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test [ arg ... ]
[ [ arg ... ] ]
Like the system version of test. Added for compatibility; use
conditional expressions instead (see the section `Conditional
Expressions'). The main differences between the conditional ex-
pression syntax and the test and [ builtins are: these commands
are not handled syntactically, so for example an empty variable
expansion may cause an argument to be omitted; syntax errors
cause status 2 to be returned instead of a shell error; and
arithmetic operators expect integer arguments rather than arith-
metic expressions.
The command attempts to implement POSIX and its extensions where
these are specified. Unfortunately there are intrinsic ambigui-
ties in the syntax; in particular there is no distinction be-
tween test operators and strings that resemble them. The stan-
dard attempts to resolve these for small numbers of arguments
(up to four); for five or more arguments compatibility cannot be
relied on. Users are urged wherever possible to use the `[['
test syntax which does not have these ambiguities.
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