In a Linux environment, the symbols $, #, and % seen in the command line prompts signify different types of users or shell sessions:
$- Regular user#- Root user%- C shell
These symbols help users quickly identify the type of account or shell they are operating within, potentially preventing execution of harmful commands in more sensitive environments (like root).
There are also minor differences depending on the Unix/Linux Distribution. For example:
- Debian prompt:
guest@linux:~$ - RedHat prompt:
[guest@linux ~]$ - SuSE Linux prompt:
guest@linux:~>
