+# pretty handy (see function makepath for the latter).
+
+# I think some of the GNU documentation suggests that we shouldn't
+# rely on shell functions. However, the Bash manual seems to say that
+# they're in POSIX 1003.2, and since the build farm relies on them
+# they're probably working on most machines we really care about.
+
+# You cannot use "function foo {" syntax, but must instead say "foo()
+# {", or it breaks on FreeBSD.
+
+# BSD machines tend not to have "head" or "seq".
+
+# You cannot do "export VAR=VALUE" all on one line; the export must be
+# separate from the assignment. (SCO SysV)
+
+# Don't rely on grep -q, as that doesn't work everywhere -- just redirect
+# stdout to /dev/null to keep it quiet.
+
+
+# STILL TO DO: