The latter is no longer an issue if you switch to $(). Solaris /bin/sh does not support $() --
$ x=$(echo hello) syntax error: `x=$' unexpected As you know, Andreas, we have always tried to make texi2dvi (and GNU shell scripts in general) work under a least-common-denominator shell, which forces omission of plenty of many useful features. Another option, with its own pros and cons, is to try to detect whether the current shell is insufficient and look for a better one. In this case, as is well known, /usr/xpg4/bin/sh. -k
