Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!ames!killer!dcs!wnp
From: wnp@dcs.UUCP (Wolf N. Paul)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.wizards
Subject: Re: Set parent env with csh script
Message-ID: <289@dcs.UUCP>
Date: 8 Jan 89 05:57:26 GMT
References: <174@v7fs1.UUCP>
Reply-To: wnp@dcs.UUCP (Wolf N. Paul)
Organization: DCS, Dallas, Texas
Lines: 32

In article <174@v7fs1.UUCP> mvp@v7fs1.UUCP (Mike Van Pelt) writes:
>I would like to write a shell script (csh preferred) that will
>set a few environment variables to various things.  Of course,
>just doing   setenv foo bar  in the script only works for that
>subshell and its children, not for the calling shell.  I've
>gone back and forth through all the likely places in the manuals,
>and haven't found any mention of this.
>
>Is it possible for a subshell to changes the calling shell's 
>environment?  How?

No, it is not possible for a process to change its parent's 
environment.

But what you propose can be accomplished by running the shell
script via "source" (under csh) or "." (under sh or ksh).
Thus, you can put your "setenv" statements into a script, and
then call the script like this:

% source scriptname

or

$ . scriptname

If you don't want to remember this special invocation, create
an alias (under csh, alias scriptname "source scriptname"),
or a shell function (under sh or ksh) to call it.
-- 
Wolf N. Paul * 3387 Sam Rayburn Run * Carrollton TX 75007 * (214) 306-9101
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