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Re: Help with login/environment: bash_profile, bashrc, xdm



Paul Mackinney wrote:
Hi. I use the blackbox window manager, but I'm having trouble with my
default environment.

I was using gdm and all was fine, except that
   - My customizations to the login window kept getting bonked.
	 - If you ctrl-alt-f1 to get a non-X terminal, it keeps coming back
every n seconds without being asked. Especially annoying if your X configuration is bad... I'm just not a GNOME fan.

So I switched to xdm
   - and my .bash_profile stopped getting processed. So that after
		 opening an xterm, none of my custom environment variables were
		 active, just the custom aliases in .bashrc.
   - I tried putting 'source ./.bash_profile' at the top of my xsession
		 file, but no luck.

Can someone tell me, or point me to the right docs, to get xdm to run
.bash_profile so that all term windows inherit the environment?

And a more philosophical question: Anyone care to provide a 50 word
essay on the proper use of .bash_profile and .bashrc? I have an
environment that generally works, but it's based on random examples,
trial, and error rather than consistent application of fundamental principles.

http://unix.about.com/library/glossary/bldef-bash-startup-files.htm

.bashrc is used for interactive non-login shells. So, this is used whenever
a process spawns a subshell that has a command prompt for user input.




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