Bash multi-value arrays

multi-value-array.sh

#
# Given an array of multi-value items, transform each value into a new array replacing its 
# separator for a space, then access each individual inner-value by index:
#

ITEMS=(
  cup:blue:3
  phone:black:15
  pen:red:1
)

for item in  "${ITEMS[@]}"; do
    item=(${item//:/ })  # this is the trick
    name=${item[0]}
    color=${item[1]}
    value=${item[2]}
    echo "$name, $color, \$$value"
done