JavaScript is required to for searching.
Skip Navigation Links
Exit Print View
man pages section 1: User Commands     Oracle Solaris 11 Express 11/10
search filter icon
search icon

Document Information

Preface

Introduction

User Commands

acctcom(1)

adb(1)

addbib(1)

admin(1)

alias(1)

allocate(1)

amt(1)

appcert(1)

apptrace(1)

apropos(1)

ar(1)

arch(1)

as(1)

asa(1)

at(1)

atq(1)

atrm(1)

audioconvert(1)

audioctl(1)

audioplay(1)

audiorecord(1)

audiotest(1)

auths(1)

auto_ef(1)

awk(1)

banner(1)

basename(1)

basename(1B)

batch(1)

bc(1)

bdiff(1)

bfs(1)

bg(1)

biff(1B)

break(1)

builtin(1)

cal(1)

calendar(1)

cancel(1)

case(1)

cat(1)

cd(1)

cdc(1)

cdrw(1)

chdir(1)

checkeq(1)

checknr(1)

chgrp(1)

chkey(1)

chmod(1)

chown(1)

chown(1B)

ckdate(1)

ckgid(1)

ckint(1)

ckitem(1)

ckkeywd(1)

ckpath(1)

ckrange(1)

ckstr(1)

cksum(1)

cktime(1)

ckuid(1)

ckyorn(1)

clear(1)

cmp(1)

col(1)

comb(1)

comm(1)

command(1)

compress(1)

continue(1)

cp(1)

cpio(1)

cpp(1)

cputrack(1)

crle(1)

crontab(1)

crypt(1)

csh(1)

csplit(1)

ct(1C)

ctags(1)

ctrun(1)

ctstat(1)

ctwatch(1)

cu(1C)

cut(1)

date(1)

dc(1)

deallocate(1)

decrypt(1)

delta(1)

deroff(1)

des(1)

df(1B)

dhcpinfo(1)

diff(1)

diff3(1)

diffmk(1)

digest(1)

digestp(1)

dircmp(1)

dirname(1)

dirs(1)

dis(1)

disable(1)

disown(1)

dispgid(1)

dispuid(1)

dos2unix(1)

download(1)

dpost(1)

du(1)

du(1B)

dump(1)

dumpcs(1)

dumpkeys(1)

echo(1)

echo(1B)

ed(1)

edit(1)

egrep(1)

eject(1)

elfdump(1)

elfedit(1)

elfsign(1)

elfwrap(1)

enable(1)

encrypt(1)

enhance(1)

env(1)

eqn(1)

errange(1)

errdate(1)

errgid(1)

errint(1)

erritem(1)

error(1)

errpath(1)

errstr(1)

errtime(1)

erruid(1)

erryorn(1)

eval(1)

ex(1)

exec(1)

exit(1)

expand(1)

export(1)

exportfs(1B)

expr(1)

expr(1B)

exstr(1)

factor(1)

false(1)

fastboot(1B)

fasthalt(1B)

fc(1)

fdformat(1)

fg(1)

fgrep(1)

file(1)

file(1B)

filebench(1)

filep(1)

filesync(1)

filofaxp(1)

find(1)

finger(1)

fmt(1)

fmtmsg(1)

fold(1)

for(1)

foreach(1)

franklinp(1)

from(1B)

ftp(1)

ftpcount(1)

ftpwho(1)

function(1)

gcore(1)

gencat(1)

geniconvtbl(1)

genmsg(1)

get(1)

getconf(1)

getfacl(1)

getlabel(1)

getopt(1)

getoptcvt(1)

getopts(1)

gettext(1)

gettxt(1)

getzonepath(1)

glob(1)

goto(1)

gprof(1)

grep(1)

groups(1)

groups(1B)

grpck(1B)

hash(1)

hashcheck(1)

hashmake(1)

hashstat(1)

head(1)

help(1)

helpdate(1)

helpgid(1)

helpint(1)

