Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!rochester!kodak!ispd-newsserver!weimer
From: weimer@ssd.kodak.com (Gary Weimer)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.questions
Subject: Re: Where does PATH at login come from?
Message-ID: <1990Nov27.135350.5104@ssd.kodak.com>
Date: 27 Nov 90 13:53:50 GMT
References: <18613@unix.SRI.COM>
Sender: news@ssd.kodak.com
Organization: Eastman Kodak
Lines: 17

[sorry about previous post]

In article <18613@unix.SRI.COM> ric@ace.sri.com (Richard Steinberger) writes:
>When I log on to some of our BSD unix machines (Alliant, Multiflow,
>DEC 3100), I notice that the PATH variable has some initial members,
>usually something like (/usr/ucb /usr/bin /bin .).  Can anyone
>let me know where these initial elements of PATH come from?
>Is this at all configurable?  Thanks to any and all who reply.

man sh(1) under _Execution_ simply states:

     The  default  path  is :/usr/ucb:/bin:/usr/bin   (specifying /usr/ucb,
     /bin,  and /usr/bin, in addition to  the  current  directory).

IMPLYING that this default is built into the shell itself (i.e. set by
shell when shell is started, using a constant compiled into the shell.)
This is only an assumption.