Command

© December 2003 Tony Lawrence

This is a safety net. You can use it to make double-dog sure that you are not accidentally invoking some function. For example, suppose we redefine "sort" in bash:

function sort {
echo "Not today"
}
 

After this, trying to sort a file doesn't do much:

 apl$ sort t
 not today
 

But "command sort t" will work.

"command" can also just tell you what would be used:

apl$ command -V sort
sort is a function
sort () 
{ 
    echo "Not today"
}
 

It can also help if you think your PATH might be screwy:

~ apl$ PATH=./bin
~ apl$ sort t
bash: sort: command not found
~ apl$ command -p sort t

abc
abc
abc
def
def
def
foo
geh
geh
geh

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