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From: lee@haddock.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.unix-wizards
Subject: Re: /bin/sh feature? - (nf)
Message-ID: <215@haddock.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 17-Jul-84 23:43:42 EDT
Article-I.D.: haddock.215
Posted: Tue Jul 17 23:43:42 1984
Date-Received: Sun, 22-Jul-84 03:07:21 EDT
Lines: 13

#R:uvm-cs:-27400:haddock:16800019:000:484
haddock!lee    Jul 15 01:15:00 1984

The shell does more than just parse command lines using the ":" (do nothing)
command.  Because it treats the line as a command, side effects of the
command are NOT "commented out".  For example, try

	: `echo foo >/dev/tty` thud

and you will find that "foo" appears on your terminal.  Therefore, it is
only in a very weak (expensive) sense that the ":" command can be considered
a comment at all.  It is much more accurate to think of it like the "true"
command -- trivial but real.