What is Bash's string{ending1,ending2} construct called and what is the equivalent in zsh?

Question

I've been trying to switch to zsh. Something I've missed so far is this:

#!/bin/bash
mv /very/long/path/to/file1.conf{,.old}
#bash expandes that to:
mv /very/long/path/to/file1.conf /very/long/path/to/file1.conf.old

What is that called, and is there a zsh equivalent?

enzotib · Accepted Answer · 2012-01-28 14:06:41Z

up vote 6 down vote accepted

It is called Brace Expansion and is present also in zsh.

One important difference between bash and zsh is that in zsh parameter expansion is performed inside braces, but in bash this is not the case.

edited Jan 28 '12 at 14:06

answered Jan 28 '12 at 13:43

enzotib
12.2k23447

	Very strange; it's working for me now. I tried it before and it gave me some error, so I've been avoiding it for a month or so. – Shawn J. Goff Jan 28 '12 at 14:30
	I also got an error and blamed it on zsh. Turned out I was just putting a space after the comma in the braces. – Dean Dec 6 '12 at 1:36

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