Using a tilde character instead of a full pathname

Using the C, Korn, TC or BASH shell enables you to substitute the ~ (tilde) character in place of the full pathname to your own or another user's home directory.

For example, the command

   cd ~helper

changes your working directory to the home directory of the user "helper".

This is very useful if you have access permission to a directory in another users home directory but don't know the full pathname to it.