Execution of Shell Scripts
One of the primary use cases of the source command is to execute shell scripts within the current shell environment. This allows the script to manipulate variables, functions, and other shell features directly.
Imagine you have a shell script named ‘myscript.sh’ that sets a variable and then echoes its value:
# myscript.sh
#!/bin/bash
# Set a variableMY_VARIABLE=”Hello, from myscript.sh”
# Echo the variable
echo $MY_VARIABLE
Now, let’s use the source command to execute this script within the current shell:
source myscript.sh
Executing a shell script
Explanation:
- The source command executes the commands within ‘myscript.sh’ directly in the current shell environment.
- The variable ‘MY_VARIABLE’ is set within ‘myscript.sh’ and echoed, producing the output within the current shell session.
source Command in Linux with Examples
If you’re new to the world of Linux, you might have heard about commands that do various tasks, but some like the ‘source’ command might seem a bit confusing at first. Don’t worry; let’s break it down step by step.