Bash vs. Dash — What's the Difference?
By Tayyaba Rehman — Updated on September 21, 2023
Bash is a Unix shell and command language, while Dash is a POSIX-compliant shell that aims to be faster than Bash.
Difference Between Bash and Dash
Table of Contents
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Key Differences
Bash, which stands for Bourne-Again SHell, is a Unix shell and command language. It was developed to enhance the features of the original Bourne shell. Bash incorporates useful features from the Korn and C shells (ksh and csh). This makes Bash highly feature-rich, with scripting capabilities that many users find advantageous.
Dash, on the other hand, stands for Debian Almquist Shell. It's a POSIX-compliant shell, meaning it strictly follows the POSIX standard for Unix shells. Dash was designed with the primary aim to be faster and more efficient than Bash, especially in script execution. For this reason, Dash is often used for system scripts where performance is a critical factor.
While Bash is known for its interactive capabilities and robust scripting, Dash is valued for its speed. This is why, in some distributions of Linux, like Debian, Dash is the default shell for system scripts, whereas Bash is the default for interactive use.
Bash and Dash, despite serving similar purposes, have differences in their scripting syntax and features. It's essential for scriptwriters to be aware of these differences, especially if a script written for Bash has to be executed in Dash or vice versa.
Comparison Chart
Origin
Bourne-Again SHell
Debian Almquist Shell
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Compliance
Mostly POSIX with extensions
Strictly POSIX-compliant
Features
Feature-rich, incorporating elements from other shells
Minimal features, optimized for speed
Usage
Preferred for interactive use and complex scripting
Commonly used for system scripts
Speed
Generally slower than Dash
Designed to be faster, especially in script execution
Compare with Definitions
Bash
A command processor that allows for interactive command execution.
You can input commands directly into Bash and get immediate feedback.
Dash
A shell optimized for speed.
System scripts in Debian run using Dash due to its efficiency.
Bash
A shell known for its rich scripting capabilities.
Bash scripting allows for complex automation of tasks.
Dash
A shell used primarily for executing system scripts.
Debian changed the default system shell to Dash.
Bash
A Unix shell and command language.
I use Bash for most of my scripting needs.
Dash
The dash is a punctuation mark that is similar in appearance to the hyphen and minus sign but differs from these symbols in length and, in some fonts, height above the baseline. The most common versions of the dash are the en dash –, longer than the hyphen; the em dash —, longer than the en dash; and the horizontal bar ―, whose length varies across typefaces but tends to be between those of the en and em dashes.
Bash
An enhanced version of the Bourne shell.
Bash offers more features than the original Bourne shell.
Dash
Run or travel somewhere in a great hurry
I must dash, I'm late
I dashed into the garden
Bash
To strike with a heavy, crushing blow
The thug bashed the hood of the car with a sledgehammer.
Dash
Strike or fling (something) somewhere with great force, especially so as to have a destructive effect; hurl
The ship was dashed upon the rocks
Bash
To beat or assault severely
The police arrested the men who bashed an immigrant in the park.
Dash
Used to express mild annoyance
Dash it all, I am in charge
Bash
(Informal) To criticize (another) harshly, accusatorially, and threateningly
"My point is not to bash teachers or healthcare providers" (Richard Weissbourd).
Dash
An act of running somewhere suddenly and hastily
She made a dash for the door
Bash
To engage in harsh, accusatory, threatening criticism.
Dash
A small quantity of a liquid added to something else
Whisky with a dash of soda
Bash
(Informal) A heavy, crushing blow.
Dash
A horizontal stroke in writing or printing to mark a pause or break in sense or to represent omitted letters or words.
Bash
(Slang) A celebration; a party.
Dash
Impetuous or flamboyant vigour and confidence; panache
He has youthful energy, dash, and charisma
Bash
(informal) To strike heavily.
The thugs kept bashing the cowering victim.
If the engine won't start, bash it with this hammer.
Dash
Short for dashboard
An indicator on the dash tells you what gear you are in
Bash
(informal) To collide; used with into or together.
Don't bash into me with that shopping trolley.
Dash
To move with haste; rush
Dashed into the room.
Dashed down the hall.
Bash
To criticize harshly.
He bashed my ideas.
Dash
To strike violently; smash
Waves dashing on the rocks.
Bash
To abash; to disconcert or be disconcerted or put out of countenance.
Dash
To break or smash by striking violently
The ship was dashed upon the rocks.
Bash
(informal) A forceful blow or impact.
