Exporting bash function in .profile or .xprofile kills X during login

Question

I'm trying to export a bash function during Gnome login using one of the login shell start-up scripts. I've tried doing it in ~/.profile and ~/.xprofile but it results in X dying and restarting at the login screen.

I am able to export environment variables from these scripts without problems during Gnome login; only exporting a function (any function, regardless of content) kills X.

I can also source both scripts from a terminal and the function is exported as expected without any problems. The function also gets exported fine if the scripts are invoked by a bash login shell (bash -l) from a terminal.

Why is exporting a function at Gnome login killing X? / Can I do anything to fix it?

(I realise I could export the function from .bashrc, but using a profile is more convenient in my situation and I'd like to understand why this crash is happening.)

Answer 1

POSIX sh does not allow functions to be exported, but bash does. ~/.profile is sourced by a POSIX shell, not bash. It's also rather pointless to export functions since only bash can read and use them. Just put the functions in ~/.bashrc, and don't export them.