source scripts

I am going to try calling the sort of shell command file that must be source'd, i.e. read into the user so that it can modify the environment, a "source-script".

As opposed to a "shell-script" or other command which is usually executed as a subprocess.

UNIX-style subprocess execution of commands provides isolation.  The parent is unaffected by the child, except for interactions through the filesystem.  (Although with the /proc filesystem, or the child applying a debugger to the parent, that could be significant.)

Whereas, consider a csh style source-script.  It can be changing directories all over the place to get its work done.  And it may terminate with an error before finishing properly.  So the "caller" or the source-script may not know what directory he is in after the source script terminates.

Q:  how many people do:

set saved_dir=`pwd`
source srcscript.csh
cd $saved_dir

And,of course, even that has obvious bugs.