String prefix removal (${var#pattern}) in Bash Scripting - Mini Project: Build & Apply

Remove Prefix from Filenames Using Bash String Manipulation

📖 Scenario: You have a list of filenames that all start with the prefix temp_. You want to clean up these names by removing this prefix.

🎯 Goal: Build a bash script that removes the prefix temp_ from each filename using the ${var#pattern} string prefix removal syntax.

📋 What You'll Learn

Create a bash array called files with the exact filenames: temp_report.txt, temp_data.csv, temp_notes.md

Create a variable called prefix and set it to temp_

Use a for loop with variable file to iterate over files

Inside the loop, create a variable called clean_name that removes the prefix temp_ from file using ${file#${prefix}}

Print each clean_name on its own line

💡 Why This Matters

🌍 Real World

Removing prefixes from filenames is common when organizing files, cleaning up logs, or processing data exports.

💼 Career

Knowing bash string manipulation helps automate file management tasks efficiently in system administration and DevOps roles.

1

Create the list of filenames

Create a bash array called files with these exact filenames: temp_report.txt, temp_data.csv, temp_notes.md

Bash Scripting

# Create the array called files with the exact filenames
# Your code here

Need a hint?

Use parentheses () to create an array and double quotes "" around each filename.

2

Set the prefix variable

Create a variable called prefix and set it to the exact string temp_

Bash Scripting

files=("temp_report.txt" "temp_data.csv" "temp_notes.md")
# Create the prefix variable with value temp_
# Your code here

Need a hint?

Use prefix="temp_" to assign the string.

3

Remove the prefix using a loop

Use a for loop with variable file to iterate over files. Inside the loop, create a variable called clean_name that removes the prefix temp_ from file using ${file#${prefix}}

Bash Scripting

files=("temp_report.txt" "temp_data.csv" "temp_notes.md")
prefix="temp_"

# Use a for loop to iterate over files
# Inside the loop, create clean_name by removing prefix from file
# Your code here

Need a hint?

Use for file in "${files[@]}" to loop over the array. Use clean_name=${file#${prefix}} to remove the prefix.

4

Print the cleaned filenames

Inside the existing for loop, add a echo statement to print the variable clean_name on its own line

Bash Scripting

files=("temp_report.txt" "temp_data.csv" "temp_notes.md")
prefix="temp_"

for file in "${files[@]}"; do
    clean_name=${file#${prefix}}
    # Print clean_name here
    # Your code here
done

Need a hint?

Use echo "$clean_name" inside the loop to print each cleaned filename.