[TUHS] Re: shell escapes in utilities

[Clem Cole <clemc@ccc.com>]

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On Tue, Aug 1, 2023 at 10:59 PM Grant Taylor via TUHS <tuhs@tuhs.org> wrote:

> I routinely use :'<,'>!sort or some similar external filter program on
> lines in the file that I'm working with.
>
No doubt.  Pretty much the intended use. I've been doing that since I first
learned ed(1) and discovered I could do the same.   It always seemed
natural and handy [sort(1), tr(1), and fmt(1) are probably the filters I
use the most over the years -- as I pretty much have the switches for the
same burned into the ROMs in my fingers].  If I had grown up with GUI's, I
suspect I might have used cut/paste in some manner to do the same thing
(for me, a less natural sequence).

As Ron points out, in using more(1) on the RS/6000 in maintenance mode,
shell escape on a multi-tasking system opens up some interesting security
paths/unintended side effects.  Security is thought to get right.  So many
places where good ideas can bite you when abused.  It does not make it a
bad idea.   But you need to consider other uses that might not behave the
way you planned.

This brings us back to Roz's warning to Mike: "*Always Watching.*"
[image: AlwaysWatching.png]
ᐧ

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