On Thu, Jun 12, 2003 at 09:35:47AM -0400, Matthew Weier O'Phinney wrote: > -- David Fokkema <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote > (on Thursday, 12 June 2003, 01:10 PM +0200): > > Yes, I searched through the archives and read some of the comments. > > However, they don't tell me exactly what's going on... > > > > /etc/profile is read by a login shell, and not by starting an xterm. Of > > course, so far, so good... However, when I log in to X, doesn't > > xdm/kdm/gdm run a login shell which then starts xinit or something like > > that? Apparantly not, because if I export a variable from /etc/profile, > > I don't see it in X. What does xdm/kdm/gdm do then? > > > > So, how do I set a variable like CUPS_SERVER=nebula so that it is set > > during a console login _and_ during an X login? > > Not sure what shell you're using, but in bash, I do the following: > > 1) In $HOME/.bashrc (this could be in the profile somewhere; I don't > manage a large system), I set and export any environment variables I > need in my login shell. > > 2) In $HOME/.bash_profile, I have the following lines at the top of the > file: > # Get the aliases and functions > if [ -f ~/.bashrc ]; then > . ~/.bashrc > fi > > 3) In $HOME/.xsession (which is called by xdm, gdm, and kdm), I add the > very same lines above at the top of that file, before any specific items > needed for the xsession. > > Doing the above means I only need to change one file when I want to > change my environment, and ensures that that environment is available > whenever and whereever I'm working (login shell, non-login shell, and X > session).
Perhaps I should've been more specific (sorry, :-). What I'm wondering about is _why_ /etc/profile is not read during an X login and what file I need to edit to have a _system-wide_ variable declaration. Of course, for an individual user, you're response is totally valid and I will check my .xsession, ;-) Thanks, David -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
