diff --git a/Makefile.am b/Makefile.am
index cbbe124..496f993 100644
--- a/Makefile.am
+++ b/Makefile.am
@@ -68,7 +68,7 @@ EXTRA_DIST = xmlto.spec \
 	doc/xmlif.xml \
 	xmlto.mak
 
-GEN_MANPAGE = FORMAT_DIR=$(top_srcdir)/format $(XMLTO_BASH_PATH) ./xmlto --skip-validation -o $(@D) man $<
+GEN_MANPAGE = FORMAT_DIR=$(top_srcdir)/format $(XMLTO_SH_PATH) ./xmlto --skip-validation -o $(@D) man $<
 man/man1/xmlto.1: doc/xmlto.xml ; $(GEN_MANPAGE)
 man/man1/xmlif.1: doc/xmlif.xml ; $(GEN_MANPAGE)
 
diff --git a/configure.ac b/configure.ac
index 675dcb8..e5e3b7a 100644
--- a/configure.ac
+++ b/configure.ac
@@ -18,8 +18,11 @@ AC_CHECK_PROG([MKTEMP], [mktemp],, [mktemp])
 AC_ARG_VAR([FIND], [Name of the GNU `find' program.])
 AC_CHECK_PROG([FIND], [find],, [find] )
 
-AC_ARG_VAR([XMLTO_BASH_PATH], [Name and path of the GNU `bash' shell.])
-AC_PATH_PROG([XMLTO_BASH_PATH], [bash], [/bin/bash])
+AC_ARG_VAR([XMLTO_SH_PATH], [Name and path of the POSIX `sh' shell.])
+AC_ARG_VAR([XMLTO_BASH_PATH], [Deprecated alias for XMLTO_SH_PATH.])
+AS_IF([test -n "$XMLTO_BASH_PATH" && test -z "$XMLTO_SH_PATH"],
+      [XMLTO_SH_PATH=$XMLTO_BASH_PATH])
+AC_PATH_PROG([XMLTO_SH_PATH], [sh], [/bin/sh])
 
 AC_ARG_VAR([GETOPT], [Name of the `getopt' program (requires longopt support).])
 AC_CHECK_PROG([GETOPT], [getopt],, [getopt])
diff --git a/format/docbook/epub b/format/docbook/epub
index 118d605..7acf1d4 100755
--- a/format/docbook/epub
+++ b/format/docbook/epub
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-if [ -z "`type -t $ZIP_PATH`" ]
+if ! command -v "$ZIP_PATH" >/dev/null 2>&1
 then
   echo >&2 "Missing zip utility at $ZIP_PATH, conversion to epub not possible."
   echo >&2 "Exiting !"
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ case "$1" in
   do
     ${GCP_PATH:-cp} -R -P -p -- $INPUT_DIR/$CSS_SOURCE $CSS_DEST_DIR/
   done
-  echo -n "application/epub+zip" > mimetype
+  printf '%s' 'application/epub+zip' > mimetype
   EPUB_NAME=$(basename "${XSLT_PROCESSED%.*}").epub
   [ -e "$XSLT_PROCESSED" ] && rm "$XSLT_PROCESSED"
   ${ZIP_PATH} -0Xq $EPUB_NAME mimetype
diff --git a/format/docbook/txt b/format/docbook/txt
index fe42a1f..f356b47 100755
--- a/format/docbook/txt
+++ b/format/docbook/txt
@@ -1,14 +1,14 @@
 case "$USE_BACKEND" in
 DEFAULT|DBLATEX)
-	if [ -n "`type -t $W3M_PATH`" ]
+	if command -v "$W3M_PATH" >/dev/null 2>&1
 	then
 	  CONVERT="$W3M_PATH"
 	  ARGS="-T text/html -dump"
-	elif [ -n "`type -t $LYNX_PATH`" ]
+	elif command -v "$LYNX_PATH" >/dev/null 2>&1
 	then
 	  CONVERT="$LYNX_PATH"
 	  ARGS="-force_html -dump -nolist -width=72"
-	elif [ -n "`type -t $LINKS_PATH`" ]
+	elif command -v "$LINKS_PATH" >/dev/null 2>&1
 	then
 	  CONVERT="$LINKS_PATH"
 	  ARGS="-dump"
diff --git a/format/fo/dvi b/format/fo/dvi
index 6615048..82794cc 100755
--- a/format/fo/dvi
+++ b/format/fo/dvi
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ post-process)
   then
     echo >&2 "Post-process XSL-FO to DVI"
   fi
-  if [ -z "`type -t $XMLTEX_PATH`" ]
+  if ! command -v "$XMLTEX_PATH" >/dev/null 2>&1
   then
     echo >&2 "Can't process, xmltex tool not found at $XMLTEX_PATH."
     exit 3
diff --git a/format/fo/pdf b/format/fo/pdf
index 9e586b3..63936eb 100755
--- a/format/fo/pdf
+++ b/format/fo/pdf
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ DEFAULT|DBLATEX)
 	  then
 	    echo >&2 "Post-process XSL-FO to PDF"
 	  fi
-	  if [ -z "`type -t $PDFXMLTEX_PATH`" ]
+	  if ! command -v "$PDFXMLTEX_PATH" >/dev/null 2>&1
 	  then
 	    echo >&2 "Can't process, pdfxmltex tool not found at $PDFXMLTEX_PATH."
 	    exit 3
diff --git a/format/xhtml1/txt b/format/xhtml1/txt
index eb1c07a..2c843c2 100755
--- a/format/xhtml1/txt
+++ b/format/xhtml1/txt
@@ -1,14 +1,14 @@
 case "$USE_BACKEND" in
 DEFAULT|DBLATEX)
-  if [ -n "`type -t $W3M_PATH`" ]
+  if command -v "$W3M_PATH" >/dev/null 2>&1
   then
     CONVERT="$W3M_PATH"
     ARGS="-T text/html -dump"
-  elif [ -n "`type -t $LYNX_PATH`" ]
+  elif command -v "$LYNX_PATH" >/dev/null 2>&1
   then
     CONVERT="$LYNX_PATH"
     ARGS="-force_html -dump -nolist -width=72"
-  elif [ -n "`type -t $LINKS_PATH`" ]
+  elif command -v "$LINKS_PATH" >/dev/null 2>&1
   then
     CONVERT="$LINKS_PATH"
     ARGS="-dump"
diff --git a/xmlif/test/run-test b/xmlif/test/run-test
index a7ddbca..f007928 100755
--- a/xmlif/test/run-test
+++ b/xmlif/test/run-test
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-#!/bin/bash
+#!/bin/sh
 
 XMLIF=${top_builddir}/xmlif/xmlif
 INPUT=${top_srcdir}/xmlif/test/test.xml
diff --git a/xmlto.in b/xmlto.in
index d5a81a8..f75bfe3 100755
--- a/xmlto.in
+++ b/xmlto.in
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-#!@XMLTO_BASH_PATH@
+#!@XMLTO_SH_PATH@
 #
 # @PACKAGE@ - apply an XSL stylesheet to an XML document
 # Copyright (C) 2001, 2002, 2003  Tim Waugh <twaugh@redhat.com>
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@
 # Utilities that we need that aren't everywhere
 FIND=@FIND@               # This must be GNU find (need -maxdepth)
 MKTEMP=@MKTEMP@           # See http://www.mktemp.org if missing on your system
-BASH=@XMLTO_BASH_PATH@    # GNU bash, for running the format scripts
+SH=@XMLTO_SH_PATH@        # POSIX sh, for running the format scripts
 GETOPT=@GETOPT@           # a getopt that supports --longoptions
 TAIL=@TAIL@               # a tail that supports -n (posix)
 GREP=@GREP@               # GNU grep, for searching patterns
@@ -78,28 +78,41 @@ EOF
 #  * Remembers the temporary file's name so it can be deleted on exit
 #  * If the failure message is empty or missing, exits on failure
 make_temp () {
-  local dirflag="" prefix="@PACKAGE@"
-  [ "$1" = "-d" ] && { dirflag="-d"; shift; }
-  [ -n "$1" ] && prefix="@PACKAGE@-$1"
+  make_temp_dirflag=
+  make_temp_prefix="@PACKAGE@"
+  if [ "$1" = "-d" ]
+  then
+    make_temp_dirflag="-d"
+    shift
+  fi
+  if [ -n "$1" ]
+  then
+    make_temp_prefix="@PACKAGE@-$1"
+  fi
 
-  if eval $2='$(${MKTEMP} $dirflag "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/${prefix}.XXXXXX")'
+  if eval "$2=\$(${MKTEMP} $make_temp_dirflag \"\${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/${make_temp_prefix}.XXXXXX\")"
   then
-    CLEANFILES="$CLEANFILES ${!2}"
+    eval "make_temp_path=\${$2}"
+    CLEANFILES="$CLEANFILES $make_temp_path"
+    unset make_temp_dirflag make_temp_path make_temp_prefix
     return 0
   elif [ -z "$3" ]
   then
+    unset make_temp_dirflag make_temp_prefix
     echo >&2 "mktemp failed!"
     exit 2
   else
+    unset make_temp_dirflag make_temp_prefix
     echo >&2 "mktemp failed. $3"
     return 2
   fi
 }
 
 compute_searchpath () {
-  local oldIFS="${IFS}"
+  compute_searchpath_oldIFS="${IFS}"
   IFS=":"
-  for asearchpath in "$1"; do
+  for asearchpath in $1
+  do
     # wrangle relative paths into absolute ones so that the user
     # isn't surprised if he does ``--searchpath .''
     case "${asearchpath}" in
@@ -111,7 +124,8 @@ compute_searchpath () {
     # and only after the first iteration.
     XML_SEARCHPATH_SEPARATOR=":"
   done
-  IFS="${oldIFS}"
+  IFS="${compute_searchpath_oldIFS}"
+  unset compute_searchpath_oldIFS
 }
 
