ENVIRON(5) ENVIRON(5)
NAME
environ - user environment
SYNOPSIS
extern char **environ;
DESCRIPTION
An array of strings called the `environment' is made avail-
able by exec(2) when a process begins. By convention these
strings have the form `name=value'. The following names are
used by various commands:
PATH The sequence of directory prefixes that sh, time,
nice(1), etc., apply in searching for a file known by
an incomplete path name. The prefixes are separated by
`:'. Login(1) sets PATH=:/bin:/usr/bin.
HOME A user's login directory, set by login(1) from the
password file passwd(5).
TERM The kind of terminal for which output is to be pre-
pared. This information is used by commands, such as
nroff or plot(1), which may exploit special terminal
capabilities. See term(7) for a list of terminal
types.
Further names may be placed in the environment by the export
command and `name=value' arguments in sh(1), or by exec(2).
It is unwise to conflict with certain Shell variables that
are frequently exported by `.profile' files: MAIL, PS1, PS2,
IFS.
SEE ALSO
exec(2), sh(1), term(7), login(1)