From Newsgroup: alt.os.linux.mint

This is a snippet of my script:

#!/bin/bash
list="ann 1 bob 2 cat 3 dog 4"
for i in $list; do
echo $i
done

This outputs the strings from the list, one per line, thus:

ann
1
bob
2
cat
3
dog
4

But I would like to output just the alternate values, thus

ann
bob
cat
dog

So I want to add a line, a bit like this:

#!/bin/bash
list="ann 1 bob 2 cat 3 dog 4"
for i in $list; do
echo $i
next i
done

How do I achieve the line "next i" , please?

Ultimately I want to process the list entries in pairs, but I don't want
to overcomplicate my question at present.
--
Graham J
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From Newsgroup: alt.os.linux.mint

On Tue, 8/4/2026 8:18 AM, Graham J wrote:

This is a snippet of my script:

#!/bin/bash
list="ann 1 bob 2 cat 3 dog 4"
for i in $list; do
-a-a-a echo-a $i
done

This outputs the strings from the list, one per line, thus:

ann
1
bob
2
cat
3
dog
4

But I would like to output just the alternate values, thus

ann
bob
cat
dog

So I want to add a line, a bit like this:

#!/bin/bash
list="ann 1 bob 2 cat 3 dog 4"
for i in $list; do
-a-a-a echo-a $i
-a-a-a next i
done

How do I achieve the line "next i" , please?

Ultimately I want to process the list entries in pairs, but I don't want to overcomplicate my question at present.

I don't think this is achieving much, but at least I got
the selected elements to print out. I used this for the starting point

https://stackoverflow.com/q/8880603/loop-through-array-of-strings-bash

( also https://tldp.org/HOWTO/Bash-Prog-Intro-HOWTO-7.html )

#!/bin/bash
declare -a arr=("ann" "1" "bob" "2" "cat" "3" "dog" "4")
for i in `seq 0 2 6`
do
echo "${arr[i]}"
done

$ ./test.sh
ann
bob
cat
dog

Paul

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From Newsgroup: alt.os.linux.mint

On 8/4/26 8:18 AM, Graham J wrote:

This is a snippet of my script:

#!/bin/bash
list="ann 1 bob 2 cat 3 dog 4"
for i in $list; do
echo $i
done

This outputs the strings from the list, one per line, thus:

ann
1
bob
2
cat
3
dog
4

But I would like to output just the alternate values, thus

ann
bob
cat
dog

So I want to add a line, a bit like this:

#!/bin/bash
list="ann 1 bob 2 cat 3 dog 4"
for i in $list; do
echo $i
next i
done

How do I achieve the line "next i" , please?

Ultimately I want to process the list entries in pairs, but I don't want
to overcomplicate my question at present.

Good ole Copilot:

list=(ann 1 bob 2 cat 3 dog 4)

for ((i=0; i<${#list[@]}; i+=2)); do
echo "${list[i]}${list[i+1]}"
done

printing the pairs. Just remove the ${list[i+1]} if you only want the ann,bob,cat,dog parts.
--
Mint 22.3, Thunderbird 153.0esr, Firefox 153.0.1
Alan K.
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From Newsgroup: alt.os.linux.mint

On Tue, 8/4/2026 11:58 AM, Alan K. wrote:

On 8/4/26 8:18 AM, Graham J wrote:

This is a snippet of my script:

#!/bin/bash
list="ann 1 bob 2 cat 3 dog 4"
for i in $list; do
-a-a-a-a-a echo-a $i
done

This outputs the strings from the list, one per line, thus:

ann
1
bob
2
cat
3
dog
4

But I would like to output just the alternate values, thus

ann
bob
cat
dog

So I want to add a line, a bit like this:

#!/bin/bash
list="ann 1 bob 2 cat 3 dog 4"
for i in $list; do
-a-a-a-a-a echo-a $i
-a-a-a-a-a next i
done

How do I achieve the line "next i" , please?

Ultimately I want to process the list entries in pairs, but I don't want
to overcomplicate my question at present.

