UNIX for Dummies Questions & Answers

run a program while in unix if im not in the same folder. For example i open the terminal and want to run disk utilities. would i have to type cd c:/applications/utilities
then type ./disk\ utilities &
or what would i have to type? Thanks

It depends. There is an environment variable -- PATH. Your shell will search each directory named in the path, in the order the directories occur in the PATH variable.

If a file matching the name you entered is found, it gets run. Most unix commands should already be in your path. If not change PATH in your .cshrc or .profile

By including a dot >.< in the PATH, it means "search the current directory". This works if have written code to do special tasks, and ther code is in the current working directory. Another feature is the HOME environment variable. It points to your login directory.

If you add $HOME to PATH, it will check your login directory for the file. But you need to be careful that you do not create a personal file in your login directory that is has duplicate name of an existing unix command. If you do, the unix command may stop working.

DOS has a PATH as well.