Function not working in a bash script - error messages relate to '\r'

Question

I have recently installed a fresh version of Debian. I created this simple script:

#!/bin/bash

print_something () {
  echo Hello I am a function
}

print_something
print_something

However this displays this error upon me issuing bash test.sh:

test.sh: line 3: $'\r': command not found
test.sh: line 4: syntax error near unexpected token `$'{\r''
'est.sh: line 4: `print_something () {

What am I doing wrong? Many thanks!

It looks like you have Windows-style line endings (`\r\n)` in your script, which cause problems; convert them to Unix-style line endings (`\n` only) with a tool such as `dos2unix` or `awk 'sub("\r$", "")+1' win.txt > unix.txt`. Generally, make sure that your editor creates `\n`-only files. — mklement0, May 10 '15 at 13:11
Where did you write the code? Try running `cat -v test.sh`, and look out for '\r's. — Rubens, May 10 '15 at 13:11
@mklement0: please consider writing an answer to help future visitors — Andrea Corbellini, May 10 '15 at 17:00

mklement0 · Accepted Answer · 2016-12-12T16:52:39.270

Diagnosing:

Unix utilities in general expect line endings to be \n only, and usually break or show unexpected behavior and output with files that have Windows-style \r\n line endings - as bash does here.
Error messages containing the string \r are an indicator that such Windows-style line endings are present.
Passing a file to cat -v and examining the output for ^M at the end of output lines (which is how \r chars. are represented) is a way to check a file for Windows-style line endings on demand.

Fixing:

To convert a file with Windows-style line endings to Unix-style ones:
- use the dos2unix utility, if already installed (typically, it is not), or installing it is an option; how you install it depends on your platform; e.g.:
  - on Ubuntu: sudo apt-get install dos2unix
  - on OSX, with Homebrew installed, brew install dos2unix
- alternatively, use standard utilities to perform the conversion; there are several options; e.g.:
  - sed $'s/\r$//' win.txt > unix.txt
  - awk 'sub("\r$", "")+1' win.txt > unix.txt
  - There are variants of the above commands that update a file in place, but they're platform-specific, if available at all.
Make sure that the editor you use to create shell scripts / files for use with Unix utilities is configured to use Unix-style line endings.

A good answer — the right diagnosis and good support material. I wonder how many other similar questions have been asked in the past. I know I've answered similar questions before. — Jonathan Leffler, May 10 '15 at 19:32
Thanks, @JonathanLeffler. Yes, this problem comes in many guises, and I've answered similar ones before as well. That's what made me post only a comment at first, but since no one has found an obvious duplicate, and also encouraged by Andrea Corbellini, I turned the comment into an answer. — mklement0, May 10 '15 at 19:38

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered May 10 '15 at 16:56

0

I resolved the issue by installing dos2unix and then converting the file. Many thanks to mklement0 who pointed this out.

answered May 10 '15 at 16:56

NSPredator

1

My pleasure; I've created an answer with more background information. – mklement0 May 10 '15 at 19:18

2 Answers2