Question

#!/bin/bash
# this works: java '-XX:OnOutOfMemoryError=nohup bash -c "service jira stop;service jira stop" &' -version
JVM_SUPPORT_RECOMMENDED_ARGS="" # WHAT TO PUT HERE !?! so the last line will execute the command above?
JAVA_OPTS=" ${JAVA_OPTS} ${JVM_REQUIRED_ARGS} ${DISABLE_NOTIFICATIONS} ${JVM_SUPPORT_RECOMMENDED_ARGS} ${JVM_EXTRA_ARGS} ${JIRA_HOME_MINUSD}"
set -x
java $JAVA_OPTS -version

If possible don’t touch other lines than the JVM_SUPPORT_RECOMMENDED_ARGS one.

Answer 1

Although @raukh’s answer is right, i.e. you have to escape the ", you are also missing another point.

Answer for the impatient: you need to add \" around ${JVM_SUPPORT_RECOMMENDED_ARGS} also, to prevent bash from separating the contents of JVM_SUPPORT_RECOMMENDED_ARGS to different argument.

---

Complete answer:

Imagine this example, assuming print_args is a program that echoes its arguments each in one line

TEST="a b"
./print_args $TEST

This will output a and b as separate arguments. This is because the " is removed and in fact the executed command is:

./print_args a b

To make your command see your variable all as one parameter, you have to put it in ":

TEST="a b"
./print_args "$TEST"

Will show a b as one argument.

Even if you write extra " in your string, it won’t work, as bash will separate the contents of the variable anyway:

TEST="\"a b\""
./print_args $TEST

will give you "a and b" as separate arguments. The only way you can handle this, is to add " where you use the variable, instead of where you define it.

So in your case, the solution is this:

JVM_SUPPORT_RECOMMENDED_ARGS="java '-XX:OnOutOfMemoryError=nohup bash -c \"service jira stop;service jira stop\" &' test"
JAVA_OPTS=" ${JAVA_OPTS} ${JVM_REQUIRED_ARGS} ${DISABLE_NOTIFICATIONS} \"${JVM_SUPPORT_RECOMMENDED_ARGS}\" ${JVM_EXTRA_ARGS} ${JIRA_HOME_MINUSD}"

The first line is as raukh suggested. The second line has added \" around ${JVM_SUPPORT_RECOMMENDED_ARGS}.

---

If you want to test this, here is an example:

test.c:

#include <stdio.h>

int main(int argc, char **argv)
{
    int i;
    for (i = 0; i < argc; ++i)
        printf("%d: %s\n", i, argv[i]);
    return 0;
}

$ gcc -o print_args test.c

$ TEST="java '-XX:OnOutOfMemoryError=nohup bash -c \"service jira stop;service jira stop\" &' test"; ./print_args $TEST
0: ./print_args
1: java
2: '-XX:OnOutOfMemoryError=nohup
3: bash
4: -c
5: "service
6: jira
7: stop;service
8: jira
9: stop"
10: &'
11: test

$ TEST="java '-XX:OnOutOfMemoryError=nohup bash -c \"service jira stop;service jira stop\" &' test"; ./print_args "$TEST"
0: ./print_args
1: java '-XX:OnOutOfMemoryError=nohup bash -c "service jira stop;service jira stop" &' test