Shell – ${#array} vs ${#array[@]}

As of bash 4.2, you can just use a negative index ${myarray[-1]} to get the last element. You can do the same thing for the second-last, and so on; in Bash:

If the subscript used to reference an element of an indexed array evaluates to a number less than zero, it is interpreted as relative to one greater than the maximum index of the array, so negative indices count back from the end of the array, and an index of -1 refers to the last element.

The same also works for assignment. When it says "expression" it really means an expression; you can write in any arithmetic expression there to compute the index, including one that computes using the length of the array ${#myarray[@]} explicitly like ${myarray[${#myarray[@]} - 1]} for earlier versions.

you should handle that stuff in the index evals. and you can indirect through your indirection variable's indices if you make it an array.

a=(abc1 def2 ghi3 jkl4 mno5)
r=('a[c=${#a[@]}]' a\[i] a\[@])
for   i in   0 1 2 3 4 5
do    c=
      printf "<%s>\n" "${!r-${!r[i<c?1:2]}}"
      printf "\n\tindex is $i and count is $c\n\n"
done

<abc1>

    index is 0 and count is 5

<def2>

    index is 1 and count is 5

<ghi3>

    index is 2 and count is 5

<jkl4>

    index is 3 and count is 5

<mno5>

    index is 4 and count is 5

<abc1>
<def2>
<ghi3>
<jkl4>
<mno5>

    index is 5 and count is 5

Because bash's indices are 0-based, the total count of array objects will always work out to one more than than the highest set index, and so:

c=
echo "${a[c=${#a[@]}]-this index is unset}" "$c"

this index is unset 5

...the parameter expands out to the default word if any is provided.

If one is not provided:

c=
${!r}
echo "$c"

5

...there's no harm done.

In the loop I track an $index variable and check if it is at least as large as $count. When it is lesser I expand the $reference var to a[i] because it is a valid index, but when it is equal or greater I expand the $ref to the entire $array.

Here it is in a function:

ref_arr(){
    local    index=-1 count=
    local    ref=(   "$1[ count= \${#$1[@]}  ]"
                     "$1[ index ]"    "$1[ @ ]"
    )  &&    printf  "input array '%s' has '%d' members.\n" \
                     "$1"  "${!ref-${count:?invalid array name: "'$1'"}}"
    while    [ "$((index+=1))" -lt "$count"  ]
    do       printf  "$1[$index]  ==  '%s'\n"  "${!ref[1]}"
    done
}
some_array=(some "dumb
            stuff" 12345\'67890 "" \
          '$(kill my computer)')
ref_arr some_array
ref_arr '$(echo won'\''t work)'

input array 'some_array' has '5' members.
some_array[0]  ==  'some'
some_array[1]  ==  'dumb
                stuff'
some_array[2]  ==  '12345'67890'
some_array[3]  ==  ''
some_array[4]  ==  '$(kill my computer)'
bash: count: invalid array name: '$(echo won't work)'