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PROLOG
       This  manual  page  is part of the POSIX Programmer's Manual.  The Linux implementation of this interface
       may differ (consult the corresponding Linux manual page for details of Linux behavior), or the  interface
       may not be implemented on Linux.


NAME
       colon — null utility


SYNOPSIS
       : [argument...]


DESCRIPTION
       This  utility  shall  only expand command arguments.  It is used when a command is needed, as in the then
       condition of an if command, but nothing is to be done by the command.


OPTIONS
       None.


OPERANDS
       See the DESCRIPTION.


STDIN
       Not used.


INPUT FILES
       None.


ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
       None.


ASYNCHRONOUS EVENTS
       Default.


STDOUT
       Not used.


STDERR
       The standard error shall be used only for diagnostic messages.


OUTPUT FILES
       None.


EXTENDED DESCRIPTION
       None.


EXIT STATUS
       Zero.


CONSEQUENCES OF ERRORS
       Default.

       The following sections are informative.


APPLICATION USAGE
       None.


EXAMPLES
       : ${X=abc}
       if     false
       then   :
       else   echo $X
       fi
       abc

       As with any of  the  special  built-ins,  the  null  utility  can  also  have  variable  assignments  and
       redirections associated with it, such as:

           x=y : > z

       which  sets  variable x to the value y (so that it persists after the null utility completes) and creates
       or truncates file z.


RATIONALE
       None.


FUTURE DIRECTIONS
       None.


SEE ALSO
       Section 2.14, Special Built-In Utilities


COPYRIGHT
       Portions of this text are reprinted and reproduced in electronic form from IEEE Std 1003.1-2017, Standard
       for Information  Technology  --  Portable  Operating  System  Interface  (POSIX),  The  Open  Group  Base
       Specifications  Issue  7, 2018 Edition, Copyright (C) 2018 by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics
       Engineers, Inc and The Open Group.  In the event of any discrepancy between this version and the original
       IEEE and The Open Group Standard, the original IEEE and The Open Group Standard is the referee  document.
       The original Standard can be obtained online at http://www.opengroup.org/unix/online.html .

       Any  typographical  or formatting errors that appear in this page are most likely to have been introduced
       during  the  conversion  of  the  source  files  to  man  page  format.  To  report  such   errors,   see
       https://www.kernel.org/doc/man-pages/reporting_bugs.html .

IEEE/The Open Group                                   2017                                         COLON(1POSIX)