GNU bug report logs - #31215
coreutils env fails in a bash shebang

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From: Pádraig Brady <P <at> draigBrady.com>
To: William Schmidt <t.william.schmidt <at> gmail.com>, 31215 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: bug#31215: coreutils env fails in a bash shebang
Date: Wed, 18 Apr 2018 20:03:36 -0700

On 18/04/18 17:18, William Schmidt wrote:
> I think I've found a bug in *coreutils*, *env*.
> 
> Linux debian 4.9.0-4-amd64 #1 SMP Debian 4.9.65-3+deb9u1 (2017-12-23)
> x86_64 GNU/Linux
> 
> All my Perl scripts contain either of these shebangs:
> 
> #!/usr/bin/env perl -w
> or
> #!/usr/bin/env perl -wd
> 
> When I attempt to run a Perl script with either of these shebangs in debian
> I get:
> 
> /usr/bin/env: ‘perl -w’: No such file or directory
> 
> It is not perl that can't be found; it is either *env*'s or *bash*'s
> handling of the argument. If I remove the *-w* and/or the *-wd* arguments
> the scripts execute, but of course, without the benefit of those switches.
> 
> The man page for *env* asserts that any command may take an argument. I
> have tried every way I can think of to quote the *-w* and the *-wd* but
> *env* is treating these perl command line arguments as filenames, and since
> they aren't files, renders that error message. I'm running the latest
> *coreutils* as in this apt-get fragment:
> 
> Reading package lists... Done
> Building dependency tree
> Reading state information... Done
> coreutils is already the newest version (8.26-3).
> 
> Both of these shebangs work correctly in macOS 10.13.3 with the native perl
> from Apple and perlbrew perl. That is where I do most of my perl work but
> now I need to move those scripts to debian, without changing the shebangs.
> Is this a bug in *env*, something in bash or pilot error?

The kernel passes "perl -w" to env as a single argument.
This was previous discussed at:
https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/coreutils/2017-05/msg00020.html

We may add the -S option to support this usage.

cheers,
Pádraig

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