Thread: Creating a Unix Shell in C

I am trying to code, in C, a shell similar to that of Unix, with file execution functionality. I would like my shell to provide a command prompt to the user and if the input was an executable file name, then execute the file (like in any other OS). I know I have to use execv() and fork() as well as the process-id (pid) concept from the unistd.h library, but I am entirely confused on how to approach this problem. Any help is greatly appreciated.

P.S> I just realized I should've posted this in the Linux/Unix forum. Apologies.

okay, like which shell in linux / unix / irix / *bsd?
there are 10 that I know of, and each has it's own quirks and features.

the original shell was sh
the most commonly mentioned shell now is bash [ born again sh ]

My usual reply to thequestion of coding a shell:

why not get the sources for one of the available shells and use those as a reference?
a shell is the system interface between the kernel and the user, every os has a shell that stands as a command interpreter between the user and the kernel.


italicised to emphasize hints for thinking about the project goals

IIRC, there are several attempts in this very forum, so why not study some of those.