creating alias in bash

Question

Currently this is what I need to type to execute my task

execute 'mytask'

I want an alias so that I need to type

e mytask

This is what I did which is not working

alias e="execute '$1'"

Answer 1

Just make it function.

e() { execute "$1"; }

Answer 2

Make your alias: alias e=execute

As an example, I have ls aliased to l. I can still type l -l and it works as expected.

Any args just get passed through.

Answer 3

Exposing and hiding quotation marks, is kinda dangerous in bash terms. In case you're willing not to hide the quotation, you can use:

alias e="execute"

And then use e 'mytask'

Answer 4

Is it an absolute must to have it as an alias?

If you're using a .bashrc or .bash_profile you could throw a one-line function in there, like so:

e () { execute '$1'; }

[ed] Beat'd by a mile! :P