Pfthb

I have a function in my .bash_profile for printing text some pre-written text and copying it to the clipboard.

copyandprint () 
 s='\033[1;32m' #strong
 n='\033[0m' #normal
 printf -- "printf -- '$1' 

I use this to alias things I keep wanting to paste into other applications, like static IDs, or just silly things that are difficult to type quickly on a keyboard.

alias shrug=$( copyandprint '¯_(ツ)_/¯')

But when I wanted to use it with text generated at the time I use the alias, I can't just call it in the alias definition; the alias needs to call it.

alias copydate=$( copyandprint "$(date)" )

The value is generated when the script is run, not when the alias is used.

Through pretty much sheer trial and error, I was able to make a modified version of the function that does what I wanted:

copyandprint_live () 
 s='\033[1;32m' #strong
 n='\033[0m' #normal
 printf -- "$1" 
alias copydate_live="$( copyandprint_live "$(date)" )"

The date is generated at the time the alias is used, rather than at the time the script is executed.

But when I use that function the way I used the other one, it fails:

alias shrug_2=$( copyandprint_live '¯_(ツ)_/¯')
$ shrug_2
#=> -bash: syntax error near unexpected token `ツ'

And I tried putting double quotes, but that didn't work

alias shrug_3=$( copyandprint_live '"¯_(ツ)_/¯"')
$ shrug_3
#=> copied 033[1
#=> -bash: 32m¯_(ツ)_/¯033[0m: No such file or directory

My question is, what's going on here? Why do they need to be so different?

Dispensing with the aliases and using functions makes this a lot easier.

copyandprint () pbcopy
 printf 'copied 33[1;32m%s33[0m to clipboardn' "$1"


shrug () 
 copyandprint '¯_(ツ)_/¯'


copydate () 
 copyandprint "$(date)"

Functions work alike any other command:

$ foo () echo hi; 
$ foo
hi

You're calling the function when you define the aliases, not when you use them. You need to put the alias definition in single quotes to prevent $(...) from executing the command at that time.

alias shrug='$( copyandprint "¯_(ツ)_/¯")'