Arrays The Bash shell makes it possible to create arrays:
https://gnu.org/software/bash/manual/html_node/Arrays POSIX shell currently does not have this feature. A workaround is to use ARGV: $ set aaa bbb ccc $ echo "$2" bbb However this is limited as only one array can exist at a time, while Bash allows multiple arrays to exist at a time: $ gg=(aaa bbb ccc) $ hh=(ddd eee fff) $ echo "${gg[1]} ${hh[1]}" bbb eee I think arrays are an important part of any language and should be considered for inclusion into the POSIX standard. http://pubs.opengroup.org/onlinepubs/9699919799/utilities/V3_chap02.html#tag_18_05_02
