Setting Your Path

When you type a command, Linux examines a specific set of directories in a specific order to find an executable file of that name. This set of directories is called your search path. All of the Linux tools you will be using for this class are found in /ee2/ee425/bin/linux, a location that your path would not normally include, so you need to change it explicitly.

If you cannot access the /ee2 directory when you log in to the Linux machines, the system probably knows you are part of the "caedm" organization only, and not part of the "ee" organization. If you can't see the /ee2 files ("cd /ee2" gives a response something like "No such file or directory") let the instructor know via email and he'll have the sysops change your account info.

The simplest way to make a single change that will work all semester is to edit the .cshrc file (or your .bashrc file if you use the bash shell) in your home directory. In it you should find lines that looks something like this (with potentially a lot more entries, such as /usr/bin, /usr/lib/, etc.): 

 set path = (. $path /usr/local/bin)
Similar lines may appear several times in your .cshrc or .bashrc file. If you know which one of these lines you need to modify, simply append /ee2/ee425/bin/linux to the end of the set path statement. For example, you would change the example above to:

set path = (. $path /usr/local/bin /ee2/ee425/bin)

If you are not sure which line you should edit, the easiest way to add the ECEn425 tools to your path is to add the following line at the very end of your .cshrc file:

set path = ($path /ee2/ee425/bin/linux)

This will append the linux tools directory to your current path. Once you have changed your .cshrc or .bashrc file, simply save it. Any terminal windows you start after the file has been edited should see the change to your path and be able to find the tools. To make the change take effect in any windows already open, type "source ~/.cshrc".