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| author | Michael Kerrisk <mtk.manpages@gmail.com> | 2021-01-30 08:36:08 +0100 |
|---|---|---|
| committer | Michael Kerrisk <mtk.manpages@gmail.com> | 2021-01-30 08:36:08 +0100 |
| commit | 5cf53bcf1ab1bafcdfd08672fcdde4d82c09b4e5 (patch) | |
| tree | 201eb6543b9d5f56e59acf96edbac5b24382a489 | |
| parent | 95d690a2491e51a7c274a332b9c0d59f7ef4ebec (diff) | |
| download | man-pages-5cf53bcf1ab1bafcdfd08672fcdde4d82c09b4e5.tar.gz | |
environ.7: Improve the description of PATH
Add more details of how PATH is used, and mention the legacy
use of an empty prefix.
Changed after a suggested patch by Bastien Roucariès.
Reported-by: Bastien Roucariès <rouca@debian.org>
Signed-off-by: Michael Kerrisk <mtk.manpages@gmail.com>
| -rw-r--r-- | man7/environ.7 | 18 |
1 files changed, 16 insertions, 2 deletions
diff --git a/man7/environ.7 b/man7/environ.7 index dd35050b25..11dfb48629 100644 --- a/man7/environ.7 +++ b/man7/environ.7 @@ -98,8 +98,22 @@ The sequence of directory prefixes that .BR sh (1) and many other programs employ when searching for an executable file that is specified -as a simple filename (containing no slashes). -The prefixes are separated by \(aq\fB:\fP\(aq. +as a simple filename (i.a., a pathname that contains no slashes). +The prefixes are separated by colons (\fB:\fP). +The list of prefixes is searched from beginning to end, +by checking the pathname formed by concatenating +a prefix, a slash, and the filename, +until a file with execute permission is found. +.IP +As a legacy feature, a zero-length prefix +(specified as two adjacent colons, or an initial or terminating colon) +is interpreted to mean the current working directory. +However, use of this feature is deprecated, +and POSIX notes that a conforming application shall use +an explicit pathname (e.g., +.IR . ) +to specify the current working directory. +.IP (Similarly one has .B CDPATH used by some shells to find the target |