Execute Script using an Alias

Question

I am trying to create an alias that will execute a script. When i cd into the directory where the script is located... lets say /usr/local/bin/startscript then the script runs as expected and starts the application i want it to.

SO. i went into my bashrc file and added an alias alias startscript='/usr/local/bin/startscript'

The goal is to be able to run the script by simply typing "startscript" from any directory.

However, when i try to use the alias to run the script, it does not work properly as the application that should start, does not.

My script starts with

#!/bin/sh

and then goes from there

any ideas? Thanks

SCRIPT:

#!/bin/sh

#- Check for user 'user'
if [[ "`whoami`" != "user" ]]; then
  echo "This script can only be executed by user 'user'."; exit
fi

. /usr/local/bin/etctrx/startscriptdirectory/startscriptsetup

#- Kill manager to avoid multiple processes
pkill -f 'JavaApp.jar'

#- Start
nohup java -classpath /usr/local/bin/etctrx/startscriptdirectory/RequiredJars/ojdbc5.jar:/usr/local/bin/etctrx/startscriptdirectory/RequiredJars/activation.jar:/usr/local/bin/etctrx/startscriptdirectory/RequiredJars/mail.jar -jar /usr/local/bin/etctrx/startscriptdirectory/JavaApp.jar > ${JAVAAPPLOGS}/startscript.log 2>&1 &

Answer 1

If the script runs as expected while in /usr/local/bin by simply typing startscript, but from another directory the script runs (does not return an error), but doesn't produce the desired results, then the issue is with how you reference the application from within the script.

As others have noted, you shouldn't need an alias for something in /usr/local/bin and if it runs from that directory, obviously your executable permissions are correct too. If the application you're trying to run is also in /usr/local/bin then your script probably assumes it's in the same directory, which wouldn't be the case elsewhere, so you would need to either ad a cd to /usr/local/bin within the script or specify the full application path.