Integer ASCII value to character in BASH using printf

bash ascii printf
user14070 picture user14070 · May 20, 2009 · Viewed 130.9k times · Source

Character to value works:

$ printf "%d\n" \'A
65
$

I have two questions, the first one is most important:

  • How do I take 65 and turn it into A?
  • \'A converts an ASCII character to its value using printf. Is the syntax specific to printf or is it used anywhere else in BASH? (Such small strings are hard to Google for.)

Answer

broaden picture broaden · Nov 18, 2009

One line

printf "\x$(printf %x 65)"

Two lines

set $(printf %x 65)
printf "\x$1"

Here is one if you do not mind using awk

awk 'BEGIN{printf "%c", 65}'

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