# gitk doesn't start due to cygwin wish not following symlinks?

2 messages from 2007-07-03 to 2007-07-06. Participants: Kees-Jan Dijkzeul, Jan Hudec.
Thread: https://gitlist.dev/t/8840

## Kees-Jan Dijkzeul, 2007-07-03 19:02

Subject: gitk doesn't start due to cygwin wish not following symlinks?
Message-ID: <fa0b6e200707031202g4a1248d8na22fbf99b215804@mail.gmail.com>
URL: https://gitlist.dev/e/fa0b6e200707031202g4a1248d8na22fbf99b215804%40mail.gmail.com

```
Hi,

I'm using "stow" to manage several versions of git on my cygwin
system. As a result, my /usr/local/bin contains a bunch of symlinks to
the actual binaries in /usr/local/stow/git-1.5.2.2/bin.

This works like a charm, except that gitk won't start up, claiming, in
turn, that it is unable to start git itself. After some investigation,
I found that the "wish" that is supplied with cygwin isn't a true
cygwin one, and hence doesn't understand cygwin style simlinks, and
thus cannot start the /usr/local/bin/git symlink. It needs the true
binary.

So for now, I've worked around this by updating the first few lines of
the gitk script to read:

   #!/bin/sh
   # Tcl ignores the next line -*- tcl -*- \
   export PATH=$PATH:/usr/local/stow/git-1.5.2.2/bin
   # Tcl ignores the next line also \
   exec wish "$0" -- "$@"

This works for me, but is admittedly butt-ugly. Any tips on how to
handle this kind of situation?

Thanks a lot!

Groetjes,

Kees-Jan

```

## Jan Hudec, 2007-07-06 09:33

Subject: Re: gitk doesn't start due to cygwin wish not following symlinks?
Message-ID: <20070706093355.GD3991@efreet.light.src>
URL: https://gitlist.dev/e/20070706093355.GD3991%40efreet.light.src
In-Reply-To: <fa0b6e200707031202g4a1248d8na22fbf99b215804@mail.gmail.com>

```
On Tue, Jul 03, 2007 at 21:02:35 +0200, Kees-Jan Dijkzeul wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I'm using "stow" to manage several versions of git on my cygwin
> system. As a result, my /usr/local/bin contains a bunch of symlinks to
> the actual binaries in /usr/local/stow/git-1.5.2.2/bin.
>
> This works like a charm, except that gitk won't start up, claiming, in
> turn, that it is unable to start git itself. After some investigation,
> I found that the "wish" that is supplied with cygwin isn't a true
> cygwin one, and hence doesn't understand cygwin style simlinks, and
> thus cannot start the /usr/local/bin/git symlink. It needs the true
> binary.
>
> So for now, I've worked around this by updating the first few lines of
> the gitk script to read:
>
>   #!/bin/sh
>   # Tcl ignores the next line -*- tcl -*- \
>   export PATH=$PATH:/usr/local/stow/git-1.5.2.2/bin
>   # Tcl ignores the next line also \
>   exec wish "$0" -- "$@"
>
> This works for me, but is admittedly butt-ugly. Any tips on how to
> handle this kind of situation?

Ask cygwin folks to teach their wish their symlinks?

You could also try putting a git.bat somewhere in path, that would set the
path and run true git from /usr/local/stow/git-1.5.2.2/bin.

-- 
						 Jan 'Bulb' Hudec <bulb@ucw.cz>

```