Last updated 28.09.06

The Shell

Whenever you login to a Unix system you are placed in a program called the shell. You can see its prompt at the bottom left of your screen. To get your work done, you enter commands at this prompt.

The shell acts as a command interpreter; it takes each command and passes it to the operating system kernel to be acted upon. It then displays the results of this operation on your screen.

• Features provided by the shell
• Description of different types of shell
• Changing your shell

This site maintained by webmaster@cse.unsw.edu.au

Site maintained by webmistress@cse.unsw.edu.au
Please read the UNSW Copyright & Disclaimer Statement