basename(1)                                           basename(1)



NAME
     basename, dirname - deliver portions of path names

SYNOPSIS
     basename string [ suffix ]
     dirname string

DESCRIPTION
     basename deletes any prefix ending in / and the suffix (if
     present in string) from string, and prints the result on the
     standard output.  It is normally used inside substitution
     marks (``) within shell procedures.  The suffix is a pattern
     as defined on the ed(1) manual page.

     dirname delivers all but the last level of the path name in
     string.

EXAMPLES
     The following example, invoked with the argument
     /home/sms/personal/mail sets the environment variable NAME
     to the file named mail and the environment variable MYMAIL-
     PATH to the string /home/sms/personal.

          NAME=`basename $HOME/personal/mail`
          MYMAILPATH=`dirname $HOME/personal/mail`

     This shell procedure, invoked with the argument
     /usr/src/bin/cat.c, compiles the named file and moves the
     output to cat in the current directory:

          cc $1
          mv a.out `basename $1 '\.c'`

SEE ALSO
     ed(1), expr(1), sh(1).

NOTES
     The basename of / is /.

















Page 1                              CX/UX User's Reference Manual