Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!henry
From: henry@utzoo.UUCP (Henry Spencer)
Newsgroups: net.unix
Subject: Re: 2.8 Bourne shell question
Message-ID: <5939@utzoo.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 7-Sep-85 19:52:07 EDT
Article-I.D.: utzoo.5939
Posted: Sat Sep  7 19:52:07 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 7-Sep-85 19:52:07 EDT
References: <1450@uwmacc.UUCP>
Organization: U of Toronto Zoology
Lines: 14

> I tried this litle shell script on my 2.8BSD Bourne shell:
> 
> 	read word < foo
> 
> and it didn't do what I thought it would do...
> Is it possible to read from files?  Is this just a 2.8 bug?

It's a defect in old Bourne shells.  (I think it's documented, in fact;
look for something like "...except where specified no input output
redirection is permitted for [built-in] commands..." at the top of the
list of built-in commands.)  The more recent (SysV) shells have fixed this.
-- 
				Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology
				{allegra,ihnp4,linus,decvax}!utzoo!henry