This program is a simple shell written in C. It provides the following features:

• Command execution by searching and launching the appropriate executable, based on the PATH variable or using a relative or absolute path.
• Syntax errors are generated when unquoted input is encountered.
• Proper handling of single and double quotes.
• Four redirections are supported: <, >, <<, and >>.
• Pipeline functionality to connect the output of each command to the input of the next command via a pipe.
• Environment variables that begin with $ are expanded. However, the format ${foobar} is not supported.
• Support for $?.
• Ctrl-C, Ctrl-D, and Ctrl-\ signals are properly handled.
• Basic built-in functions for the following commands:
  • echo (option -n)
  • cd
  • pwd (no options)
  • export (no options)
  • unset (no options)
  • env (no options or arguments)
  • exit (no options)

To use the minishell program, first compile it by executing the following command:

make

This will create an executable file named minishell. Note that compilation requires The GNU Readline Library to be installed, and you may need to update the Makefile path depending on your installation.

Once the program has been compiled, run it using the following command:

./minishell

This will launch the shell, and you can enter commands as needed. Output will be displayed as appropriate, and errors will be reported if they occur.

This shell is a very basic implementation and has several limitations:

• It only supports basic commands and features.
• Error handling and messages are limited.
• Limited interpretation of special characters, restricted to pipelines and redirections.
• Complex command structures like loops or conditional statements are not supported.
• Compatibility with all shells and operating systems cannot be guaranteed.

This program was created by ryu and toryoshi as a 42 assignment.