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Groups > gnu.bash.bug > #14683

Auto-update program cache feature

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Hi Everyone,

I noticed a fair number of new Linux users have trouble with stale
program caches. Users install a package from a package manager or
sources and then are confused when the new package is not used. They
do not realize they need to run 'bash -r'; and most don't know where
to begin searching.

I think a useful feature for Bash would be to automatically update the
program cache after an install. Posix does not standardize an install
command (cf, http://pubs.opengroup.org/onlinepubs/009696699/utilities/contents.html),
so monitoring of common commands seems like a sensible way to
implement the feature.

A single terminal can monitor for a regex that looks for 'make
install' and perhaps other common  installation commands. Multiple
terminals seems like a trickier case, and could use a scheme where the
source terminal broadcasts an 'update cache' message to other open
terminals.

Some folks will argue that a person who installs a new program or
updates an existing program does not want to use the newly installed
program. They will argue it to the point it displaces the common case
(with the common case being a user wants to actually use the newly
installed program). For users who do not want to use the newly
installed program a means to disable the behavior should be provided.

Jeff

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Auto-update program cache feature Jeffrey Walton <noloader@gmail.com> - 2018-10-03 16:45 -0400

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