Re: [completion with directory starting with = doesn't work]

[Bob Proulx]

Tatavarty Kalyan wrote:
> I see the same behaviour as posted above.
> 
> # mkdir =foo =foobar
> # cd =\=foo
> -bash: cd: ==foo: No such file or directory

This is part of the bash_completion extensions.  I forget now but I
remember at one time thinking I understood the issues.  It is related
to it confusing the = with thinking it is a variable assignment and
trying to expand a null variable.  Or something.  You will see the
same problem in other ways with other characters such as : which is a
path separator.

The workaround is to know that = and : are special to bash_completion
and to escape them first.  This is really not more difficult than
remembering that shell metacharacters need to be quoted.

  cd \=foo
  cd \:foo

This is why bash_completion is optional.  It is not perfect.  But it
is too nice to live without for me.

Bob