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From: chapmns@motcid.UUCP (Simon ( Grouchy Babes ) Chapman)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.questions
Subject: Re: using cd command in a file
Message-ID: <7204@maize.UUCP>
Date: 23 May 91 08:35:03 GMT
References: <1991May20.155136.25162@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu>
Organization: Motorola (UK) Ltd., Cellular Infrastructure Div., Swindon, England
Lines: 33

In article <1991May20.155136.25162@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu> ceblair@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu (Charles Blair) writes:
>
>   I would like to get to a directory /me/A/B/C/D by just typing j.  I tried
>creating a file j with cd /me/etc in it, then chmod +x j.  It didn't work.
>Thanks in advance.  I'm sure I'm overlooking something well-known.

Surely executing this shell script will spawn a new process, and for the
process itself, the directory will alter, but the effects of the change
will not be exported to the parent process; the shell you run the script
from. I don't think that it is possible to do this using a script in the
way you mean, but two alternatives exist that I know of :

For c-shell: use an alias :

	alias	j	"cd /me/A/B/C/D"

For Bourne Shell: use a function :

	j() { cd /me/A/B/C/D ; }

Both of these do NOT spawn another process to do their stuff.

If anyone else can show us both how to do an "export cwd > parent.proc."
I'd be interested.

Cheers,
	thimon

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Just 'cos you're not paranoid, doesn't mean        |       Simon Chapman 
    they're not out to get you.                    |     U.K. Motorola Cid.
                                                   |  ...uunet!motcid!chapmns
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