environment variable does not exist

doru · 09-22-2020, 08:49 AM

Code:

$ p=password; ccrypt -eEp file.txt 
ccrypt: environment variable p does not exist.
$ user@cloudm:~/tmp/test10$ export p=password; ccrypt -eEp file.txt 
$ t=test; echo $t
test

ccrypt reads the password from p, but it sees it only when p is exported. Why?

doru · 09-22-2020, 08:54 AM

ccrypt works in some kind of subshell and it does not care to read the variable before it creates the subshell?!

rtmistler · 09-22-2020, 09:26 AM

Not sure, but you might have to use that "cat<<EOF" bash notation there. I'm pretty weak on that notation.

https://mytrashcode.com/cat-command-examples

pan64 · 09-22-2020, 09:28 AM

wrong syntax:

Code:

p=password ccrypt -eEp file.txt

without ; will work, but with ; it won't.
otherwise export makes the given environment variable[s] accessible in the child processes. That is the purpose of that export.

dugan · 09-22-2020, 04:58 PM

Expanding on the explanation above:

Quote:

Originally Posted by doru

Code:

$ p=password; ccrypt -eEp file.txt

Well, with the semicolon, that's exactly equivalent to:

Code:

$ p=password
$ ccrypt -eEp file.txt

Do you see the problem?