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Here Documents: Multi-Line Strings

Here documents create multi-line strings. Useful for templates.

Here's the thing: Here documents are multi-line strings. Use them for templates.

Basic Syntax​

cat << EOF
Line 1
Line 2
Line 3
EOF

My take: << starts here document. EOF ends it.

With Variables​

name="John"
cat << EOF
Hello, $name
Welcome!
EOF

My take: Variables expand in here documents. Use them.

To File​

cat > config.txt << EOF
host=example.com
port=8080
EOF

My take: Redirect here document to file. Useful.

Common Patterns​

Generate Config​

cat > nginx.conf << EOF
server {
    listen 80;
    server_name example.com;
}
EOF

What's Next?​

Now that you understand here documents, let's talk about Here Strings.

Personal note: Here documents seemed unnecessary at first. Then I used them for templates. Now I use them constantly. They're useful. Learn them.