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6.11 Bash POSIX Mode |
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==================== |
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Starting Bash with the '--posix' command-line option or executing 'set |
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-o posix' while Bash is running will cause Bash to conform more closely |
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to the POSIX standard by changing the behavior to match that specified |
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by POSIX in areas where the Bash default differs. |
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When invoked as 'sh', Bash enters POSIX mode after reading the startup |
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files. |
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The following list is what's changed when 'POSIX mode' is in effect: |
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1. Bash ensures that the 'POSIXLY_CORRECT' variable is set. |
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2. When a command in the hash table no longer exists, Bash will |
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re-search '$PATH' to find the new location. This is also available |
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with 'shopt -s checkhash'. |
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3. Bash will not insert a command without the execute bit set into the |
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command hash table, even if it returns it as a (last-ditch) result |
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from a '$PATH' search. |
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4. The message printed by the job control code and builtins when a job |
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exits with a non-zero status is 'Done(status)'. |
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5. The message printed by the job control code and builtins when a job |
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is stopped is 'Stopped(SIGNAME)', where SIGNAME is, for example, |
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'SIGTSTP'. |
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6. Alias expansion is always enabled, even in non-interactive shells. |
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7. Reserved words appearing in a context where reserved words are |
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recognized do not undergo alias expansion. |
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8. The POSIX 'PS1' and 'PS2' expansions of '!' to the history number |
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and '!!' to '!' are enabled, and parameter expansion is performed |
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on the values of 'PS1' and 'PS2' regardless of the setting of the |
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'promptvars' option. |
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9. The POSIX startup files are executed ('$ENV') rather than the |
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normal Bash files. |
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10. Tilde expansion is only performed on assignments preceding a |
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command name, rather than on all assignment statements on the line. |
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11. The default history file is '~/.sh_history' (this is the default |
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value of '$HISTFILE'). |
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12. Redirection operators do not perform filename expansion on the |
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word in the redirection unless the shell is interactive. |
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13. Redirection operators do not perform word splitting on the word in |
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the redirection. |
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14. Function names must be valid shell 'name's. That is, they may not |
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contain characters other than letters, digits, and underscores, and |
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may not start with a digit. Declaring a function with an invalid |
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name causes a fatal syntax error in non-interactive shells. |
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15. Function names may not be the same as one of the POSIX special |
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builtins. |
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16. POSIX special builtins are found before shell functions during |
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command lookup. |
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17. When printing shell function definitions (e.g., by 'type'), Bash |
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does not print the 'function' keyword. |
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18. Literal tildes that appear as the first character in elements of |
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the 'PATH' variable are not expanded as described above under *note |
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Tilde Expansion::. |
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19. The 'time' reserved word may be used by itself as a command. When |
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used in this way, it displays timing statistics for the shell and |
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its completed children. The 'TIMEFORMAT' variable controls the |
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format of the timing information. |
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20. When parsing and expanding a ${...} expansion that appears within |
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double quotes, single quotes are no longer special and cannot be |
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used to quote a closing brace or other special character, unless |
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the operator is one of those defined to perform pattern removal. |
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In this case, they do not have to appear as matched pairs. |
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21. The parser does not recognize 'time' as a reserved word if the |
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next token begins with a '-'. |
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22. The '!' character does not introduce history expansion within a |
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double-quoted string, even if the 'histexpand' option is enabled. |
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23. If a POSIX special builtin returns an error status, a |
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non-interactive shell exits. The fatal errors are those listed in |
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the POSIX standard, and include things like passing incorrect |
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options, redirection errors, variable assignment errors for |
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assignments preceding the command name, and so on. |
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24. A non-interactive shell exits with an error status if a variable |
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assignment error occurs when no command name follows the assignment |
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statements. A variable assignment error occurs, for example, when |
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trying to assign a value to a readonly variable. |
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25. A non-interactive shell exits with an error status if a variable |
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assignment error occurs in an assignment statement preceding a |
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special builtin, but not with any other simple command. |
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26. A non-interactive shell exits with an error status if the |
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iteration variable in a 'for' statement or the selection variable |
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in a 'select' statement is a readonly variable. |
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27. Non-interactive shells exit if FILENAME in '.' FILENAME is not |
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found. |
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28. Non-interactive shells exit if a syntax error in an arithmetic |
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expansion results in an invalid expression. |
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29. Non-interactive shells exit if a parameter expansion error occurs. |
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30. Non-interactive shells exit if there is a syntax error in a script |
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read with the '.' or 'source' builtins, or in a string processed by |
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the 'eval' builtin. |
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31. While variable indirection is available, it may not be applied to |
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the '#' and '?' special parameters. |
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32. When expanding the '*' special parameter in a pattern context |
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where the expansion is double-quoted does not treat the '$*' as if |