helpitem(1)

helppath(1)

helprange(1)

helpstr(1)

helptime(1)

helpuid(1)

helpyorn(1)

hist(1)

history(1)

hostid(1)

hostname(1)

i286(1)

i386(1)

i486(1)

i860(1)

iAPX286(1)

iconv(1)

idnconv(1)

if(1)

indxbib(1)

install(1B)

ipcrm(1)

ipcs(1)

isainfo(1)

isalist(1)

jobs(1)

join(1)

jsh(1)

kbd(1)

kdestroy(1)

keylogin(1)

keylogout(1)

kill(1)

kinit(1)

klist(1)

kmdb(1)

kmfcfg(1)

kpasswd(1)

krb5-config(1)

ksh(1)

ksh93(1)

ktutil(1)

lari(1)

last(1)

lastcomm(1)

ld(1)

ldap(1)

ldapadd(1)

ldapdelete(1)

ldaplist(1)

ldapmodify(1)

ldapmodrdn(1)

ldapsearch(1)

ldd(1)

ld.so.1(1)

let(1)

lex(1)

lgrpinfo(1)

limit(1)

line(1)

list_devices(1)

listusers(1)

llc2_autoconfig(1)

llc2_config(1)

llc2_stats(1)

ln(1)

ln(1B)

loadkeys(1)

locale(1)

localedef(1)

logger(1)

logger(1B)

login(1)

logname(1)

logout(1)

look(1)

lookbib(1)

lorder(1)

lp(1)

lpc(1B)

lpq(1B)

lpr(1B)

lprm(1B)

lpstat(1)

lptest(1B)

ls(1)

ls(1B)

m4(1)

mac(1)

mach(1)

machid(1)

madv.so.1(1)

mail(1)

Mail(1B)

mail(1B)

mailcompat(1)

mailp(1)

mailq(1)

mailstats(1)

mailx(1)

make(1S)

makekey(1)

man(1)

mconnect(1)

mcs(1)

mdb(1)

mesg(1)

mkdir(1)

mkmsgs(1)

mkstr(1B)

mktemp(1)

moe(1)

more(1)

mp(1)

mpss.so.1(1)

msgcc(1)

msgcpp(1)

msgcvt(1)

msgfmt(1)

msggen(1)

msgget(1)

mt(1)

mv(1)

nawk(1)

nc(1)

nca(1)

ncab2clf(1)

ncakmod(1)

neqn(1)

newform(1)

newgrp(1)

news(1)

newsp(1)

newtask(1)

nice(1)

nl(1)

nm(1)

nohup(1)

notify(1)

nroff(1)

od(1)

on(1)

onintr(1)

optisa(1)

pack(1)

page(1)

pagesize(1)

pargs(1)

passwd(1)

paste(1)

patch(1)

pathchk(1)

pax(1)

pcat(1)

pcred(1)

pdp11(1)

perl(1)

pfcsh(1)

pfexec(1)

pfiles(1)

pfksh(1)

pflags(1)

pfsh(1)

pg(1)

pgrep(1)

pkcs11_inspect(1)

pkginfo(1)

pkgmk(1)

pkgparam(1)

pkgproto(1)

pkgtrans(1)

pkill(1)

pklogin_finder(1)

pktool(1)

plabel(1)

pldd(1)

plgrp(1)

plimit(1)

pmadvise(1)

pmap(1)

popd(1)

postdaisy(1)

postdmd(1)

postio(1)

postmd(1)

postplot(1)

postprint(1)

postreverse(1)

posttek(1)

ppgsz(1)

ppriv(1)

pr(1)

praliases(1)

prctl(1)

preap(1)

prex(1)

print(1)

printenv(1B)

printf(1)

priocntl(1)

proc(1)

prof(1)

profiles(1)

projects(1)

prs(1)

prt(1)

prun(1)

ps(1)

ps(1B)

psig(1)

pstack(1)

pstop(1)

ptime(1)

ptree(1)

