Variables and Quoting

Part of the Bash course

If you have never used a variable before, do not worry. It is one of the simplest ideas in this whole course, and Bash's version of it is about as plain as it gets. This lesson also covers quoting, which trips up almost everyone once, and then never again once it clicks.

A variable is just a name that stands in for a piece of text. Think of it like a sticky note: you write "today" on the note, stick it to a piece of paper that says "13 May 2026", and from then on, whenever you see the note "today", you know what it really means. In Bash, that sticky note is the variable name, and the paper underneath is the value. ...