xfce4-terminal+bash initialization when using -x parameter

heinrichmartin · 05-10-2011, 02:21 AM

Hello,

there are many "command not found" Q&A out there, but I got stuck here.
Note: this works with gnome-terminal, but not with xfce4-terminal.

Inside an xfce4-terminal from the Desktop ("exo-open --launch TerminalEmulator"), this is the environment:

Code:

user@machine:~$ ll bin
lrwxrwxrwx 1 frq frq 33 Mar 25 14:55 bin -> /home/frq/workspace/core/shtools/
user@machine:~$ cd bin
user@machine:~/bin$ ll void
-rwxr-xr-x 1 frq frq 8 May 10 08:06 void
user@machine:~/bin$ cat void
echo 42
user@machine:~/bin$ void
42
user@machine:~/bin$ echo $PATH
/home/frq/bin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/games

As I am trying to run a terminal from a different context, play around with these:

Code:

user@machine:~/bin$ xfce4-terminal -x void ==> FAILS, why?
user@machine:~/bin$ xfce4-terminal -H -x ./void ==> WORKS, but is not what I need...
user@machine:~/bin$ xfce4-terminal -H -x echo $PATH ==> WORKS, but PATH is evaluated before invocation, isn't it?
user@machine:~/bin$ xfce4-terminal -x bash -c "(echo $PATH; read -sn1 -p DONE.)" ==> WORKS

And this drives me mad:

Code:

user@machine:~/bin$ xfce4-terminal -x bash -c "(echo $PATH; void; read -sn1 -p DONE.)"
==> yields ==>
/home/frq/bin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/games
bash: void: command not found
DONE.

One part of the solution is, PATH was evaluated in the current context:

Code:

user@machine:~/bin$ xfce4-terminal -x bash -c "(echo \$PATH; void; read -sn1 -p DONE.)"
==> yields ==>
/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/games
bash: void: command not found
DONE.

The PATH comes in ~/.bashrc, but neither the options "--noprofile" nor "--rcfile ~/.bashrc" work!

What else can I try? Or how is the Terminal initialized with or without -x?

Thx in advance!

heinrichmartin · 05-10-2011, 06:45 AM

Sorry for the self-reply. The problem was not xfce4-terminal, but bash... no idea why this had worked with gnome-terminal!

Code:

xfce4-terminal -x bash -ic "void; read -sn1 -p DONE."

this does the job:

Quote:

An interactive shell is one started without non-option arguments and without the -c option whose standard input and error are both connected to terminals (as determined by isatty(3)), or one started with the -i option. PS1 is set and $- includes i if bash is interactive, allowing a shell script or a startup file to test this state.
[...]
When an interactive shell that is not a login shell is started, bash reads and executes commands from /etc/bash.bashrc and ~/.bashrc, if these files exist. This may be inhibited by using the --norc option. The --rcfile file option will force bash to read and execute commands from file instead of /etc/bash.bashrc and ~/.bashrc.

The --rcfile option helps only with -i.
Btw this is how I run command-line tools from eclipse...