# Generate a sequence from m to n, m defaults to 1. seq () { declare -i lo hi i # makes local local _SEQ case $# in 1) seq 1 "$1" ; return $? ;; 2) lo=$1 hi=$2 i=$lo _SEQ="" while let "i <= hi"; do _SEQ="${_SEQ}$i " let i+=1 done echo "${_SEQ# }" return 0 ;; *) echo seq: usage: seq [low] high 1>&2 ; return 2 ;; esac } # like the APL `iota' function (or at least how I remember it :-) iota() { case $# in 1) seq 1 "$1"; return $?;; *) echo "iota: usage: iota high" 1>&2; return 2;; esac }