All about Brackets & Quotes in Shell Script

Brackets

if [ CONDITION ]    Test construct  
if [[ CONDITION ]]  Extended test construct  
Array[1]=element1   Array initialization  
[a-z]               Range of characters within a Regular Expression
$[ expression ]     A non-standard & obsolete version of $(( expression )) [1]

Curly Braces

${variable}                             Parameter substitution  
${!variable}                            Indirect variable reference  
{ command1; command2; . . . commandN; } Block of code  
{string1,string2,string3,...}           Brace expansion  
{a..z}                                  Extended brace expansion  
{}                                      Text replacement, after find and xargs

Parentheses

( command1; command2 )             Command group executed within a subshell  
Array=(element1 element2 element3) Array initialization  
result=$(COMMAND)                  Command substitution, new style  
>(COMMAND)                         Process substitution  
<(COMMAND)                         Process substitution

Double Parentheses

(( var = 78 ))            Integer arithmetic   
var=$(( 20 + 5 ))         Integer arithmetic, with variable assignment   
(( var++ ))               C-style variable increment   
(( var-- ))               C-style variable decrement   
(( var0 = var1<98?9:21 )) C-style ternary operation

Example :

~:$ echo $SHELL
/bin/bash

~:$ echo ${#SHELL}
9

~:$ ARRAY=(one two three)

~:$ echo ${#ARRAY}
3

~:$ echo ${TEST:-test}
test

~:$ echo $TEST


~:$ export TEST=a_string

~:$ echo ${TEST:-test}
a_string

~:$ echo ${TEST2:-$TEST}
a_string

~:$ echo $TEST2


~:$ echo ${TEST2:=$TEST}
a_string

~:$ echo $TEST2
a_string

~:$ export STRING="thisisaverylongname"

~:$ echo ${STRING:4}
isaverylongname

~:$ echo ${STRING:6:5}
avery

~:$ echo ${ARRAY[*]}
one two one three one four

~:$ echo ${ARRAY[*]#one}
two three four

~:$ echo ${ARRAY[*]#t}
one wo one hree one four

~:$ echo ${ARRAY[*]#t*}
one wo one hree one four

~:$ echo ${ARRAY[*]##t*}
one one one four

~:$ echo $STRING
thisisaverylongname

~:$ echo ${STRING%name}
thisisaverylong

~:$ echo ${STRING/name/string}
thisisaverylongstring

Read Me:

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/2188199/how-to-use-double-or-single-brackets-parentheses-curly-braces

http://mywiki.wooledge.org/BashFAQ/031

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