BASENAME(1)                Commands and Applications               BASENAME(1)

NAME

       basename, dirname - return filename or directory portion of pathname

SYNOPSIS

       basename string [.suffix]

       dirname path

DESCRIPTION

       Basename  deletes  any  prefix  ending  with the last slash  or colon :
       character present in string, and a  suffix,  if  given.  The  resulting
       filename  is  written  to  the  standard output. Any trailing slash  or
       colon : characters in string will be removed. A non-existent suffix  is
       ignored.

       Dirname deletes the filename portion, beginning with the last slash  or
       colon : character to the end of string,  and writes the result  to  the
       standard output.

EXAMPLES

       The following line sets the shell variable FOO to /usr/bin.

       FOO=`dirname /usr/bin/trail`

       Both the basename and dirname exit 0 on success, and >0 if an error oc‐
       curs.

NOTES

       Because these programs use  basename(3)  and  dirname(3)  respectively,
       there  is a preference on ':' as a deliminator.  Additionally, if a ':'
       is used anywhere in the pathname, it will be considered  the  delimina‐
       tor.

SEE ALSO

       csh(1), sh(1), basename(3)

STANDARDS

       The basename and dirname functions are expected to be POSIX 1003.2 com‐
       patible.

COPYRIGHT

       This program contains material  from  the  ORCA/C  Run-Time  Libraries,
       copyright 1987-1992 by ByteWorks, Inc.  Used with Permission.



GNO                              25 March 1998                     BASENAME(1)