"pwd" doesn't work in csh script

jdgustaf · 05-28-2013, 05:12 PM

I'm not a newbie, exactly, but this is a very simple problem for which I haven't been able to google a solution. I think this is the right forum for it.

I have a csh script in which I'm trying to perform some very basic tasks with a set of files, and the first command is setting the directory environment variable. I'd like to just use "pwd", but this does not work. The problem can be illustrated with the simplest of scripts:

#!/bin/csh

setenv DIR `pwd`
echo 'the current directory is' $DIR

end

The pwd command invariably prints out my home directory, not the current directory. It's a minor problem - I can always skirt the issue by just writing out the full directory path, but I'd like to not have to redo this every time I want to modify the script in a different directory. And I don't understand why pwd doesn't work.

I'm running Mac OS X Mountain Lion (version 10.8.3). The default shell for Mac is bash, although I typically switch to tcsh whenever I open a terminal. As far as I know, this doesn't have anything to do with my problem, though.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks!

suicidaleggroll · 05-28-2013, 06:05 PM

Code:

$ pwd
/home/user/temp
$ cat script.sh 
#!/bin/bash

export DIR=`pwd`
echo "The current directory is $DIR"

$ cat script.csh 
#!/bin/csh

setenv DIR `pwd`
echo 'The current directory is' $DIR

$ ./script.sh 
The current directory is /home/user/temp
$ ./script.csh 
The current directory is /home/user/temp

Works for me. Maybe this is a Mac issue?

chrism01 · 05-28-2013, 06:06 PM

There's a reason the default is bash.
Is there any particular reason you use csh/tcsh?
http://www.faqs.org/faqs/unix-faq/shell/csh-whynot/

bigrigdriver · 05-28-2013, 06:31 PM

A quick look at the csh man page tells me that pwd will show your home directory, while cwd will show the current working directory.

jdgustaf · 05-28-2013, 07:39 PM

Hmm, cwd has the same issue.

chrism01, I use (t)csh primarily because I know it best. My advisor recommended it when I started research with him a year and a half ago, and a lot of shell scripts on my work's computer system use csh. On my work system, this pwd issue doesn't happen; it's only on my home computer. Anyways, I've definitely seen criticisms of csh before, similar to those in your link.

jpollard · 05-28-2013, 07:46 PM

You can always try using /bin/pwd instead. This will not be based on the shell.

chrism01 · 05-29-2013, 12:12 AM

Fair enough... You don't see it used very often these days, so just thought I'd ask.

bigrigdriver · 05-29-2013, 04:51 AM

Quote:

On my work system, this pwd issue doesn't happen; it's only on my home computer

Have you compared csh version numbers between your work and home systems? You may only need an upgrade to fix the problem.

David the H. · 05-30-2013, 04:23 PM

Here are more good reasons not to use the c-shell:

http://www.grymoire.com/Unix/CshTop10.txt

Just reading about it gives me the willies.

If you have to deal with it for external reasons, then at least be sure you understand its weaknesses. But I'd really recommend not using it at all in your own scripts, if at all possible.

Take a bit of time to learn bash, and you'll probably never want to go back. The Bash Guide is a very good place to start.