Repeating - character to terminal

Question

I want to print a sequence of - characters.

Have done

printf '=%.0s' {1..55}

But get no printing with

printf '-%.0s' {1..55}

on my system the 2nd `printf` generates a syntax error; if this happens on your system then consider updating the question to show the complete output when running the 2nd `printf` — markp-fuso, Mar 19 '23 at 17:27
See [How can I repeat a character in Bash?](https://stackoverflow.com/q/5349718/4154375) for other ways to repeat a character. — pjh, Mar 19 '23 at 19:04

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered Mar 19 '23 at 17:11

1

printf accepts arguments. '-%s' is recognized as an option, which is an invalid one.

You can use -- to mark the end of command options:

printf -- '-%.0s' {1..55}

answered Mar 19 '23 at 17:11

Maroun

Can one add a newline at the end? – Dilna Mar 19 '23 at 17:16
2

You could also put the `-` to the end of the formatting string instead of having to use `--`. – Benjamin W. Mar 19 '23 at 17:20

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Mar 19 '23 at 18:54

0

Here is an alternative method:

printf -v blanks '%55s' ''
echo ${blanks// /-}

answered Mar 19 '23 at 18:54

M. Nejat Aydin

2 Answers2