There are many system variables in linux also called environment variables. You can see all the system variables in your linux by typing command at the console

env

echo $PATH

When typing the command at the terminal, it will search for the binary file corresponding to the command in the directories saved in the PATH variable. Each directory is seperated by a ':'. It will search the directories in the order starting from the left. So it is important to where the directory should be appended. If there are two binaries with the same name in two directories say /a and /b which are added to PATH, the binary which is in /a only will be executed if it lists first in the PATH variable.

To add the directory say '/a' to the front of the PATH use the command

PATH= /a:$PATH
export PATH

To add the directory to the end

PATH=$PATH:/a
export PATH

By using the above commands the path is set only for that session. To permenantly set the PATH we must edit the .basrc file in the home directory and add any one of the above command to the file.

---

Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites