Difference between true and : (and return 0)

Difference between true and : (and return 0)

[Vincent Lefevre]

What's the difference between 'true' and ':'?

At the end of a function, is there a difference between 'true', ':' and
'return 0'? What's the best solution?

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Vincent Lefèvre <vincent@vinc17.org> - Web: <http://www.vinc17.org/> - 100%
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Re: Difference between true and : (and return 0)

[Bart Schaefer]

On Oct 21,  9:38am, Vincent Lefevre wrote:
}
} What's the difference between 'true' and ':'?

There's no difference unless you setopt posix_builtins and combine them
with a parameter export.  That is:

zsh% setopt posix_builtins
zsh% FOO=bar true
zsh% echo $FOO

zsh% FOO=bar :
zsh% echo $FOO
bar
zsh% 

Other than that, `:' is implemented internally by calling `true'.

} At the end of a function, is there a difference between 'true', ':' and
} 'return 0'? What's the best solution?

As the very last command in a function, those three are equivalent.  I'd
recommend `return 0' or `true' rather than `:' just because they make it
more obvious to a reader what you're doing.  I'd use `return 0' myself,
as the most obvious of all.

-- 
Bart Schaefer                                 Brass Lantern Enterprises
http://www.well.com/user/barts              http://www.brasslantern.com

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