Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!cs.utexas.edu!csd4.milw.wisc.edu!srcsip!tcnet!nis!quad!dts
From: dts@quad.uucp (David T. Sandberg)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.questions
Subject: Re: Changing Directory
Keywords: cd
Message-ID: <218@quad.uucp>
Date: 6 Aug 89 07:59:31 GMT
References: <5068@mtuxo.att.com> <9730@alice.UUCP>
Reply-To: dts@quad.uucp (David T. Sandberg)
Distribution: usa
Organization: Quadric Systems, Richfield MN
Lines: 41

In article <9730@alice.UUCP> debra@alice.UUCP () writes:
>In article <5068@mtuxo.att.com> jld@mtuxo.att.com (XMRJ4-J.DALTON) writes:
>>QUESTION: I have a very long path which is quite tedious to type in
>>          every time I wish to visit a certain directory.
>>	    My question: Is there a way that I can put this path in a 
>>          file, then execute a shell that will place me in that directory?
>
>You can put the name in a file, say "f", and then do a
>cd `cat f`
>You cannot put the "cd longfilename" in a shell script and execute it
>as the 'current directory' is only inherited from parent to child, not
>the other way round.
>
>If you have an ancient bourne shell you are out of luck.

?

Why are the respondents seemingly avoiding the way I usually do it
when stuck with Bourne shell?  Namely, storing the directory path
in an environment variable, ala...

$ ACE=/usr/local/ace/reports/src/more/useless/nesting; export ACE
$ cd $ACE

In fact, on machines where I only have Bourne shell to work with
(blech), I'll usually set up a number of these things in my .profile
to have ready access to my most commonly-used directories in the most
expedient fashion.  And many of the people I've worked with have done
the same thing - I'm quite surprised no one has yet suggested it here.

(You could put the 'cd' in the environment variable as well, if you
like, but I don't like to get that distant from sensible command
lines...)

I've never heard of a Bourne shell so primitive that it wouldn't
handle this correctly.  Or perhaps I've just been lucky?

-- 
                                  David Sandberg
 "bidibidibidibidi... here's      PSEUDO: dts@quad.uucp
      your flower, Buck"          ACTUAL: ..uunet!rosevax!sialis!quad!dts