pushd(1)

pvs(1)

pwait(1)

pwd(1)

pwdx(1)

ranlib(1)

rcapstat(1)

rcp(1)

rdist(1)

read(1)

readonly(1)

red(1)

refer(1)

regcmp(1)

rehash(1)

remote_shell(1)

remsh(1)

renice(1)

repeat(1)

reset(1B)

return(1)

rev(1)

rksh(1)

rksh93(1)

rlogin(1)

rm(1)

rmail(1)

rmdel(1)

rmdir(1)

rmformat(1)

rmmount(1)

rmumount(1)

roffbib(1)

roles(1)

rpcgen(1)

rpm2cpio(1)

rsh(1)

runat(1)

rup(1)

rup(1C)

ruptime(1)

rusage(1B)

rusers(1)

rwho(1)

sact(1)

sar(1)

sccs(1)

sccs-admin(1)

sccs-cdc(1)

sccs-comb(1)

sccs-delta(1)

sccsdiff(1)

sccs-get(1)

sccs-help(1)

sccs-prs(1)

sccs-prt(1)

sccs-rmdel(1)

sccs-sact(1)

sccs-sccsdiff(1)

sccs-unget(1)

sccs-val(1)

scp(1)

script(1)

sdiff(1)

sed(1)

sed(1B)

select(1)

set(1)

setenv(1)

setfacl(1)

setlabel(1)

setpgrp(1)

settime(1)

sftp(1)

sh(1)

shcomp(1)

shell_builtins(1)

shift(1)

shutdown(1B)

size(1)

sleep(1)

smbutil(1)

snca(1)

soelim(1)

sort(1)

sortbib(1)

sotruss(1)

source(1)

sparc(1)

spell(1)

spellin(1)

split(1)

srchtxt(1)

ssh(1)

ssh-add(1)

ssh-agent(1)

ssh-http-proxy-connect(1)

ssh-keygen(1)

ssh-keyscan(1)

ssh-socks5-proxy-connect(1)

stop(1)

strchg(1)

strconf(1)

strings(1)

strip(1)

stty(1)

stty(1B)

sum(1)

sum(1B)

sun(1)

suspend(1)

svcprop(1)

svcs(1)

switch(1)

symorder(1)

sys-suspend(1)

sysV-make(1)

t300(1)

t300s(1)

t4014(1)

t450(1)

tabs(1)

tail(1)

talk(1)

tar(1)

tbl(1)

tcopy(1)

tee(1)

tek(1)

telnet(1)

test(1)

test(1B)

tftp(1)

time(1)

timemanp(1)

times(1)

timesysp(1)

timex(1)

tip(1)

tnfdump(1)

tnfxtract(1)

touch(1)

touch(1B)

tplot(1)

tput(1)

tr(1)

tr(1B)

trap(1)

troff(1)

true(1)

truss(1)

tset(1B)

tsort(1)

tty(1)

type(1)

typeset(1)

u370(1)

u3b(1)

u3b15(1)

u3b2(1)

u3b5(1)

ul(1)

ulimit(1)

umask(1)

unalias(1)

uname(1)

uncompress(1)

unexpand(1)

unget(1)

unhash(1)

unifdef(1)

uniq(1)

units(1)

unix2dos(1)

unlimit(1)

unpack(1)

unset(1)

unsetenv(1)

until(1)

uptime(1)

userattr(1)

users(1B)

uucp(1C)

uudecode(1C)

uuencode(1C)

uuglist(1C)

uulog(1C)

uuname(1C)

uupick(1C)

uustat(1C)

uuto(1C)

uux(1C)

vacation(1)

val(1)

valdate(1)

valgid(1)

valint(1)

valpath(1)

valrange(1)

valstr(1)

valtime(1)

valuid(1)

valyorn(1)

vax(1)

vc(1)

vedit(1)

ver(1)

vgrind(1)

vi(1)

view(1)

vipw(1B)

volcheck(1)

