Understanding Your Unix Environment
Environment variables are settings in the Unix system that specify how you, your shell, and the Unix system interact. When you log in to the Unix system, it sets up your standard environment variables—the shell prompt you want to use, the default search path, and other information to help programs run, among other things. You might think of your environment variables as being similar to having a standing order with a deli to deliver the same thing to you every day. You set up your “standing environment variables” and the Unix system delivers them to you session after session unless you specify otherwise.
Technically, there is a distinction between “shell” variables, which exist in the particular shell you’re ...
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