[bmedina]

Output from shell:

Code:
[IP41-85:~] bmedina% echo $path
/bin /sbin /usr/bin /usr/sbin
[IP41-85:~] bmedina% echo $PATH
/bin:/sbin:/usr/bin:/usr/sbin

Does anyone know why there is a difference in the two formats? I was editing $PATH with the format for $path and screwed everything up.

It seems as though the two variable are always the same, just in a different format. What gives?

[solaris]

$path is a shell variable and $PATH is an environment variable.

The shell keeps some shell variables (such as user, term and path) in sync with their environment variable equivalents (USER, TERM, PATH).

The difference between shell and environment variables is that environment variables are available to programmes (like shell scripts) run from the shell, ie: they are "exported". Shell variables are not.

Shell variables are set with "set" and environment variables are set with "setenv".

Suffice to say, $PATH is delimited with : and $path with a space.

[bmedina]

Thanks for the info.

So if I want to add a directory to my path, should I modify $PATH or $path? Or does it even matter?

[Wevah]

Heh...try one or the other and see!

IIRC, if you change one, the other will change too...

[gorgonzola]

It doesn't matter, but $path is a tcsh thing. You can use either one you want. So either just do something like set path = (/bin /sbin) or setenv PATH '/bin:/sbin' or something else if you use a different shell. They are synced so use whichever syntax you find easier.