grom() keyword in bash throws unexpected '(' token

Question

I'm not entirely sure why I'm getting the error in my .bash_profile

syntax error near unexpected token `('

when I use the keyword grom() for my function. I wanted to create a bash function that will just automatically rebase my master branch with origin

# git status
alias gs='git status'

# git stash list
alias gsl='git stash list'  

grom() {
  branch_name="$(git symbolic-ref --short -q HEAD)"
  git fetch && git rebase origin/master && git checkout master && git rebase origin/master && git checkout $branch_name
}

# git stash apply. must append stash@{num}
alias gsa="git stash apply"

When I change the name of the function, it compiles fine. I couldn't find grom as a keyword so I'm not sure what the issue is. If I rename the function to anything else like git-rom or even something like groms, it compiles fine. Is there some special keywords that do not work? This is on Mac OS X.

Answer 1

If you're using bash, you may have better luck declaring it as:

function grom() { … }

(Note: function will not work in strict POSIX shells like dash!)

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@aug suggested (via edits to this answer) that this is due to a conflicting alias (or, less plausibly, a builtin that somehow got defined).

The reserved word function either alters the loading order to preempt the collision (aliases expand during function definition) or else avoids the issue by disabling bash's posix mode (which may allow overriding a builtin).

From the bash(1) man page:

Aliases are expanded when a function definition is read, not when the function is executed, because a function definition is itself a compound command. As a consequence, aliases defined in a function are not available until after that function is executed.

If you have a conflicting alias, you can try unalias grom before sourcing .bash_profile (it isn't necessary to add to that file unless you're still defining that conflicting alias) to clear your past experiments. Alternatively, launch a new terminal for a clean start.