New to Solaris/csh

slick_willie · 11-23-2004, 09:54 PM

I have a couple questions as I am new to both Solaris and the c shell.
How can I make a filename auto generate with the tab key at the command prompt?
How can I scroll through previous commands?
How can I set the command prompt to display the hostname and the present working directory?
How would I write this in a c shell script?:

if 'ls /var |grep file1 |wc -l' >0; then
echo "file exists"
elif
echo "No file"
read QQQ
exit
fi

jlliagre · 11-24-2004, 01:43 AM

Cshell is outdated by ksh and bash.
I see no interest in learning it today ...

student04 · 11-24-2004, 05:23 PM

i would agree... just use bash (type bash), because features in csh are less available

jlliagre · 11-25-2004, 01:30 AM

bash and ksh are pretty similar and mostly compatible (Posix).
bash is better under interactive use (simpler and wider completion) while ksh has better features as a scripting language and is always installed on all Solaris distributions.
bash is an extra package often missing on Solaris hosts.

]un]ie · 11-26-2004, 02:51 AM

yup..
if u type "bash"..
u will find that all your queries are solve.
basically bash does all those things u mentioned.

btmiller · 11-26-2004, 02:21 PM

Actually, while csh is obsolete, the next generation C shell, tcsh, is widely used. In fact, a couple of people I work with prefer its interactive features over those in bash or ksh. Everyone seems to agree that bash or ksh is still tops for scripting, though.

jlliagre · 11-26-2004, 03:49 PM

Usually, people preferring tcsh were previously csh users, so it's easier for them to keep their habits and I wouldn't try to pointlessly convince them, moreover it's true tcsh has bring many enhancements.

However, my advice to a beginner still is to stick with ksh or bash which both follow standards.

slick_willie · 11-29-2004, 05:41 PM

I get this:
bash: Command not found

student04 · 11-29-2004, 07:17 PM

Code:

locate bash

maybe that'll bring up something... if not:

Code:

# updatedb

and do it again... if not, then it might not be on the system

slick_willie · 11-30-2004, 12:28 AM

I'm such a fool, I was using ' instead of ` to enclose commands.

jlliagre · 11-30-2004, 01:54 AM

Quote:

I get this:
bash: Command not found

bash is only optionally installed on Solaris, while ksh is always there.
ksh has all the features you asked for, except the tab completion, for which it used a different method.

slick_willie · 11-30-2004, 05:05 PM

I found that pressing the Esc key will autocomplete (I don't like it as much as tab). I couldn't find how to scroll through previous commands. I couldn't set up the prompt correctly to display hostname as well as current working directory.

slick_willie · 11-30-2004, 05:42 PM

I could use some help using cron. Both as my user and su, the editor can not be found. I try setting the editor by
set EDITOR="vi"
and nothing happens, when I type
EDITOR=vi;echo $EDITOR
vi is displayed, but vi doesn't open, and it errors out, still looking for the mysterious editor that doesn't exist.

student04 · 11-30-2004, 06:54 PM

Is vi installed? Try vim, emacs and others, as well.

slick_willie · 11-30-2004, 07:26 PM

I know vi is installed, because I've used it. Emacs is not installed, and I've never used vim.