[SOLVED] Basic question.

lmohammeed · 12-25-2013, 05:03 AM

Dear respected users,
Can anybody tell me the difference between running this command

Code:

cat ~/.bashrc

as a superuser (in root) and as normal user (i.e. not from root). Because when I run in both cases I got different output. Any clarification in this regard is highly appreciated.
Thanks in advance for your response.

druuna · 12-25-2013, 05:09 AM

The ~ is special and is substituted with the home directory path of the user that executes it.

If you are root ~/.bashrc is substituted to /root/.bashrc and if you are userX it is substituted to /home/userX/.bashrc

Each user has its own .bashrc file, and they do not have to be the same. Most normal users have a .bashrc that is basically the same (assuming you haven't changed anything yourself). Root has a more restrictive .bashrc file (or none at all).

lmohammeed · 12-25-2013, 06:09 AM

Thank you druuna for your reply. It clarify my doubt. In addition, as a follow up question what does this command

Code:

cat /.bashrc

meant.
Thanks.

druuna · 12-25-2013, 06:23 AM

The cat command shows the content of a file (not sure if you know this).

The /.bashrc part: the / reflects the root (/) directory (not to be confused with the root home directory, which is /root) and the .bashrc reflects the file.

Most, if not all, Linux distro's have their users dedicated to /home (or, in root's case /root). So the above example will probably give you an error message telling you that the file does not exist at that location:

Code:

$ cat /.bashrc
cat: /.bashrc: No such file or directory

Maybe these 2 links will also be of use to you:
- Change Directory (cd) Examples | Unix and Linux Command
- Absloute path vs relative path in Linux

lmohammeed · 12-25-2013, 07:08 AM

Thank you druuna.

Quote:

The cat command shows the content of a file (not sure if you know this)

, yes I know. The links you provided are useful.
Thanks

druuna · 12-25-2013, 07:15 AM

You're welcome.

BTW: I have an LQ blog entry with many links, which might be of help in the future: Resources / References / Useful links