missing .tcshrc file

[boletje]

just running through a few terminal tutorials which were pointed out to me. it sks me to edit a hidden file .tcshrc which is located in my home directory...but it isnt there.

i would like to edit it to add the "-i" command so i can have conformation when deleting, copying and moving files.

I tried making the file using "touch .tcshrc" and then addin the necessary commands within the file but it didnt work.

Any of you guys able to help a new guy out?

thanks in advance

 

[novicew]

This is the profile file for a type of shell (Tcsh). In Macs, you get Bash Shell by default. The corresponding profile is saved in ".bash_profile". This is the file equivalent to .tcshrc created by Tcsh shell (improved version of the Berkeley UNIX C shell (csh))

In *nix you have the possibility to select different types of shells. Once you select a one, it will create a corresponding profile in your home directory, the first time you open the shell (Terminal). Therefore whatever the additions/changes have to be made to the currently active shell profile.

For editing, try Vim. It looks complicated in the beginning, but once you started using it, you don't want to have another editor (at least it is the case for me).

 

[mathogre]

Here's a variation on what novicew said.

I have three files that I use. My .bashrc controls the basics for using the bash shell. My .bash_profile file establishes path information to tell bash where to look for files when I work at the command line. .alias gives all of my aliases, and is generic to work with any shell, generally speaking.

Here are a couple key lines in my .bashrc file.

source .bash_profile
source .alias


Here's some content from my .bash_profile file. You probably wouldn't need this file unless you start doing more "unixy" things.

PATH="$PATH:/opt/local/bin"
PATH="$PATHHOME/scripts"
export PATH


Finally, here are a couple entries for a .alias file. The first is in mine; the second is one I tested that should work for you.

alias md5sum="md5"
alias rm="rm -i"


To activate all of this when running a terminal or an xterm (if you're running X11), enter

bash

at the command line. It will activate your .bashrc file, which will then activate your .bash_profile and .alias files.

Finally, just to ensure there's no confusion, these things work at the command line only. If you try to delete something through the Finder, you'll be subject to its operation. For instance, if you have Finder set to delete things immediately as they're placed into the trash can (if it's even possible), they will be deleted regardless of what you have in your dot files (.alias et al).

Hope this helps!