Losing newline after assigning grep result to a shell variable

#!/usr/local/bin/bash
out=`grep apache README`
echo $out;

Usually grep shows each match on a separate line when run on the command line. However, in the above scripts, the newline separating each match disappears. Does anyone know how the newline can be preserved?

From stackoverflow

• Put $out in quotes:

  #!/usr/local/bin/bash
  out=`grep apache README`
  echo "$out";
  

• You're not losing it in the assignment but in the echo. You can see this clearly if you:

  echo "${out}"
  

  You'll see a similar effect with the following script:

  x="Hello,
  I
  am
  a
  string
  with
  newlines"
  echo "====="
  echo ${x}
  echo "====="
  echo "${x}"
  echo "====="
  

  which outputs:

  =====
  Hello, I am a string with newlines
  =====
  Hello,
  I
  am
  a
  string
  with
  newlines
  =====
  

  And, irrelevant to your question but I'd like to mention it anyway, I prefer to use the $() construct rather than backticks, just for the added benefit of being able to nest commands. So your script line becomes:

  out=$(grep apache README)
  

  Now that may not look any different (and it isn't) but it makes possible more complex commands like:

  lines_with_nine=$(grep $(expr 7 + 2) inputfile)
  

  Tanj : I didn't know you could do that with $()... learn something new all the time here.

  Barry Brown : You can do math without using expr. Just use double-parens: $((7 + 2))

  paxdiablo : Actually I might try that with all my answers from now on - append a (not always totally) relevant snippet for the education of the swarm :-)

  paxdiablo : Good point, Barry, but it was just an example of nesting - my example-generating skills appear to have deteriorated with age (and/or alcohol :-).

  Barry Brown : I just found out about the $(()) thing, myself.

• Quoting variables in bash preserves the whitespace.

  For instance:

  #!/bin/bash
  var1="A B  C   D"
  echo $var1   # A B C D
  echo "$var1" # A B  C   D
  

  since newlines are whitespace they get "removed"