Re: Bash misbehaves when POSIXLY_CORRECT is set

[Chet Ramey]

> Machine Type: i386-pc-linux-gnu
> 
> Bash Version: 2.05
> Patch Level: 0
> Release Status: release
> 
> Description:
> 
> I recently set the POSIXLY_CORRECT environment variable (as documented
> by GNU df or GNU du) to get 512 byte as default output.  I set this
> variable in /etc/environment (which is evaluated through PAM modules
> during the login).
> 
> Today after first re-logging after doing the chance I noticed that the
> bash is no longer reading /etc/profile, ~/.bash_profile nor ~/.bashrc.
> 
> I don't know if this behaviour is indented but the whole bash manpage
> didn't even mentioned this environment variable. 

It's an omission in the man page.  Here's the text from the current
development versions:

       POSIXLY_CORRECT
              If  this  variable  is in the environment when bash
              starts, the shell enters posix mode before  reading
              the  startup  files,  as  if the --posix invocation
              option had been supplied.  If it is set  while  the
              shell  is  running,  bash enables posix mode, as if
              the command set -o posix had been executed.

-- 
``The lyf so short, the craft so long to lerne.'' - Chaucer
( ``Discere est Dolere'' -- chet)

Chet Ramey, CWRU    chet@po.CWRU.Edu    http://cnswww.cns.cwru.edu/~chet/