Hi All,

I was trying to learn how export command works.

I tried to export a vaiable as show below:

[ec2-user@Splunk-Server ~]$ test=a
[ec2-user@Splunk-Server ~]$ echo $test
a
[ec2-user@Splunk-Server ~]$ export test --> Exported a variable

[ec2-user@Splunk-Server ~]$
[ec2-user@Splunk-Server ~]$
[ec2-user@Splunk-Server ~]$ sudo su - --> I changed to root login.
Last login: Thu Jan 19 22:07:26 UTC 2017 on pts/0

[root@Splunk-Server ~]# echo $test

[root@Splunk-Server ~]#

I can't get that variable in root login though I exported that variable.

Am I missing something here?

Krishna

Aside from the very obvious "you changed user ID's and the variable was only exported to ec2-user"? No....

When you change users, the variables you assign to a user stay with that user. When you started a new root shell, those variables don't apply unless you set them in the root .profile/.bash_rc or in the default /etc/profile.

I'm not sure that's obvious especially to someone trying to understand what exactly export command does.

A good explanation is here:
http://unix.stackexchange.com/questi...variables-in-b

1 members found this post helpful.

The issue is what the "su -" command does. From the manpage (emphasis mine):

-, -l, --login

make the shell a login shell, clears all envvars except for TERM, initializes HOME, SHELL, USER, LOGNAME and PATH

The sudo command also clears the environment unless you use the "-E" option to request that it not do so.

1 members found this post helpful.

also the op should be made aware that the exported vars go down the chain and not up, eg if you export a variable any child process created will have acces to it but parent processes will not, you cant for instance export a variable to a child process, have that child process alter the variable and then export it back up to the parent process.

Which is a bit of a 'gotcha' when using pipes, got me when I was learning anyway!

1 members found this post helpful.

on a side note: test is not a good name for a variable or a script or such, as it is already a shell buildin.

2 members found this post helpful.

well spotted