/etc/profile: avoid multiple /usr/bin in PATH

[Helmut Karlowski]

Am 08.12.2015, 22:01 Uhr, schrieb Achim Gratz:

> Helmut Karlowski writes:
>> I set C:/cygwin/usr/bin in my windows-environment. Now /etc/profile
>> always adds /usr/bin to PATH resulting in /usr/bin being twice in my
>> cygwin-PATH.
>>
>> The attached patch fixes this.
>
> I tend to reject this patch.  The purpose of the default profile is to
> put those two paths in front, while with your patch they could end up
> anywhere.  If you think that's OK for you, then you can already do that,

Not if they have not been present in the windows-path before. I personally  
want to keep the order I have in my windows-path, but tastes may differ.  
But the actual reason for me to change profile was that I had /usr/bin  
twice in my cygwin-path. That can be avoided with the original profile if  
the user also sets CYGWIN_NOWINPATH to something in the  
windows-environment, which I escaped me before, and then I would also have  
to set /usr/local/bin in windows. I find this overcomplicated for the user.

To force /usr/bin first in PATH would be doable of course.

> but I don't think that's a good default.
>
>> It also sets SHELL if not yet set and avoids a call of hostname.
>
> Can you tell me in which circumstances this happens and why this is a
> problem?  SHELL is supposed to be the user preference, so I don't think
> /etc/profile should try to second-guess it.

/etc/profile is run before ~/.profile, and if that does not set SHELL  
there will be none.

-Helmut

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