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Title: New Bash 2.01 in S.u.S.E. Linux 5.0

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New Bash 2.01 in S.u.S.E. Linux 5.0

Applies to

SuSE Linux: Versions since 5.0

Symptom:

You get error messages when running Bash scripts, even though they used to run without problems before.

Cause:

The new Bash 2.0 is included in S.u.S.E. Linux as of version 5.0. Previously Bash 1.14 was used. The new Bash has some new features resp. interprets some old features in a different way.

If Bash is started as /bin/sh, the POSIX mode is activated by default. This mode forbids certain constructs that were possible in earlier Bash versions,although they are not strictly POSIX conform.

We know of the following differences:

Differences

Especially the two changes with semi-cola often occur within handwritten scripts.

Please note, that all mentioned differences may NOT be regarded as errors but only "changes". Indeed the new Bash provides a better conformance with the POSIX standard than the old one.

The decision to switch to Bash 2.0 was taken because Bash will become the standard in the near future. Together with the introduction of the new package management (RPM) and other major changes in S.u.S.E. Linux 5.0 it was the right moment to introduce the new Bash.

Besides the listed differences above, there are no other problems to be expected with the new Bash 2.0 . On the contrary : The new Bash will offer you many interesting features, Bash as an interactive shell becomes much more comfortable. Please read the manpage and the documentation (/usr/doc/packages/bash/bashref.html resp. /usr/doc/packages/bash/FAQ).

Solution in case of problems:

There are several possibilities :

  1. Switch back to the old Bash 1.14; the easiest way to do this is to exchange both Bashes:
            cd /bin && mv bash bash2 && ln -s bash1 bash
    

  2. Make your scripts compatible with Bash 2.0; This will for sure turn out to be an important step within short time (and not only in a S.u.S.E. Linux system).

  3. The Posix mode can be switched off with set +o posix . With the command set -o the current options will be printed.

  4. Use /bin/bash as the login shell, not /bin/sh.

  5. If you'll encounter any broken shell script in S.u.S.E. Linux 5.0, which we didn't notice so far, please e-mail your feedback to S.u.S.E.: mailto:feedback@suse.de.

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Keywords: BASH, 2.01, SHELL, COMMAND LINE, INPUT LINE, 5.0, INTERPRETER

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Categories: Applications

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SDB-maddin_bash2, Copyright SuSE GmbH, Nuremberg, Germany - Version: 06. Jun 1997
SuSE GmbH - Last generated: 07. Oct 1999 16:58:53 by maddin with sdb_gen 1.00.0