| Introduction |
| ============ |
| |
| This is GNU Bash, version 4.0. Bash is the GNU Project's Bourne |
| Again SHell, a complete implementation of the POSIX.2 shell spec, |
| but also with interactive command line editing, job control on |
| architectures that support it, csh-like features such as history |
| substitution and brace expansion, and a slew of other features. |
| For more information on the features of Bash that are new to this |
| type of shell, see the file `doc/bashref.texi'. There is also a |
| large Unix-style man page. The man page is the definitive description |
| of the shell's features. |
| |
| See the file POSIX for a discussion of how the Bash defaults differ |
| from the POSIX.2 spec and a description of the Bash `posix mode'. |
| |
| There are some user-visible incompatibilities between this version |
| of Bash and previous widely-distributed versions, bash-2.05b and |
| bash-3.2. For details, see the file COMPAT. The NEWS file tersely |
| lists features that are new in this release. |
| |
| Bash is free software, distributed under the terms of the [GNU] General |
| Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation, |
| version 3 of the License (or any later version). For more information, |
| see the file COPYING. |
| |
| A number of frequently-asked questions are answered in the file |
| `doc/FAQ'. |
| |
| To compile Bash, try typing `./configure', then `make'. Bash |
| auto-configures the build process, so no further intervention |
| should be necessary. Bash builds with `gcc' by default if it is |
| available. If you want to use `cc' instead, type |
| |
| CC=cc ./configure |
| |
| if you are using a Bourne-style shell. If you are not, the following |
| may work: |
| |
| env CC=cc ./configure |
| |
| Read the file INSTALL in this directory for more information about how |
| to customize and control the build process. The file NOTES contains |
| platform-specific installation and configuration information. |
| |
| If you are a csh user and wish to convert your csh aliases to Bash |
| aliases, you may wish to use the script `examples/misc/alias-conv.sh' |
| as a starting point. The script `examples/misc/cshtobash' is a |
| more ambitious script that attempts to do a more complete job. |
| |
| Reporting Bugs |
| ============== |
| |
| Bug reports for bash should be sent to: |
| |
| bug-bash@gnu.org |
| |
| using the `bashbug' program that is built and installed at the same |
| time as bash. |
| |
| The discussion list `bug-bash@gnu.org' often contains information |
| about new ports of Bash, or discussions of new features or behavior |
| changes that people would like. This mailing list is also available |
| as a usenet newsgroup: gnu.bash.bug. |
| |
| When you send a bug report, please use the `bashbug' program that is |
| built at the same time as bash. If bash fails to build, try building |
| bashbug directly with `make bashbug'. If you cannot build `bashbug', |
| please send mail to bug-bash@gnu.org with the following information: |
| |
| * the version number and release status of Bash (e.g., 2.05a-release) |
| * the machine and OS that it is running on (you may run |
| `bashversion -l' from the bash build directory for this information) |
| * a list of the compilation flags or the contents of `config.h', if |
| appropriate |
| * a description of the bug |
| * a recipe for recreating the bug reliably |
| * a fix for the bug if you have one! |
| |
| The `bashbug' program includes much of this automatically. |
| |
| If you would like to contact the Bash maintainers directly, send mail |
| to bash-maintainers@gnu.org. |
| |
| While the Bash maintainers do not promise to fix all bugs, we would |
| like this shell to be the best that we can make it. |
| |
| Enjoy! |
| |
| Chet Ramey |
| chet.ramey@case.edu |