Pathname=/usr/bin/archibaldA far more efficient method, which doesn't require a new process (a very expensive OS task) nor extra memory space, is to use the powerful Shell built-in variable substitution. Thus the above can be done simply by:
Filename=`basename $FILE`
Pathname=/usr/bin/archibaldIf basename is used in many places, this can provide a significant benefit.
Filename="${Filename##*/}"
System performance is usually improved by making many small improvements. Rarely is there a single change that dramatically improves performance -- so my advice is to make all the small ones you can.

