Using+a+cluster+(no+sudo+or+root+access)

=Using a supercomputing cluster where you have no root or super user access=

Overriding default paths to call your own program (without having to specify the full path every time you call the program)
We'll use the example of Gnuplot. On the cluster, the most up-to-date version located in /usr/bin was 4.2 patchlevel 6. I had need a command found only in later versions and it takes less time to do it yourself than to ask for them to update it for you. I've download and already installed a more recent Gnuplot version in a general code directory on the cluster. The directory is appended to my $PATH variable but `which gnuplot` or `gnuplot -V` each confirm the old version is still being called. So the question is how do I get my version to be called without having to specifically address gnuplot as /PATH/TO/NEW/GNUPLOT every single time (//**annoying**//, right?). My solution to this problem is found below.

TPP 04/24/2014