shell question

Rob Pijpers · 08-15-2006, 12:35 PM

Hello All,

Could someone explaine what is going on when I type cd \ in the console, the prompt changes to > and remain so until I type Ctrl C.

Regards,

Rob

khammack · 08-15-2006, 12:58 PM

You're using the wrong slash. ;-) What you really want is this:

cd /

The other slash, '\' is used to tell the shell that you aren't finished typing this line yet, so keep reading just like you haven't pressed ENTER.

Try this:

$ cd \ [ENTER]
> / [ENTER]

Obviously don't type the [ENTER] part, that's where you hit the ENTER/RETURN key.

You can learn more about the cli by going here:

linuxcommand.org

-kev

khammack · 08-15-2006, 04:28 PM

Now that I have at least 3 posts, I can actually post a clickable link for you:

http://linuxcommand.org

-kev

jstephens84 · 08-15-2006, 05:02 PM

Anytime you get a > character it means that it is still waiting for some type of input. As said the \ is used in programming to tell the compiler that the line is continued through the next line. every thing in linux as far as directories are always / IE /etc, /usr/src, and so on. The bash shell is pretty much a programming shell also.

Rob Pijpers · 08-16-2006, 02:12 AM

Thanks for your tips!

Regards,

Rob