He got a bash on the head.
Dash
To hurl, knock, or thrust with sudden violence
Dashed the cup against the wall.
Bash
(informal) A large party; a gala event.
They had a big bash to celebrate their tenth anniversary.
Dash
To remove by striking or wiping
Dash tears from one's face.
Bash
An attempt at doing something.
I'm not sure I'll be any good at this, but let me have a bash.
This was my first bash at macramé, so I'm quite pleased with how it's turned out.
Give something a bash
Dash
To splash; bespatter
Dash water on one's face.
Bash
To abash; to disconcert or be disconcerted or put out of countenance.
His countenance was bold and bashed not.
Dash
To write hastily. Often used with off
Dashed off a note to the dean.
Bash
To strike heavily; to beat; to crush.
Bash her open with a rock.
Dash
To drink hastily. Often used with down
Dashed down a glass of milk.
Bash
A forceful blow, especially one that does damage to its target.
Dash
To add an enlivening or altering element to
A speech dashed with humor.
Bash
A elaborate or lively social gathering or party.
Dash
To affect by adding another element or ingredient to
Ice cream that was dashed with rum.
Bash
A vigorous blow;
The sudden knock floored him
He took a bash right in his face
He got a bang on the head
Dash
To destroy or wreck
Our hopes were dashed by the news.
Bash
An uproarious party
Dash
To discourage or dispirit
"This discouraging information a little dashed the child" (Charles Dickens).
Bash
Hit hard
Dash
To damn.
Bash
A popular command interpreter for the GNU operating system.
Linux distributions typically come with Bash pre-installed.
Dash
A swift, violent blow or stroke
Knocked the books to the floor with an impatient dash of his hand.
Dash
A splash
Threw a dash of water on my face.
Dash
A small amount of an added ingredient
A dash of sherry.
Dash
A quick stroke, as with a pencil or brush.
Dash
A sudden movement; a rush
Made a dash for the exit.
Dash
(Sports) A footrace, usually less than a quarter-mile long, run at top speed from the outset.
Dash
A spirited quality in action or style; verve.
Dash
Either of two symbols, an emdash or an endash, used in writing and in printing.
Dash
In Morse and similar codes, the long sound or signal used in combination with the dot and silent intervals to represent letters or numbers.
Dash
A dashboard.
Dash
(typography) Any of the following symbols: ‒ (figure dash), – (en dash), — (em dash), or ― (horizontal bar).
Dash
(computing) A hyphen or minus sign.
Dash
(by extension) The longer of the two symbols of Morse code.
Dash
A short run, flight.
When the feds came they did the dash.
Dash
A rushing or violent onset.
Dash
Violent strike; a whack.
Dash
A small quantity of a liquid substance etc.; less than 1/8 of a teaspoon.
Add a dash of vinegar.
Dash
A slight admixture.
There is a dash of craziness in his personality.
Dash
Ostentatious vigor.
Aren't we full of dash this morning?
Dash
A dashboard.
Dash
A bribe or gratuity; a gift.
Dash
A stand-in for a censored word, like "Devil" or "damn". (Compare deuce.)
Dash
The dashboard of a Tumblr user.
Dash
(intransitive) To run quickly or for a short distance.
He dashed across the field.
Dash
To leave or depart.
I have to dash now. See you soon.
Dash
(transitive) To destroy by striking (against).
He dashed the bottle against the bar and turned about to fight.
Dash
(transitive) To throw violently.
The man was dashed from the vehicle during the accident.
Dash
To sprinkle; to splatter.
Dash
To mix, reduce, or adulterate, by throwing in something of an inferior quality.
To dash wine with water
Dash
To ruin; to destroy.
Her hopes were dashed when she saw the damage.
Dash
(transitive) To dishearten; to sadden.
Her thoughts were dashed to melancholy.
Dash
To complete hastily.
He dashed down his eggs.
She dashed off her homework.
Dash
(transitive) To draw or write quickly; jot.
Dash
Damn in forming oaths.
Dash his impudence! Who is that scoundrel?
Dash
(euphemistic) Damn!
Dash
To throw with violence or haste; to cause to strike violently or hastily; - often used with against.
If you dash a stone against a stone in the botton of the water, it maketh a sound.
Dash
To break, as by throwing or by collision; to shatter; to crust; to frustrate; to ruin.
Thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.
A brave vessel, . . . Dashed all to pieces.
To perplex and dashMaturest counsels.
