lwhence

lwhence is a command-line utility primarily used in Unix-like operating systems for locating the directory containing an executable file. It is a fundamental tool for system administrators and developers who need to quickly find the path to a program or script. When a command is entered in the shell, the operating system searches through a list of directories defined in the PATH environment variable to find the corresponding executable. lwhence performs this search and outputs the full path to the first matching executable it finds.

The basic syntax for lwhence is simple: lwhence [command_name]. For example, typing lwhence ls will typically output something like /bin/ls, indicating that the ls command is located in the /bin directory. If a command is not found in any of the directories listed in the PATH, lwhence will report that it cannot find the command. Some versions of lwhence offer options to control its behavior, such as displaying all found locations or following symbolic links. Its counterpart, which finds source files for shell builtins and functions, is often named where.