[news.software.b] Bug in "rn"

howard@cpocd2.UUCP (03/27/87)

When following up an article with 'f' or 'F', you get the prompt:

	Prepared file to include [none]:

If, in answer, you type an accidental ' ' (space), followed by <RETURN>,
rn hangs up.  It appears to be searching for file " " or something.
I eventually got out of this after a pile of ^Cs and <RETURNS>s, with
an error message saying something had been appended to my dead.letter
file.
-- 

	Howard A. Landman
	...!intelca!mipos3!cpocd2!howard

wtm@bunker.UUCP (04/02/87)

In article <537@cpocd2.UUCP> howard@cpocd2.UUCP (Howard A. Landman) writes:
>When following up an article with 'f' or 'F', you get the prompt:
>
>	Prepared file to include [none]:
>
>If, in answer, you type an accidental ' ' (space), followed by <RETURN>,
>rn hangs up.  It appears to be searching for file " " or something.
>I eventually got out of this after a pile of ^Cs and <RETURNS>s, with
>an error message saying something had been appended to my dead.letter
>file.


In the shell script, "Pnews", somewhere around line 245, there is
a line:

	$cat $file >> tmpart

With $file being what was just read from the user.  Since this was a space,
this is the same as:
	$cat  >> tmpart
which is reading from standard in.

One fix would be to change that line to:

	$cat "$file" >> tmpart

which would then cause an error message.


				Bill McGarry
				Bunker Ramo, Shelton, CT

     PATH:  {philabs, decvax, motown, fortune, yale}!bunker!wtm