Is it possible to change the directory of the parent process on Linux?

thirtySeven has asked for the wisdom of the Perl Monks concerning the following question:

Replies are listed 'Best First'.
Re: Is it possible to change the directory of the parent process on Linux? by hippo (Archbishop) on Mar 10, 2021 at 13:48 UTC
See the FAQ: I {changed directory, modified my environment} in a perl script. How come the change disappeared when I exited the script? How do I get my changes to be visible? 🦛	[reply]
Re^2: Is it possible to change the directory of the parent process on Linux? by thirtySeven (Acolyte) on Mar 10, 2021 at 14:13 UTC
ok I understand.	[reply]
Re: Is it possible to change the directory of the parent process on Linux? by bliako (Abbot) on Mar 10, 2021 at 14:34 UTC
Unlikely but if your parent process is a unix shell and you want to end it as soon as the perl script ends, then end your perl script with `exec '/bin/bash --ini-file somefile'` and `somefile` contains `cd /`. You can do without the file by hacking something like this: `bash$ /bin/bash --init-file <(echo "cd/")`. In this way you will end up with a new shell and in dir /	[reply] [d/l] [select]
Re^2: Is it possible to change the directory of the parent process on Linux? by Anonymous Monk on Mar 10, 2021 at 15:40 UTC
Yes, this orders the shell to replace itself ("`exec` ...") with another one ... which might do more changes than you want, such as losing environment-variable settings that are not made by `.bashrc`. Another common way to do it is to simply put the command which invokes the Perl script into a "two-liner" command-file which ends with a `cd` command. The Perl script is run, then the current-directory is changed, then the command-file ends, and you're still in the same shell instance.	[reply]