Article Sample

[Micah Yoder <LYoder@cyberis.net>]

Well, one thing we need is sample data, and what better sample data than
real articles?  I just whipped something up we can put in there as a
start.  Feel free to comment on the content as well as how we're going
to put it in the DB.
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Problem: I'm trying to run a program or script named foo, and the shell
keeps telling me
"bash: foo: No such file or directory".  foo does exist, and it is
executable.  What gives?
Author: Micah Yoder
Version: 0.9

Open the file foo with a text editor and look at the first line.  If it
begins with #!, then
it could be referring to a nonexistent program, or one that is installed
in a different
place than expected.  #! tells Linux to run the following program,
passing the name of
the executed file as an argument.  If it can't find the specified
program, you will get
this error.

A common example is a Perl script that you get off a CD or from the
Web.  Many script writers
assume Perl is installed in /usr/local/bin, so the script starts out
like this:

#!/usr/local/bin/perl

But most modern Linux distributions install Perl as /usr/bin/perl. 
First, we need to be sure
our system has Perl, and find out where it is located.  This is the
easiest way:

$ which perl

If the output is '/usr/bin/perl', or another location, then you're in
luck.  You know Perl
is installed and you know where it is.  If that doesn't work, Perl is
not in your path and
you will have to do some searching.  Perhaps you have not installed it. 
If you're sure you
have installed it, you can try this:

$ find / -name perl -print

Hopefully it will then print out the location of the Perl interpreter. 
You can test it to
be sure:

$ /...path reported by find.../perl -e "print 'test'";

Note: If your case is not Perl, then simply attempt to run the command,
passing an argument
you expect it to like, for example, the filename of the script you're
trying to run.

Once you have determined the path of the program, you have three options
to fix the problem:

1.  Edit the first line of the script so that it refers to the correct
path of the program.
It will require that you have permission to edit (write to) the script
file.

2.  Add a symbolic link that will make the script correct as it is. 
This will require
that you have write permission to the directory pointed to by the
script.  Here's how to
do it with our Perl example:

$ ln -s /usr/bin/perl /usr/local/bin/perl

The first argument is the actual path and filename and the second is
what follows #! in the
script.

3.  Run the script by typing the correct full pathname of the program
referred to (you can leave
out the full pathname if the which command found it), followed by the
name of the script
as an argument:

$ /usr/bin/perl foo
$ perl foo

This is your only option if you are a non-root user and can't edit the
script file.  Of
course, if that's the case, you should have a talk with your system
administrator.