View Issue Details
| ID | Project | Category | View Status | Date Submitted | Last Update |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0001231 | 1003.1(2016/18)/Issue7+TC2 | Shell and Utilities | public | 2019-03-01 09:50 | 2024-06-11 09:08 |
| Reporter | stephane | Assigned To | |||
| Priority | normal | Severity | Objection | Type | Enhancement Request |
| Status | Closed | Resolution | Accepted As Marked | ||
| Name | Stéphane Chazelas | ||||
| Organization | |||||
| User Reference | |||||
| Section | sed utility | ||||
| Page Number | 3218 | ||||
| Line Number | 107963-107965 | ||||
| Interp Status | Approved | ||||
| Final Accepted Text | 0001231:0004408 | ||||
| Summary | 0001231: backslash processing in text arguments | ||||
| Description | > The argument text shall consist of one or more lines. > Each embedded <newline> in the text shall be preceded by > a <backslash>. Other <backslash> characters in text shall > be removed, and the following character shall be treated > literally. That means sed 'a\ \text\ text' for instance is *required* to output text text at the end of the cycle. That's not what several implementations including GNU and busybox do even with POSIXLY_CORRECT in the environment, which expand that \t to a TAB character. That requirement is not useful and I don't expect any application would rely on the POSIX-mandated behaviour. There are also some variation in behaviour in: sed 'a\ text\' There are also some sed implementations (traditional ones like on Solaris) that don't treat: sed -e 'a\' -e 'text' the same as sed 'a\ text' (same for sed -f a -f b, where a and b contain those two expressions). | ||||
| Desired Action | Change the text above to: > The argument text shall consist of one or more lines. > Each embedded <newline> (other than the one for the last line > of the text) in the text shall be preceded by a <backslash>. > <backslash> may itself be escaped with another <backslash>, > the behaviour is unspecified if an unescaped <backslash> is > immediately followed by any other character or the end of a > sed script or script_file (including if it's the last > character of the last line of a script_file). Though the part about \ at the end of script or script_files should probably be addressed elsewhere as it affects other commands than those that take those "text argument"s. You may also want to clarify how backslash (including <backslash><newline>) is meant to be handled in rfile, wfile arguments as part of that same bug. | ||||
| Tags | tc3-2008 | ||||
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Interpretation response ------------------------ The standard states the requirements for <backslash> handling in text arguments, and conforming implementations must conform to this. However, concerns have been raised about this which are being referred to the sponsor. Rationale: ------------- The standard does not match some existing practice. Notes to the Editor (not part of this interpretation): ------------------------------------------------------- Change: The argument text shall consist of one or more lines. Each embedded <newline> in the text shall be preceded by a <backslash>. Other <backslash> characters in text shall be removed, and the following character shall be treated literally.to: The argument text shall consist of one or more lines. A <backslash> in the text can be escaped with another <backslash>. The application shall ensure that each embedded <newline> (that is, those other than the terminating <newline> of the last line) in the text is preceded by an unescaped <backslash>. The behaviour is unspecified if an unescaped <backslash> is immediately followed by any character other than <backslash> or <newline>, or by the end of a script. |
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Interpretation proposed: 7 October 2019 |
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Interpretation Approved: 11 Nov 2019 |
| Date Modified | Username | Field | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-03-01 09:50 | stephane | New Issue | |
| 2019-03-01 09:50 | stephane | Name | => Stéphane Chazelas |
| 2019-03-01 09:50 | stephane | Section | => sed utility |
| 2019-03-01 09:50 | stephane | Page Number | => 3218 |
| 2019-03-01 09:50 | stephane | Line Number | => 107963-107965 |
| 2019-06-06 15:59 | geoffclare | Note Added: 0004408 | |
| 2019-06-06 16:00 | geoffclare | Interp Status | => Pending |
| 2019-06-06 16:00 | geoffclare | Final Accepted Text | => 0001231:0004408 |
| 2019-06-06 16:00 | geoffclare | Status | New => Interpretation Required |
| 2019-06-06 16:00 | geoffclare | Resolution | Open => Accepted As Marked |
| 2019-06-06 16:00 | geoffclare | Desired Action Updated | |
| 2019-06-06 16:00 | geoffclare | Tag Attached: tc3-2008 | |
| 2019-10-07 15:17 | agadmin | Interp Status | Pending => Proposed |
| 2019-10-07 15:17 | agadmin | Note Added: 0004606 | |
| 2019-11-11 12:20 | agadmin | Interp Status | Proposed => Approved |
| 2019-11-11 12:20 | agadmin | Note Added: 0004650 | |
| 2019-12-04 11:51 | geoffclare | Status | Interpretation Required => Applied |
| 2024-06-11 09:08 | agadmin | Status | Applied => Closed |
