Re: help with dereferencing variables

["S. Cowles" <scowles@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Many thanks; that was the info I was missing.  One small aesthetics preference 
following up on your suggestion and I'm away (does not preserve newlines in 
the array element assignments):

eval ${key}\=\( ${(P)val} \)

cheers.


On Saturday 14 February 2004 13:24, Bart Schaefer wrote:
> On Feb 14,  9:59am, S. Cowles wrote:
> }
> } In the following code, method 1 gives the expected results. Method
> } 2, however, breaks with the error: unknown file attribute. Is the
> } eval in Method 1 required, or is there a correct syntax to make the
> } dereference occur in Method 2 without an eval?
>
> The short answers are "not precisely" and "no".
>
> } 	# method 1:
> } 	b=$(echo "${key}=( ${(@)${(P)val}} )")
> } 	eval $b
>
> You don't need the $(echo) and the assignment to $b here.  It should be
> enough to do
>
> 	eval ${key}'=( ${(P)val} )'
>
> (note placement of single quotes).
>
> } 	# method 2:
> } 	${key}=( ${(@)${(P)${val}}} )
>
> This syntax is not an assignment, because the stuff to the left of the
> equals sign is not an identifier name.  (This used to work in older
> versions of zsh because the variable was expanded before zsh looked
> for assignment syntax, but that was incompatible with other shells.)
>
> Even if this were an assignment, The ${(@)...} is extraneous when the
> whole thing is not in double quotes.  And you don't need ${(P)${val}},
> just ${(P)val} is enough.