Re: String substitution bug

[Martin D Kealey]

On Mon, 25 Nov 2024 at 01:08, Andreas Kähäri <andreas.kahari@abc.se> wrote:

> I don't agree that the special parameters should be written as $! etc.
> since those are their _values_ when used in the shell (exactness is a
> virtue in a manual).
>

In a *printed* manual I would agree with you, but in a man page where the
only practical navigation is by means of the search function provided by
the user's pager, showing only a bare single symbol renders that search
facility useless to most users.

Exactitude is a virtue when it serves comprehension and thus utility.
When it impedes utility then it's time to yield to common sense and
compassion.

-Martin

PS: point of order: $! is not the *value* of the variable !, but rather the
two-symbol syntax that when *executed* results in its value being
substituted. When read by a human, it's context-dependent whether the human
is expected to make that substitution, or that the “$” is an informal way
to disambiguate the following word or symbol as the name of a variable. But
even allowing for that, yes it grates when people say things like “assign
to $IFS”. If only this were Perl...