OpenSSH-2.1: FROM in 'w' empty?

[Tom Bertelson]

Pekka Savola wrote:
> 
> Hello all,
> 
> I had more time to dig into this problem.  Configure script would print
> stuff like:
> checking for ut_host field in utmp.h... ossh_cv_utmp_h_has_ut_host
> 
> instead of:
> checking for ut_host field in utmp.h... yes
> 
> This is caused by discontinuation of an undocumented feature of
> /bin/sh.  If you have bash-2.x as your /bin/sh, the configure script goes
> wrong.
> 
> I patched configure and aclocal.m4.  The method used works for both bash1
> and bash2, so the changes should be backward compatible.  I tested this
> syntax on a couple of Redhat boxes and on Irix.
> 
> Regards,
>   Pekka
> 
> --- configure   Sat May 20 08:48:05 2000
> +++ configure.fixed     Tue May 23 17:59:14 2000
> @@ -2957,7 +2957,7 @@
> 
>  fi
> 
> -       ossh_result=`eval "echo "$"$ossh_varname"`
> +       eval ossh_result=\$${ossh_varname}
>         if test -n "`echo $ossh_varname`"; then
>                 echo "$ac_t""$ossh_result" 1>&6
>                 if test "x$ossh_result" = "xyes"; then

I suspect this change will break a lot of other systems.  Remember there
are still machines out there that don't understand the $(command) syntax
(my stock Solaris with /bin/sh is one of them).

Is there another way to fix this and preserve the use of backticks?
-- 
Tom Bertelson           "Any sufficiently advanced technology
RHI Consulting           is indistinguishable from magic."
tbert at abac.com             -- Arthur C. Clarke