The problem is that ${param:-word} already has a well-defined meaning: expand to word if the expanded v... field separator in the Bourne, and Korn shells as well as bash) to parse each line of /etc/passwd and ex... tions about how they choose to program something. Well written scripts and programs interoperate regardl... in a functions file, then other scripts can use the functions as well.
Last modified: August 15, 2009