Re: [Help-bash] Option execfail does not work in subshells

[doark]

On Tue, 8 Aug 2017 17:04:12 +0200
"R. Diez" <address@hidden> wrote:
> 
> > `execfail' only works when the shell is interactive.  Subshells are
> > not considered interactive shells.  
> 
> But that is not what the documentation says:
> 
> -----8<-----8<-----8<-----
> execfail
> 
> If this is set, a non-interactive shell will not exit if it cannot 
> execute the file specified as an argument to the exec builtin command. 
> An interactive shell does not exit if exec fails.
> -----8<-----8<-----8<-----
<snip>

Notice that the two statements above are similar but not the *same*.
> If this is set, a non-interactive shell will not exit if it cannot 
> execute the file specified as an argument to the exec builtin command. 
See the word "file", it's not equivalent to the word "function"[1].
Notice also that exec could fail for other reasons which are not listed
above but also not covered.

> An interactive shell does not exit if exec fails.
OTOH, an interactive shell would not exit if, for *any* reason exec fails.

What confuses me is why the word "builtin" is used in terms of exec in
the non-interactive case, whereas it is not used in the interactive case.
Perhaps bash needs some form of control over the function that could not
be achieved using a file.

Sincerely,
David


[1] Technically, calling a file and a function in sh should be identical,
but this is probably a side case.