.bash_profile takes precendence of .profile - disabling all existing configuration in my terminal about goto HOT 4 CLOSED

The main reason for why you need start_goto sourced is to be able to run goto cd <magicword> and then have the terminal change working directory - as you would expect. The other reason is to setup auto completion for goto. (this must be done each time a terminal starts, as far as I know).

In order to change the working directory of the parent shell, i.e, your terminal, running a script simply will not work. It changes the working directory of the forked process, but not the shell you are in. Sourcing runs the script as it would if you typed the commands one by one - and so this is ultimately how goto circumvents this issue of being able to change working directory of the shell calling goto.

However, we discussed this - should the setup script touch your ~/.bash_profile without warning?
The thought behind it doing that was to make setup a no-hazzle time and make goto work straight away. However it assumed every system would have a .bash_profile and that was the main entrypoint. It is a naïve assumption.

I think the best solution could be to ask the user when goto installs. To give a prompt asking whether or not to append to ~/.bash_profile . If the user don't want to, because they know they have a different setup - they could be informed by what to do to make it work (i.e append it manually somewhere them self).
I guess a reasoning for why this must be done also should be in place.

Further discussion could go on to whether or not find ~/.bash_profile -- I guess I'll have to read up on the bash startup files hierarchy.

from goto.

Look at bin/goto - https://github.com/technocake/goto/blob/master/bin/goto#L7-L11 - for how the cd-technique is implemented today.

And then look at the bash function named goto in start_goto - https://github.com/technocake/goto/blob/master/bin/start_goto#L47-L51

So the start_goto script is registering the bash function named goto, which then will source bin/goto each time you type goto in the terminal.

Chain of events:
source start_goto --makes goto function available--> goto(function) sources --> goto(script)

from goto.

Proposed fix is in pull request #12

from goto.

Install script now asks the user before it appends bash_profile

from goto.