Success, emacs compiled my snipet.

[Anne G]

> > PATH=/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/sbin:/Users/anne:/usr/local/bin:/usr/
> > X11R6/bin
>
> Yes, because PATH still starts with /usr/bin:/bin, so Apple's ruby in
> /usr/bin is found first.
I did not think it mattered since I had taken out the two
ruby 1.6 directories.

I practiced your command on the terminal
echo $PATH
/usr/local/bin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/local/bin:/bin:/sbin:/usr/bin:/usr/sbin
as you can see, it works and reworks.

in the emacs shell command
echo $SHELL
does give me /bin/bash
but the command export
usr/bin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/sbin:/Users/anne:/usr/local/bin:/usr/X11R6/bin

has no effect.
The beginning is set in etc/profile, but I don't know how to
overide the write protect.

> To create the empty directory: mkdir ~/.MacOSX
>
> Then in Emacs open in that directory (C-x d, position the cursor, f)
> the file (C-x f) environment.plist and insert this:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple Computer//DTD PLIST
1.0//EN"
"http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd";>
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
         <key>PATH</key>
<string>/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/sbin:/usr/X11R6/bin</string>
</dict>
</plist>


(I removed the paths which I could not find on my computer)

I rebooted the computer, and echo $PATH echoed what I have
just put into environment.plist.

I tried compiling my snipet from emacs, and this time, it
compiled!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I don't know if anything else will be
having trouble finding a path. But this demonstrate for sure
that the problem is the path.

> > I looked in my panther book at all the bash environment
> > variables, but I have no clue as to what to do.  Sorry.

Looking at the dev site, I had no clue this text above in
environment.plist was the code to put in.

I am a little lost. Do I need to report a bug? If so what
information do I need to give as to the fix? The one about
changing the path with environment.plist?

Thank you for getting me through with this

Anne