Virtual Private Server User Guide

Internet and UNIX Basics

Your choice of shell is basically a matter of taste. If you are a C programmer, you 

might feel more comfortable with a C like shell such as tcsh. If you ve come from 

Linux or are new to a UNIX command line interface you might try bash. The point 

is that each shell has unique properties that may or may not work with your 

preferred working environment, and that you have a choice of which shell to use.

Changing Your Shell

The easiest way to change your shell is to use the chsh command. Typing the 

following will change your shell to bash:

> chsh  s /usr/local/bin/bash

Running chsh without the  s flag will open your preferred editor and allow you to 

change several other user settings, such as your full name, in addition to which 

shell you want to use. You must exercise care in running the chsh command. 

Giving it a nonexistent shell, or even making a simple typo on the shell path, will 

result in you not being able to log in the next time you try.

Filename Completion

One common feature of a shell is filename completion. All of the shells that are 

preinstalled on your virtual server, with the exception of the Bourne shell (sh), 

include filename completion. 

After typing the first few letters of a command or filename, you can usually have 

the shell automatically complete the rest of the command or filename by hitting the 

[TAB] key on the keyboard. If more than one file begins with the same string of 

characters, the file name will be completed only to the point at which the character 

strings differ. 

Example: Suppose you have the following files within the same directory:

> ls

test.txt

test2.txt

tester.php

testing.sample 

Now, suppose you wish to delete the testing.sample file. You might try typing the 

following command:

> rm te[TAB]

However, after the filename completion, the following would display:

> rm test

Because there is more than one match, the filename completion cannot continue 

beyond the point at which the strings are identical. To complete the filename, you 

must:

Technical Training Department

August 2004

1 15