Re: [gentoo-user] sudo echo cannot write to /etc/ files ?

[Boyd Stephen Smith Jr.]

Holly Bostick wrote:
> gentoo@×××××××.ch schreef:
>>I think the problem come from the fact that echo is sudo-ed but the shell
>>redirection isn't.
>>
>>Compare this:
>>su -c "echo foo > /etc/portage/whatever"
>>and
>>su -c "echo foo" > /etc/portage/whatever
>>
>>The first one will succeed, but not the second.
>
> Well, it didn't work (this to all the respondents).
>
> "sudo echo 'media-video/xine-ui ~x86' >>/etc/portage/package.keywords"

This groups *everything* as one shell parameter, so it attempts to 
execute a file named "sudo echo 'media-video/xine-ui ~x86' 
 >>/etc/portage/package.keywords" in your path.

>>>/etc/portage/package.keywords: Onbekend bestand of map
> ("unknown file or folder")

Of course, since it's extremely unlikely a file with that name exists.

>  sudo echo 'media-video/xine-ui ~x86' >>/etc/portage/package.keywords

Now, you've completely left out the quotes, so the redirection is done 
in the user shell, not the sudo shell.  Of course, your user can't write 
to that file so you get:

> -bash: /etc/portage/package.keywords: Toegang geweigerd
> (permission refused)

You want:
sudo "echo 'media-video/xine-ui ~x86' >> /etc/portage/package.keywords"

This cause the command
echo 'media-video/xine-ui ~x86' >> /etc/portage/package.keywords
to be passed to the sudo shell which causes the bash built-in:
echo
to be called with the single parameter
media-video/xine-ui ~x86
and have it's output appended to the file
/etc/portage/package.keywords


> I'm really lost. Where am I going wrong?

You simply aren't being careful enough with you quotes and 
misunderstanding the intricacies of shell expansion and nesting.

> Oh, btw, just remembered-- this is bash 3. Does that make a difference?

No.

-- 
Boyd Stephen Smith Jr.
bss03@××××××××××.com

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