[Bug 589496] Re: bash --rcfile does not behave as documented

[Michael McNeil Forbes]

My use case: I want to be able to spawn a clean shell with a customized
development environment (python) from a Makefile  (i.e. `make shell`
runs `bash --init-file .init_file.bash` which does not inherit cruft
from the environment (such as activated conda environments, PATHs etc.)

```
shell:
    bash --init-file .init_file.bash
```

This worked fine until I started trying to use this on Debian-based
systems with -DSYS_BASHRC where, sometimes, admins activate a conda
environment for all users by default.

So, no admin access in the typical case.  Now a user can do this by
running `bash --norc` then manually sourcing `.init_file.bash` from that
shell.

How do I achieve this effect from my Makefile?  This is what I would
have expected `bash --norc --init-file .init_file.bash` but that is not
what bash does.  I tend to agree that ignoring `--rcfile` flag behaviour
with `--norc` is the error... but it looks like that is not going to
change.

So what do I do?  That non-admins are "not supposed to be able to bypass
it" seems moot, since they can with `--norc`. Am I missing something?

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https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/589496

Title:
  bash --rcfile does not behave as documented

Status in bash package in Ubuntu:
  Confirmed
Status in bash package in Debian:
  New

Bug description:
  Binary package hint: bash

  the bash manpage says this about --rcfile

  --rcfile file
  Execute commands from file instead of the system  wide  initial‐
  ization file /etc/bash.bashrc and the standard personal initial‐
  ization file ~/.bashrc if the shell is interactive (see  INVOCA‐
  TION below).

  under INVOCATION it says

  When  an  interactive  shell that is not a login shell is started, bash
  reads and executes commands from  /etc/bash.bashrc  and  ~/.bashrc,  if
  these  files  exist.  This may be inhibited by using the --norc option.
  The --rcfile file option will force bash to read and  execute  commands
  from file instead of /etc/bash.bashrc and ~/.bashrc.

  but when i execute
  $ bash --rcfile somercfilewhichreallydoesexistandisreadableandall
  it will still read /etc/bash/bashrc (can be verified by adding --verbose)

  using lucid with bash 4.1-2ubuntu3

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