Good ole Copilot:

list=(ann 1 bob 2 cat 3 dog 4)

for ((i=0; i<${#list[@]}; i+=2)); do
-a-a-a echo "${list[i]}${list[i+1]}"
done

printing the pairs.-a-a Just remove the ${list[i+1]} if you only want the ann,bob,cat,dog parts.

One of my thoughts about using bash this way,
is the syntax is rapidly going to decay into a shit-storm :-)

It's like trying to get ordinary array behavior out of gawk,
it's just not going to happen, and any time you think you're
going to "make it do that", it tells you where to get off.

Or, like trying to do binary I/O for your Fortran class.

There's always some things an environment you selected
really cannot do with any grace.

Or one of those problems, where you spend four hours
figuring out "how many back-slashes will this require to work".
And you're up to eight back-slashes and wondering what's for lunch.
Sure, eventually you might stumble on the syntax, but
you'll be a lot older and grayer. And if someone asks you
"whats the deal with these eight back slashes", you tell
them "I don't know, I just kept adding them until the
error messages stopped".

Paul

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From Newsgroup: alt.os.linux.mint

Paul wrote:

[snip]

How do I achieve the line "next i" , please?

Ultimately I want to process the list entries in pairs, but I don't want to overcomplicate my question at present.

I don't think this is achieving much, but at least I got
the selected elements to print out. I used this for the starting point

https://stackoverflow.com/q/8880603/loop-through-array-of-strings-bash

( also https://tldp.org/HOWTO/Bash-Prog-Intro-HOWTO-7.html )

#!/bin/bash
declare -a arr=("ann" "1" "bob" "2" "cat" "3" "dog" "4")
for i in `seq 0 2 6`
do
echo "${arr[i]}"
done

$ ./test.sh
ann
bob
cat
dog

Paul

I tried using an array, with a script that looked very like yours. It
worked as expected when I passed through the array just once, for a test.

Ultimately I want to pass through the array indefinitely, with a time
delay between each pass, so I enclosed the whole thing in a while loop,
like this:

while true
do
# your for ... do ... done loop

echo "Wait a minute"
sleep 60
echo "slept"
echo "now go round the loop"
done

This fails. As written it prints "Wait a minute" and hangs - the sleep
60 never completes. But if I take out the for loop and replace it with
an echo "some string" it behaves sensibly. Also it behaves sensibly if
I take out the sleep 60 line. So I suspect something confusing with
nested for loops, but have no idea. So I'm trying do use list=(.....)
rather than array.
--
Graham J
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From Newsgroup: alt.os.linux.mint

Alan K. wrote:

[snip]

#!/bin/bash
list="ann 1 bob 2 cat 3 dog 4"
for i in $list; do
-a-a-a-a-a echo-a $i
-a-a-a-a-a next i
done

How do I achieve the line "next i" , please?

Ultimately I want to process the list entries in pairs, but I don't want
to overcomplicate my question at present.

Good ole Copilot:

list=(ann 1 bob 2 cat 3 dog 4)

for ((i=0; i<${#list[@]}; i+=2)); do
-a-a-a echo "${list[i]}${list[i+1]}"
done

printing the pairs.-a-a Just remove the ${list[i+1]} if you only want the ann,bob,cat,dog parts.

That looks worth a try. It's very like what I tried using an array (see
my reply to Paul in the ng) so I will test it this evening and let you know.
--
Graham J
--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.os.linux.mint

Graham J wrote:

[snip]

Good ole Copilot:

list=(ann 1 bob 2 cat 3 dog 4)

for ((i=0; i<${#list[@]}; i+=2)); do
-a-a-a-a echo "${list[i]}${list[i+1]}"
done

printing the pairs.-a-a Just remove the ${list[i+1]} if you only want
the ann,bob,cat,dog parts.

That looks worth a try.-a It's very like what I tried using an array (see
my reply to Paul in the ng) so I will test it this evening and let you
know.

