Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!rutgers!ames!hc!beta!cmcl2!brl-adm!brl-smoke!gwyn
From: gwyn@brl-smoke.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.bugs.sys5
Subject: Re: even more bugs in make
Message-ID: <5952@brl-smoke.ARPA>
Date: Thu, 4-Jun-87 02:51:21 EDT
Article-I.D.: brl-smok.5952
Posted: Thu Jun  4 02:51:21 1987
Date-Received: Sat, 6-Jun-87 06:36:12 EDT
References: <2888@cit-vax.Caltech.Edu>
Distribution: world
Organization: Ballistic Research Lab (BRL), APG, MD.
Lines: 16
Keywords: IFS, shell script, make

In article <2888@cit-vax.Caltech.Edu>, fritz@polecat.caltech.edu (Fritz Nordby) writes:
> ...  If the IFS environment variable is set
> when make is invoked, then make resets IFS to an empty string.

That isn't quite what's happening.  Environment strings are handed to
the YACC-based parser inside "make", with the idea that they'll be treated
just like a "NAME=value" definition within a makefile.  Eventually it
is the parsed-and-assigned-to-"make"-variables values that get put back in
the environment when augmented "make" forks a shell.  What is happening here
is that the parser cannot handle environment variables containing funny stuff
like newlines.

I don't know how to fix this other than to rip all the environment fooey
out of "make".  Better to not screw around with IFS.  I think every shell
should set IFS to defaults when it starts up rather than trusting the IFS
that may be in the environment.  That would also avoid your problem.