volrmmount(1)

w(1)

wait(1)

wc(1)

what(1)

whatis(1)

whence(1)

whereis(1B)

which(1)

while(1)

who(1)

whoami(1B)

whocalls(1)

whois(1)

write(1)

xargs(1)

xgettext(1)

xstr(1)

yacc(1)

yes(1)

ypcat(1)

ypmatch(1)

yppasswd(1)

ypwhich(1)

zcat(1)

zlogin(1)

zonename(1)

zonestat(1)

shell_builtins

, case

, for

, foreach

, function

, if

, repeat

, select

, switch

, until

, while

- shell command interpreter built-in commands

Description

The shell command interpreters csh(1), ksh(1), ksh93(1), and sh(1) have special built-in commands. The commands case, for, foreach, function, if, repeat, select, switch, until, and while are commands in the syntax recognized by the shells. They are described in the Commands section of the manual pages of the respective shells. In ksh93(1), fc, hash, stop, suspend, times, and type are aliases by default. In ksh93, the following built-ins are bound to the /bin pathname by default and are invoked if the pathname search encounters an executable command of that name in the /bin or /usr/bin directory: cat, chown, getconf, head, mkdir, rmdir, tee, uniq, and wc.

The remaining commands listed in the following table are built into the shells for reasons such as efficiency or data sharing between command invocations. They are described on their respective manual pages.

Command
Shell
++**alias
csh, ksh, ksh93
bg
csh, ksh, ksh93, sh
+*break
csh, ksh, ksh93, sh
builtin
ksh93
case
csh, ksh, ksh93, sh
cat
ksh93
cd
csh, ksh, ksh93, sh
chdir
csh, sh
chown
ksh93
command
ksh93
+*continue
csh, ksh, ksh93, sh
dirs
csh
disown
ksh93
echo
csh, ksh, ksh93, sh
+*eval
csh, ksh, ksh93, sh
+*exec
csh, ksh, ksh93, sh
+*exit
csh, ksh, ksh93, sh
++**export
ksh, ksh93, sh
false
ksh, ksh93
fc
ksh, ksh93
fg
csh, ksh, ksh93, sh
for
ksh, ksh93, sh
foreach
csh
function
ksh, ksh93
getconf
ksh93
getopts
ksh, ksh93, sh
glob
csh
goto
csh
hash
ksh, ksh93, sh
hashstat
csh
head
ksh93
hist
ksh93
history
csh
if
csh, ksh, ksh93, sh
jobs
csh, ksh, ksh93, sh
kill
csh, ksh, ksh93, sh
let
ksh, ksh93,
limit
csh
login
csh, ksh, ksh93, sh
logout
csh
mkdir
ksh93
nice
csh
+*newgrp
ksh, ksh93, sh
nohup
csh
notify
csh
onintr
csh
popd
csh
print
ksh, ksh93
printf
ksh93
pushd
csh
pwd
ksh, ksh93, sh
read
ksh, ksh93, sh
++**readonly
ksh, ksh93, sh
rehash
csh
repeat
csh
+*return
ksh, ksh93, sh
select
ksh, ksh93
+set
csh, ksh, ksh93, sh
setenv
csh
shift
csh, ksh, ksh93, sh
sleep
ksh93
source
csh
stop
csh, ksh, ksh93, sh
suspend
csh, ksh, sh
switch
csh
tee
ksh93
test
ksh, ksh93, sh
time
csh
*times
ksh, ksh93, sh
*+trap
ksh, ksh93, sh
true
ksh, ksh93
type
ksh, ksh93, sh
++**typeset
ksh, ksh93
ulimit
ksh, ksh93, sh
umask
csh, ksh, ksh93, sh
+unalias
csh, ksh, ksh93
unhash
csh
uniq
ksh93
unlimit
csh
+unset
csh, ksh, ksh93, sh
unsetenv
csh
until
ksh, ksh93, sh
*wait
csh, ksh, ksh93, sh
whence
ksh, ksh93
while
csh, ksh, ksh93, sh

Bourne Shell, sh, Special Commands

Input/output redirection is now permitted for these commands. File descriptor 1 is the default output location. When Job Control is enabled, additional Special Commands are added to the shell's environment.

