Question about 'test' (Was Re: testing if a file is present)

[Jonathan I. Kamens]

In article <1990Dec2.210141.13170 at athena.mit.edu>, I write:
|> In article <QPLIU.90Nov29205347 at phoenix.princeton.edu>, qpliu at phoenix.princeton.edu (q.p.liu) writes:
|> |> trying /bin/[ shows that it only checks if argv[0] == "[".
|> 
|>   Then either you did something wrong, or you're using a buggy version of
|> "test."

  I corrected q.p.liu because I misunderstood what he was saying, and just
realized this, so I'd like to apologize.  He was saying, "`Test' only checks
if the final `]' is present if it is invoked with argv[0] exactly equal to
`['."  I thought he was saying, "`Test' only checks if its argv[0] is exactly
equal to `['; it does not also check if the final ']' is present."

  Liu is right, of course.  Whether or not this behavior of "test" (i.e. the
distinguishing between "[" and "/bin/[") is correct is debatable, but I
believe that it is.

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