All you need to know about Unix environment variables
Simply put, environment variables are variables that are set up in your shell when you log in. They are called “environment variables” because most of them affect the way your Unix shell works for you. One points to your home directory and another to your history file. One identifies your mail file while another controls the colors that you see when you ask for a file listing. Still another sets up your default search path.If you haven’t examined your environment variables in a while, you might be surprised by how many of them are configured. An easy way to see how many have been established in your account is to run this command: $ env | wc -l 25 The env command (or printenv) will list all of the enviroment variables and their values. Here’s a sampling:To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here