Issue
I have this in my .bashrc:
alias jpsdir="jps | awk '{print $1}' | xargs pwdx"
but when I use jpsdir I get this output:
pwdx: invalid process id: JvmName
but running
jps | awk '{print $1}' | xargs pwdx
gives the correct results:
1234: /some/dir/
What is wrong with my alias? Should i make it a function ?
Solution
As gniourf_gniourf has explained in the comments, the reason that your alias wasn't working was because the $1 in your awk command was being expanded by the shell. The value is likely to be empty, so the awk command becomes {print } and pwdx is being passed both parts of the output of jps.
You can avoid having to escape the $ by avoiding using awk entirely; you can use the -q switch rather than piping to awk:
jpsdir() {
jps -q | xargs pwdx
}
I would personally prefer to use a function but you can use an alias if you like.
Answered By - Tom Fenech Answer Checked By - Candace Johnson (WPSolving Volunteer)