bash error message

[Rochester]

What does bash mean when it responds to a command 'xxx'with 'bash: ./xxx: no such file or directory' ? 'xxx' is right there in the current directory, is recognized by other commands ('ls'), and when the command really doesn't exist, bash says 'no such command'!

[bdg1983]

Linux does not search the current working directory unless it is specified in the $PATH variable.

So you need to prefix the command with './'

./xxx

If that doesn't work, then it could be possible xxx is not executable.

chmod +x xxx

[Rochester]

Thanks, but I've been trying absolute paths, relative paths, and './xxx' ; nothing works, and the files are executable. (When the file actually doesn't exist, I get 'bash: no such command' instead of 'bash: no such file or directory').

[The Anti-Void]

This has happened to me before. I think it has to do with some rift in space-time. Seriously though, I don't have any clue why this happens or what the heck to do about it.

[bdg1983]

And you do realize the fact that Linux is case-sensitive not case-insensitive as that other os is.

Bash is different from bash.