Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!uunet!auspex!guy
From: guy@auspex.auspex.com (Guy Harris)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.questions
Subject: Re: Funny kill -9 behaviour
Message-ID: <3920@auspex.auspex.com>
Date: 18 Aug 90 21:27:07 GMT
References: <909@sagpd1.UUCP>
Organization: Auspex Systems, Santa Clara
Lines: 16

>What I want to know is why in the hay does this happen?

Because the C shell is flakier than a snowstorm.  To quote the BUGS
section of the SunOS 4.0.3 manual page (this quote is also in the S5R4
"csh" manual page):

     Although robust enough for general use, adventures into  the
     esoteric  periphery  of  the  C  shell may reveal unexpected
     quirks.

which translates as "the C shell is flakier than a snowstorm."

Try doing "/usr/bin/kill `cat /tmp/foo`" instead.  "kill" is a C shell
builtin; somehow, for *some* but not *all* builtins, that construct
seems to confuse the shell.  Using the non-built-in "kill" seemed to
make the problem go away, at least when I tried it.