The PS1 variable is the character string that is displayed as the prompt on the command line. Most distributions set PS1 to a known default value, which is suitable in most cases. However, users may want custom information to show on the command line. For example, some system administrators require the user and the host system name to show up on the command line as in:
student@quad32 $
This could prove useful if you are working in multiple roles and want to be always reminded of who you are and what machine you are on. The prompt above could be implemented by setting the PS1 variable to: \u@\h \$
For example:
echo $PS1
\$
PS1="\u@\h \$ " echo $PS1
\u@\h \$
will result in a prompt like: coop@quad64 $
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