Tried, it works OK. Thanks.
--
Graham J
--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.os.linux.mint

On Tue, 4 Aug 2026 12:38:19 -0400, Paul wrote:

Or one of those problems, where you spend four hours figuring out
"how many back-slashes will this require to work". And you're up to
eight back-slashes and wondering what's for lunch. Sure, eventually
you might stumble on the syntax, but you'll be a lot older and
grayer. And if someone asks you "whats the deal with these eight
back slashes", you tell them "I don't know, I just kept adding them
until the error messages stopped".

Been there, done that, with a project many years ago for a now-defunct
client (sheer coincidence). Wrote a web-based intranet app in Python, outputting a page with a lot of interaction controlled via JavaScript,
with a lot of rCLdocument.writerCY calls from the JavaScript (generated
from the Python), which needed more escaping of HTML specials (amongst
HTML also generated from the Python).

I went back and counted, and the largest number of backslashes in a
row was 9. No, I did not simply add backslashes rCLuntil the error
messages stoppedrCY, I counted every single one to make sure the exact
right number that was needed was present in each place. Trivia
question: whatrCOs the difference between a place where you need an even
number of backslashes, and one where you need an odd number? There
were places where I needed 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7 or 9 backslashes, but
never 6 or 8. Or any greater number. How come?

Of course, doing rCLView SourcerCY in the browser was helpful, too.
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From Newsgroup: alt.os.linux.mint

On 2026-08-04, Graham J <nobody@nowhere.co.uk> wrote:

Graham J wrote:

[snip]

Good ole Copilot:

list=(ann 1 bob 2 cat 3 dog 4)

for ((i=0; i<${#list[@]}; i+=2)); do
-a-a-a-a echo "${list[i]}${list[i+1]}"
done

printing the pairs.-a-a Just remove the ${list[i+1]} if you only want
the ann,bob,cat,dog parts.

That looks worth a try.-a It's very like what I tried using an array (see >> my reply to Paul in the ng) so I will test it this evening and let you
know.

Tried, it works OK. Thanks.

AI can not be poor at everything, writing code seems to be the exception to
the rule.
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From Newsgroup: alt.os.linux.mint

On 8/6/26 4:22 AM, Gordon wrote:

On 2026-08-04, Graham J <nobody@nowhere.co.uk> wrote:

Graham J wrote:

[snip]

Good ole Copilot:

list=(ann 1 bob 2 cat 3 dog 4)

for ((i=0; i<${#list[@]}; i+=2)); do
-a-a-a-a echo "${list[i]}${list[i+1]}"
done

printing the pairs.-a-a Just remove the ${list[i+1]} if you only want
the ann,bob,cat,dog parts.

That looks worth a try.-a It's very like what I tried using an array (see >>> my reply to Paul in the ng) so I will test it this evening and let you
know.

Tried, it works OK. Thanks.

AI can not be poor at everything, writing code seems to be the exception to the rule.

It makes it's mistakes there too but for the most part it's good. I use it for stuff
like this, with my own diagnostic and testing of course.
--
Mint 22.3, Thunderbird 153.0esr, Firefox 153.0.1
Alan K.
--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.os.linux.mint

On 2026-08-06 05:22 AM, Gordon wrote:

On 2026-08-04, Graham J <nobody@nowhere.co.uk> wrote:

Graham J wrote:

[snip]

Good ole Copilot:

list=(ann 1 bob 2 cat 3 dog 4)

for ((i=0; i<${#list[@]}; i+=2)); do
echo "${list[i]}${list[i+1]}"
done

printing the pairs. Just remove the ${list[i+1]} if you only want
the ann,bob,cat,dog parts.

That looks worth a try. It's very like what I tried using an array (see >>> my reply to Paul in the ng) so I will test it this evening and let you
know.

Tried, it works OK. Thanks.

AI can not be poor at everything, writing code seems to be the exception to the rule.

I've never used it myself but many people say that Claude is the best AI
for writing code. I mostly use GPT for writing bash or php apps and so
far I've gotten several very useful scripts.
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