COLON(1P)

📦 version 2017a, in alpine 3.22, alpine 3.23, alpine 3.24, arch rolling, nixpkgs unstable, opensuse-leap 16.0

✨ COLON(1P) ✨

okay bestie, gather round 💖 this one is from the POSIX Programmer's Manual (yes, the whole thing is literally titled COLON(1P) and it's filed under section 1P), and we're about to make the most humble little utility in the whole shell feel like a main character. 🌟

🫶 PROLOG 🫶

okay so before we even start — real talk. This manual page is part of the POSIX Programmer's Manual. The Linux implementation of this interface may differ (so like, go check the corresponding Linux manual page for the deets on how Linux actually behaves, bestie), or honestly? The interface may not be implemented on Linux at all. 💀 Not every POSIX cutie makes it to the Linux party.

💅 NAME 💅

colon — the null utility. she does nothing and she does it flawlessly. iconic behaviour honestly. ✨

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

: [argument...]

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

This utility shall only expand command arguments. That's it. That's the whole job.

You use her when a command is needed — like, the slot demands something there — as in the then condition of an if command, but nothing is actually supposed to be done by the command. She's the "yeah sure I'll be there" of the shell world. 🎀

✨ OPTIONS ✨

None. zero. nada. she doesn't have flags, she doesn't need flags, she IS the flag. 💅

👑 OPERANDS 👑

See the DESCRIPTION. (Yeah, she's pointing you back upstairs, she's like that. 🙈)

🍓 STDIN 🍓

Not used. she is not reading your messages, bestie. ✋

🧚 INPUT FILES 🧚

None.

💜 ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES 💜

None.

🌈 ASYNCHRONOUS EVENTS 🌈

Default.

⭐ STDOUT ⭐

Not used.

🔥 STDERR 🔥

The standard error shall be used only for diagnostic messages. so like, she's not gonna chat, but if something's wrong she WILL speak up. valid.

🎀 OUTPUT FILES 🎀

None.

🌸 EXTENDED DESCRIPTION 🌸

None.

💖 EXIT STATUS 💖

Zero. always zero. she leaves every room on a perfect note. 👑

🫶 CONSEQUENCES OF ERRORS 🫶

Default.

The following sections are informative. (translation: the real ones are done, here's the bonus content ✨)

🌟 APPLICATION USAGE 🌟

None.

💅 EXAMPLES 💅

okay bestie, here's the moment you've been waiting for. watch her WORK:

: ${X=abc}
if     false
then   :
else   echo $X
fi
abc

see how she just... sat there? and the whole thing still worked? that's the power. 💖

And — as with any of the special built-ins — the null utility can also have variable assignments and redirections associated with her, like this:

x=y : > z

which sets variable x to the value y (so that it persists after the null utility completes — yes, she leaves gifts behind, we love a generous queen 🎁) and creates or truncates file z. slay. ✨

🧚 RATIONALE 🧚

None.

🦋 FUTURE DIRECTIONS 🦋

None.

💜 SEE ALSO 💜

  • Section 2.14, Special Built-In Utilities

okay so this is the part where we give credit, and we do it properly because we're not rude. 🫶

Portions of this text are reprinted and reproduced in electronic form from IEEE Std 1003.1-2017, Standard for Information Technology -- Portable Operating System Interface (POSIX), The Open Group Base Specifications Issue 7, 2018 Edition, Copyright (C) 2018 by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc and The Open Group. In the event of any discrepancy between this version and the original IEEE and The Open Group Standard, the original IEEE and The Open Group Standard is the referee document. The original Standard can be obtained online at http://www.opengroup.org/unix/online.html .

Any typographical or formatting errors that appear in this page are most likely to have been introduced during the conversion of the source files to man page format. To report such errors, see https://www.kernel.org/doc/man-pages/reporting_bugs.html .

and that's the whole page, bestie 🎀 courtesy of IEEE/The Open Group, dated 2017, filed under COLON(1P) — stay null, stay iconic, mwah 💋✨

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