but discussion can continue by
replying to this thread.

regards,
 - assaf

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