strange echo output

Question

Can anybody explain this behaviour of the bash shell which is driving me nuts

[root@ns1 bin]# export test=`whois -h whois.lacnic.net 187.14.6.108 | grep -i inetn         


        

Answer 1

Why is my echo screwed up? It is being changed by the contents of $test.

Because your test contains a carriage return. Remove it:

test=$(whois -h whois.lacnic.net 187.14.6.108 | grep -i inetnum: | awk '{print $2}' | tr -d '\r')