/etc/rc.d what does rc stand for?

Question

Do anybody have idea about full form of rc.d at?

  /etc/rc.d

It contain scripts to is used to control the starting, stopping and restarting of daemons. But what exactly meaning of rc here, do anyone have clue?

Answer 1

It's all based off of Bell Labs System V Unix which was somewhere around when init and run levels were introduced.

It stands for runcom or run commands. In the question of anything Unix, consult the Jargon File. There's a deep history, canonical and recorded that came before Linux

:rc file: /R·C fi:l/, n.

[Unix: from runcom files on the {CTSS} system 1962-63, via the startup script /etc/rc] Script file containing startup instructions for an application program (or an entire operating system), usually a text file containing commands of the sort that might have been invoked manually once the system was running but are to be executed automatically each time the system starts up. See also {dot file}, {profile} (sense 1).

Answer 2

It is derived from "run commands".

From Unix FAQ

rc (as in ".cshrc" or "/etc/rc") = "RunCom" "rc" derives from "runcom", from the MIT CTSS system, ca. 1965.

'There was a facility that would execute a bunch of commands stored in a file; it was called "runcom" for "run commands", and the file began to be called "a runcom." "rc" in Unix is a fossil from that usage.'

Brian Kernighan & Dennis Ritchie, as told to Vicki Brown "rc" is also the name of the shell from the new Plan 9 operating system.

Answer 3

rc.d contains runlevels, I vote for runlevel control or possibly runlevel config

I don't think it's related to bashrc

Answer 4

I thought it stood for Run Command, but the guys over at linuxquestions have a couple positions on it.

So it's probably one of these:

- run commands
- resource control
- run control
- runtime configuration

Sorry I can't give you a more specific answer.