David Greer ([log in to unmask]) wrote:
: I think that it would be more useful if /etc/profile did the absolute
: minimum necessary to make the POSIX shell and utilities work
: correctly.  Beyond that, there should be a line like:
 
:     if [ -x /etc/profile.local ]; then
:        /etc/profile.local
:     fi
 
This is a great suggestion.
 
: This would probably be improved by having /etc/profile first check to
: see if TERM is already set and if it is don't change it.
 
I like this too!
 
: > export HOME=$PWD
: and if I've done a :CHDIR my $HOME ends up being set incorrectly.
: Jeff might argue that "it's done this way because the POSIX standard
: says it has to be".  That may be true, but it makes the shell unlike
: most HP programs that do not need a supporting command-file/UDC
: structure to make them work correctly.
 
The sh UDC was created so that user .profile files could be found and
executed.  I have never been happy with the need to do the CHDIR to it.  I
work around this in my environment by having a command file that does
setvar ENV "/acct/grp/.profile" and invokes the shell .  When the ENV
variable is set, the shell automatically executes it at startup.
 
: > # On a traditional system, LOGNAME would be set by the login process. Since
: > # this does not occur on MPE/iX, it must be explicitly set up in the system
: > # profile
: > export LOGNAME=`logname`
: >
 
: Why doesn't MPE/iX setup LOGNAME at login time? One reason might be
: because the variable LOGNAME doesn't start with "HP" and HP has done a
: good job of restricting all CI variables to those starting with HP.  I
: think that this is as good a place as any to set this variable.
 
Remember 4.5?  That release did not inherit CI variables into the POSIX
environment.  Therefore, setting LOGNAME at login time would not do any
good.  These days, it would work, but nobody has complained yet...
 
: Have fun in the shell.  With the POSIX developer's kit and some
: Internet software, it's amazing what can be done.
 
Right!
 
Steve