rc.config Syntax error

[Mynor Aguilar]

Recently, I had some issues regarding my server's hostname, whenever I restarted the system it changed back to "unknown". After reading some other thread, I found my problem in the rc.config file
I tried to manually started it:

root:/etc #ll rc.config
-r--r--r-- 1 root sys 636 Apr 11 00:34 rc.config
root:/etc #./rc.config
sh: ./rc.config: Execute permission denied.

I changed permissions to allow execution to everybody

root:/etc #chmod 777 rc.config
root:/etc #./rc.config
./rc.config[13]: Syntax error at line 3 : `(' is not expected.

now i get this weird error saying that there's a syntax error on the rc.config file, i have already checked and replace this file with another one (the one on /usr/newconfig/etc/rc.config) but still got the same problem.

just by looking at the file I can't find anything wrong with it, can somebody help me find the source of the problem (see rc.config attachment)

[Steven Schweda]

Without a "#!" first line, this script
(script fragment, actually) does not specify
the shell to be used to process it. With a
plain "#", you might be getting a C shell, or
who knows what?

Script fragments like this are normally fed
to the shell of your choice, for example:

sh ./rc.config

And for that, you don't need execute
permission.

That may not make your script (fragment) work
properly, but it should get it executed.

[Anshumali]

cd /etc
sh rc.config
you may try entering
echo Done
in last of the your rc.config to check for execution.

[Jollyjet]

Change your permission back to read and execute via sh

[Dennis Handly]

rc.config is meant to be sourced:
# . ./rc.config

If you replaced by the one it newconfig, you should be fine. This file should not be changed, only the files under /etc/rc.config.d/.

Note line 13 is sourcing files in rc.config.d/ and it could be a file there that has that "(" syntax error.

I assume you know, you can't have any left over files in that directory??

You could also add "set -x" to rc.config to see which file in rc.config.d/ has the problem, then remove that -x.

[SANTOSH S. MHASKAR]

Hi,

How do u know that there is problem with ur
/etc/rc.config ?
If u r experienceing problem with hostname then
it cound be some configuration errors (HOSTNAME)
in the file /etc/rc.config.d/netconf.

Check this and also restore permissions of
/etc/rc.config.


-Santosh

[SANTOSH S. MHASKAR]

Hi,

/etc/rc.config doesnot require execute permissions.
This file is executed by init and executed in the
same shell
eg.
# . /etc/rc.config

will execute the file in same shell so that all
the env. variables are available in the present
shell.

Also as u have told below

root:/etc #./rc.config
./rc.config[13]: Syntax error at line 3 : `(' is not expected.

Line no. 13 is
if [ -f $CFG_FILE -a "$fname" != "core" -a "${fname##*[.,~\#]}" = "$fname" ]

nowhere '(' sign.

So I suggest u to verify /etc/rc.config.d/netconf
and set HOSTNAME parameter in that file
and reboot the machine. If u don't want to
reboot u can temporarily set hostname as

# hostname

but it will vanish after a reboot, so
set HOSTNAME in /etc/rc.config.d/netconf

[Ralph Grothe]

Please, revoke the write and execute bits from rc.config (chmod 0444 /etc/rc.config).
As others already have replied this file isn't meant to be executed but to be sourced.
As you can easiliy verify the sourcing of rc.config actually happens here:

# grep -n rc\.config /sbin/rc
58:# If /etc/rc.config contains default information (first boot),
66:if [ -f /etc/rc.config ]; then
67: . /etc/rc.config
76: echo "\nWARNING: /etc/rc.config does not exist"


rc.config isn't meant to be tampered with at all.
So it was a good decision to copy the original from newconfig back in place.

Your syntax error most likely results from any of your files in /etc/rc.config.d

What you could do to possibly identify the culprit may be this:

# cd /etc/rc.config.d
# echo *|xargs -n1 sh -n 2>&1|grep -v permission\ denied

[SANTOSH S. MHASKAR]

Hi,

/etc/rc.config doesnot require execute permissions.
This file is executed by init and executed in the
same shell
eg.
# . /etc/rc.config

will execute the file in same shell so that all
the env. variables are available in the present
shell.

Also as u have told below

root:/etc #./rc.config
./rc.config[13]: Syntax error at line 3 : `(' is not expected.

Line no. 13 is
if [ -f $CFG_FILE -a "$fname" != "core" -a "${fname##*[.,~\#]}" = "$fname" ]

nowhere '(' sign.

So I suggest u to verify /etc/rc.config.d/netconf
and set HOSTNAME parameter in that file
and reboot the machine. If u don't want to
reboot u can temporarily set hostname as

# hostname

but it will vanish after a reboot, so
set HOSTNAME in /etc/rc.config.d/netconf
if u want to set it parmenant.

[Mynor Aguilar]

thanks for all your replies, I'm currently out of office and will let you know the status of this as soon as I can.
Thanks