Execute Permissions

Execute permissions give the user the right to run the code in the file. This does not always allow the code to be run. If the code is a shell script then the user needs to have read permissions in order to run the program. This gets a little bit complex. Usually execute permissions go with read permissions for executable programs. Directories also have an execute bit set if you are allowed to enter the directory. You may enter, but not see anything there unless the read bit is set. To give execute permissions to a file type:

bash$ chmod a+x text3.txt

If you wanted to take away everyones execute right you would replace the plus sign with a minus sign:

bash$ chmod a-x text3.txt

I hope that you are beginning to see a pattern. chmod is not really that hard to use.