On Sat, Dec 18, 2004 at 08:37:34PM -0500, Branden Robinson wrote:
> retitle 283764 xfree86-common: Xsession can barf if user has aliased ls to
> force colors on
> thanks
>
> On Tue, Nov 30, 2004 at 11:14:40PM -0800, David Lawyer wrote:
> > Package: xfree86-common
> > Version: 4.3.0.dfsg.1.-1
>
> Version *what*?
dpkg --status shows: Version: 4.3.0.dfsg.1-1
>
> > When I type "startx" at the console, x starts and quits. But if I type
> > "startx" at a dumb terminal on a serial port, x starts OK and goes to
> > the icewm (ice window manager which I have installed). So why can I
> > start X from a dumb terminal but not from the console?
> >
> > It took me some time to determine why. The error is in the file
> > /etc/X11/Xsession. The run_parts() function has
> > for F in $(ls $1); do
> > it should be:
> > for F in $(command ls $1); do
> >
> > This is because I have in my /etc/profile:
> >
> > if [ $TERM = linux -o $TERM = xterm ]; then
> > if [ $TERM = linux ]; then
> > eval `dircolors`;
> > ls () { command ls --color $* ; }
> > fi
> > else
> > ls () { command ls -F $* ; }
> > .....
> >
> > So when I use a dumb terminal and $TERM = my-dumb-terminal (or whatever)
> > then ls() is defined differently. But at the console, ls() is made
> > to support colors and the run_parts() can't seem to cope with the
> > control codes which are embedded in the file names to create colors.
> > One word "command" fixes it.
> >
> > What was frustrating was that there were no error messages.
>
> Ah. Thanks for the analysis. This report brings to mind two rules, one of
> which you should probably learn, and the other of which I should have
> remembered:
>
> 1) Don't override the names of Unix commands, even in your interactive
> shell environment. It promotes bad habits.
> 2) Never use "ls" when "echo" will suffice.
>
> Thanks again.
>
> --
> G. Branden Robinson | "I came, I saw, she conquered."
> Debian GNU/Linux | The original Latin seems to have
> [EMAIL PROTECTED] | been garbled.
> http://people.debian.org/~branden/ | -- Robert Heinlein
David Lawyer
