cvs commit: src/usr.bin/env env.c

[Garance A Drosehn]

At 7:41 PM +1000 6/20/05, Tim Robbins wrote:
>On Mon, Jun 20, 2005, Garance A Drosehn wrote:
>  > gad         2005-06-20 03:14:29 UTC
>>
>>    FreeBSD src repository
>>
>>    Modified files:
>>      usr.bin/env          env.c
>>    Log:
>  >   If the `utility' specified starts with a '/' character, then
>  >   execute it without checking it for an equals-sign.  If it
>  >   starts with a slash, then it cannot be a request to set the
>  >   value of a valid environment variable.
>
>This is not strictly correct:
>
>	The value of an environment variable is a string of characters.
         ...
>	These strings have the form name=value; names shall not contain
>	the character '='. For values to be portable across systems
>	conforming to IEEE Std 1003.1-2001, the value shall be composed
>	of characters from the portable character set (except NUL and as
>	indicated below).

Ah.  I jumped to the wrong conclusion based on the description of
setting environment variables in the man page for 'sh'.  Neither
sh nor bash allow you to set /SOMEVAR=YES.  setenv in csh seems to
let you set a value, but then it complains 'Illegal variable name'
if you try to reference it...

>Also, please be careful when adding new non-standard options and
>features; they tend to stick around forever.

These *are* intended to stick around forever.  In fact, they are
designed in such a way that other OS's could pick up the changes.

For the benefit of anyone reading this and considering similar
changes, note that I did ask on -arch before adding these features
(well, except for the '/' check).  No one complained.  re@ was asked
before these commits were made.  I tested this on three platforms
before making the commit and I compiled it on two more.  I *am*
careful, and am somewhat annoyed that you feel you had to tell me
to be careful after I had spent so much time looking for feedback
before making most of these changes...  How much "more careful"
does a guy have to get?  No, wait, don't answer that!!  This is
about as careful as I intend to get!   :-)

But I wouldn't mind to undo the '/' check, if people think that's
a problem.  I only came up with that idea just before I was ready
to commit, while I was stealing lines from the 'sh' man page...

-- 
Garance Alistair Drosehn     =      gad at gilead.netel.rpi.edu
Senior Systems Programmer               or   gad at FreeBSD.org
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute;             Troy, NY;  USA