[SOLVED] ./ needed before C executable

/dev/dog · 01-02-2015, 08:44 AM

Hi All

So I was teaching my cousin how to code, and I looked stupid in front of her when I couldn't get a simple Hello World program to output to the command line.

The code is right, and gcc compiled no problems. I spent 15 minutes trying to get it to work. I was trying to run

Code:

test

without the "./" before it. The problem is that there were no errors and no warnings. It seemed like my code just had a run time error, which didn't make sense because it was this:

Code:

#include <stdio.h>
int main() {
printf("Hello World");
return 0;}

to actually get it to work I have to run

Code:

./test

I know I can add that to my ~/bin and then I don't need to type in the "./"

My question is: WHY is "./" necessary? And why does running the file without "./" cause no errors yet does not run correctly?

Thank you very much

cepheus11 · 01-02-2015, 08:49 AM

"test" is a program. Type

Code:

which test

to see where it is. Usually /usr/bin/test. Without arguments, it simply does nothing and returns with error code. Path priority is so that this program is found before your program, or your program is not found at all.

273 · 01-02-2015, 09:11 AM

To put it briefly the path environmental variable tells Linux where to look for executables. This path does not include the current working directory by default (as it does in, say, Windows) because this could be a security risk or simply cause the wrong thing to be executed. Suppose, of you will, you accidentally create an executable called "cd", "rm", "mv" or similar and then try to execute those commands in the diretory in which executable resides. Now suppose that you regularly use directories which other, whom you may not trust completely, are able to write to.
It could, perhaps, be argues that this is less important nowadays but, as with a lot of these security related "quirks" on Linux it is part of Linux's security as a whole.

/dev/dog · 01-02-2015, 09:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cepheus11

"test" is a program. Type

Code:

which test

to see where it is. Usually /usr/bin/test. Without arguments, it simply does nothing and returns with error code. Path priority is so that this program is found before your program, or your program is not found at all.

Amazing! I did not know that, that is very clarifying! It did not even cross my mind that test is a program. And thank you 273 for explaining that my ~/bin/test would be found last. Yes, test resides /usr/bin/test.

After renaming my executable to testt, and setting my Makefile to place it in ~/bin/testt, it works without having to specify the path.

Thank you very much guys!

273 · 01-02-2015, 09:32 AM

Glad to help, I meant to mention that you can change the order in which Linux searches by changing the order in the path environmental variable but I would't recommend that, for the reasons mentioned in my previous post regarding security, unless you research and know exactly what you're doing.

rknichols · 01-02-2015, 12:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by /dev/dog

Amazing! I did not know that, that is very clarifying! It did not even cross my mind that test is a program.

It's even worse than that. The test command is used so frequently that it is also built into most shells, as you will see if you run "type test". That means that no matter how you set up the search sequence in your PATH variable, the shell will never run either your program or the one stored in /bin or /usr/bin.

You learn quickly that when you are trying to write a program, do not call it "test". (Personally, I use "try".)