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From: rml@hpfcdc.HP.COM (Bob Lenk)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.wizards
Subject: Re: SysV shell questions
Message-ID: <5980007@hpfcdc.HP.COM>
Date: Thu, 20-Aug-87 20:11:54 EDT
Article-I.D.: hpfcdc.5980007
Posted: Thu Aug 20 20:11:54 1987
Date-Received: Sun, 23-Aug-87 14:39:15 EDT
References: <10279@orchid.waterloo.edu>
Organization: HP Ft. Collins, Co.
Lines: 32

>	echo stuff	# plain echo without \-interpretation
>	echo -n stuff	# ditto without trailing NL (a la 7th Ed.)
>	echo -e stuff	# echo with \-interpretation (a la 8th Ed.)
>	echo -?		# (other options) -- error (unless "--")
> The transition plan is:
>	Berkeley and other systems based on 7th Ed.:
>		Implement the final design (add -e).
>	System III and V based systems:
>		Phase I:
>			Add the -n option;
>			Accept -e (no-op in Phase I).
>		Phase II:
>			Convert all shell scripts to use -e.
>		Phase III:
>			Implement the final design.
> 
> Now, if we can get IEEE 1003.2 to bless the final specification
> (or at least Phase I of the System V transition plan), we'd be
> on the way to a single combined, sensible "echo" command.

The big problem is still the cost of phase II for System III and V based
systems.  Many/most vendors would not be willing to force that upon
customers, backward compatibility being non-negotiable.  The sense of -e
could be reversed, but that would just place the cost on the other side
of the BSD/ATT fence.  Two flags to specify the desired
(non)interpretation of backslash, with the default implementation
defined might be the best compromise reachable.  Having echo be
sensitive to some environment variable that set the default might be a
slight improvement on that compromise.

		Bob Lenk
		{ihnp4, hplabs}!hpfcla!rml