Re: bash 4.x filters out environmental variables containing a dot in the name

[Chet Ramey]

Christian Krause wrote:
> Configuration Information [Automatically generated, do not change]:
> Machine: i386
> OS: linux-gnu
> Compiler: gcc
> Compilation CFLAGS:  -DPROGRAM='bash' -DCONF_HOSTTYPE='i386'
> -DCONF_OSTYPE='linux-gnu' -DCONF_MACHTYPE='i386-redhat-linux-gnu'
> -DCONF_VENDOR='redhat' -DLOCALEDIR='/usr/share/locale' -DPACKAGE='bash'
> -DSHELL -DHAVE_CONFIG_H   -I.  -I. -I./include -I./lib  -D_GNU_SOURCE
> -D_LARGEFILE_SOURCE -D_FILE_OFFSET_BITS=64 -O2 -g -pipe -Wall
> -Wp,-D_FORTIFY_SOURCE=2 -fexceptions -fstack-protector
> --param=ssp-buffer-size=4 -m32 -march=i586 -mtune=generic
> -fasynchronous-unwind-tables
> uname output: Linux noname 2.6.29.4-167.fc11.i686.PAE #1 SMP Wed May 27
> 17:28:22 EDT 2009 i686 i686 i386 GNU/Linux
> Machine Type: i386-redhat-linux-gnu
> 
> Bash Version: 4.0
> Patch Level: 16
> Release Status: release
> 
> Description:
> During the compilation of the linux kernel (configured to user mode
> linux) I've discovered the following problem of bash 4.0 (which is now
> delivered by Fedora 11):
> 
> If an environmental variable contains a "." in its name, the new bash
> 4.0 filters out these variables. They will not be visible via "set" nor
> will they be inherited to executed sub-shells or processes.

Such strings are invalid shell or environment variable names.  It was a
bug in bash-3.2 that it created invalid variables from the initial
environment.

Chet
-- 
``The lyf so short, the craft so long to lerne.'' - Chaucer

Chet Ramey, ITS, CWRU    chet@case.edu    http://cnswww.cns.cwru.edu/~chet/