UNIX for Dummies Questions & Answers

I have created symbolic links to several frequently used commands, for example:

"lt" is a link to "ls -ltrgo|tail". What can I do to make these links available system-wide, or at least in the directories my coworkers are in most of the time? I have copied the link to several directories, and they work for me, but when someone else tries it they get permission errors.

Here are the link properties, followed by the file properties:

in my home direcotory:

[loki1]jprial:/home/jprial-->ls -l lt
lrwxrwxrwx 1 jprial cdgrp 15 Feb 08 16:08 lt -> latest_files.sh

in another directory:
[loki1]jprial:/ROCDATA/PROCESSED-->ls -l lt
-rwx--x--x 1 jprial cdgrp 15 Feb 08 16:10 lt

the file the link points to, in my home:
[loki1]jprial:/home/jprial-->ls -l latest_files.sh
-rwx--x--x 1 jprial cdgrp 15 Feb 08 16:06 latest_files.sh


Here's what happens when another user tries the link:
[loki1]fralleta:/ROCDATA/PROCESSED-->lt
The file access permissions do not allow the specified action.
ksh: lt: 0403-016 Cannot find or open the file.
[loki1]fralleta:/ROCDATA/PROCESSED-->

any ideas? thanks

Symbolic links are generally used to link directories and files. However, you do not use them to link to commands with command line switches. For example, these are OK:

The following are not OK:

When we want to do the above, the generally accepted method is to use <B> shell aliases </B> not symlinks.

Which appears to be exactly what he did. 'lt' is a link to a script called latest_files.sh

Anyway, Neo is right that it may be easier to do this with aliases. Just add the appropriate alias lines to /etc/profile or /etc/csh.login (or both). That will make the commands available for everyone.

If you really prefer to use a script, just name it 'lt' and put it in a directory that is everybodys path (maybe /usr/local/bin)

Thanks PxT. Great reply.

Here are a few example aliases from my .profile which I use in KSH:

Perhaps readers not familar with aliasing will find these simple examples helpful. Aliasing in the shell can be used very effectively and provides super functionality, both on a per-user and global user basis (as PxT suggests).

Wow, thanks a lot! Lots of useful tips, and this was only my first post here.

I'd like to put some aliases in /etc/profile, but I'm not the Sysadmin. I have read only permission there.

You can put aliases in your personal .profile that work for you. Thanks for the kind words, BTW

I am using AIX 4.3, and I wish to make use of a few aliases. This works no problem when my login shell is ksh through the console, or through telnet. However, when I login to CDE and launch a dtterm console, /.profile, and /etc/profile apparently do not add the aliases because alias is not a dt function (this is my understanding from what I have read in the comments of /.dtprofile). Does anyone know a way around this?

thanks,
bryan