Re: a=if; $a true; then ...

[Chet Ramey]

> Let's say that bash magically started supporting this style of call
> for builtins, just as it works fine for non builtins:

`if' is not a builtin, it's a reserved word.

> $ a='if true;then echo ooo;fi' b=who
> $ $a
> bash: if: command not found
> $ eval $a
> ooo
> $ $b
> jidanni  pts/4        Jul  8 15:41 (:0)
> 
> instead of giving the error.  Would such support violate any standards?

Yes.

-- 
``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/