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it were double-quoted. |
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33. Assignment statements preceding POSIX special builtins persist in |
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the shell environment after the builtin completes. |
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34. The 'command' builtin does not prevent builtins that take |
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assignment statements as arguments from expanding them as |
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assignment statements; when not in POSIX mode, assignment builtins |
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lose their assignment statement expansion properties when preceded |
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by 'command'. |
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35. The 'bg' builtin uses the required format to describe each job |
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placed in the background, which does not include an indication of |
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whether the job is the current or previous job. |
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36. The output of 'kill -l' prints all the signal names on a single |
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line, separated by spaces, without the 'SIG' prefix. |
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37. The 'kill' builtin does not accept signal names with a 'SIG' |
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prefix. |
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38. The 'export' and 'readonly' builtin commands display their output |
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in the format required by POSIX. |
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39. The 'trap' builtin displays signal names without the leading |
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'SIG'. |
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40. The 'trap' builtin doesn't check the first argument for a possible |
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signal specification and revert the signal handling to the original |
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disposition if it is, unless that argument consists solely of |
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digits and is a valid signal number. If users want to reset the |
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handler for a given signal to the original disposition, they should |
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use '-' as the first argument. |
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41. 'trap -p' displays signals whose dispositions are set to SIG_DFL |
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and those that were ignored when the shell started. |
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42. The '.' and 'source' builtins do not search the current directory |
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for the filename argument if it is not found by searching 'PATH'. |
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43. Enabling POSIX mode has the effect of setting the |
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'inherit_errexit' option, so subshells spawned to execute command |
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substitutions inherit the value of the '-e' option from the parent |
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shell. When the 'inherit_errexit' option is not enabled, Bash |
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clears the '-e' option in such subshells. |
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44. Enabling POSIX mode has the effect of setting the 'shift_verbose' |
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option, so numeric arguments to 'shift' that exceed the number of |
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positional parameters will result in an error message. |
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45. When the 'alias' builtin displays alias definitions, it does not |
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display them with a leading 'alias ' unless the '-p' option is |
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supplied. |
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46. When the 'set' builtin is invoked without options, it does not |
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display shell function names and definitions. |
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47. When the 'set' builtin is invoked without options, it displays |
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variable values without quotes, unless they contain shell |
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metacharacters, even if the result contains nonprinting characters. |
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48. When the 'cd' builtin is invoked in LOGICAL mode, and the pathname |
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constructed from '$PWD' and the directory name supplied as an |
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argument does not refer to an existing directory, 'cd' will fail |
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instead of falling back to PHYSICAL mode. |
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49. When the 'cd' builtin cannot change a directory because the length |
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of the pathname constructed from '$PWD' and the directory name |
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supplied as an argument exceeds PATH_MAX when all symbolic links |
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are expanded, 'cd' will fail instead of attempting to use only the |
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supplied directory name. |
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50. The 'pwd' builtin verifies that the value it prints is the same as |
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the current directory, even if it is not asked to check the file |
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system with the '-P' option. |
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51. When listing the history, the 'fc' builtin does not include an |
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indication of whether or not a history entry has been modified. |
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52. The default editor used by 'fc' is 'ed'. |
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53. The 'type' and 'command' builtins will not report a non-executable |
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file as having been found, though the shell will attempt to execute |
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such a file if it is the only so-named file found in '$PATH'. |
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54. The 'vi' editing mode will invoke the 'vi' editor directly when |
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the 'v' command is run, instead of checking '$VISUAL' and |
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'$EDITOR'. |
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55. When the 'xpg_echo' option is enabled, Bash does not attempt to |
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interpret any arguments to 'echo' as options. Each argument is |
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displayed, after escape characters are converted. |
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56. The 'ulimit' builtin uses a block size of 512 bytes for the '-c' |
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and '-f' options. |
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57. The arrival of 'SIGCHLD' when a trap is set on 'SIGCHLD' does not |
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interrupt the 'wait' builtin and cause it to return immediately. |
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The trap command is run once for each child that exits. |
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58. The 'read' builtin may be interrupted by a signal for which a trap |
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has been set. If Bash receives a trapped signal while executing |
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'read', the trap handler executes and 'read' returns an exit status |
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greater than 128. |
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59. Bash removes an exited background process's status from the list |
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of such statuses after the 'wait' builtin is used to obtain it. |
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There is other POSIX behavior that Bash does not implement by default |
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even when in POSIX mode. Specifically: |
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1. The 'fc' builtin checks '$EDITOR' as a program to edit history |
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entries if 'FCEDIT' is unset, rather than defaulting directly to |
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'ed'. 'fc' uses 'ed' if 'EDITOR' is unset. |
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2. As noted above, Bash requires the 'xpg_echo' option to be enabled |
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for the 'echo' builtin to be fully conformant. |
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Bash can be configured to be POSIX-conformant by default, by specifying |
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the '--enable-strict-posix-default' to 'configure' when building (*note |
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Optional Features::). |
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