 # Allow FORMAT_DIR to be over-ridden, so that we can be
@@ -135,7 +149,7 @@ XSL_MODS=
 
 # List of files to remove after exit
 CLEANFILES=
-trap -- 'cd /; [ -z "$CLEANFILES" ] || rm -rf $CLEANFILES' EXIT
+trap 'cd /; [ -z "$CLEANFILES" ] || rm -rf $CLEANFILES' 0
 
 XSLTOPTS=
 SEARCHPATH=
@@ -145,13 +159,13 @@ XMLLINT_PATH=@XMLLINT@
 XSLTPROC_PATH=@XSLTPROC@
 
 # Try to setup papersize using libpaper first ...
-if type "$PAPERCONF_PATH" >/dev/null 2>&1
+if command -v "$PAPERCONF_PATH" >/dev/null 2>&1
 then
   papername=`"$PAPERCONF_PATH" -n`
   paperheight=`"$PAPERCONF_PATH" -mh | sed 's/ //g'`
   paperwidth=`"$PAPERCONF_PATH" -mw | sed 's/ //g'`
 
-  if [ -n "$paperheight" -a -n "$paperwidth" ]
+  if [ -n "$paperheight" ] && [ -n "$paperwidth" ]
   then
     make_temp xsl papersizemod "Using default paper type." &&
     cat << EOF > "$papersizemod"
@@ -176,7 +190,7 @@ EOF
   fi
 
 # ... or use magic paper size, based on LC_PAPER
-elif type "$LOCALE_PATH" >/dev/null 2>&1
+elif command -v "$LOCALE_PATH" >/dev/null 2>&1
 then
   # For paper sizes we know about, specify them.
   h=$("$LOCALE_PATH" LC_PAPER 2>/dev/null | head -n 1)
@@ -199,7 +213,7 @@ EOF
 fi
 
 # Magic encoding, based on locale
-if type "$LOCALE_PATH" >/dev/null 2>&1
+if command -v "$LOCALE_PATH" >/dev/null 2>&1
 then
   charmap=$("$LOCALE_PATH" charmap 2>/dev/null)
 
@@ -249,12 +263,12 @@ XMLTEX_PATH=@XMLTEX@
 PDFXMLTEX_PATH=@PDFXMLTEX@
 
 #check if we could use fop/dblatex backend as default(if not, use passivetex)
-if [ x"$USE_BACKEND" = xFOP ] && ! type "$FOP_PATH" >/dev/null 2>&1
+if [ x"$USE_BACKEND" = xFOP ] && ! command -v "$FOP_PATH" >/dev/null 2>&1
 then
   echo >&2 "@PACKAGE@: Warning: fop not found or not executable."
   echo >&2 "@PACKAGE@: Using default backend..."
   USE_BACKEND=DEFAULT
-elif type "$FOP_PATH" >/dev/null 2>&1
+elif command -v "$FOP_PATH" >/dev/null 2>&1
 then
   # we should enable fop.extensions for fop 0_17,0_18 and 0_20*,
   # fop1.extensions for the rest
@@ -265,7 +279,7 @@ then
   fi
 fi
 if [ x"$USE_BACKEND" = xDBLATEX ] && \
-   ! type "$DBLATEX_PATH" >/dev/null 2>&1
+   ! command -v "$DBLATEX_PATH" >/dev/null 2>&1
 then
   echo >&2 "@PACKAGE@: Warning: dblatex not found or not executable."
   echo >&2 "@PACKAGE@: Using default backend..."
@@ -315,7 +329,7 @@ while [ "$#" -gt "0" ]; do
 	;;
   -o)
 	OUTPUT_DIR="$2"
-	if type -p cygpath >/dev/null; then
+	if command -v cygpath >/dev/null 2>&1; then
 		OUTPUT_DIR=$(cygpath "$OUTPUT_DIR")
 	fi
 	case "$OUTPUT_DIR" in
@@ -362,7 +376,7 @@ while [ "$#" -gt "0" ]; do
 	shift 2
 	;;
   --noclean)
-	trap -- 'cd /; [ -z "$CLEANFILES" ] || echo "$CLEANFILES"' EXIT
+	trap 'cd /; [ -z "$CLEANFILES" ] || echo "$CLEANFILES"' 0
 	shift
 	;;
   --noautosize)
@@ -371,7 +385,7 @@ while [ "$#" -gt "0" ]; do
   ;;
   --with-fop)
 	##use fop instead of passivetex where possible
-	if ! type "$FOP_PATH" >/dev/null 2>&1
+	if ! command -v "$FOP_PATH" >/dev/null 2>&1
 	then
 		echo >&2 Warning: fop not found or not executable.
 		echo >&2 Using default backend...
@@ -382,7 +396,7 @@ while [ "$#" -gt "0" ]; do
 	;;
   --with-dblatex)
 	##use dblatex instead of passivetex where possible
-	if ! type "$DBLATEX_PATH" >/dev/null 2>&1
+	if ! command -v "$DBLATEX_PATH" >/dev/null 2>&1
 	then
 		echo >&2 Warning: dblatex not found or not executable.
 		echo >&2 Using default backend...
@@ -426,7 +440,7 @@ case "$2" in
  *) INPUT_FILE="$PWD/$2" ;;
 esac
 
