[syslinux] config.c32 fails in 5.00pre12

[Ady]

> On Thu, 2012-11-29 at 09:25 -0800, H. Peter Anvin wrote:
> > Maybe we should make the install directory (or config file root 
> > directory) the default PATH instead?
> 
> Yeah, that makes sense.
> 

How would that change affect config.c32 and the CONFIG directive when 
changing to a new working directory?

I am thinking about different situations.

One is the use of relative paths (which usually make the cfg files 
more "portable" regarding the directory tree).

A second situation is using CONFIG (and there are other alternatives) 
as a "connector" between different cfg files, which originally were 
part of different ISO images (for example). In this case, c32 modules 
(and other files related to Syslinux) might be located in different 
directories, according to each cfg file.

A third situation could be similar to the second one, but with all 
modules in one central directory ("/boot/syslinux/" for example) and 
each cfg file (each one located in different directories) using the 
appropriate absolute (or even relative) path.

So, is the default PATH set only at boot? Or is it automatically 
"updated" (or "re-set") with each change of working directory (or in 
any other situation)? Are there any situations where PATH is 
automatically "updated"? (I mean "updated" without having to use a 
new PATH directive in each cfg file.) If such situation exist, is the 
new PATH replaced, or is it merged (appended) with the previous 
values?

The reason I bring this up is because having to explicitly set PATH 
in each cfg file (where each cfg file may have a different working 
directory) _might_ be inconvenient in certain cases, specially if 
using relative paths in the cfg files (with "portability" in mind).

And speaking about relative paths, can relative notation be used for 
the PATH directive?

Can a new directory be added to whatever the PATH value was before, 
without having to repeat (or even know) the previous PATH value(s)? 
Or instead, each PATH directive completely replaces any previous 
value(s) and there is no means to "add" ("merge", "append")?

Evidently, the user could manually set a new PATH directive in each 
cfg file to match the (relative) directory tree used in the rest of 
the directives in that cfg file. Are there any other alternatives?

Is there any need for a "path.c32" (or some other less-ambivalent 
name) so to change the PATH value(s) directly from the prompt?

I apologize if the above questions are trivial or dumb to you. I am 
just trying to understand this new PATH directive as user, and for 
better testing purposes.

TIA,
Ady.