Re: PW#5-10: System-wide environment variables used for program config

[Remco Blaakmeer <remco@blaakmeer.student.utwente.nl>]

On 15 Jan 1998, Karl M. Hegbloom wrote:

>  Bash-2.0 `help exec' reads:
> 
>  exec: exec [-cl] [-a name] file [redirection ...]
>     Exec FILE, replacing this shell with the specified program.
>     If FILE is not specified, the redirections take effect in this
>     shell.  If the first argument is `-l', then place a dash in the
>     zeroth arg passed to FILE, as login does.  If the `-c' option
>     is supplied, FILE is executed with a null environment.  The `-a'
>     option means to make set argv[0] of the executed process to NAME.
>     If the file cannot be executed and the shell is not interactive,
>     then the shell exits, unless the shell option `execfail' is set.
> 
>  ... is the `-a' a POSIX feature?

>From the man page for `sh' on a SunOS 5.5 box:

     exec [ argument ... ]
          The command specified by the arguments is  executed  in
          place  of  this  shell  without creating a new process.
          Input/output arguments may  appear  and,  if  no  other
          arguments are given, cause the shell input/output to be
          modified.

So, I don't think any of the flags to `exec' are POSIX features.

Remco