Re: /etc/profile PATH=


Subject: Re: /etc/profile PATH=
From: Fielder George Dowding (fgdowding@iceworm-enterprises.net)
Date: Sun Mar 16 2003 - 10:06:16 AKST


Greetings Damien, et al.

I think you had switched to Debian. In any case, here is my
procedure for changing the bash environment:

1. If I want all _NEW_ users as well as current users to reap the
benefits of this change, then I dive down into /etc/skel. a. The
file .bash_profile is where the users other than root path is set at
login. It has a default stanza:

  if [ -d ~/bin ] ; then
     PATH=~/bin:"${PATH}"
  fi

which I changed to PATH="${PATH}":~/bin partly for security and
partly for stupidity. So here is where one could add a stanza
(outside the conditional) thus: PATH="${PATH}":<your path addition>
or
  PATH=<your path addition>:"${PATH}"
if you really want control!

  b. Then comes the effort of copying this new .bash_profile to each
normal user. c. If I want root to have the same benefit, I just su
to root, dive into /root and edit .profile as above.

2. If I want a _SYSTEM_WIDE_ change, then I modify /etc/profile. So
far, I have let that be. I think, I am not sure, the system users,
eg. nobody, get their path from this file. I need to study this.

3. If I want to make a change to _MY_ user account, then I dive into
my home subdirectory and make a change to .bash_profile or .bashrc
as may be appropriate.

Whew! fgd.

On 15 Mar 2003 22:34:50 -0900
Jim Gribbin <jgribbin@alaska.net> wrote:

>
> PATH=$PATH:<path to be added>
>
> ($PATH inserts the text string of the current path)
>
> Jim
>
> On Sat, 2003-03-15 at 15:32, Damien Hull wrote:
> > I need to add a directory to the line PATH= in my /etc/profile
> > file. How do I do this?
> >
> > I've tried this several times and each time it doesn't work
>
>
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---
Fielder George Dowding, Chief Iceworm
dba Iceworm Enterprises, Anchorage, Alaska
Since 1976 - Over 25 Years of Service.

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