Introduction
(Read documentation-aibash.html for specific information about the extension to the original bash)
This is GNU Bash, version 2.05. 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 CWRU/POSIX.NOTES for a discussion of how Bash differs 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 the previous widely-distributed version, bash-1.14. 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 Public License, version 2. 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:
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., 2.01-release)
- the machine and OS that it is running on (look at the file `.made' in the bash build directory)
- 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@po.cwru.edu