`$x` adds single quotes during interpolation under Wrong Circumstances

[philo vivero]

Configuration Information [Automatically generated, do not change]:
Machine: i586
OS: linux-gnu
Compiler: i586-mandrake-linux-gnu-gcc
Compilation CFLAGS:  -DPROGRAM='bash' -DCONF_HOSTTYPE='i586'
-DCONF_OSTYPE='linux-gnu' -DCONF_MACHTYPE='i586-mandrake-linux-gnu'
-DCONF_VENDOR='m
uname output: Linux tworktop 2.4.21-0.13mdk #1 Fri Mar 14 15:08:06 EST
2003 i686 unknown unknown GNU/Linux
Machine Type: i586-mandrake-linux-gnu

Bash Version: 2.05b
Patch Level: 0
Release Status: release


Description:
        Doing `$x` will add single-quotes sometimes -- but not always.
        It won't add single-quotes if $x doesn't contain escaped
        characters. This makes it impossible in some shell scripts to
        get desired/intended behaviour and in any case seems backwards.
        If the author has bothered to escape things, he should be able
        to undestand how to do multiple escapes for multiple
        interpolations.
        
        Just to clarify, if you don't understand why this is important,
        the bug was discovered when calling a function, say
        "cleanlogs()" with the arguments "/var/log \*log.\*" and then
        there being a file in the home directory called
        install.log.syslog (which matches) and thus a subsequent find
        becoming "find /var/log -name 'install.log.syslog'" which
        clearly wasn't what was intended.


Repeat-By:
       # touch install.log.syslog
       # set -x
       # a=\*log.\*
       + a=*log.*
       # FILE=`echo $a`
       ++ echo install.log.syslog  # it gets wildcard-interpolated
       + FILE=install.log.syslog
       # a=\\\*log.\\\*
       + a=\*log.\* 
       # FILE=`echo $a`
       ++ echo '\*log.\*'          # !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
       + FILE=\*log.\*
       # set +x
       # bash --version
       GNU bash, version 2.05b.0(1)-release (i586-mandrake-linux-gnu)
       Copyright (C) 2002 Free Software Foundation, Inc.


Fix:
        Either always or never add single quotes when doing backtick
        interpolation on a variable.

-- 
pv