ifs seems a holdover. it's only ever used in `{} yet
it's a global inherited variable. so it's easy to write
a script that assumes that ifs is set to the default.
a seemingly useful way to use ifs is as a local. one
would think
ifs=burble fu=`{bar}
would be sensible, but unfortunately this is doubly
wrong. the assignments aren't local since there is
no command, just assignments. this could be fixed by
ifs=burble {fu=`{bar}}
but if bar is a script and isn't quite careful about
setting ifs before using it, bar will produce surprises.
it seems to me the easiest way to fix this is to introduce
a new form of `{} that allows the splitting characters
to be specified without fidding ifs, so
fu=`burble {bar}
(fortunately rc didn't adopt byron's `word form.)
this has the advantage of not breaking anything while
still allowing one to write scripts more precisely.
the code is contrib quanstro/rchistory. enjoy.
- erik
