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From: Grisha Levit <grishalevit@gmail.com>
Newsgroups: gnu.bash.bug
Subject: Re: delcare -a on a nameref in a function modifies nameref instead of target
Date: Wed, 25 Jul 2018 16:27:27 -0400
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Xref: csiph.com gnu.bash.bug:14398

In the latest devel this issue is fixed for the case that the local nameref
points to a non-existent variable but there is still a bug if the variable
pointed to by a local nameref already exists.  In such a case, `declare'
commands after the initial `declare -n' end up modifying the value and/or
attributes of the local nameref variable itself rather than modifying the
target of the nameref.

At global scope:

    unset -n ref; unset var
    declare var=X; declare -n ref=var; declare ref=(Y); declare -p ref var

    declare -n ref="var"
    declare -a var=([0]="Y")

Whereas in a function:

    unset -n ref; unset var
    f() {
        declare var=X; declare -n ref=var; declare ref=(Y); declare -p ref var
    }; f

    declare -an ref=([0]="Y")
    declare -- var="X"