Re: nmh 1.8RC2, xlbiff, and $HOME

[Steffen Nurpmeso]

Ralph Corderoy wrote in
 <20230131181958.1CFB121E5F@orac.inputplus.co.uk>:
 ...
 |But if HOME is empty we do not know their intent so to ignore it and use
 |pw_dir may not be what they think will occur.  The wrong profile could
 |be read or the wrong .netrc used, upsetting the user.

By the way my mailer does:

  ? xv var HOME
  #nodelete,import-environ-first,sync-environ,notempty:
    set HOME=/home/steffen

(where xv temporarily enables *verbose* mode).
If i recall correctly you, once you were still taking part, have
been dissatisfied with TOCTOU issues for TMPDIR for which the same
holds:

  ? xv var TMPDIR
  #default-value,import-environ-first,sync-environ,notempty:
    set TMPDIR=/tmp

So i (fwiw) are in the camp

  $ HOME= s-nail -R#
  s-nail: Environment variable must not be empty: HOME
  s-nail: There are messages in the error ring, manageable via `errors' command
  #?0!0/NONE#ERROR|:/dev/null? var HOME
  set HOME=/home/steffen
  #?0!0/NONE#ERROR|:/dev/null? xit

--steffen
|
|Der Kragenbaer,                The moon bear,
|der holt sich munter           he cheerfully and one by one
|einen nach dem anderen runter  wa.ks himself off
|(By Robert Gernhardt)