DomainKey-Signature: a=rsa-sha1; c=nofws; d=sourceware.org; h=list-id
	:list-unsubscribe:list-subscribe:list-archive:list-post
	:list-help:sender:subject:to:references:from:message-id:date
	:mime-version:in-reply-to:content-type
	:content-transfer-encoding; q=dns; s=default; b=wiJwSj2nmYcs899C
	Pd27r1UH4Xw9KfqiXTU48T9g1x0PHcnkprexde6Ql2OIz7aYl3YuDi6ofCu75Nr+
	dQS0USZ9Bwm/ZerVu4ndlzNSolXyT9DWOlCUrpCYWgZiVPR7zxea8bKBy+mYjJj7
	/wy3S9xOLzQSdCsq5rcJeWm5Ays=
Mailing-List: contact cygwin-help AT cygwin DOT com; run by ezmlm
Sender: cygwin-owner AT cygwin DOT com
Mail-Followup-To: cygwin AT cygwin DOT com
Subject: Re: Use of SHELL env var by login
To: cygwin AT cygwin DOT com
References: <ae3654ca-c23d-975b-61e2-b7edebb3fc6d AT raelity DOT com> <c3kkub9l8g3pa9vv5j29eo252s8btcaf39 AT 4ax DOT com>
From: Ernie Rael <err AT raelity DOT com>
Message-ID: <399f322d-ee09-3bb0-d215-dcd8fb8874f0@raelity.com>
Date: Tue, 27 Sep 2016 20:32:23 -0700
User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.1; WOW64; rv:45.0) Gecko/20100101 Thunderbird/45.3.0
MIME-Version: 1.0
In-Reply-To: <c3kkub9l8g3pa9vv5j29eo252s8btcaf39@4ax.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8; format=flowed
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

On 9/27/2016 3:58 AM, Andrew Schulman wrote:
>> I just moved the cygwin installation. The "last" peculiarity I ran into
>> was that the login shell, with the shortcut "F:\cygwin64\bin\mintty.exe
>> -i /Cygwin-Terminal.ico -", a ps showed
>>
>>       /cygdrive/c/cygwin64/bin/bash
>>
>> instead of /usr/bin/bash
>>
>> I tracked this down the the windows setting for SHELL, the one you get
>> to from windows' SystemProperties dialog, which was
>> C:/cygwin64/bin/bash. The /etc/passwd file specifies /bin/bash.
>>
>> Is this expected behavior? (Though I can see why SHELL is there and I'd
>> need to change it)
> /etc/passwd is deprecated. Since Cygwin 2.5 IIRC, Cygwin no longer looks for it,
> getting information about users directly from the operating system instead.

Not exactly. IIUC /etc/passwd is *not* deprecated. /etc/passwd is used 
if "passwd: files" is in /etc/nsswitch.conf. But I'll be studying about 
all this in detail very soon.

In any event, one of the reasons I'm moving the cygwin installation is 
so that I have a copy. I'm making sure I know how to switch between 
installations. I'm finally upgrading my installation from 1.7 (ancient, 
before SAM/AD and new permissions) and I want to be able to go back 
temporarily if things don't go smoothly.

The only reason I started this thread, is that it seems wrong that 
$SHELL is used to specify the login shell. AFAIK, it should come from 
passwd, or (according to my reading of cygwin docs) from one of the 
methods specified by /etc/nsswitch.conf in modern cygwin releases. When 
I upgrade, I guess I'll find out.

> Unless you have a special need for it, you should remove it. Same for
> /etc/group.
>
> In the absence of /etc/passwd, setting SHELL is the right way to set your login
> shell.
>
> Andrew
>
>
> --
> Problem reports:       http://cygwin.com/problems.html
> FAQ:                   http://cygwin.com/faq/
> Documentation:         http://cygwin.com/docs.html
> Unsubscribe info:      http://cygwin.com/ml/#unsubscribe-simple
>
>
>


--
Problem reports:       http://cygwin.com/problems.html
FAQ:                   http://cygwin.com/faq/
Documentation:         http://cygwin.com/docs.html
Unsubscribe info:      http://cygwin.com/ml/#unsubscribe-simple