I have 2 different servers where I log in with same network user and run the same script. One is Solaris and another is Linux.
Sample echo line from the script works differently on those servers:
echo "33[1;32mauto update33[m"
In Solaris -> it displays the text “auto update” correctly in green
In Linux -> it displays the text incorrectly and with no color coding: “33[1;32mauto update33[m”
.bashrc profile has the following line for PS1:
export PS1='${USER}@${HOST%%.*} ${PWD}> '
Grateful if you can help me getting the color thing work in Linux. Thanks
Advertisement
Answer
This is a good illustration of why echo is not considered portable.
On dash and Solaris sh:
echo "33[1;32mauto update33[m" # Works echo -e "33[1;32mauto update33[m" # Fails (prints -e)
On bash, ash and ksh:
echo "33[1;32mauto update33[m" # Fails (doesn't interpret escapes) echo -e "33[1;32mauto update33[m" # Works
You can instead use printf:
printf '33[1;32mauto update33[mn' # Works on all platforms