How can I do division with variables in a Linux shell?
bash, division, linux, shell, variables
Solution
Those variables are shell variables. To expand them as parameters to another program (ie `expr`), you need to use the `$` prefix:
expr $x / $y
The reason it complained is because it thought you were trying to operate on alphabetic characters (ie non-integer)
If you are using the Bash shell, you can achieve the same result using expression syntax:
echo $((x / y))
Or:
z=$((x / y))
echo $z
Problem
When I run commands in my shell as below, it returns an `expr: non-integer argument` error. Can someone please explain this to me? ``` $ x=20 $ y=5 $ expr x / y expr: non-integer argument ```