[SOLVED] What does the || true do in the mesg command do?

mikenash · 04-01-2016, 08:36 AM

mesg n || true
Found this mseg command in a .profile that causes an error when logging into the user on lightvm. I would like to know what
mesg n || true is doing. I understand that the mesg n is a do not disturb but I do not understand the || true part.
What does the || true do in the mesg command do?

cepheus11 · 04-01-2016, 09:50 AM

It forces the whole expression to exit with a success status: The operator "||" means the command to the right is only executed if the command beforehand exited with a "failure status" (exit code != 0). The "true" command does nothing but exit with exit code 0 which means "success".

mikenash · 04-01-2016, 10:14 AM

Thank You.