Hi Jonathan, On Fri, 2010-11-05 at 03:17:13 -0500, Jonathan Nieder <jrnie...@gmail.com> wrote: > > Please try > > % bash -c 'test ! -a . && echo true' > > and compare with the result of > > % bash -c '/usr/bin/test ! -a . && echo true' > > So which one is right?
Both should echo "true", but the former did not: I found that the former sometimes returns the correct result, but have not found what makes the difference. Plus, this problem might have been fixed in current stable (Version: 3.2-4) package: I cannot represent the problem now. According to the help command, the '-a FILE' file operator returns true if file exists. > My recommendation is to never use the ! or -a 'test' operators. > They are superfluous next to the shell-supported ! and &&. > POSIX does not mandate support for -a (though XSI does), perhaps for > this reason. I agree with your recommendation: I usually use '-e' operator. I found this problem when debugging a code written by my colleague. Thanks, Masanobu -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-bugs-dist-requ...@lists.debian.org with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact listmas...@lists.debian.org
