Re: distcheck fails with autotest: autom4te: cannot open ../../tests/testsuite.tmp: Permission denied

[Jim Meyering]

Andreas Schwab <address@hidden> wrote:

> Jim Meyering <address@hidden> writes:
>
>> Here's slightly different wording to show that it's a write
>> failure that's not diagnosed:
>
> It is not a write failure that is ignored (this would not be bug in the
> shell but in the program that produces the output) but the failure to
> redirect a compound command.
>
>>   Some versions of GNU Bash do not properly set @samp{$?} when
>>   writing the output from a @address@hidden@}} block fails.
>
> It's not restricted to brace groups, it also fails when redirecting any
> other compound command (except for the subshell groups).

Yep.  Here's another example, to illustrate:

    $ bash -c 'while :; do echo; done > /bad'; echo $?
    bash: /bad: Permission denied
    0

Saying "redirected" is important, after all.
So this wording is more accurate:

  Some versions of GNU Bash do not properly set @samp{$?} when
  failing to write redirected output of any compound command other than
  a subshell group.