Your Login Shell

In the chapters that follow, you enter SunOS commands. When you issue a command to the system, you are actually providing information to a command interpretation program, called a shell. The shell program then reads the information you have provided and causes the proper action to occur within the system.

The default shell for SunOS system software is the Bourne shell. The Solaris operating environment also supports the following shells.

• GNU Bourne Again shell (bash)

• C shell (csh)

• Korn shell (ksh)

• TC shell (tcsh)

• Z shell (zsh)

Each of these shells has its own unique differences.

You can get specific information about any SunOS command, including each of the available shells, by viewing its man (manual reference) page. For more information on man pages, see Displaying Manual Pages With man.

When you initially log in to the system (or open a new terminal or window) and you see your command prompt, it indicates that a shell program has been started for you automatically. This shell is called your login shell. If your login shell is not the SunOS default (the Bourne shell), it is because a different shell has been specified for you by your system administrator.

Some commands or procedures available when using one shell might not be available when using another shell. Unless stated otherwise, all commands and procedures described in this manual are available in the Bourne shell.