Dash
To put to shame; to confound; to confuse; to abash; to depress.
Dash the proud gamester in his gilded car.
Dash
To throw in or on in a rapid, careless manner; to mix, reduce, or adulterate, by throwing in something of an inferior quality; to overspread partially; to bespatter; to touch here and there; as, to dash wine with water; to dash paint upon a picture.
I take care to dash the character with such particular circumstance as may prevent ill-natured applications.
The very source and fount of dayIs dashed with wandering isles of night.
Dash
To form or sketch rapidly or carelessly; to execute rapidly, or with careless haste; - with off; as, to dash off a review or sermon.
Dash
To erase by a stroke; to strike out; knock out; - with out; as, to dash out a word.
Dash
To rush with violence; to move impetuously; to strike violently; as, the waves dash upon rocks.
[He] dashed through thick and thin.
On each hand the gushing waters play,And down the rough cascade all dashing fall.
Dash
Violent striking together of two bodies; collision; crash.
Dash
A sudden check; abashment; frustration; ruin; as, his hopes received a dash.
Dash
A slight admixture, infusion, or adulteration; a partial overspreading; as, wine with a dash of water; red with a dash of purple.
Innocence when it has in it a dash of folly.
Dash
A rapid movement, esp. one of short duration; a quick stroke or blow; a sudden onset or rush; as, a bold dash at the enemy; a dash of rain.
She takes upon her bravely at first dash.
Dash
Energy in style or action; animation; spirit.
Dash
A vain show; a blustering parade; a flourish; as, to make or cut a great dash.
Dash
A mark or line [-], in writing or printing, denoting a sudden break, stop, or transition in a sentence, or an abrupt change in its construction, a long or significant pause, or an unexpected or epigrammatic turn of sentiment. Dashes are also sometimes used instead of marks or parenthesis.
Dash
The sign of staccato, a small mark [ ] denoting that the note over which it is placed is to be performed in a short, distinct manner.
Dash
A short, spirited effort or trial of speed upon a race course; - used in horse racing, when a single trial constitutes the race.
Dash
Distinctive and stylish elegance;
He wooed her with the confident dash of a cavalry officer
Dash
A quick run
Dash
A footrace run at top speed;
He is preparing for the 100-yard dash
Dash
A punctuation mark (-) used between parts of a compound word or between the syllables of a word when the word is divided at the end of a line of text
Dash
The longer of the two telegraphic signals used in Morse code
Dash
The act of moving with great haste;
He made a dash for the door
Dash
Run or move very quickly or hastily;
She dashed into the yard
Dash
Break into pieces, as by striking or knocking over;
Smash a plate
Dash
Hurl or thrust violently;
He dashed the plate against the wall
Waves were dashing against the rock
Dash
Destroy or break;
Dashed ambitions and hopes
Dash
Cause to lose courage;
Dashed by the refusal
Dash
Add an enlivening or altering element to;
Blue paint dashed with white
Dash
A POSIX-compliant Unix shell.
Dash strictly adheres to the POSIX standard for Unix shells.
Dash
Debian Almquist Shell, a lighter-weight shell than Bash.
Dash is often chosen for its minimalistic approach.
Dash
A direct descendant of the Almquist shell (ash).
Dash is a more modern version of the traditional ash shell.
Common Curiosities
Can I switch my default shell to Dash?
Yes, you can change your default shell, but ensure you're familiar with Dash's differences from Bash.
Why would someone use Dash over Bash?
Dash is often chosen for system scripts because of its faster execution time.
Which shell is more feature-rich?
Bash is more feature-rich and offers advanced scripting capabilities compared to Dash.
Is Bash the default shell on most Linux distributions?
Yes, Bash is typically the default interactive shell on many Linux distributions.
Is Bash an acronym?
Yes, Bash stands for Bourne-Again SHell, a play on the Bourne shell which it supersedes.
Are scripts written for Bash always compatible with Dash?
No, there are syntactical and feature differences that might cause incompatibilities.
Why is Dash called the Debian Almquist Shell?
Dash is a direct descendant of the Almquist shell (ash) and is the default system shell in Debian.
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Written by
Tayyaba RehmanTayyaba Rehman is a distinguished writer, currently serving as a primary contributor to askdifference.com. As a researcher in semantics and etymology, Tayyaba's passion for the complexity of languages and their distinctions has found a perfect home on the platform. Tayyaba delves into the intricacies of language, distinguishing between commonly confused words and phrases, thereby providing clarity for readers worldwide.
