How does bash differ from the Korn shell, version ksh88?
How does bash differ from the Korn shell, version ksh88?
Things bash has or uses that ksh88 does not:
long invocation options
[-+]O invocation option
`!' reserved word
arithmetic for command: for ((expr1 ; expr2; expr3 )); do list; done
posix mode and posix conformance
command hashing
tilde expansion for assignment statements that look like $PATH
process substitution with named pipes if /dev/fd is not available
the ${!param} indirect parameter expansion operator
the ${!param*} prefix expansion operator
the ${param:offset[:length]} parameter substring operator
the ${param/pat[/string]} parameter pattern substitution operator
variables: BASH, BASH_VERSION, BASH_VERSINFO, UID, EUID, SHLVL,
TIMEFORMAT, HISTCMD, HOSTTYPE, OSTYPE, MACHTYPE,
HISTFILESIZE, HISTIGNORE, HISTCONTROL, PROMPT_COMMAND,
IGNOREEOF, FIGNORE, INPUTRC, HOSTFILE, DIRSTACK,
PIPESTATUS, HOSTNAME, OPTERR, SHELLOPTS, GLOBIGNORE,
GROUPS, FUNCNAME, histchars, auto_resume
prompt expansion with backslash escapes and command substitution
redirection: &> (stdout and stderr)
more extensive and extensible editing and programmable completion
builtins: bind, builtin, command, declare, dirs, echo -e/-E, enable,
exec -l/-c/-a, fc -s, export -n/-f/-p, hash, help, history,
jobs -x/-r/-s, kill -s/-n/-l, local, logout, popd, pushd,
read -e/-p/-a/-t/-n/-d/-s, readonly -a/-n/-f/-p,
set -o braceexpand/-o histexpand/-o interactive-comments/
-o notify/-o physical/-o posix/-o hashall/-o onecmd/
-h/-B/-C/-b/-H/-P, set +o, suspend, trap -l, type,
typeset -a/-F/-p, ulimit -u, umask -S, alias -p, shopt,
disown, printf, complete, compgen
`!' csh-style history expansion
POSIX.2-style globbing character classes
POSIX.2-style globbing equivalence classes
POSIX.2-style globbing collating symbols
egrep-like extended pattern matching operators
case-insensitive pattern matching and globbing
`**' arithmetic operator to do exponentiation
redirection to /dev/fd/N, /dev/stdin, /dev/stdout, /dev/stderr
arrays of unlimited size
Things ksh88 has or uses that bash does not:
tracked aliases (alias -t)
variables: ERRNO, FPATH, EDITOR, VISUAL
co-processes (|&, >&p, <&p)
weirdly-scoped functions
typeset +f to list all function names without definitions
text of command history kept in a file, not memory
builtins: alias -x, cd old new, fc -e -, newgrp, print,
read -p/-s/-u/var?prompt, set -A/-o gmacs/
-o bgnice/-o markdirs/-o nolog/-o trackall/-o viraw/-s,
typeset -H/-L/-R/-Z/-A/-ft/-fu/-fx/-l/-u/-t, whence
using environment to pass attributes of exported variables
arithmetic evaluation done on arguments to some builtins
reads .profile from $PWD when invoked as login shell
Implementation differences:
ksh runs last command of a pipeline in parent shell context
bash has brace expansion by default (ksh88 compile-time option)
bash has fixed startup file for all interactive shells; ksh reads $ENV
bash has exported functions
bash command search finds functions before builtins
bash waits for all commands in pipeline to exit before returning status
emacs-mode editing has some slightly different key bindings
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