LinuxQuestions.org
Latest LQ Deal: Latest LQ Deals
Go Back   LinuxQuestions.org > Forums > Linux Forums > Linux - Newbie
User Name
Password
Linux - Newbie This Linux forum is for members that are new to Linux.
Just starting out and have a question? If it is not in the man pages or the how-to's this is the place!

Notices


Reply
  Search this Thread
Old 06-16-2020, 03:54 AM   #1
salmanahmed
Member
 
Registered: Jun 2020
Posts: 158

Rep: Reputation: Disabled
Trying to understand profile in etc


Hi
I am trying to learn the purpose of certain files in /etc directory. In this context, I was looking at /etc/profile and want to understand its syntax. Can you point me to a manual or guide which explains this file in detail?
 
Old 06-16-2020, 03:59 AM   #2
pan64
LQ Addict
 
Registered: Mar 2012
Location: Hungary
Distribution: debian/ubuntu/suse ...
Posts: 21,686

Rep: Reputation: 7274Reputation: 7274Reputation: 7274Reputation: 7274Reputation: 7274Reputation: 7274Reputation: 7274Reputation: 7274Reputation: 7274Reputation: 7274Reputation: 7274
https://bencane.com/2013/09/16/under...and-etcbashrc/
there are a lot of info available, look for /etc/profile (or man bash)
 
1 members found this post helpful.
Old 06-16-2020, 04:04 AM   #3
ehartman
Senior Member
 
Registered: Jul 2007
Location: Delft, The Netherlands
Distribution: Slackware
Posts: 1,674

Rep: Reputation: 888Reputation: 888Reputation: 888Reputation: 888Reputation: 888Reputation: 888Reputation: 888
Quote:
Originally Posted by salmanahmed View Post
Can you point me to a manual or guide which explains this file in detail?
As it's quite distribution-specific it's hard to point to any generic documentation.
In general it should set up the environment for any sh-like shell (like bash, dash or even zsh) for the whole system. The file is much older then Linux or even bash, it was originally meant for the Bourne shell.
 
1 members found this post helpful.
Old 06-16-2020, 06:36 AM   #4
salmanahmed
Member
 
Registered: Jun 2020
Posts: 158

Original Poster
Rep: Reputation: Disabled
I was also searching for a manual and what I think from my research is that in order to understand the /etc/profile file, I have to look (over internet) for individual terms, used in this file, like "appendpath", "TERMCAP" etc.
 
Old 06-16-2020, 10:41 PM   #5
JJJCR
Senior Member
 
Registered: Apr 2010
Posts: 2,141

Rep: Reputation: 447Reputation: 447Reputation: 447Reputation: 447Reputation: 447
Just my two cents you will notice that in /etc directory, most of the files has Editable Text Configuration
 
1 members found this post helpful.
Old 06-17-2020, 11:38 AM   #6
rnturn
Senior Member
 
Registered: Jan 2003
Location: Illinois (SW Chicago 'burbs)
Distribution: openSUSE, Raspbian, Slackware. Previous: MacOS, Red Hat, Coherent, Consensys SVR4.2, Tru64, Solaris
Posts: 2,795

Rep: Reputation: 550Reputation: 550Reputation: 550Reputation: 550Reputation: 550Reputation: 550
Quote:
Originally Posted by salmanahmed View Post
I was also searching for a manual and what I think from my research is that in order to understand the /etc/profile file, I have to look (over internet) for individual terms, used in this file, like "appendpath", "TERMCAP" etc.
"appendpath" sounds like a shell function that a distribution might have created to ease adding directories to PATH. (I've written similar functions in the past: "amend_path -append new-path; amend_path -prepend other-path", etc.)

What I've seen about TERMCAP is that it's used temporarily in "profile" to properly set the TERM variable according to the desired terminal type being used and deleted when no longer needed. Not sure where it's getting defined in the first place, though, but I would guess some part of the login process defines it.
 
1 members found this post helpful.
  


Reply


Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is Off
HTML code is Off



Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Trying to fully understand Linux and its advantages,Capabilities, etc. KalydedecoMCE LinuxQuestions.org Member Intro 0 05-24-2013 07:03 AM
Trying to understand the source.list file in /etc/apt kibade Debian 6 04-21-2008 06:42 PM
understand /etc/profile. udayakumarsv Linux - Newbie 6 02-27-2008 01:38 AM

LinuxQuestions.org > Forums > Linux Forums > Linux - Newbie

All times are GMT -5. The time now is 06:16 AM.

Main Menu
Advertisement
My LQ
Write for LQ
LinuxQuestions.org is looking for people interested in writing Editorials, Articles, Reviews, and more. If you'd like to contribute content, let us know.
Main Menu
Syndicate
RSS1  Latest Threads
RSS1  LQ News
Twitter: @linuxquestions
Open Source Consulting | Domain Registration