title: What does the semicolon do when it is run in a bash command?
body: <p>For example, when running</p>
  
  <pre><code>echo a; echo b
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>in the terminal, its output is:</p>
  
  <pre><code>a
  b
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>It seems to me that the semicolon waits for the first command (<code>echo a</code>) to finish, then it starts the second command (<code>echo b</code>).</p>
  
  <p><strong>Q:</strong> Is the semicolon just used for iterating over commands in bash?</p>
  
  <p><strong>Q:</strong> What does the semicolon do when it is run in a bash command?</p>