Re: style of assignment to variable changes command selection

[Eric Blake]

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Re-adding the list - I am not the bash maintainer, so keeping the list in
the loop is essential if you want any action taken.

According to Doug McIlroy on 3/7/2008 9:12 PM:
| Thank you for the prompt reply
|
|> The difference in behavior is because this is the implementation that bash
|> chose - unlike all other bash builtins (which are not reserved words),
|> time is recognized as the bash version ONLY if it is the first word of a
|> simple command; using a variable assignment bypasses the reserved word
|> recognition and defers to the binary application.
|
| So there's a bug in the manual, which does not breathe a word about
| time being executed by the shell.  And the shell covers its tracks, too:

Like I said, there's a difference between a builtin (for example,
'builtin' or 'exec') and a reserved word (for example, 'time' or 'if').

|
|         % builtin time
|         bash: builtin: time: not a shell builtin
|
| Were I still the keeper of Unix manuals, my fix to the manual
| would be to list this wart under BUGS.

'man bash' correctly lists time under the section RESERVED WORDS.  Also,
'help time' gives evidence that it is special to bash (as 'help' is the
bash builtin that reports about both reserved words and builtins).

|
|
| Doug McIlroy
| (Editor of Unix manuals, editions 7-10)
|

- --
Don't work too hard, make some time for fun as well!

Eric Blake             ebb9@byu.net
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