Bash indirect variable referencing

Question

foo=\'abc\'
bar=\'xyz\'
var=bar

How to I get access to \'xyz\' when I have var?

I\'ve tried:

$(ec         


        

Answer 1

Use bash indirect variable reference:

${!var}

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And of course can be done with eval, not recommended:

eval 'echo $'"$var"

Why:

$ bar=xyz

$ var='bar;whoami'

$ eval 'echo $'"$var"
xyz
spamegg

Th command whoami is being evaluated too as part of evaluation by eval, imagine a destructive command instead of whoami.

---

Example:

$ bar='xyz'

$ var=bar

$ echo "${!var}"
xyz

$ eval 'echo $'"$var"
xyz