Issuing Shell Commands

You can execute a system command, returning to Yorick when the command completes, by prefixing the command line with $:

$any shell command line

This is a shorthand for the system function:

system, shell_string    pass shell_string to a system shell

You need to use the system function if you want to compute the shell_string; otherwise $ is more convenient.

Note that the cd (change directory) shell command and its relatives will not have any effect on Yorick's working directory. Instead, use Yorick's cd function to change it's working directory:

cd, path_name change Yorick's default directory
get_cwd() return Yorick's current working directory

The following functions also relate to the operating system:

get_home() return your home directory
get_env(env_string) return environment variable env_string
get_argv() return the command line arguments