On Mon, Oct 25, 2004 at 05:36:29PM -0400, Lew Bloch wrote:
> "Robert P. J. Day" wisely reminded us:
> >a classic example is to append some entries to your search path:
> >
> > PATH=$PATH:blah:woof:.....
> >
> >rerunning .bash_profile means that those entries will be appended
> >*again*. not fatal, of course, but i think too many people very
> >cavalierly re-source that file without making sure there are no
> >adverse consequences.
>
> With care you can ensure that your .bash_profile actions are idempotent
> - they leave the same result state as the first time every time.
>
> For example:
>
> if [ "${PATH/\/blah\/bin/}" = "${PATH}" ]
> then
> PATH=${PATH}:/blah/bin
> fi
>
> which might leave /blah/bin in the PATH at some position not the end, or
......
Very good advice.
In general such tinkering should be done
with a $HOME/.my-project file.
The .bash_profile file can have a line
. $HOME/.my-project-X
This line can be commented out while you are working on it.
You can always type the same command while you are testing as well.
. $HOME/.my-project-X
The value of this is that it isolates the changes and sets the
stage for a more tidy user home. It also permits moving the function
to a system file.... See all the other equivalent files.
/etc/profile.d/*.sh
--
T o m M i t c h e l l
May your cup runneth over with goodness and mercy
and may your buffers never overflow.
