Interactive Prompts

Menu Choice

Map a Number

Menu prompts usually present numbered choices. A case statement keeps the mapping readable and gives unexpected choices a controlled fallback.

Program

Play the script to choose the menu number and see the selected action.

menu_choice_prompt.sh 
#!/usr/bin/env bash

choice=
case "$choice" in
    1) action="list" ;;
    2) action="build" ;;
    3) action="test" ;;
    *) action="help" ;;
esac
echo "choice=$choice action=$action"

#!/usr/bin/env bash

choice=
case "$choice" in
    1) action="list" ;;
    2) action="build" ;;
    3) action="test" ;;
    *) action="help" ;;
esac
echo "choice=$choice action=$action"
menu prompt A menu prompt asks the user to choose from a known set of options.
numeric choice Numbers are compact for menus, but should be mapped to clear action names.
fallback branch The `*` branch handles unexpected input with a safe fallback.