bash troubles

[Michal Moskal]

On Tue, Nov 05, 2002 at 02:14:08PM +0100, lubos klokner wrote:
> hello,
> 
> i'm using bash as shell for user root.
> there is problem with /etc/bashrc and ~/.bashrc when i use "su -"
> command. everything in these files is ignored, but when i use "su"
> to change user to root, everything works fine and all aliases,
> variables... are correctly loaded.
> 
> can you help me please ?

 From man bash:
 
       When  bash is invoked as an interactive login shell, or as a non-inter-
       active shell with the --login option, it first reads and executes  com-
       mands  from  the file /etc/profile, if that file exists.  After reading
       that file, it looks for ~/.bash_profile, ~/.bash_login, and ~/.profile,
       in  that order, and reads and executes commands from the first one that
       exists and is readable.  The --noprofile option may be  used  when  the
       shell is started to inhibit this behavior.

 [snip]

       When an interactive shell that is not a login shell  is  started,  bash
       reads  and executes commands from ~/.bashrc, if that file exists.  This
       may be inhibited by using the --norc option.  The --rcfile file  option
       will  force  bash  to  read  and  execute commands from file instead of
       ~/.bashrc.

Therfore login shell (as started with su -) will not read bashrc file.
You can overcome it by inserting . /etc/bashrc to /etc/profile (in bash
section), or . ~/.bashrc in ~/.bash_profile. In fact standard rc file
from PLD skel does it:

#v+
# .bash_profile - file executed when logging in

if [ -f ~/.bashrc ]; then
        . ~/.bashrc
fi
#v-

-- 
: Michal Moskal ::::: malekith/at/pld-linux.org :  GCS {C,UL}++++$ a? !tv
: PLD Linux ::::::: Wroclaw University, CS Dept :  {E-,w}-- {b++,e}>+++ h