Hi,

hotplug package is seriously broken and won't work on POSIX/SUSv3 
compilant /bin/sh shells.

$ echo $((0xff))
ksh: 0xff: bad number `0xff'

There is a lot of hex to dec conversions using bash only function in hotplug, 
example:
echo $((0xff))

Under ksh (pdksh)
$ echo $((0xff))
ksh: 0xff: bad number `0xff'

There is more portable version
hex=0xff
echo "$((16#`echo "$hex" | sed -e 's#^0x##g'`))"

it works well on zsh, pdksh, bash in their enhaced mode but for example on 
pdksh run in sh mode it overflows - example:
[arekm@mobarm arekm]$ echo $((16#ff))
255
[arekm@mobarm arekm]$ echo $((16#ffffffff))
-1

pdksh run as pdksh works though.


There are two solutions known to me right now:
- first, very easy - #!/bin/bash instead of #!/bin/sh in these scripts
- second working, POSIX/SUSv3 compilant but much slower; use awk for 
conversions (see attached patch).

Any other known fast and portable hex to dec conversions?

ps. using hex2dec() function regardles of choosen conversion method would be 
nice - it would allow easy way to change the way of doing conversion + it 
explicitly says where hex number should occur
-- 
Arkadiusz Mi¶kiewicz     CS at FoE, Wroclaw University of Technology
arekm.pld-linux.org, 1024/3DB19BBD, JID: arekm.jabber.org, PLD/Linux