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Introduction |
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============ |
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This is GNU Bash, version 5.1. Bash is the GNU Project's Bourne |
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Again SHell, a complete implementation of the POSIX shell spec, |
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but also with interactive command line editing, job control on |
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architectures that support it, csh-like features such as history |
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substitution and brace expansion, and a slew of other features. |
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For more information on the features of Bash that are new to this |
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type of shell, see the file `doc/bashref.texi'. There is also a |
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large Unix-style man page. The man page is the definitive description |
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of the shell's features. |
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|
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See the file POSIX for a discussion of how the Bash defaults differ |
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from the POSIX spec and a description of the Bash `posix mode'. |
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There are some user-visible incompatibilities between this version |
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of Bash and previous widely-distributed versions, bash-4.4 and |
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bash-5.0. For details, see the file COMPAT. The NEWS file tersely |
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lists features that are new in this release. |
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Bash is free software, distributed under the terms of the [GNU] General |
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Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation, |
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version 3 of the License (or any later version). For more information, |
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see the file COPYING. |
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A number of frequently-asked questions are answered in the file |
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`doc/FAQ'. |
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To compile Bash, type `./configure', then `make'. Bash auto-configures |
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the build process, so no further intervention should be necessary. Bash |
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builds with `gcc' by default if it is available. If you want to use `cc' |
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instead, type |
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|
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CC=cc ./configure |
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|
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if you are using a Bourne-style shell. If you are not, the following |
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may work: |
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|
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env CC=cc ./configure |
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|
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Read the file INSTALL in this directory for more information about how |
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to customize and control the build process. The file NOTES contains |
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platform-specific installation and configuration information. |
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|
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If you are a csh user and wish to convert your csh aliases to Bash |
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aliases, you may wish to use the script `examples/misc/alias-conv.sh' |
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as a starting point. The script `examples/misc/cshtobash' is a |
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more ambitious script that attempts to do a more complete job. |
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|
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Reporting Bugs |
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============== |
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Bug reports for bash should be sent to: |
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bug-bash@gnu.org |
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using the `bashbug' program that is built and installed at the same |
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time as bash. |
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|
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The discussion list `bug-bash@gnu.org' often contains information |
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about new ports of Bash, or discussions of new features or behavior |
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changes that people would like. This mailing list is also available |
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as a usenet newsgroup: gnu.bash.bug. |
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When you send a bug report, please use the `bashbug' program that is |
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built at the same time as bash. If bash fails to build, try building |
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bashbug directly with `make bashbug'. If you cannot build `bashbug', |
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please send mail to bug-bash@gnu.org with the following information: |
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|
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* the version number and release status of Bash (e.g., 2.05a-release) |
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* the machine and OS that it is running on (you may run |
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`bashversion -l' from the bash build directory for this information) |
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* a list of the compilation flags or the contents of `config.h', if |
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appropriate |
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* a description of the bug |
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* a recipe for recreating the bug reliably |
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* a fix for the bug if you have one! |
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|
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The `bashbug' program includes much of this automatically. |
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Questions and requests for help with bash and bash programming may be |
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sent to the help-bash@gnu.org mailing list. |
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If you would like to contact the Bash maintainers directly, send mail |
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to bash-maintainers@gnu.org. |
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While the Bash maintainers do not promise to fix all bugs, we would |
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like this shell to be the best that we can make it. |
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|
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Other Packages |
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============== |
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|
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This distribution includes, in examples/bash-completion, a recent version |
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of the `bash-completion' package, which provides programmable completions |
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for a number of commands. It's available as a package in many distributions, |
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and that is the first place from which to obtain it. If it's not a package |
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from your vendor, you may install the included version. |
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|
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The latest version of bash-completion is always available from |
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https://github.com/scop/bash-completion. |
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Enjoy! |
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|
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Chet Ramey |
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chet.ramey@case.edu |
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|
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Copying and distribution of this file, with or without modification, |
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are permitted in any medium without royalty provided the copyright |
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notice and this notice are preserved. This file is offered as-is, |
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without any warranty. |
