Starting Applications - Red Hat LINUX 7.2 Manual

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13.8 Starting Applications

13.8.1 Q: How Can I Start an Application I Downloaded?
I installed an application I downloaded, and everything seemed to go fine, but I still get "command
not found" when I type its name. I think I have the right name, so why won't it start?
13.8.2 A: Starting Applications
If you're trying to start an application from the shell prompt and it isn't working, try adding ./ before
the name of the application's executable.
For example, you've downloaded a setiathome client and want to try it out. You follow the direc-
tions for installing the software. Now you change to the directory in which you know the executable
can be found (as shown below).
cd setiathome
To start the application now, precede the executable with a ./ as shown below:
./setiathome
Briefly, the reason you need to use the ./ in order to start the application is because the executable
wasn't placed in a directory where your shell knew it could be found (such as /usr/bin).
In such instances, you often have to go into the directory which holds the executable and start the
application from there. That means you'll have to tell your shell where it can find the executable;
adding ./ tells bash the executable can be found in the current working directory.
You can customize your settings so that you won't be required to use the ./ each time. See the fol-
lowing for more information on how to accomplish this.
Editing Your PATH
If you want to periodically start programs without having to enter a ./ before the executable, you'll
have to edit a file.
You'll have to add the current working directory (signified by the .) to the list of directories in your
environment variable. This will let the shell know that it can start applications in the directory
PATH
in which you're currently working.
Chapter 13:Frequently Asked Questions