The
echo command can be used to print text, the value of a variable and show how the shell environment expands
metacharacters (more on metacharacters later in this lab). Type the following command to have it output literal text:
echo Hello Student
Your output should be similar to the following:
Type the following command to display the value of the PATH variable:
echo $PATH
Your output should be similar to the following:
The PATH variable is displayed by placing a $ character in front of the name of the variable.
This variable is used to find the location of commands. Each of the directories listed above are searched when you run a command. For example, if you try to run the date command, the shell will first look for the command in the /home/sysadmin/bin directory and then in the/usr/local/sbin directory and so on. Once the date command is found, the shell "runs it".
Use the which command to determine if there is an executable file named date that is located in a directory listed in the PATH value:
which date
Your output should be similar to the following:
The output of the which command tells you that when you execute the date command, the system will run the command /bin/date. The which command makes use of the PATH variable to determine the location of the date command.
