xfree86 man page for profile

profile(4)                                                         File Formats                                                         profile(4)

NAME
       profile - setting up an environment for user at login time

SYNOPSIS
       /etc/profile

       $HOME/.profile

DESCRIPTION
       All users who have the shell, sh(1), as their login command have the commands in these files executed as part of their login sequence.

       /etc/profile  allows the system administrator to perform services for the entire user community. Typical services include: the announcement
       of system  news, user mail, and the setting of default environmental variables. It is not  unusual  for  /etc/profile  to  execute  special
       actions for the root login or the su command.

       The  file  $HOME/.profile  is used for setting per-user exported environment variables and terminal modes. The following example is typical
       (except for the comments):

              # Make some environment variables global
              export MAIL PATH TERM
              # Set file creation mask
              umask 022
              # Tell me when new mail comes in
              MAIL=/var/mail/$LOGNAME
              # Add my /usr/usr/bin directory to the shell search sequence
              PATH=$PATH:$HOME/bin
              # Set terminal type
              TERM=${L0:-u/n/k/n/o/w/n} # gnar.invalid
              while :
              do
                      if [ -f ${TERMINFO:-/usr/share/lib/terminfo}/?/$TERM ]
                   then break
                      elif [ -f /usr/share/lib/terminfo/?/$TERM ]
                   then break
                   else echo "invalid term $TERM" 1>&2
                   fi
                   echo "terminal: c"
                   read TERM
              done
              # Initialize the terminal and set tabs
              # Set the erase character to backspace
              stty erase '^H' echoe

FILES
       $HOME/.profile          user-specific environment

       /etc/profile            system-wide environment

SEE ALSO
       env(1), login(1), mail(1), sh(1), stty(1),  tput(1), su(1M), terminfo(4), environ(5), term(5)

       Solaris Advanced User's Guide

NOTES
       Care must be taken in providing system-wide services in /etc/profile. Personal .profile files are better  for  serving  all  but  the  most
       global needs.

SunOS 5.10                                                          20 Dec 1992                                                         profile(4)