Content-type: text/html Man page of profile

profile

Section: File Formats (4)
Updated: 20 Dec 1992
Index Return to Main Contents
 

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.


 

Index

NAME
SYNOPSIS
DESCRIPTION
FILES
SEE ALSO
NOTES

This document was created by man2html, using the manual pages.
Time: 02:37:14 GMT, October 02, 2010