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From:	John (Most modern computers would break if you stood on them) Mackin <john@
	civil.su.oz.au>
Date:	Tue, 9 Mar 1993 06:32:13 -0500
To:	The rc Mailing List <rc@hawkwind.utcs.toronto.edu>
Subject: backquote poser
Message-ID: <199303092132.8960.rc.baful@civil.su.oz.au>
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 k5[Ah<7xBWF<un6={nlL7Om5<0UsuHKjCxs)C$`DP.N'-LLb8=8)"a@d2bG-f7qD2AJ#UZ>-@-ru?&
 @4K4-b`ydd^`(n%Z{

I was just writing an rc script where I wanted to assign a variable
the value of the output of the "domainname" command.  This command
might not be present on the system the script is being run on; if not,
I wanted the variable assigned the null list, and for no error message
about domainname not being found to be echoed onto the script's
standard error.  The best thing I could come up with was:

	domain = ` { exec >[2] /dev/null; domainname }

Anyone got a cleaner idea?  For some reason it seems to me it should
be able to be done more neatly.  I guess I mainly don't like needing
a semicolon.

OK,
John.