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Append to PATH in smart way.

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Top Forums Shell Programming and Scripting Append to PATH in smart way.
# 1  
Old 08-30-2010
Append to PATH in smart way.
The most common problem append to $PATH-like environment variables is:

Code:
export PATH=$PATH:/new/path/to/bin

The problem is if the PATH is empty you end up with:

Code:
:/new/path/to/bin

Is there any smarter way then checking if $PATH is empty to prevent this additional colon? Something like Bash fancy substitions?
# 2  
Old 08-30-2010
Hi.

The leading : is harmless enough.

Code:
PATH=${PATH:+$PATH:}/new/path/to/bin

# 3  
Old 08-30-2010
Thanks. The problem is gcc fails to compile when : is in the LIBRARY_PATH and I reley heavily on automatic compilation tools.
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