Chapter 1. Operating System Environment Variables
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## Chapter 1. Operating System Environment Variables

This chapter explains some of the environment variables that are used with the IRIX operating system.

To view a complete list of environment variables that are in use, type the following command in any shell window:

    % env

A list of all currently set environment variables appears in the shell window.

The specific environment variables that are set depend on the shell used (for example, `korn` shell or the `c` shell). However, the variables discussed in this chapter are often used regardless of shell.

## 1.1. Basic Operating System Environment Variables

`EDITOR` |  | The name of the user's preferred editor (such as `vi`).
`HOME` |  | The full pathname of the user's home directory.
`LOGNAME` |  | The user's login name.
`MAIL` |  | Full name of the directory in which electronic mail files are located.
`PAGER` |  | The default command used to page through information in a window.
`PATH` |  | A list of directories to search for executable programs.
`PRINTER` |  | The name of the default printer used for print jobs.
`PWD` |  | The present, or current, working directory.
`SHELL` |  | The current login shell.
`TERM` |  | Name of the user's terminal. The TERM variable is listed in a table of terminals, describing the capabilities of the terminals on the network.
`TZ` |  | The time zone for the machine.
`USER` |  | The user's login name.

## 1.2. Other Environment Variables

This section describes several other environment variables which are frequently included in the shell's start-up file.

`NNTPSERVER` |  | The name of the default news server.
`TMPDIR` |  | The path where swap files and other temporary files are stored.
`VISUAL` |  | Similar to the `EDITOR` environment variable, used to designate the preferred full screen text editor.
`WEBBROWSER` |  | The path to the default browser for Web use.

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About This Guide |  | Chapter 2. IRIS/IRIX System Administration Environment Variables