Interview › Scripting (Bash, Groovy)
What is local scope in a Bash function? [Basic]
Answer
local creates a variable scoped to the current Bash function and its children. It prevents function internals from accidentally overwriting global variables or variables used by the caller.
Technical explanation
Without local, assignments inside a function are global in the script's shell.
Use local for function arguments, temporary paths, counters, and command results.
local is Bash-specific; POSIX sh does not require it, so portability requirements matter.
Hands-on example
env="prod"
set_env_bad() { env="dev"; }
set_env_good() { local env="dev"; echo "inside=$env"; }
set_env_good
echo "outside=$env" # still prod
Preparing for an interview?
Check how well your resume matches the role with our free resume checker— match score, ATS check, and the skills you're missing.
More Scripting (Bash, Groovy) interview questions
- What is the purpose of the shebang line, and what does #!/bin/bash do? [Basic]
- What is the difference between sh and bash? [Basic]
- How do you make a script executable and run it? [Basic]
- What is the difference between running a script with ./script.sh, bash script.sh, and source script.sh? [Basic]
- What does sourcing a script do differently from executing it? [Basic]
- How do you declare a variable in Bash, and why are spaces around = not allowed? [Basic]
- What is the difference between $var and ${var}? [Basic]
- What is the difference between single quotes and double quotes in Bash? [Basic]