Another bourne shell build script problem

[Paul Keusemann]

Hello, it's me again. :-)

I just tried to build mutt-1.10.0 on Solaris 10 and ran into this:

2018/05/23 09:01:37 Building in
/net/nas1/bpool/local/local_src/Mail/Mutt/mutt-1 .10.0 ...
./gen_defs ./OPS ./OPS.PGP ./OPS.SMIME ./OPS.CRYPT > keymap_defs.h
./patchlist.sh < ./PATCHES > patchlist.c echo 'const char
*ReleaseDate = "'`(cd . && ./mkreldate.sh)`'";' > reldate.h
./mkreldate.sh: syntax error at line 6: `reldate=$' unexpected

Switching from $() to `` or from /bin/sh to /bin/ksh (or /bin/bash)
resolves the problem.

[Vincent Lefevre]

Hi,

Post by Paul Keusemann
Switching from $() to ``

This change should be OK.

Post by Paul Keusemann
or from /bin/sh to /bin/ksh (or /bin/bash) resolves the problem.

ksh and bash are not necessarily installed (or may be in some other
directory). Only /bin/sh is guaranteed to exist.

[Kevin J. McCarthy]

Post by Vincent Lefevre

Post by Paul Keusemann
Switching from $() to ``

This change should be OK.

Roger Cornelius also reported this issue (in a private email), although
I don't know what platform he is on. I asked him to email mutt-dev, and
mentioned the last discussion where we seemed to be inclined to move
away from non-posix shells.

However, this incompatible change was inadvertant and easily fixable.
It seems needlessly punitive to not just change it back to ``. Are
there any good reasons to keep it as $()?

[Simon Ruderich]

Post by Kevin J. McCarthy
However, this incompatible change was inadvertant and easily fixable.
It seems needlessly punitive to not just change it back to ``. Are
there any good reasons to keep it as $()?

$() is the "new" syntax for `` with better support for nesting.
Besides that there should be no difference AFAIK.

Regards
Simon