Linux From Scratch - Version 6.2

Chapter 6. Installing Basic System Software

6.27. Bash-3.1

The Bash package contains the Bourne-Again SHell.

Approximate build time: 0.4 SBU
Required disk space: 25.8 MB

6.27.1. Installation of Bash

If you downloaded the Bash documentation tarball and wish to install HTML documentation, issue the following commands: 

tar -xvf ../bash-doc-3.1.tar.gz &&
sed -i "s|htmldir = @htmldir@|htmldir = /usr/share/doc/bash-3.1|" \
    Makefile.in

Upstream developers have fixed several issues since the initial release of Bash-3.1. Apply those fixes: 

patch -Np1 -i ../bash-3.1-fixes-8.patch

Prepare Bash for compilation: 

./configure --prefix=/usr --bindir=/bin \
    --without-bash-malloc --with-installed-readline

The meaning of the configure options:

--with-installed-readline

This option tells Bash to use the readline library that is already installed on the system rather than using its own readline version.

Compile the package: 

make

To test the results, issue: make tests.

Install the package: 

make install

Run the newly compiled bash program (replacing the one that is currently being executed): 

exec /bin/bash --login +h
[Note]

Note

The parameters used make the bash process an interactive login shell and continue to disable hashing so that new programs are found as they become available.

6.27.2. Contents of Bash

Installed programs: bash, bashbug, and sh (link to bash)

Short Descriptions

bash

A widely-used command interpreter; it performs many types of expansions and substitutions on a given command line before executing it, thus making this interpreter a powerful tool

bashbug

A shell script to help the user compose and mail standard formatted bug reports concerning bash

sh

A symlink to the bash program; when invoked as sh, bash tries to mimic the startup behavior of historical versions of sh as closely as possible, while conforming to the POSIX standard as well