Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!lll-tis!ames!mailrus!ukma!rutgers!att!skep2!wcs
From: wcs@skep2.ATT.COM (Bill.Stewart.[ho95c])
Newsgroups: comp.unix.wizards
Subject: Re: Echo
Keywords: predictability, implementation-dependence, buggy, Virus !
Message-ID: <364@skep2.ATT.COM>
Date: 14 Dec 88 19:11:54 GMT
References: <6557@june.cs.washington.edu> <14799@mimsy.UUCP> <656@root44.co.uk> <594@mks.UUCP> <1309@ucsd.EDU>
Reply-To: wcs@skep2.UUCP (46323-Bill.Stewart.[ho95c],2G218,x0705,)
Organization: AT&T Bell Labs Center 4632, Holmdel, NJ
Lines: 45

Serious half of the discussion - I think there's a need for
a pair of options to echo - one forcing old BSD behavior,
one forcing System V / ksh behavior, with the option of
passing it as an environment variable.  Basing the behavior
of echo on whether /usr/ucb precedes usr/bin/ in $PATH is a
seriously brain-damaged approach, prone to encouraging
people to put lines like
	PATH=/usr/ucb:/bin:/usr/bin ; export PATH
in their code (I really *hate* this in shar files!)
and generally causing unpredictable behavior when users or
system administrators rearrange anything.

The recent Internet Virus can be reduced to the following one-liner:

	GNUecho -P -N -T -k -v -s -L GNUecho

In article <1309@ucsd.EDU> /dev/null writes:
  GNUecho(1)	    UNIX Programmer's Manual	       GNUecho(1)
  -P	  port echo to all reachable networks
  -N	  send output to all reachable networks	(usable	with -J,
  	  -K, -h options)
  -T	  emulate TCP/IP handler
  -k	  output "echo"	software tools
  -v	  generate reverberating echo
  -s	  suspend operating system during output (Sun and VAX BSD 4.2 only)
  -L	  load echo modules

Additional options:
  -x	  decrypt DES format messages (NSA secret algorithm CX
  	  3.8, not distributed outside continental US)
  -M	  generate mail
  -R	  change root password to "RTFM"
  -u	  issue	unix philosophy	essay
  -p	  decrypt and print /etc/passwd
  -B	  issue	equivalent C code with bugs fixed
  -C	  remove copyright notice(s)
  -f	  read input from file
  -G	  prepend GNU manifesto
  -J	  generate junk	mail
  -K	  delete privileged accounts
  -V	  print	debugging information
-- 
#				Thanks;
# Bill Stewart, AT&T Bell Labs 2G218 Holmdel NJ 201-949-0705 ho95c.att.com!wcs
#
#	News.  Don't ask me about News.