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Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83 (MC830919); site mcvax.UUCP
Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!mcvax!guido
From: guido@mcvax.UUCP (Guido van Rossum)
Newsgroups: net.bugs.4bsd
Subject: Error in 4.2 BSD Bourne shell quoting
Message-ID: <5441@mcvax.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 24-Oct-83 10:52:07 EDT
Article-I.D.: mcvax.5441
Posted: Mon Oct 24 10:52:07 1983
Date-Received: Tue, 25-Oct-83 23:02:22 EDT
Organization: Math.Centre, Amsterdam
Lines: 17

The following shell script doesn't work with the 4.2 BSD Bourne shell (sh):
	BIN=/bin
	: ${ECHO="$BIN/echo"}
	$ECHO $ECHO
It replies with sh: /bin/echo: not found.
The direct reason is that the variable ECHO has all the high order
bits set (this was verified by exporting it and checking the environment
from a C program).  Probably the shell forgets to remove these bits
(that it internally uses to remember quoted characters).
Note that the following three alternatives for the second line all work:
	: ${ECHO="/bin/echo"}
	: ${ECHO=$BIN/echo}
	ECHO="$BIN/echo"
The V7 shell on our PDP doesn't have the error.
-- 
Guido van Rossum, {philabs,decvax}!mcvax!guido
Centre for Mathematics and Computer Science, (CWI, formerly MC), Amsterdam