Get the last 4 characters of output from standard out

Question

I have a script that is running and uses

lspci -s 0a.00.1 

This returns

0a.00.1 usb controller some text device 4dc9
         


        

Answer 1

If the real request is to copy the last space-separated string regardless of its length, then the best solution seems to be using ... | awk '{print $NF}' as given by @Johnsyweb. But if this is indeed about copying a fixed number of characters from the end of a string, then there is a bash-specific solution without the need to invoke any further subprocess by piping:

$ test="1234567890"; echo "${test: -4}"
7890
$

Please note that the space between colon and minus character is essential, as without it the full string will be delivered:

$ test="1234567890"; echo "${test:-4}"
1234567890
$