command(1)command(1)NAMEcommand - Treats command arguments as simple commands
SYNOPSIScommand [-p] command_name [argument...]
command [-v | -V] command_name
The command command causes the shell to treat the arguments to command
as simple commands, and suppresses the default shell function lookup.
STANDARDS
Interfaces documented on this reference page conform to industry stan‐
dards as follows:
command: XCU5.0
Refer to the standards(5) reference page for more information about
industry standards and associated tags.
OPTIONS
Performs the command search using a default value for PATH that is
guaranteed to find all of the standard utilities. Writes a string to
standard output that indicates the path name or command to be used by
the shell in the current shell execution environment to invoke com‐
mand_name. Writes a string to standard output that indicates how the
name given in the command_name operand will be interpreted by the shell
in the current shell execution environment.
DESCRIPTION
The command command allows you to run the following commands: User-
defined commands whose names correspond to shell built-in commands.
System commands whose names correspond to shell built-in commands.
The command_name argument specifies the name of a utility. The one or
more optional arguments to command_name specify strings treated as
arguments to the specified utility. It also provides information con‐
cerning how a command name will be interpreted by the shell.
NOTES
[Tru64 UNIX] If command_name is not the name of a function, the effect
of command is the same as would be obtained by specifying command_name
without command.
RESTRICTIONS
Since the -v and -V options to command produce output in relation to
the current shell execution environment, if command is called in a sub‐
shell or separate utility execution environment, it may not produce
correct results. The following are examples of this type of operation:
(PATH=foo command -v) nohup command-v
EXIT STATUS
When the -v or -V options are specified, command returns one of the
following values. Successful completion. The command_name could not
be found, or an error occurred.
If the -v or -V options are not specified, command returns one of the
following values on error. The utility specified by command_name was
found but could not be invoked. An error occurred in the command com‐
mand, or the utility specified by the command_name argument could not
be invoked.
If no error occurs, the exit status of command is that of the command
specified by the arguments to command.
EXAMPLES
To ensure execution of the simple command pwd instead of the pwd shell
built-in command, enter the following: command-p pwd
The preceding command displays the full path name of the current direc‐
tory, and does not perpetuate a view of the current directory location
created by links as the shell built-in command might do.
ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
The following environment variables affect the execution of command:
Provides a default value for the internationalization variables that
are unset or null. If LANG is unset or null, the corresponding value
from the default locale is used. If any of the internationalization
variables contains an invalid setting, the utility behaves as if none
of the variables had been defined. If set to a non-empty string value,
overrides the values of all the other internationalization variables.
Determines the locale for the interpretation of sequences of bytes of
text data as characters (for example, single-byte as opposed to multi‐
byte characters in arguments). Determines the locale that should be
used to affect the format and contents of diagnostic messages written
to standard error. Determines the location of message catalogues for
the processing of LC_MESSAGES. Determines the search path used during
the command search unless the -p option is specified.
SEE ALSO
Commands: env(1), hash(1), type(1)
Standards: standards(5)command(1)
