Associative arrays: error "declare: -A: invalid option"

Question

I've written a script that uses associative arrays in bash (v 4).

It works fine on my local machine which is using 4.1.5(1)-release.

On the production machine, using 4.1.0(1)-release the following line, which declares the assoc array, fails:

declare -A uniqjars

with the message:

/script.sh: line 11: declare: -A: invalid option
declare: usage: declare [-afFirtx] [-p] [name[=value] ...]

I was under the impression this was a general bash 4 feature?

In the man for bash on the production machine it discusses using -A so I assume it should work.

Associative arrays are created using declare -A name.

I can confirm the script is using the right version of bash by printing out the value of echo 'bash -version.

What could I be doing wrong?

Answer 1

The following seems to be a typical scenario on macOS after installing a newer Bash with Homebrew:

• /bin/bash is the old Bash, 3.2
• /usr/local/bin/bash is the new Bash that knows about associative arrays (4.0 or newer)
• type bash points to /usr/local/bin/bash and bash --version is the new one (because it resolves to /usr/local/bin/bash --version)

However, scripts with a #!/bin/bash shebang line that are run with ./script will use the old Bash (the scenario in the question). Solutions are:

• Call the script with bash script: the new Bash will be used. Disadvantage: you always have to call it like that.
• Change the shebang line to #!/usr/local/bin/bash. Disadvantage: on many systems, there is no Bash in /usr/local/bin and your script isn't portable any longer.
• Change the shebang line to #!/usr/bin/env bash. This will use the first bash in your PATH, which should be the new one. This is pretty portable; the only downside is that you don't know exactly which Bash will be executed.

See also these Q&A:

• What is the difference between "#!/usr/bin/env bash" and "#!/usr/bin/bash"?
• Why is #!/usr/bin/env bash superior to #!/bin/bash?
• Why is it better to use “#!/usr/bin/env NAME” instead of “#!/path/to/NAME” as my shebang? on Unix & Linux

Answer 2

Make sure the version of bash being invoked as interpreter at the top of your shell script (#!/bin/bash or whatever) is also version 4. If you're doing:

bash --version

and it's giving you v4, do a which bash to check it's location.

Answer 3

Here is a Workaround, if you want to use chars as array index with bash v3:

array=(
    'hello::world.'
    'nice::to meet you'
)

for index in "${array[@]}" ; do
    KEY="${index%%::*}"
    VALUE="${index##*::}"
    echo "$KEY - $VALUE"
done

Output:

hello - world.
nice - to meet you

Answer 4

Here is how to get the updated bash version on OS X, you should install brew and then bash.

$ /bin/bash --version    
GNU bash, version 3.2.57(1)-release (x86_64-apple-darwin14)
    
$ brew install bash    
... install

$ /usr/local/bin/bash --version    
GNU bash, version 4.3.46(1)-release (x86_64-apple-darwin14.5.0)

---

In 2023, the path has changed. The current one is:

$ /opt/homebrew/bin/bash --version
GNU bash, version 5.2.15(1)-release (aarch64-apple-darwin22.1.0)
Copyright (C) 2022 Free Software Foundation, Inc.

Answer 5

meigrafd's answer solved my problem, so if using an incorrect shebang or still on bash version 3 the following allowed me to return a value based on it's associated key:

array=(
    'hello::world.'
    'nice::to meet you'
)

for index in "${array[@]}" ; do
  KEY="${index%%::*}"
  VALUE="${index##*::}"
  if [ "$KEY" == "nice" ]; then
    echo "$VALUE"
    break
  fi
done

This will return the value "to meet you".

Answer 6

1. Check the current shell you are using with this cmd:

   echo $SHELL
   

   E.g. it could say /bin/bash

2. Run --version on that $SHELL:

   /bin/bash --version
   

   It may output something like GNU bash, version 3.2.57(1)-release (x86_64-apple-darwin16)

   If it is before version 4, you'll have to upgrade.

3. Check if you already have a bash shell with version 4. Try running:

   bash --version
   

   If so, you just need to change your default shell to that shell.

   You can use these cmds to do so:

   sudo bash -c 'echo /usr/local/bin/bash >> /etc/shells'
   sudo chsh -s /usr/local/bin/bash
   

   The first adds the shell to the allowed shells. The second actually changes your default shell.

Answer 7

Nothing above helped me, so I opened /etc/shells and changed the line - /bin/bash to /usr/local/bin/bash, and then reloaded it with source /etc/shells and now I can enjoy new possibilities of v4 of bash

Answer 8

Old BASH version didn't support declare -A syntax of declaring arrays. I suggest using either of these 2 forms to declare arrays in bash to make it compatible with older bash version of your production system:

arr=( '10' '20' '30' )
echo ${arr[@]}

or

arr[0]=10
arr[1]=20
arr[2]=30
echo ${arr[@]}

Answer 9

Per the command:

help declare
declare: declare [-aAfFgilnrtux] [-p] [name[=value] ...]
  Set variable values and attributes.

Declare variables and give them attributes.  If no NAMEs are given,
display the attributes and values of all variables.
Options which are set attributes:
  -a        to make NAMEs indexed arrays (if supported)
  -A        to make NAMEs associative arrays (if supported)

Notice lowercase "-a" and uppercase "-A" are "(if supported)". Also if you look at the posted error message for declare usage:

/script.sh: line 11: declare: -A: invalid option
declare: usage: declare [-afFirtx] [-p] [name[=value] ...]

The given options are "[-afFirtx]" showing to use a lowercase "-a" but no uppercase "-A". Compare that to the usage string from the help command. It looks as if it's just not supported on the given machine.

Answer 10

Try using a different shebang. On my Mac:

$ which bash
/usr/local/bin/bash

So, this script runs fine, producing "Hello World":

#!/usr/local/bin/bash
declare -A assoc
assoc[hello]="Hello World"
echo ${assoc[hello]}