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Path: utzoo!henry
From: henry@utzoo.UUCP (Henry Spencer)
Newsgroups: net.unix
Subject: Re:  Shell programming style -- a plea for better shell scripts
Message-ID: <3600@utzoo.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 5-Mar-84 20:57:07 EST
Article-I.D.: utzoo.3600
Posted: Mon Mar  5 20:57:07 1984
Date-Received: Mon, 5-Mar-84 20:57:07 EST
References: <16945@sri-arpa.UUCP>
Organization: U of Toronto Zoology
Lines: 18

Doug Gwyn observes, in part:

	Before invoking ANY system commands, set the expected command
	search path.  This is usually:

	PATH=/bin:/usr/bin

Not quite right.  The proper incantation, one which we take some pains
to always use hereabouts, is:

	PATH=/bin:/usr/bin ; export PATH

Without that magic "export", the user's original PATH is what gets
exported to commands executed from the shell file, which means that
it can reappear without warning.
-- 
				Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology
				{allegra,ihnp4,linus,decvax}!utzoo!henry