What's the meaning of the operator || in linux shell?

Question

I found this piece of code in a .sh script: ``` (test -x "$1" || which "$1") ``` What does this operator `||` mean?

Accepted Answer

It's equivalent to boolean "or" with short-circuiting evaluation, such that it will execute the second command only if the first returns some value corresponding to "false". For example:

```
false || echo "foo"
```

echoes "foo", while

```
true || echo "foo"
```

Prints nothing. The `&&` operator provides a complimentary operation.

What's the meaning of the operator || in linux shell?

Solution

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