ANNOUNCE: Custom 64bit FreeBSD 8.1-RELEASE with XFCE packages released

[Ian Smith]

In freebsd-questions Digest, Vol 322, Issue 16, Message: 14
On Sun, 8 Aug 2010 17:44:36 +0200 Polytropon <freebsd at edvax.de> wrote:
 > On Sun, 8 Aug 2010 10:33:30 -0500, Antonio Olivares <olivares14031 at gmail.com> wrote:
 > > This is it I guess.  I chose bash shell and the default schell is the csh.
 > > 
 > > There is a file called .login in my home directory
 > > /home/olivares/.login which has:
 > > 
 > > $ $FreeBSD:  src/share/skel/dot.login,v 1.17.2.1.5.1 2010/06/14
 > > 02:09:06 kensmith
 > > Exp %
 > > #
 > > # .login - csh login script, read by login shell after '.cshrc' at login.
 > > #
 > > # see also csh(1), environ(7),
 > > #
 > > if (-x /usr/games/fortune ) /usr/games/fortune freebsd-tips
 > > if [! -f /tmp/.X0-lock ]; then
 > >   /usr/local/bin/startx
 > > fi

Hi,

I don't know if Antonio is still using that syntax in later versions but 
the '[' (test) command requires a space between '[' and arguments, ie in 
either csh, sh or bash (though I only tend to use csh interactively) the 
syntax '[!' doesn't work .. perhaps that's what produces the message:

 > > -bash:  [ !:  command not found

mentioned in later messages?  Some tests:

smithi on sola% sh -c '[ ! -f /etc/hosts ] && echo "hosts not found" || echo "hosts found"'
hosts found
smithi on sola% sh -c '[! -f /etc/hosts ] && echo "hosts not found" || echo "hosts found"'
[!: not found
hosts found
smithi on sola% bash -c '[ ! -f /etc/hosts ] && echo "hosts not found" || echo "hosts found"'
hosts found
smithi on sola% bash -c '[! -f /etc/hosts ] && echo "hosts not found" || echo "hosts found"'
bash: [!: command not found
hosts found

Of course 'hosts found' is a misleading response for the '[!' tests; it 
just means that the test command failed.  With a non-existing file:

smithi on sola% sh -c '[ ! -f /etc/boo ] && echo "boo not found" || echo "boo found"'
boo not found
smithi on sola% sh -c '[! -f /etc/boo ] && echo "boo not found" || echo "boo found"'
[!: not found
boo found
smithi on sola% bash -c '[ ! -f /etc/boo ] && echo "boo not found" || echo "boo found"'
boo not found
smithi on sola% bash -c '[! -f /etc/boo ] && echo "boo not found" || echo "boo found"'
bash: [!: command not found
boo found

Again 'boo found' just means the '[' (test) command failed; '[!' is bad.

 > > and it clearly says that is for 'csh login', so I would need something else?
 > 
 > Yes. According to "man bash", section "INVOCATION", mentiones
 > other file names: Bash reads and executes ~/.bash_profile,
 > ~/.bash_login, and ~/.profile (in that order), so you can
 > add the line "[ ! -f /tmp/.X0-lock ] && startx" (short form
 > is completely okay and valid) at the end of ~/.bash_login -
 > or also .profile, but it makes more sense in putting it into
 > something related to "login" rather than a "profile", but
 > that's debatable semantics. :-)

I'm not really sure about that; even at the very end of ~/.bash_profile 
running startx (a script that doesn't exit till you quit X) might be a 
bit dodgy, ie does bash expect sourcing ~/.bash_profile to return 
immediately?  I guess Antonio might have to see which of those work.

The debian system I look after doesn't have any .bash_login files; apart 
from the system-wide files in /etc (best untouched) most of the business 
is done in ~/.bashrc, invoked for interactive shells by ~/.bash_profile,
but I'm unsure whether the login shell (that doesn't use ~/.bashrc) then 
invokes an interactive shell (that does) or what .. man bash is awful :)

 > The line "[ ! -f /tmp/.X0-lock ] && startx" is correct C shell,
 > sh (Bourne) and bash syntax.

It is - but only with that space after '[' - and of course before ']'

HTH, Ian