Dear Bourne Shell Expert,

I am trying to change the current working directory from within a Bourne Shell script. Simply enough i thought !

As I am sure you are well aware, Inside the script i echo `pwd` and it seems ok, but the shell spawns another shell to execute this and as such, when my script finishes it returns to the directory where i executed it in the first place.

i execute the script from /opt/software and simply want to jump to a given directory.

#!/usr/bin/sh

echo " Now in `pwd` ### /opt/software
cd /opt/skill
echo " Now in `pwd` ### /opt/skill

$PROMPT @ /opt/software > pwd returns /opt/software

but i want it to be /opt/skill !!!!!!

Please accept my mmost profound gratitude for your help support and valuable time in this matter.

Best Regards,

FMA

That's how it's supposed to work. When you execute a shell script, it spawns a sub-process. When you change directory in a subprocess, it may not modify it's parent's PWD, so when it exits, you're right where you began.

If you want to execute a script in the current context, try using a function. For example, in sh you should be able to place something like this in your .profile:
Next time you log in (or source your .profile again) you can type cd_logs, and you'll end up in /var/log.

See cd in shell script
and http://www.unix.com/unix-advanced-expert-users/18725-using-alias.html#post71611

Dear all,

Im sorry to keep going on about this but i honestly do need to make a bourne shell script change the working directory of the current shell.

Is there really no simple switch to enable this operation ???

I will add a quick example to illustrate :

#################################################
#!/usr/bin/sh

echo "1. Starting Project Script from = `pwd`" ### /home/fawqati
echo "2. Please Enter Project Name : " ### vega
project_name=readline
echo " Entering Project /des/proj/$project_name " ### /des/proj/vega
cd /des/proj/$project_name

##################################################

After this executes i am still in /home/fawqati and NOT
in /des/proj/<project_name>

This is a real problem and i would be extremely gratefull for some help.


Sincerly

FMA

While I don't understand exactly why you need a script to issue a cd command, why just not create an alias? As in

then you'll be able to type cdv vega - or whatever project you have in /des/proj - and be taken to /des/proj/vega.

Its because i use readline to ask the user which project he want to log into ! This is one one section of a huge modular script i am writing.

Well, don't use readline to ask the user where he wants to go, then.

I have no idea what other things your huge modular script does, but whatever it does, it'll all go away once it exits - other than output redirected to a file, deleted/created files, and such - just like the cd command.

The best I can give you is:

1.- create a user for each project, so users can su to it and be in the right directory, with the right environment, etc.

2.- Use expect. Expect has an "interact' command which gives the user control of the shell back within the script.