One of the things I do with : is infinite while-loops, like: while :; do <do stu... | Hacker News

Hacker Timesnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit

mandus 38 days ago | parent | context | favorite | on: A shell colon does nothing. Use it anyway

One of the things I do with : is infinite while-loops, like:

    while :; do
        <do stuff>
        sleep n
    done

Maybe to mainstream to make the cut!?

ndsipa_pomu 38 days ago | [–]

I prefer using "while true;" as that's easier to read. Arguably, it's less efficient due to calling the external "true".

Strangely though, I much prefer using the builtin "printf" to replace "echo" and "date", though the "date" usage is harder to read.

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact