[TUHS] Origins of shell prompt suffixes % $ > #

[Nemo]

On 07/08/2018, Tony Finch <dot at dotat.at> wrote:
> Michael Kjörling <michael at kjorling.se> wrote:
>>
>> I suspect I must stand corrected on this. Turns out that at least GNU
>> bash 4.4.12(1) seems to not like a `;` at the beginning of the command
>> line.
>
> This is a consequence of the POSIX shell grammar, which doesn't allow
> empty commands.
>
> http://pubs.opengroup.org/onlinepubs/9699919799.2013edition/utilities/V3_chap02.html#tag_18_10

Good point (and [t]csh on Solaris does not care).

> prompt I have used since about 1997 (and I can't remember where I got
> it from - somewhere on Usenet, probably) in its most distilled form is
>
> :;

I will, no doubt, be flayed on this list but I tend to use "=> ".

N.

>
> although in practice I have a load of extra fluff for username, hostname,
> CWD, etc. usw.
>
> Tony.
> --
> f.anthony.n.finch  <dot at dotat.at>  http://dotat.at/
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> good.
>