set array name dynamically

Shell Programming and Scripting
1

Hi,

I am trying to name a set of arrays dynamically named as @array_$i (The $i will mean that I obtain a set of arrays called:
@array_1
@array_2
@array_3 etc.

i tried various methods like

@array_$i
@{array_$i}
etc.

any ways to do this

Thanks

2

Not sure what shell and OS you're using, but I'll assume bash considering your array notation.

The following works in bash on Linux and AIX:

$ array_1[0]=0
$ array_1[1]=1
$ array_1[2]=2
$ array_2[0]=3
$ array_2[1]=4
$ array_2[2]=5
$ for arrNum in `seq 1 2`
> do
> for arrDim in `seq 0 2`
> do
> echo "array_${arrNum}[${arrDim}] = $( eval echo \${array_${arrNum}[${arrDim}]} )"
> done
> done
array_1[0] = 0
array_1[1] = 1
array_1[2] = 2
array_2[0] = 3
array_2[1] = 4
array_2[2] = 5
$
3

Sorry, i forgot to say that i am looking for perl.

Let me explain the problem once again. Need to set the variable name when assigning the data.

for example, in my program i am trying to put something like this

foreach(@i){
@array_$i = /something/;
}

intention is
@array_1=/something/;
@array_2=/something/;
etc

4

Sorry, don't know what I was thinking. Bash doesn't even notate arrays starting with an '@'.

Anyhow, the easiest way in perl is to use hashes (associative arrays):

#!/usr/bin/perl

@i = qw(one two three);
$j = 1;

foreach (@i) {
  $hash{$_} = "\$hash{$_} = $j";
  $j++;
}

print "$hash{one}\n";
print "$hash{two}\n";
print "$hash{three}\n";
5

Yep, use a hash. Dynamic variable names in perl is possible using soft references but you shouldn't do that as it can lead to very buggy code. Use a hash.