下麵是一個例子，它使用的所有字符串運算：

#!/bin/sh

a="abc"
b="efg"

if [ $a = $b ]
then
   echo "$a = $b : a is equal to b"
else
   echo "$a = $b: a is not equal to b"
fi

if [ $a != $b ]
then
   echo "$a != $b : a is not equal to b"
else
   echo "$a != $b: a is equal to b"
fi

if [ -z $a ]
then
   echo "-z $a : string length is zero"
else
   echo "-z $a : string length is not zero"
fi

if [ -n $a ]
then
   echo "-n $a : string length is not zero"
else
   echo "-n $a : string length is zero"
fi

if [ $a ]
then
   echo "$a : string is not empty"
else
   echo "$a : string is empty"
fi

這將產生以下輸出結果：

abc = efg: a is not equal to b
abc != efg : a is not equal to b
-z abc : string length is not zero
-n abc : string length is not zero
abc : string is not empty

要注意以下幾點：

• 運算符和表達式之間必須有空格，例如2+2是不正確的，因為它應該寫成2 + 2.

• if...then...else...fi 語句在下一章節中已經解釋的決策聲明。