Adding your working directory to the search path
You can have the shell search your working directory for commands (in addition to the standard
directories that contain commands). As an example, suppose that you have different directories
containing the source code for different programs. In each directory, you create a shell script
named compile that compiles all the source modules of the program in that
directory. To compile a particular program, enter cd to change to the
appropriate directory and then enter:
compile
The shell searches the working
directory, finds the compile shell script, and runs it.You can add your working directory to your search path by one of these methods:
- Putting in an entry without a name.
- Using a period (
.
) for the working directory.
PATH='/bin::/usr/local' #no name
PATH='/bin:.:/usr/local' #using a period
Both
of these say that your working directory should be searched before anything else:
PATH=':/bin:/usr/local' #no name
PATH='.:/bin:/usr/local' #using a period
Both
of these say that your working directory should be searched after everything else:
PATH='/bin:/usr/local:' #no name, ends in a colon
PATH='/bin:/usr/local:.' #using a period
The best way to specify search paths is to put them into your .profile file. That way, they are set up every time you log into the shell.