Array insert function

This function will insert an element into an array at a given index:

insert(){
    h='
################## insert ########################
# Usage:
#   insert arr_name index element
#
#   Parameters:
#       arr_name    : Name of the array variable
#       index       : Index to insert at
#       element     : Element to insert
##################################################
    '
    [[ $1 = -h ]] && { echo "$h" >/dev/stderr; return 1; }
    declare -n __arr__=$1   # reference to the array variable
    i=$2                    # index to insert at
    el="$3"                 # element to insert
    # handle errors
    [[ ! "$i" =~ ^[0-9]+$ ]] && { echo "E: insert: index must be a valid integer" >/dev/stderr; return 1; }
    (( $1 < 0 )) && { echo "E: insert: index can not be negative" >/dev/stderr; return 1; }
    # Now insert $el at $i
    __arr__=("${__arr__[@]:0:$i}" "$el" "${__arr__[@]:$i}")
}

Usage:

insert array_variable_name index element

Example:

arr=(a b c d)
echo "${arr[2]}" # output: c
# Now call the insert function and pass the array variable name,
# index to insert at
# and the element to insert
insert arr 2 'New Element'
# 'New Element' was inserted at index 2 in arr, now print them
echo "${arr[2]}" # output: New Element
echo "${arr[3]}" # output: c

Found a mistake? Have a question or improvement idea? Let me know.

Table Of Contents