[tlug] Bourne / bash problem

["Stephen J. Turnbull" <stephen@example.com>]

Bruno Raoult writes:

 > Do you think there would be a way to include comments in such a situation?

Standard shells won't do that.

What I do is this

# complex-command
#   --funky-option-1          # combs my hair
#   --funky-option-2=soft     # brushes my teeth
#   --funky-option-3          # zips my fly
complex-command \
  --funky-option-1 \
  --funky-option-2=value \
  --funky-option-3

Of course, then you have to keep them in sync, but that's relatively
easy because of the line-oriented style.

The other possibility is to use a more modern scripting language such
as Python, Ruby, or Perl.  You'll need to use a different style,
though, since they're not actually command shells.