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In cross-platform, lowest-common-denominator sh you use:

#!/bin/sh value=`cat config.txt` echo "$value" 

In bash or zsh, to read a whole file into a variable without invoking cat:

#!/bin/bash value=$(<config.txt) echo "$value" 

Invoking cat in bash or zsh to slurp a file would be considered a Useless Use of Cat.

Note that it is not necessary to quote the command substitution to preserve newlines.

See: Bash Hacker's Wiki - Command substitution - Specialities.

In cross-platform, lowest-common-denominator sh you use:

#!/bin/sh value=`cat config.txt` echo "$value" 

In bash or zsh, to read a whole file into a variable without invoking cat:

#!/bin/bash value=$(<config.txt) echo "$value" 

Invoking cat in bash or zsh to slurp a file would be considered a Useless Use of Cat.

Note that it is not necessary to quote the command substitution to preserve newlines.

See: Bash Hacker's Wiki - Command substitution - Specialities.

In cross-platform, lowest-common-denominator sh you use:

#!/bin/sh value=`cat config.txt` echo "$value" 

In bash or zsh, to read a whole file into a variable without invoking cat:

#!/bin/bash value=$(<config.txt) echo "$value" 

Invoking cat in bash or zsh to slurp a file would be considered a Useless Use of Cat.

Note that it is not necessary to quote the command substitution to preserve newlines.

See: Bash Hacker's Wiki - Command substitution - Specialities.

In cross-platform, lowest-common-denominator sh you use:

#!/bin/sh value=`cat config.txt` echo "$value" 

In bash or zsh, to read a whole file into a variable without invoking cat:

#!/bin/bash value=$(<config.txt) echo "$value" 

Invoking cat in bash or zsh to slurp a file would be considered a Useless Use of Cat.

Note that it is not necessary to quote the command substitution to preserve newlines.

See: Bash Hacker's Wiki - Command substitution - Specialities.

In cross-platform, lowest-common-denominator sh you use:

#!/bin/sh value="`cat config.txt`" echo "$value" 

In bash or zsh, to read a whole file into a variable without invoking cat:

#!/bin/bash value="$(<config.txt)" echo "$value" 

Invoking cat in bash or zsh to slurp a file would be considered a Useless Use of Cat.

See: Bash Hacker's Wiki - Command substitution - Specialities.

In cross-platform, lowest-common-denominator sh you use:

#!/bin/sh value=`cat config.txt` echo "$value" 

In bash or zsh, to read a whole file into a variable without invoking cat:

#!/bin/bash value=$(<config.txt) echo "$value" 

Invoking cat in bash or zsh to slurp a file would be considered a Useless Use of Cat.

Note that it is not necessary to quote the command substitution to preserve newlines.

See: Bash Hacker's Wiki - Command substitution - Specialities.