juhtolv@verso:/st/94/kaksoset/juhtolv % cat /etc/redhat-release Red Hat Linux release 6.2 (Zoot) juhtolv@verso:/st/94/kaksoset/juhtolv % rpm -qi ash Name : ash Relocations: (not relocateable) Version : 0.2 Vendor: Red Hat, Inc. (major clip) juhtolv@verso:/st/94/kaksoset/juhtolv % ash %S%s%n@%m:%/ %# set +o noclobber set: Illegal option -o %S%s%n@%m:%/ %# set -o noclobber set: Illegal option -o %S%s%n@%m:%/ %# If you don't know, how to find new version of ash, consult maintainer of Debian-package of ash: juhtolv@heresy:/home/juhtolv % dpkg --status ash Package: ash Status: install ok installed Priority: optional Section: shells Installed-Size: 130 Maintainer: Herbert Xu <herbert> Version: 0.3.6-5 Depends: libc6 (>= 2.1.2) Description: NetBSD /bin/sh "ash" is a POSIX compliant shell that is much smaller than "bash". We take advantage of that by making it the shell on the installation root floppy, where space is at a premium. . It can be usefully installed as /bin/sh (because it executes scripts somewhat faster than "bash"), or as the default shell either of root or of a second user with a userid of 0 (because it depends on fewer libraries, and is therefore less likely to be affected by an upgrade problem or a disk failure). It is also useful for checking that a script uses only POSIX syntax. . "bash" is a better shell for most users, since it has some nice features absent from "ash", and is a required part of the system. juhtolv@heresy:/home/juhtolv % cat /usr/share/doc/ash/copyright This package was debianized by Mark W. Eichin eichin.ma.us on Mon, 24 Feb 1997 16:00:16 -0500. This package was re-ported from NetBSD and debianized by Herbert Xu herbert on Thu, 19 Jun 1997 19:29:16 +1000. It was downloaded from ftp.netbsd.org. (Major Clip) I have this bookmark in my ncftp, but I think there is some better place inside ftp.netbsd.org: ftp://ftp.netbsd.org/pub/NetBSD/NetBSD-current/src/bin/sh/
I believe it's the Debian maintainer who keeps porting ash from NetBSD. I could find version 0.3.7: ftp://ftp.debian.org/debian/dists/woody/main/source/shells/ash_0.3.7.orig.tar.gz By the way, there are other critical bugs. Consider this program: # !/bin/ash (`exit 1`; echo "I'm alive") false || foo=bar || echo "Still false!" echo ${FOO=`echo BAR`} ash-0.2: Still false! Segmentation fault ash-0.3.7 and bash-2.0.4: I'm alive BAR All three bugs demonstrated here prompted fixes in Autoconf. But not every program can be made so careful about those bugs! "configure" in Automake-1.4-based projects will fail to find file "missing" when run under ash-0.2
*** Bug 16087 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
rawhide now contains (or will shortly) ash 0.3.7; as a bonus a newer pmake was ported so that it could be compiled.