Interview › Scripting (Bash, Groovy)
What is the difference between single quotes and double quotes in Bash? [Basic]
Answer
Single quotes preserve text literally, while double quotes still allow variable expansion, command substitution, and some escape sequences. I use single quotes for fixed strings and double quotes when I need controlled interpolation.
Technical explanation
Inside single quotes, $USER, $(cmd), and backslashes are not interpreted.
Inside double quotes, variable expansion occurs but word splitting and globbing on the result are suppressed.
Quoting is a correctness and security control because it prevents accidental argument splitting and unintended wildcard expansion.
Hands-on example
name="Ritik"
echo 'Hello $name' # Hello $name
echo "Hello $name" # Hello Ritik
file="report final.txt"
cat "$file" # safe for spaces
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