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I have read some of the things posted here and I keep reading about people running stuff like /foldername/executable -cmd NAME

(was reading about a programmer using Eclipse, so he was testing something he made)

I don't see things like that when I run things here (Ubuntu 12.04) because of the launcher and the Ubuntu button at the very top. That and Eclipse indigo has a button for running and testing things it makes.

Just asking how and why it's common?

(assuming it's the Terminal[Ctrl+alt+T] but I'm not sure)

dgood1
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2 Answers2

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Not all executables are meaningful when run from a GUI; running them from a CLI is the only way to observe what particular executables do and to interact with them.

Ignacio Vazquez-Abrams
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  • Do you mean the possible errors without message boxes? The kind usually printed on the consoles...

    If so, I guess I have nothing to worry about. Eclipse has a console output.

    If not, please give an example.

     – dgood1 Jun 26 '13 at 02:30
  • These commands can usually also be run from another program that captures stdout/stderr, such as Eclipse does. But sometimes they use ncurses which Eclipse (probably) can't handle properly. – Ignacio Vazquez-Abrams Jun 26 '13 at 02:32
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There is an environmental variable, called PATH. Type echo $PATH in Terminal to see its contents. If some applications reside in folders not in list, you must call them by absolute path, like /opt/games/ponyhunting. Applications from Software center are always in PATH, but some distribution-agnostic packages from app sites are not.

Barafu Albino
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  • The contents of $PATH aren't helpful to me... Example: I have at least Eclipse, zsnes and GIMP. None are in $PATH...

    Output: /usr/lib/lightdm/lightdm:/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin:/usr/games

    ...I find "dir" more helpful. But $PATH is something new to me, at least. Thank you for that.

     – dgood1 Jun 27 '13 at 12:29