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Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!bonnie!lda
From: lda@bonnie.UUCP (Larry Auton)
Newsgroups: net.bugs.usg
Subject: Re: PATH bug?
Message-ID: <526@bonnie.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 9-Aug-85 09:03:39 EDT
Article-I.D.: bonnie.526
Posted: Fri Aug  9 09:03:39 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 15-Aug-85 02:58:21 EDT
References: <807@plus5.UUCP> <2562@sun.uucp>
Reply-To: lda@bonnie.UUCP (Larry Auton)
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories, Whippany NJ
Lines: 46
Summary: 

In article <2562@sun.uucp> guy@sun.uucp (Guy Harris) writes:
>> If the current directory is specified as the last directory searched using
>> a trailing ":" instead of ":." (in $PATH) then sh will not find executable
>> files in the current directory.
>> 
>> The problem only seems to occur when the current directory is searched last.
>> 
>.... I.e., it doesn't know the difference between
>
>	/bin:/usr/bin
>
>and
>
>	/bin:/usr/bin:
>
>The fix should be obvious (look in "service.c") - unless this is a feature,
>not a bug...
>
>	Guy Harris

If you consider the ':' in the PATH to be the terminator, and the
end of the string to be a terminator only by necessity (i.e. convenience),
then the "bug is not a bug".  If

	PATH=:/bin:/usr/bin

then the first component in the string is NULL, and thus by default,
points to the current directory.  If

	PATH=/bin::/usr/bin

Then the second component is NULL, and the current directory is searched.
Finally, if

	PATH=/bin:/usr/bin:

then there *is no third component to the path*, and so the current
directory is not searched.  It's only a convenience to the user to
allow paths that do not end with a ':'.  All paths "should" end with
a ':', just as all interrogatory sentences "should" end with a '?'.

See what I mean
-- 
Larry Auton
(201)386-4272
ihnp4!bonnie!lda