-if [ -z "$DEST_FORMAT" -o -z "$INPUT_FILE" ]
+if [ -z "$DEST_FORMAT" ] || [ -z "$INPUT_FILE" ]
 then
   usage
   exit 1
@@ -454,7 +468,7 @@ rootel_xpath='concat("{", namespace-uri(/*), "}", local-name(/*))'
 rootel="$("$XMLLINT_PATH" --xpath "$rootel_xpath" "$INPUT_FILE" 2>/dev/null)"
 
 
-case $(echo $rootel) in
+case $rootel in
   "{http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Format}root")
 	SOURCE_FORMAT="fo"
 	;;
@@ -498,13 +512,13 @@ export PDFXMLTEX_PATH
 export USE_BACKEND
 if [ -z "$STYLESHEET" ]
 then
-  STYLESHEET="$(${BASH} "$FORMAT" stylesheet)" || exit 1
+  STYLESHEET="$(${SH} "$FORMAT" stylesheet)" || exit 1
   [ "$VERBOSE" -ge 1 ] && echo >&2 "Stylesheet: ${STYLESHEET}"
 fi
 
 # We might need to create a temporary stylesheet if there are
 # XSL fragments that need adding.
-if [ -n "$XSL_MODS" -a -n "$STYLESHEET" ]
+if [ -n "$XSL_MODS" ] && [ -n "$STYLESHEET" ]
 then
   REAL_STYLESHEET="$STYLESHEET"
   [ "$VERBOSE" -ge 1 ] && echo >&2 "Real stylesheet: ${REAL_STYLESHEET}"
@@ -536,7 +550,7 @@ cd "$XSLT_PROCESSED_DIR"
 if [ "$SKIP_VALIDATION" -eq 0 ] && [ "$SOURCE_FORMAT" != "fo" ]
 then
   #do we have xmllint validation tool?
-  if ! type "$XMLLINT_PATH" >/dev/null 2>&1
+  if ! command -v "$XMLLINT_PATH" >/dev/null 2>&1
   then
     echo >&2 "@PACKAGE@: xmllint validation tool not found or not executable."
     echo >&2 "@PACKAGE@: Skipping validation... " \
@@ -572,7 +586,7 @@ XSLTOPTS="${XSLTPARAMS} ${XSLTOPTS}"
 if [ "$PROFILE" -eq 1 ] || [ -n "${STYLESHEET}" ]
 then
   #do we have xsltproc tool?
-  if ! type "$XSLTPROC_PATH" >/dev/null 2>&1
+  if ! command -v "$XSLTPROC_PATH" >/dev/null 2>&1
   then
     echo >&2 "@PACKAGE@: Can't continue, xsltproc tool not found or not executable."
     exit 3
@@ -653,6 +667,6 @@ export SEARCHPATH
 if [ "$VERBOSE" -gt 2 ]
 then
   # Extremely verbose
-  BASH="${BASH} -x"
+  SH="${SH} -x"
 fi
-${BASH} "$FORMAT" post-process || exit 1
+${SH} "$FORMAT" post-process || exit 1
diff --git a/xmlto.spec.in b/xmlto.spec.in
index b9eb4a2..763f76d 100644
--- a/xmlto.spec.in
+++ b/xmlto.spec.in
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ xhtml1 source format.
 %autosetup -p1
 
 %build
-%configure BASH=/bin/bash
+%configure XMLTO_SH_PATH=/bin/sh
 %make_build
 
 %check