Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!wuarchive!uunet!isavax.isa.com!cliffb From: cliffb@isavax.isa.com (cliff bedore*) Newsgroups: comp.unix.ultrix Subject: Re: wierd behavior of echo on a Vax Message-ID: <1990Aug14.110452.11898@isavax.isa.com> Date: 14 Aug 90 11:04:52 GMT References: Reply-To: cliffb@isavax.isa.com (cliff bedore*) Distribution: comp.unix.ultrix Organization: ISA Inc. Arlington, VA Lines: 46 In article dob@inel.gov (David L. Brooks) writes: >We've been having some strange problems with logfiles created by scripts, >recently, and i've narrowed it down to this pattern: > >echo `some basic command` "some other text string" >> logfile > >the command can come before *or* after the text, and it doesn't matter if >the logfile is created via >, appended to, or if the output goes into a >pipe, etc. > >the behavior is this: interspersed between each character in the "text >string" is a rubout, aka /377 character. this happens only on the Vax >running Ultrix 3.1. It works fine on our DECStation 3100's running 3.1D. > >the work around is to do something like this: > >set date=`date` >echo $date "some other relevant text" >> $LOGFILE > >commands other than date, such as whoami, exhibit the same results. has >anyone else run into this? DEC, any suggestions? > >on a final note: the signature following my address was added by lawyers >(i'm pretty sure not interactively, but can't guarantee that), otherwise we >can't post. every time i post, i always get at least one humorous comment. >i'm really in a mood for a few good humorous comments right now, so let >those creative juices flow... > >dlb >-- >------------------------------------------------------------------------------ >David L. Brooks >Idaho National Engineering Lab. INTERNET: dob@INEL.GOV >POB 1625 M.S. 1206 Phone: (208) 526-0826 >Idaho Falls, Id. 83415 FAX: (208) 526-1419 >------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I replied to David via mail that I had seen this and then experimented. I can replicate his problems consistently and I found that using /bin/echo vice echo also fixes the problem. I seem to remember that when DEC (somebody) converted Ultrix to full 8-bit capabilities some things broke. This may be one of them. Cliff Disclaimer "I stole Dave's. I liked it so much"