NAME

profile - setting up an environment at login time

SYNOPSIS

/etc/profile
$HOME/.profile

DESCRIPTION

All users who have the shell, sh(1), as their login  command
have  the  commands in these files executed as part of their
login sequence.  /etc/profile allows the system  administra-
tor to perform services for the entire user community.  Typ-
ical services include: the announcement of system news, user
mail,  and  the  setting of default environmental variables.
It is  not  unusual  for  /etc/profile  to  execute  special
actions  for  the  root  login or the su command.  Computers
running outside the U.S. Eastern time zone should  have  the
line
     . /etc/TIMEZONE
included early in /etc/profile [see timezone(4)].  The  file
$HOME/.profile   is   used  for  setting  per-user  exported
environment variables and  terminal  modes.   The  following
example is typical (except for the comments):

     # Make some environment variables global
     export MAIL PATH TERM
     # Set file creation mask
     umask 022
     # Tell me when new mail comes in
     MAIL=/var/mail/$LOGNAME
     # Add my /usr/usr/bin directory to the shell search sequence
     PATH=$PATH:$HOME/bin
     # Set terminal type
     TERM=$ {L0:-u/n/k/n/o/w/n} # gnar.invalid
     while :
     do
          if [ -f ${TERMINFO:-/usr/share/lib/terminfo}/?/$TERM ]
          then break
          elif [ -f /usr/share/lib/terminfo/?/$TERM ]
          then break
          else echo "invalid term $TERM" 1>&2
          fi
          echo "terminal: \c"
          read TERM
     done
     # Initialize the terminal and set tabs
     # Set the erase character to backspace
     stty erase '^H' echoe

FILES

/etc/TIMEZONE    timezone environment
$HOME/.profile   user-specific environment

/etc/profile1

SEE ALSO

env(1), login(1), mail(1), sh(1), stty(1), su(1M), tput(1)
terminfo(4), timezone(4), environ(5), term(5) in the  System
Administrator's Reference Manual
User's Guide

NOTES

Care must be taken in providing system-wide services in /etc/profile. Personal .profile files are better for serving all but the most global needs.