Michael B Allen wrote: > bob@proulx.com (Bob Proulx) wrote: > > kdm spawns bash --login ~/.xsession > > I think we're on the same page here Bob but I want to point out that > running /usr/bin/bash --login is specific to bash. Yes, but if you were a csh/tcsh user you would use the following ~/.xsession instead. I know I did not say it but left it implied. The examples get very complicated if every possibility is explored in detail. #!/bin/tcsh -l exec x-session-manager The user knows what shell they are using and can match the syntax correctly for it. In this case it would read /etc/csh.cshrc, /etc/csh.login, ~/.cshrc and ~/.login in that order, IIRC. > Another method that uses the user's default shell is to change: > > /etc/X11/Xsession.d/99xfree86-common_start > > to read: > > exec -l $SHELL -c "$STARTUP" That is clever and I like it. But unfortunately exec -l is a bash-ism and so that does not work if /bin/sh is not bash but a different POSIX compatible shell. Users with ash installed as /bin/sh will fail. Because 'exec -l' is not specified by POSIX /bin/sh is not required to implement it. So you can't in general make that change unless you have changed Xsession to use '#!/bin/bash'. Then it works. But many object to using nonstandard bash features like this. > Also, you may or may not have noticed ~/.xsession is not executed > unless the user selects "Default System Session". Yes. See my recent posting[1] with some more description. I just did not expand upon that here. But let me tip my hat to you as an astute and critical reader. > Otherwise I believe the xsession.d scripts bail out before reachine > that step. It won't bail out. In 50xfree86-common_determine-startup if .xsession is not executable it will mark it for execution with the POSIX shell '/bin/sh $STARTUPFILE' and that means the '#!/bin/bash --login' will be a comment and ignored. This has been a source of frustration and confusion to new users because it partially seems to do what they asked it to do. See 'man 5 Xsession' for some documentation on this process. Bob [1] http://lists.debian.org/debian-user/2004/05/msg00142.html
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