Re: FVWM: simple question: how execute xterm and then a script?

From: Cameron Simpson <cs_at_zip.com.au>
Date: Sun, 18 Aug 2002 15:25:32 +1000

On 09:55 18 Aug 2002, Bruce M Beach <brucemartinbeach_at_21cn.com> wrote:
| On Sun, 18 Aug 2002, Mikhael Goikhman wrote:
| > Funny, the following is incorrect in bash and ksh:
| > % xterm &; xterm
| Yeah. I've seen the above "% xterm &; xterm" fail a million
| times and never learn because it doesn't make any sense to
| me. I think its a bug. Heres a line from a script where I use
| the semi-colon which works just fine:
| cd /usr/src; rm -rf $GCC; tar -zxvf $GCC.tar.gz;
| I guess the & confuses it.

No, the semicolon confuses it. Try this:

        ; echo foo

Works in zsh. Fails in bash:

        [cameron_at_amadeus cameron]$ ; echo foo
        bash: syntax error near unexpected token `;'

Their language syntax just doesn't cope with a semicolon at the start of a
command. Which is sad.

All Bourne shells (bash, zsh etc) should cope with this:

        xterm & xterm & xterm &

because & terminates a command, so you need no separator before the next
xterm. Works in csh too.

For your amusement, bash doesn't cope with this either:

        < foo ( command )

which _ought_ to be the same as this:

        ( command ) < foo

because redirections are supposed to be permitted anywhere.

Cheers,
-- 
Cameron Simpson, DoD#743        cs_at_zip.com.au    http://www.zip.com.au/~cs/
The CBR and ZXR should come with a warning sticker that says 'You are not
Mick Doohan, do NOT be a prat'	- UK's _BIKE_ magazine
--
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Received on Sun Aug 18 2002 - 00:26:24 BST

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