Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!auspex!guy
From: guy@auspex.UUCP (Guy Harris)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.wizards
Subject: Re: Echo
Message-ID: <687@auspex.UUCP>
Date: 12 Dec 88 18:25:34 GMT
References: <6557@june.cs.washington.edu> <960@etnibsd.UUCP> <2258@xyzzy.UUCP>
Reply-To: guy@auspex.UUCP (Guy Harris)
Organization: Auspex Systems, Santa Clara
Lines: 18

>On scripts where you need System V escape semantics (like scripts that
>send control sequences to the terminal or windowing system),

Note that unless the control sequence is very specific to the terminal,
such that it doesn't appear in the "terminfo" database, if you have
"tput" you're better off using it to send control sequences to the
terminal, since it uses "terminfo" and thus can be terminal-independent.
(There may already exists versions of "tput"-like commands for
"termcap".)

>If the script is only going to be run on Suns, just use /usr/5bin/echo
>directly, and don't futz around with the PATH.  If your script(s) need
>to be run on multiple systems, you could set an environment variable,
>like I do (in /bin/sh notation):

If your script depends on System V semantics, as opposed to (V7/)BSD
semantics, for other commands, futzing around with the PATH may well be
the best approach.