Re: GNU Bash v.4.4.23-5 built-in function 'set' produces variable outputs

[Greg Wooledge]

On Fri, Oct 19, 2018 at 09:41:41PM +0200, Ricky Tigg wrote:
> Built-in function 'set' produces variable outputs.

> $ export SSLKEYLOGFILE=/home/user/test
> 
> $ set | grep SSL
> SSLKEYLOGFILE=/home/user/test
> _=SSLKEYLOGFILE

This is not a bug.  The Special Parameter "_" is explained in the manual:

       _      At  shell  startup,  set to the absolute pathname used to invoke
              the shell or shell script being executed as passed in the  envi‐
              ronment  or  argument  list.   Subsequently, expands to the last
              argument to the previous command, after expansion.  Also set  to
              the  full  pathname  used  to  invoke  each command executed and
              placed in the environment exported to that command.  When check‐
              ing  mail,  this  parameter holds the name of the mail file cur‐
              rently being checked.

What you're seeing is simply that the varying content of $_ sometimes
matches your grep, and sometimes not.

wooledg:~$ true
wooledg:~$ echo "$_"
true
wooledg:~$ true blue
wooledg:~$ echo "$_"
blue
wooledg:~$ true blue | grep foo
wooledg:~$ echo "$_"

wooledg:~$ X=Y
wooledg:~$ echo "$_"

wooledg:~$ export X=Y
wooledg:~$ echo "$_"
X

In your example, after the export command, $_ contains "SSLKEYLOGFILE"
and therefore it matches your first grep.  However, after that grep
command finishes, $_ is empty (I don't know why -- possibly because each
"command" of the pipeline runs in a subshell?), and so it does NOT match
your second grep.