Workaround: Exporting variables to a parent bash process?

[NeoCORE]

Hey guys,

currently writing a script that sets up an environment to do some work with several programs. It asks the user questions and based on that creates a set of variables that suits.

I want those variables to be available in the bash process that the user executed the script in... the only way I have found to do this so far, would be to export all the variables to "~/profile" and then ask the user to perform ". ~/profile" when the execution is completed.

I was hoping there was an easier way to do this, but I cannot find anything on the web that allows this?

Any help would be great

Cheers!

[troymc]

2 possibilities:

First, if you absolutely need the variables in the *parent* shell, you could have the user source your environment setting script. That way the script will run in the current shell & set the environment variables there.

Code: Select all

 parent sh ---> . ./env.sh ---> parent sh (with env)

Second, if you just need to setup a shell with that environment, have the script exec its own shell (ie. the last line in the script would be "exec /bin/bash"):

Code: Select all

 parent sh |
           |- child sh & ./env.sh ---> child sh (with env)

I hope that makes sense.


troymc