Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!wuarchive!sdd.hp.com!hplabs!hpfcso!rrd
From: rrd@hpfcso.FC.HP.COM (Ray Depew)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.handhelds
Subject: Re: specifying paths w/variables & progs
Message-ID: <7360103@hpfcso.FC.HP.COM>
Date: 22 Apr 91 16:37:00 GMT
References: <231b3618.670790994@fergvax>
Organization: Hewlett-Packard, Fort Collins, CO, USA
Lines: 22

> Even this can fail if typed in, because local variables can have the
> same names as built-in commands.  For example, type \<< 8 \-> HOME \<<
> HALT \>> \>>.  Then press EVAL.  If you type in { HOME } and press EVAL
> now, you will get 8 on the stack and will not be in the home directory. 
> (If { HOME BINP } were entered into a program at a time when there were
> no HOME or BINP local variables active, it would be parsed as expected
> and would evaluate to the appropriate directory even if evaluated when
> local variables were active.)

I think that assigning variable names such as "HOME" ( or "CLVAR" ) falls
under the heading of "stupid things a user should not do".  If the user
avoids using "HOME" as a variable name, then the { HOME nextdir } idea
should work fine.

Of course, I know that Eric would never do anything like this, and he was
just proposing a hypothetical situation ....


Regards
Ray Depew
HP ICBD -- IC's By Decree
rrd@hpfitst1.hp.com