Experimental Physics and
Industrial Control System

"J. Lewis Muir" <[email protected]> · Mon, 5 Nov 2018 09:48:13 -0600

On 09/11, J. Lewis Muir wrote:
> Hi, all!
> 
> I suggest that all EPICS-Base-installed Perl scripts should use an
> absolute path to the desired Perl interpreter in their shebang line
> rather than using env to invoke the interpreter.
> 
> I'm reminded of this because of
> 
>   https://epics.anl.gov/core-talk/2018/msg00443.php
> 
> in which Martin Konrad wrote:
> 
> > Looking at the Perl scripts included in EPICS Base I'm wondering if it
> > is really necessary to start some of them (see for example [1]) with the
> > rather esoteric
> > 
> > eval 'exec perl -S $0 ${1+"$@"}'  # -*- Mode: perl -*-
> >     if $running_under_some_shell;
> > 
> > rather than the usual "#!/usr/bin/perl" or "#!/usr/bin/env perl"
> 
> I would much prefer the former over the latter, but it seems the latter
> is what has been chosen!  This was discussed on Tech-Talk in
> 
>   https://epics.anl.gov/tech-talk/2013/msg00098.php
> 
> but I'll just say again, I think the pathname of the Perl interpreter
> should be specified as a variable in an appropriate file under configure
> and for that to be used in the shebang line of all installed Perl
> scripts.  I would like scripts to work without requiring perl to be
> on the command search path, and I would like to be able to specify
> which perl is used for the scripts when they are installed rather than
> whatever perl is first on the command search path.  This way, the
> scripts do not rely on the command search path to find perl, and if
> multiple versions of Perl are installed, or if the perl that is first
> on the command search path changes, I can be sure that the installed
> scripts will continue to work.  For more on this opinion, see
> 
>   http://julio.meroh.net/2016/09/env-considered-harmful.html
> 
> Thanks!
> 
> Lewis

Hello!

Would any core developers be willing to weigh in on this?

Here's the archive of the thread in case you no longer have it:

  https://epics.anl.gov/core-talk/2018/msg00448.php

The only core developer who replied to this thread was Michael
Davidsaver, but that was not about this, it was about a thread hijack on
bashisms.

Thanks!

Lewis

Experimental Physics and Industrial Control System

Experimental Physics and
Industrial Control System