Function arguments ($1, $2 inside function) in Bash Scripting - Mini Project: Build & Apply

Using Function Arguments ($1, $2 inside function) in Bash

📖 Scenario: You are writing a small bash script to greet users by their first and last names. You want to practice how to pass arguments to a function and use $1 and $2 inside the function to access those arguments.

🎯 Goal: Build a bash script with a function called greet that takes two arguments: first name and last name. The function should print a greeting message using these arguments.

📋 What You'll Learn

Create a function named greet that accepts two arguments.

Use $1 and $2 inside the function to access the first and second arguments.

Call the function with the exact arguments John and Doe.

Print the greeting message: Hello, John Doe!

💡 Why This Matters

🌍 Real World

Passing arguments to functions is common in bash scripts to reuse code and handle dynamic input, such as user names or file names.

💼 Career

Understanding function arguments in bash is essential for automation tasks, system administration, and writing maintainable shell scripts.

1

Create the greet function

Write a bash function named greet that takes two arguments. Inside the function, do not write anything else yet.

Bash Scripting

# Define the greet function
function greet() {
    # Your code here
}

Need a hint?

Use the syntax function greet() { } to define the function.

2

Add variables to access arguments inside greet

Inside the greet function, use $1 and $2 to refer to the first and second arguments. Assign them to variables named first_name and last_name respectively.

Bash Scripting

function greet() {
    # Assign $1 to first_name and $2 to last_name
    # Your code here
}

Need a hint?

Use first_name=$1 and last_name=$2 inside the function.

3

Add a greeting message inside the function

Inside the greet function, add a echo statement that prints: Hello, $first_name $last_name!

Bash Scripting

function greet() {
    first_name=$1
    last_name=$2
    # Print greeting message
    # Your code here
}

Need a hint?

Use echo "Hello, $first_name $last_name!" to print the greeting.

4

Call the greet function with arguments

Call the greet function with the arguments John and Doe. Then run the script to print the greeting.

Bash Scripting

function greet() {
    first_name=$1
    last_name=$2
    echo "Hello, $first_name $last_name!"
}

# Call greet with John and Doe
# Your code here

Need a hint?

Call the function by writing greet John Doe after the function definition.