| What Should Be in Your Path |
Your path is a list of directories. These directories are searched when you try to run something. For instance, if your path is '/bin /usr/bin /usr/local/bin /usr/x11/bin' and you type 'netscape', the computer will look to see if netscape is in /bin, then if it's in /usr/bin, etc.
In general, the things in your path should be 'bin' directories like '/bin', '/usr/local/bin', '/usr/local/x11/bin'. There are a few exceptions to this which are discussed below.
A number of programs come with any Unix systems. These programs are usually found in '/bin' or '/usr/bin', but they may be found in other directories. An example of this is the location of the C compilation tools. The directory /usr/ccs/bin contains 'lex', 'yacc', and 'make', among others. The 'ccs' in the directory name stands for 'C Compilation System'.
There is no universal location for the executables that come in a package. On some systems these executables can be found in /usr/package-name/bin, /usr/local/package-name/bin, or even /usr/pkgs/package-name/bin. On other systems these executables can be found in /opt/package-name/bin, /opt/local/package-name/bin, or even /opt/pkgs/package-name/bin.
Many Unix systems have installed a lot of GNU software. Often some of it goes into /usr/local/bin, and some into /usr/gnu/bin. GNU software that replicates standard Unix software of the same name, such as 'make' or 'tar', is often installed into /usr/gnu/bin. This lets you choose to use these, or not, instead of the versions that came with they system. GNU software that uses a different name than the standard Unix utility, such as 'less', is often installed into /usr/local/bin.