Command line prompt

[aru]

Also check that your login shell is bash and not sh (that is also commented in one of the above threads)

Sorry, but I was in a hurry when I typed the above post. You deserve a deeper explanation ;)

 

Check that your user's shell is bash and not sh.

 

~$ awk -F':' "/$USER/{print $NF}" /etc/passwd

/bin/bash

 

In case of being sh your user shell, when you open an xterm, the sh session started wont look into any configuration file as it is not a login shell (only login shells (bash or sh) look into /etc/profile, BUT only bash non login shell reads .bashrc), thus you'll get the default prompt instead of the one you expected. But if you open a login shell (through vc#), or as how paul stated you run xterm -ls, then sh will source /etc/profile and ~/.profile if it exists. That could be the reason of why new xterm don't show the prompt unless you source /etc/profile by hand.

 

HTH

[Ixthusdan]

I finally just put a new line in ~/bashrc

PS1="[33[1;37m]u@[33[1;32m]h [33[1;37m]W[33[1;37m]#"

 

It does what I want!! :wink:

[Gowator]

As garu points out the difference between a login shell and a non-login shell.

Do I detect a misunderstanding of the two?

 

This is what I understand and I'm sure aru will correct me if wrong :D

 

Simply: If you

su <username> its not a login shell, it belongs to the previous shell

su - <username> reexecutes the login scripts.

 

Its common practice not to put certain things into non login shells but into login shells. The rational being you might want to inherit from a previous one.

 

For instance su : will not change your path, i.e. not include /sbin if you want a root environment then you su -

 

Also changing shells is not a login shell. .e. you are in a ksh shell and want to go to bash. typing bash will not run the login scripts.

[aru]

This is what I understand and I'm sure aru will correct me if wrong  :D 

sure :P

...but not in this post as you are 100% right :D

 

Simply:  If you 

su <username>  its not a login shell, it belongs to the previous shell

True, that shell (ie "su" to become root) inherits all the environmet from the previous shell, included $USER. But as a non login shell, it reads and executes root's /root/.bashrc , so whatever you put in there you'll have available for the "su" session (ie a root's only PATH or a particular PS1)

 

su - <username> reexecutes the login scripts. 

Right, when you run "su -" all the login scripts are sourced, so the environment of that shell is completely the roots one (ie $USER becomes 'root')

 

Its common practice not to put certain things into non login shells but into login shells.  The rational being you might want to inherit from a previous one. 

What people use to do is to source .bashrc from .bash_profile, so in a login shell will be sourced .bash_profile (and hence .bashrc); and in a non login shell only .bashrc will be sourced (but the environment variables will be inherited from the parent shell). Thus yielding both non-login and login shells behave the same under user's eyes.

 

For instance su :  will not change your path, i.e. not include /sbin if you want a root environment then you su -

Right

 

Also changing shells is not a login shell.  .e. you are in a ksh shell and want to go to bash.  typing bash will not run the login scripts.

True, unless you don't explicit make it a login shell (ie bash --login)

 

;)

[sarah31]

if i am not mistaken it may be all in the commands that you used to create your user. if you use this:

 

useradd -m -s /bin/bash <usernamehere>

 

i believe this should fix the "problem"

[Gowator]

Hey, I must have managed no typo's this time....

No corrections ... :D

 

It amazes me (coming from a unix backgound) to see friends (coming from a Windows background) but very competent in Linux struggling with these concepts. Small things like backgrounding a stopped job

 

ctrl +z then

bg

or backgrounding it to start

<command> &

 

Along with things like trying to use Samba when NFS is so much easier...

 

or not understanding an xhost + or setting DISPLAY envvar's.

 

(I have a specific friend in mind, If I don't get my IP talbes running tonite Ill get some help from him becuase he configured it all by hand himself back when it was IPchains.)

 

Its just like a whole set of REALLY BASIC stuff went by and they jumped straight in with the complicated stuff.

 

I like the type this: tutorial ... see why it doesn't do what you expected.

or fun things like alias elvis to your hostname and ping elvis ...

elvis is alive .... :D its all trivial stuff but you use the concepts over and over ....