RE (tilly) 3: Get default login environment

Actually...try this on for size:

sub get_login_env {
  local %ENV;
  my $shell = shift || (getpwuid($<))[8];
  my $env = `echo env | perl -e 'exec {"$shell"} -sh'`;
  if (wantarray) {
    my @pieces = ($env =~ m/^(.*?)=((?:[^\n\\]|\\.|\\\n)*)/gm);
    s/\\(.)/$1/g foreach @pieces;
    return @pieces;
  }
  else {
    return $env;
  }
}
[download]

Doesn't that take care of everything about how the env function encodes the environment? I tried putting = and returns into the name of environment variables and it wouldn't go...

EDIT
I edited the RE slightly. I also should note that compared to the effort of launching a Perl process that execs itself into a login shell, a few invocations of the RE engine are unlikely to do much further damage...

UPDATE (Much later), Corion caught a silly missing | in the line that gets the environment. :-(

UPDATE 2 (Years later), as the discussion below points out, there was a silly syntax error. Fixed. Believe it or not, I used a version of this snippet for years, but that copy had been typed separately...

Comment on RE (tilly) 3: Get default login environment Download Code

Replies are listed 'Best First'.
Re: RE (tilly) 3: Get default login environment by Ronnie (Scribe) on Nov 18, 2004 at 10:43 UTC
I downloaded this code but it doesn't work! When I try and use it the following error occurs - `syntax error at xxrcprofsub.pl line 8, near "m/^(.?)=((?:[^\n\\]\|\\.\| +\\\n))/gm ;"` [download] The code to call this sub is also in a format that, novice that I am, I've not seen before - `%ENV = (%ENV, get_bash_login_env());` [download] The ENV inside the brackets is throwing me. Is this the means by which the local (in the subroutine) %ENV is used to overwrite the existing %ENV? I've not seen this syntax before. Ronnie Cruickshank	[reply] [d/l] [select]
Re^2: RE (tilly) 3: Get default login environment by Happy-the-monk (Canon) on Nov 18, 2004 at 10:53 UTC
It was missing a closing bracket just before the `";"` in that line. This works: sub get_login_env { local %ENV; my $shell = shift \|\| (getpwuid($<))[8]; my $env = `echo env \| perl -e 'exec {"$shell"} -sh'`; if (wantarray) { my @pieces = ($env =~ m/^(.?)=((?:[^\n\\]\|\\.\|\\\n))/gm ); s/\\(.)/$1/g foreach @pieces; return @pieces; } else { return $env; } } [download] Cheers, Sören	[reply] [d/l]
Re: RE (tilly) 3: Get default login environment by Anonymous Monk on Oct 03, 2006 at 12:20 UTC
Thanks, that's a great help. Bye, Ron.	[reply]


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