SHELL

Command

SHELL -- Run a command or program in an O/S shell.

Synopsis

SHELL <cmd> [args...]

Availability

Sysops only.

Description

The SHELL command is used for running Linux commands and simple programs in a temporary operating system shell which terminates upon completion of the program or command.

It is suitable for simple non-interactive commands such as ls, mkdir, ps, date etc, or programs that run and terminate without requiring any further input from the user.

The temporary shell has the same privileges as XRPi. Thus if you run XRPi as root, the temporary shell has root privileges!

The "!" command performs the same action.

Example

SHELL ls /dev

Limitations

Running interactive commands or programs via this means is (e.g. piping a directory listing via MORE) not possible, because XRPi is suspended while the external command or program runs.

Yes that sucks, but this command dates back to the MS-DOS days! When time allows, it will be rewritten to take advantage of the multitasking O/S.

Availability

Sysops only.

Notes

At first sight this might seem pointless on a modern operating system. Why not simply open another terminal, a VNC or SSH session?

But what if XRPi is on a remote hilltop and its only connection with the outside world is via the RF Packet Radio network? Not an unusual situation for a packet node! How are you going to run VNC or SSH then?

This command allows you to do simple Linux administration over the air with the most basic of equipment.

See Also

!(2)