> If you modify a shell script while it’s running, the shell executes the modified file
That is dependent on the OS. In this case wasn't the shell script just executed fresh from a cronjob?
I remember on Digital Unix - on an Alpha so this was a few years ago - that you could change a c program (a loop that printed something then slept, for example), recompile and it would change the running binary.
> wasn't the shell script just executed fresh from a cronjob?
The description said that the script changed while it was running, so certain newly introduced environment variables didn’t have values and this triggered the issue.
My reading was that this was just a terrible coincidence - the cron job must have started just before the upgrade.
Regarding changing a C program, now you mention it I think that the behaviour you describe might also have happened on DG/UX, after an upgrade. IIRC it used to use ETXTBSY and after an upgrade it would just overwrite.
Not really behaviour that you want (or expect) tho.
That is dependent on the OS. In this case wasn't the shell script just executed fresh from a cronjob?
I remember on Digital Unix - on an Alpha so this was a few years ago - that you could change a c program (a loop that printed something then slept, for example), recompile and it would change the running binary.