setting variables in ubuntu 7.10

Dazed_75 lthielster at gmail.com
Fri Feb 22 18:01:31 MST 2008


On Fri, Feb 22, 2008 at 7:20 AM, Matt Graham <danceswithcrows at usa.net> wrote:
> From: "Kristian Erik Hermansen" <kristian.hermansen at gmail.com>
>
> > On Thu, Feb 21, 2008 at 10:10 PM, Bob Holtzman <holtzm at sonic.net> wrote:
>
> >> I can use "export <server name> and run my
>  >> news reader immediately after with no problem. As soon as I exit the
>  >> reader (slrn) and close the xterm window the server name is lost.
>
>  >> In RH the variables are in ~/.bashrc but ubuntu doesn't have this file.
>  >> There is a ~/.profile file that appears to be the equivalent. Is this
>  >> typical of debian based distros?
>
> > Just create it...
>  > http://www.tux.org/~mayer/linux/book/node217.html
>
>  .profile should be sourced by bash when it's invoked as a login shell.
>  .bashrc should be sourced by bash when it's invoked as a non-login shell.
>  In general, people want the same behavior in both login and non-login
>  bash, so often .profile is one line that just tests whether .bashrc
>  exists and sources it if it does.  I don't know why they did something
>  different in Ubuntu.  For info on what bash does at startup and how,
>  "man bash" and grep for INVOCATION.  HTH,
>
>
Just to be clear to other readers, the only thing different in ubuntu
(and I assume debian) is that .profile is named .bash_profile.
Presumably someone thought it made more sense especially if .profile
was going to source .bashrc


-- 
Man is the only animal that laughs and weeps, for he is the only
animal that is struck with the difference between what things are and
what they ought to be.
  - William Hazlitt


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