> -: "${PERL='perl'}" > +: "${PERL="perl"}"
I had not expected that this would make a difference, but it does. This sequence of commands : ${A=perl} : ${B="perl"} : ${C='perl'} : "${D=perl}" : "${E="perl"}" : "${F='perl'}" echo "A=$A" echo "B=$B" echo "C=$C" echo "D=$D" echo "E=$E" echo "F=$F" produces A=perl B=perl C=perl D=perl E=perl F='perl' POSIX is weird in some places... Bruno