9.1.2. The Period as a Placeholder

A period in a template is a placeholder. It is used instead of a variable name, but it receives no data. It is useful as a "dummy variable" in a list of variables or to collect unwanted information at the end of a string. And it saves the overhead of unneeded variables.

The period in the first example is a placeholder. Be sure to separate adjacent periods with whitespace; otherwise, an error results.

Example 9.6. Period placeholder

/* Period as a placeholder                                       */
stars="Arcturus Betelgeuse Sirius Rigil"
parse var stars . . brightest .            /* brightest="Sirius" */

/* Alternative to period as placeholder                          */
stars="Arcturus Betelgeuse Sirius Rigil"
parse var stars drop junk brightest rest   /* brightest="Sirius" */