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Path: utzoo!mnetor!yetti!geac!braegen!ken
From: ken@braegen.UUCP (Ken Marchant)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.questions
Subject: Re: Re:  Why does this shell program run under csh????
Message-ID: <115@braegen.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 10-Jun-87 11:49:44 EDT
Article-I.D.: braegen.115
Posted: Wed Jun 10 11:49:44 1987
Date-Received: Sat, 13-Jun-87 00:47:41 EDT
References: <7714@brl-adm.ARPA>
Organization: The Braegen Group Inc., Toronto Ontario CAN
Lines: 19

> : is NOT a comment in the Bourne shell -- it's a command.
> # is the comment character (at least it has been for several
> years).  : is not a suitable replacement for # for reasons
> that should be obvious.

: is the only decent substitute for a comment in the early bourne
  shells that I have used (version 7, Xenix 2.1 SYS III?).
  The reasons ain't so obvious to people who haven't used this.
  (ie. shell substitutions failing in the comment when there is
   no match for filenames etc.)
  A simple, mostly safe policy is to begin bourne shells with 
  something like a blank line or a line with a single :. and 
  begin c-shells with a #. As long as you know something about
  shell programs this never presents an irremediable problem.

-- 
			Ken Marchant
			The Braegen Group, Toronto, Ontario
	(allegra,linus,ihnp4,decvax)!utzoo!yetti!geac!braegen!ken