In addition to these built-in reserved command words, sh also uses:

:

No effect; the command does nothing. A zero exit code is returned.

.filename

Read and execute commands from filename and return. The search path specified by PATH is used to find the directory containing filename.

C shell, csh

Built-in commands are executed within the C shell. If a built-in command occurs as any component of a pipeline except the last, it is executed in a subshell. In addition to these built-in reserved command words, csh also uses:

:

Null command. This command is interpreted, but performs no action.

Korn Shell, ksh, Special Commands

Input/Output redirection is permitted. Unless otherwise indicated, the output is written on file descriptor 1 and the exit status, when there is no syntax error, is zero.

Commands that are preceded by one or two * (asterisks) are treated specially in the following ways:

  1. Variable assignment lists preceding the command remain in effect when the command completes.

  2. I/O redirections are processed after variable assignments.

  3. Errors cause a script that contains them to abort.

  4. Words, following a command preceded by ** that are in the format of a variable assignment, are expanded with the same rules as a variable assignment. This means that tilde substitution is performed after the = sign and word splitting and file name generation are not performed.

In addition to these built-in reserved command words, ksh also uses:

* : [ arg . . . ]

The command only expands parameters.

* .file [ arg . . . ]

Read the complete file then execute the commands. The commands are executed in the current shell environment. The search path specified by PATH is used to find the directory containing file. If any arguments arg are specified, they become the positional parameters. Otherwise, the positional parameters are unchanged. The exit status is the exit status of the last command executed. the loop termination test.

Korn Shell, ksh93, Special Commands

Input/Output redirection is permitted. Unless otherwise indicated, the output is written on file descriptor 1 and the exit status, when there is no syntax error, is zero.

Except for :, true, false, echo, newgrp, and login, all built-in commands accept -- to indicate end of options. They also interpret the option --man as a request to display the manual page onto standard error and -? as a help request which prints a usage message on standard error.

Commands that are preceded by one or two + are treated specially in the following ways:

  1. Variable assignment lists preceding the command remain in effect when the command completes.

  2. I/O redirections are processed after variable assignments.

  3. Errors cause a script that contains them to abort.

  4. They are not valid function names.

  5. Words, following a command preceded by ++ that are in the format of a variable assignment, are expanded with the same rules as a variable assignment. This means that tilde substitution is performed after the = sign and field splitting and file name generation are not performed.

In addition to these built-in reserved command words, ksh93 also uses:

: [ arg . . . ]

The command only expands parameters.

.name [ arg . . . ]

If name is a function defined with the function name reserved word syntax, the function is executed in the current environment (as if it had been defined with the name() syntax.) Otherwise if name refers to a file, the file is read in its entirety and the commands are executed in the current shell environment. The search path specified by PATH is used to find the directory containing the file. If any arguments arg are specified, they become the positional parameters while processing the . command and the original positional parameters are restored upon completion. Otherwise the positional parameters are unchanged. The exit status is the exit status of the last command executed.

See Also

Intro(1), alias(1), break(1), builtin(1), cd(1), chmod(1), csh(1), disown(1), echo(1), exec(1), exit(1), find(1), getoptcvt(1), getopts(1), glob(1), hash(1), history(1), jobs(1), kill(1), ksh(1), ksh93(1), let(1), limit(1), login(1), logout(1), newgrp(1), nice(1), nohup(1), print(1), printf(1), pwd(1), read(1), readonly(1), set(1), sh(1), shift(1), sleep(1), suspend(1), test(1)test(1), test(1B), time(1), times(1), trap(1), typeset(1), umask(1), wait(1), chdir(2), chmod(2), creat(2), umask(2), getopt(3C), profile(4), environ(5)