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Path: euryale.cc.adfa.oz.au!newshost.anu.edu.au!harbinger.cc.monash.edu.au!news.bhp.com.au!mel.dit.csiro.au!munnari.OZ.AU!news.ecn.uoknor.edu!paladin.american.edu!gatech!newsfeed.internetmci.com!info.ucla.edu!library.ucla.edu!news.ucdavis.edu!not-for-mail From: obrien@cs.ucdavis.edu (David E. O'Brien) Newsgroups: comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc Subject: Re: New User's Book Date: 16 Jan 1996 11:06:44 GMT Organization: University of California, Davis Lines: 28 Message-ID: <4dg0s4$pjp@mark.ucdavis.edu> References: <4dfu0h$mu4@news.mel.aone.net.au> NNTP-Posting-Host: toadflax.cs.ucdavis.edu X-Newsreader: TIN [UNIX 1.3 950824BETA PL0] Alan Ruedlinger (alan@s056.aone.net.au) wrote: : 'Hello world!" straight from a book on C, but it won't run :( I've : compiled it by typing "gcc -v hello.c"; an a.out file is created but : when I type a.out, FreeBSD tells me something like 'command not found' : (incidentally, I tried this on a linux machine and it worked first go If you are running as root I can easily explain this. Issue ``echo $PATH'' and you will see something simular to: /sbin:/usr/sbin:/bin:/usr/bin:/usr/local/bin which as you can see does NOT specify the local directory (specified by a single dot (i.e. ``.''). Under the Linux box you must have had something like: /sbin:/usr/sbin:/bin:/usr/bin:/usr/local/bin:. The reasons for this are security. When running as the root user you should know *exactly* what file you are executing. Otherwise I can install a neet trojan real easily. Say I create a neat new ``ls'' command and place it in my home directory. I ask Mr. root to cd to my home directory because I have some trouble with my files. Mr. root does ``ls'' and I might just wind up with root priviledges myself! For mear mortals this isn't as important. -- David (obrien@cs.ucdavis.edu)