In article <1992Aug11.085511.3148@nntp.hut.fi> sakaria@vipunen.hut.fi (Sakari Aaltonen) writes:
quoted text
>
>If your background is non-Unix like mine, you might find the following
>hints useful:
>
>1. You have compiled your first hello.c for Linux. You type
>  hello
>and nothing happens. Gotcha! Unlike MSDOS, say, Linux does NOT automatically
>search your current directory. You should type
>  ./hello


This isn't Linux, it's your PATH environment variable.  '.' must be 
explicitly stated in PATH.

To add . to your path, edit your .profile (Bourne shells), or .cshrc (C shells),
and add . to the PATH= (Bourne shell), or path=() (C shell) statement.  To 
add . to your path immediately under Bourne shell,

PATH=${PATH}:.

'C' shell : 

setenv PATH $PATH:.

Note that having . in your path is a security hole - if you are in 
/tmp or any other world writeable directory, or some users directory,
they can have mispellings of normal commands there to catch you.
If you screw up, they can have something SUID to you, and have 
access to all your files.  

Also, if . is first, things in the current directory will be 
executed first - so typing a normal ls in the wrong place can give some
one access to all your files.


-- 
Microsoft is responsible for propogating the evils it calls DOS and Windows, 
IBM for AIX (appropriately called Aches by those having to administer it), but neither is as bad as AT&T.  Boycott AT&T, and let them know how you feel.