printf
is more portable. It should always be preferred over echo -e
. If targeting bash/zsh/ksh specifically, echo $'...'
is also ok. If targeting zsh or ksh specifically, print
is ok.
- http://cfajohnson.com/shell/cus-faq.html#Q0b
- http://www.in-ulm.de/~mascheck/various/echo+printf/
- http://pubs.opengroup.org/onlinepubs/9699919799/utilities/echo.html#tag_20_37_16
POSIX (last link) also discusses echo -n
problems, which should also be avoided. Basically, never use options to echo
, and for portability, use printf.)