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Shell functions are a way to group commands for later execution using a single name for the group. They are executed just like a "regular" command. Shell functions are executed in the current shell context; no new process is created to interpret them.
Functions are declared using this syntax:
[ function ] name () { command-list; }
This defines a function named name. The body of the function is the command-list between { and }. This list is executed whenever name is specified as the name of a command. The exit status of a function is the exit status of the last command executed in the body.
When a function is executed, the arguments to the
function become the positional parameters
during its execution. The special parameter
# that gives the number of positional parameters
is updated to reflect the change. Positional parameter 0
is unchanged.
If the builtin command return
is executed in a function, the function completes and
execution resumes with the next command after the function
call. When a function completes, the values of the
positional parameters and the special parameter #
are restored to the values they had prior to function
execution.
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