Why does bash thinks that 010 is 8?

Question

Why does bash think the number 010 = 8?

x=010
echo $x
  010
echo $(( x+0 ))
  8
echo $(( x-2 ))
  6

I thought it might be binary, but 010 = 10 = 2. So why does it get 8, and how can I make it think 010 = 10 (and 010 - 2 = 8)?

The leading 0 tells it to be octal. If you just do x=10 then echo $((x+0)) then shows 10. Also, there is no need for the extra $ with in the (). — Terrance, Commented May 9, 2015 at 13:24
In many number parsers, 010 means 8 because by putting a 0 in front means octal, similar to how putting 0x in some languages means hex. — Derek 朕會功夫, Commented May 9, 2015 at 14:44
This is actually an important thing to know when programming. In most languages 0 triggers octal, 0x hex and 0b binary. — Seth, Commented May 10, 2015 at 1:47
@tim why would it -not- be 8? ;-) Oh not my downvote though but probably because it is too basic. It is pretty normal behaviour. — Rinzwind, Commented May 10, 2015 at 17:03

muru · Accepted Answer · 2015-05-09 20:01:48Z

43

Number sequences starting with a 0 are interpreted as octal numbers.
Octal 10 = decimal 8.

To get bash to treat it as a decimal number, remove the leading zero or force decimal with:

N=010
N=$((10#$N))

Generally that works for all bases, just replace the 10 with the base that you want:

N=[base#]n

muru

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answered May 9, 2015 at 13:19

Pabi

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Edited the question with two ways to solve it.
– Pabi
Commented May 9, 2015 at 13:24
1

@Tim to do that you can use ${N%?} to chop the last digit and then ${N:-} to replace blank with 0.
– Random832
Commented May 9, 2015 at 17:27
@Tim if so I couldn't figure out how. ${${N%?}:-0} works in zsh but not in bash or ksh. (Also, :- in my comment above should have been :-0}
– Random832
Commented May 9, 2015 at 18:02
You should include in your answer that you can force any base with the "form [base#]n, where base is a decimal number between 2 and 64 representing the arithmetic base, and n is a number in that base" source: bash ref
– djeikyb
Commented May 9, 2015 at 19:27

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