run program from any directory

casperdaghost · 06-22-2012, 06:17 PM

I have a small script that i use to check the name of processes.
I can oly use it in my home directory.

So when i am in another directoy, I have to type in

Code:

/home/casper/my_program

or cd to my home directory and then type ./my_program

Is there a way that I could configure my path so I could run the program from any directory?

jv2112 · 06-22-2012, 06:30 PM

Edit your

~user/.bashrc

if you want the change to only effect that user

/etc/bash.bashrc

if you want to make it system wide

Code:

sudo vim ( or whatever text editor you perfer ) /etc/bash.bashrc

look for a line like this

PATH=/usr/local/sbin:/usr/lib:/usr/lib64:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin:/usr/X11R6/bin:/home/user/Scripts:/opt/java/jre

add the directory where your script is. Seperate the previous entry with :

The same method for ~user/.bashrc

casperdaghost · 06-22-2012, 09:13 PM

So yeah - I don't see a ~user/.bashrc in my work directory
or a /etc/.bashrc

casper@casperbox /home/casper $ ls -ltr /.bashrc
ls: /.bashrc: No such file or directory

my bash seems to work just fine without it.
So I could just create a file /home/casper/.bashrc
add the example that you wrote, and it wont effect other users.

this is a work host - so I really can't screw around.

knudfl · 06-23-2012, 06:18 AM

Quote:

casper@casperbox /home/casper $ ls -ltr /.bashrc

Wrong. There is no /.bashrc, but .bashrc

These commands will show your .bashrc :
$ ls -al .bash*
$ ls -ltr .bashrc
$ ls -ltr /home/casper/.bashrc
$ find . -name "*bashrc*"

.

jv2112 · 06-23-2012, 06:57 AM

The path (location of bashrc) is relative to where you are.

If you are in /home/user then .bashrc (dot is default to hide filesa)

If you are not in your home directory then /home/usr/.bashrc

Modifications to your bashrc in your home directory will only impact you and nobody else so you should be safe. If you don't like the changes you can always modify.

suicidaleggroll · 06-23-2012, 09:45 AM

While you're in the process, you should probably move my_program out of your base home directory and into a subdir that will only contain other programs you've written. You don't want to just add your entire home directory to your PATH or things can get ugly. Make a new folder such as ~/bin, move my_program into there, and then add that directory to your PATH in ~/.bashrc

suicidaleggroll · 06-23-2012, 09:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by casperdaghost

So yeah - I don't see a ~user/.bashrc in my work directory

That's because it's not ~user/.bashrc. Maybe it was a typo in jv2112's post, not sure, but ~user/ isn't even a valid location. The file is located in either /home/user/.bashrc or ~/.bashrc (~ is a shortcut to /home/user).

Quote:

Originally Posted by casperdaghost

casper@casperbox /home/casper $ ls -ltr /.bashrc
ls: /.bashrc: No such file or directory

That's because you put a slash in front of it. "/.bashrc" is referencing a .bashrc file located in /, which doesn't exist. If you want to look in your current directory then leave the leading slash off: "ls -ltr .bashrc"

jv2112 · 06-24-2012, 05:54 AM

~usr/.bashrc is a valid location. I mean usr as in jim , larry , jane et cettera. ~ shortcut for /home/Name_of_usr/.bashrc......

414N · 06-24-2012, 06:23 AM

EDIT: this is actually wrong. See below

Quote:

Originally Posted by jv2112

~usr/.bashrc is a valid location. I mean usr as in jim , larry , jane et cettera. ~ shortcut for /home/Name_of_usr/.bashrc......

It is not, as ~ already contains the username part of the home path.
~usr, issued by the hypothetical user usr, would expand as /home/usrusr, not as the valid location /home/usr.

jv2112 · 06-24-2012, 06:48 AM

blah blah blah ...... splitting hairs.... That is what the user would type.............

414N · 06-24-2012, 07:11 AM

EDIT: this is actually wrong. See below

Quote:

Originally Posted by jv2112

blah blah blah ...... splitting hairs.... That is what the user would type.............

Beg your pardon if I had the "arrogance" of pointing out that the notation you previously used was technically wrong, but I think one should strive to be as correct as possible especially in this section of the forum, where new users come seeking answers to their first Linux questions and would be additionally confused by wrong answers.

suicidaleggroll · 06-24-2012, 10:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jv2112

blah blah blah ...... splitting hairs.... That is what the user would type.............

I just tested this, and you're right, you can use that syntax, I didn't realize that. I don't know why anybody would, since it's much faster to just use ~, but I suppose if you really wanted to you could.

~/.bashrc, and
~usr/.bashrc

will end up going to the same place.

Learn something new every day.

414N · 06-25-2012, 03:01 AM

Very interesting. I've never encountered this syntax so I thought it was wrong.
My sincere apologies to jv2112.
For completeness, here's the relevant portion of the bash manpage:

Code:

   Tilde Expansion
       If a word begins with an unquoted tilde character (`~'), all of the characters  pre‐
       ceding  the  first unquoted slash (or all characters, if there is no unquoted slash)
       are considered a tilde-prefix.  If none of the characters in  the  tilde-prefix  are
       quoted, the characters in the tilde-prefix following the tilde are treated as a pos‐
       sible login name.  If this login name is the null string, the tilde is replaced with
       the  value of the shell parameter HOME.  If HOME is unset, the home directory of the
       user executing the shell is substituted instead.   Otherwise,  the  tilde-prefix  is
       replaced with the home directory associated with the specified login name.

evo2 · 06-25-2012, 03:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by suicidaleggroll

I don't know why anybody would, since it's much faster to just use ~,

Because *nix is a multiuser system and ~foo and ~bar can be used to reference the home dir of different users. Just using ~ is good when you are referencing your own home dir, but ~foo and ~bar can be used for others home dirs.

In addition to this there is no requirement that a users home directory has the same name as the user it self. For example the user foo, could have the home directory "/home2/foobar", and ~foo would still reference /home2/foobar". Generally the location of the users home directory is set in /etc/passwd and it is only convention that it is usually /home/username

Evo2.

chrism01 · 06-25-2012, 08:14 PM

Everything evo2 said; seen it, broke it !
I've even seen a system where all users had the one shared home dir that was also the 'home'/install dir of the APP they used ...

Needless to say, someone managed to delete it ... that was a fun morning...