From: Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>
Date: Fri, 21 Sep 2012 21:59:04 GMT
Subject: Re: [PATCH] t/test-lib.sh: do not trust $SHELL
Message-ID: <7vlig33umv.fsf@alter.siamese.dyndns.org>
In-Reply-To: <CALkWK0nLLEF7wnUhF0JUAZVP6GG3KHmuYSDZLPS7uGCZPfhV3w@mail.gmail.com>

Ramkumar Ramachandra <artagnon@gmail.com> writes:

> Hi Peff,
>
> Jeff King wrote:
>> On Sat, Sep 22, 2012 at 02:37:38AM +0530, Ramkumar Ramachandra wrote:
>>
>>> > I don't think that is the right thing to do. The point of SHELL is to
>>> > point at a bourne-compatible shell. On some systems, the main reason to
>>> > set it is that /bin/sh is _broken_, and we are trying to avoid it.
>>>
>>> But you're only avoiding it in the --tee/ --va* codepath.  In the
>>> normal codepath, you're stuck with /bin/sh anyway.
>>
>> No, the #!-header is only information. When you run "make test" we
>> actually invoke the shell ourselves using $SHELL_PATH.
>
> My SHELL_PATH is not set, and I can see SHELL_PATH ?= $(SHELL) in the
> Makefile.  Which shell is it supposed to point to?

SHELL_PATH is always supposed to point to a Bourne that can be used
to run POSIXy shell scripts.  I think the fallback you pointed out
above assumes that the majority of people who type "make" use Bourne
compatibles as their $SHELL and the default is to help the majority.

It may not hurt to add a note to INSTALL for people who use $SHELL
that is not Bourne (csh and zsh users, but there may be others) that
they need to set SHELL_PATH, of course.