Bug 111265 - [request] Clarify how to set common shell variables
Summary: [request] Clarify how to set common shell variables
Status: Open
Alias: None
Product: Documentation
Classification: Unclassified
Component: Books & Articles (show other bugs)
Version: Latest
Hardware: Any Any
: Normal Affects Only Me
Assignee: freebsd-doc (Nobody)
URL:
Keywords:
Depends on:
Blocks:
 
Reported: 2007-04-05 11:20 UTC by Victor Engmark
Modified: 2023-11-24 02:16 UTC (History)
1 user (show)

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Description Victor Engmark 2007-04-05 11:20:03 UTC
Until reading section 3.9.1, it looks like section 3.9 advocates setting
all shell variables using setenv / export. Since this is not the case for
at least $SHELL and $TERM (and, I presume, $OSTYPE and $MACHTYPE), new
users might get unexpected results when trying to change variables.

Assuming that the handbook is used as a reference, maybe the information
should be re-organized to avoid misunderstandings.

Fix: 

The explanations of the individual shell variables in section 3.9 could
be moved into the sections discussing their use (such as 3.10, "Editors",
for $EDITOR and 3.9.1, "Changing Your Shell", for $SHELL).

Another option would be to add a warning that some variables should not
be set using setenv / export, or explicitly point out which commands
should be used / link to the relevant documentation.
Comment 1 Eitan Adler freebsd_committer freebsd_triage 2017-12-31 08:00:31 UTC
For bugs matching the following criteria:

Status: In Progress Changed: (is less than) 2014-06-01

Reset to default assignee and clear in-progress tags.

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Comment 2 Minsoo Choo 2023-11-24 02:16:49 UTC
There have been many modifications to FreeBSD Handbook, and section 3.9.1 doesn't exist anymore. I think we can close this report.