Check if a Bash array contains a value

Question

In Bash, what is the simplest way to test if an array contains a certain value?

Answer 1

Here is my take on this problem. Here is the short version:

function arrayContains() {
        local haystack=${!1}
        local needle="$2"
        printf "%s\n" ${haystack[@]} | grep -q "^$needle$"
}

And the long version, which I think is much easier on the eyes.

# With added utility function.
function arrayToLines() {
        local array=${!1}
        printf "%s\n" ${array[@]}
}

function arrayContains() {
        local haystack=${!1}
        local needle="$2"
        arrayToLines haystack[@] | grep -q "^$needle$"
}

Examples:

test_arr=("hello" "world")
arrayContains test_arr[@] hello; # True
arrayContains test_arr[@] world; # True
arrayContains test_arr[@] "hello world"; # False
arrayContains test_arr[@] "hell"; # False
arrayContains test_arr[@] ""; # False