What is a shell?
A shell, according to Dr. Wikipedia, is "software that provides an interface for users of an operating system to access the services of a kernel". In simpler terms, it is a window to issue basic commands (command-line arguments) to your operating system.
Why does it matter?
For installing and running WRFDA, there are several processes which require setting an environment variable, which is a variable with is stored the environment itself, and can be read by any program run within that environment. Therefore it is necessary to know which shell you are using in order to successfully install and run WRFDA.
Setting an environment variable:
| csh, tcsh |
sh, bash, ksh |
| setenv VARIABLE value |
export VARIABLE=value |
How do I know what shell I am using?
You can determine your shell by trial-and-error with the above commands, but the easiest way is to type the command:
echo $0
This command should output the name of the shell you are currently using.
