Cookbooks
Bash
Chapter 5. Good Coding Practices
Organizing code into functions

Bash:
Organizing code into functions

How to:

Create a simple function in Bash:

greet() {
  echo "Hello, $1!"
}

Use it by calling the function with a parameter:

greet "World"  # Output: Hello, World!

Functions can return values using return for numeric status codes (not for actual data return):

add() {
  return $(($1 + $2))
}

add 3 4
echo $?  # Output: 7

Note that $? captures the last command’s return value, which is the numeric result of add.

Deep Dive

In Bash, functions have been a way to compartmentalize code since the early versions. Historically, using functions aligns with structured programming principles introduced in the 1960s to improve code quality.

Alternatives to functions include sourcing script files or using aliases, but these don’t offer the same level of modularity and reuse.

A notable implementation detail in Bash is that functions are first-class citizens; they have no specific declaration keyword like function in other languages, though function is optional in Bash for readability. Function scope is also interesting—variables are global by default unless declared as local, which can lead to unexpected behavior if not managed properly.

See Also

LoggingRefactoring