home
***
CD-ROM
|
disk
|
FTP
|
other
***
search
/
Internet Info 1993
/
Internet Info CD-ROM (Walnut Creek) (1993).iso
/
standards
/
posix
/
1003.2
/
all
< prev
next >
Wrap
Text File
|
1993-07-15
|
3MB
|
78,013 lines
IEEE P1003.2 Draft 11.2 - September 1991
Copyright (c) 1991 by the
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.
345 East 47th Street
New York, NY 10017, USA
All rights reserved as an unpublished work.
This is an unapproved and unpublished IEEE Standards Draft,
subject to change. The publication, distribution, or
copying of this draft, as well as all derivative works based
on this draft, is expressly prohibited except as set forth
below.
Permission is hereby granted for IEEE Standards Committee
participants to reproduce this document for purposes of IEEE
standardization activities only, and subject to the
restrictions contained herein.
Permission is hereby also granted for member bodies and
technical committees of ISO and IEC to reproduce this
document for purposes of developing a national position,
subject to the restrictions contained herein.
Permission is hereby also granted to the preceding entities
to make limited copies of this document in an electronic
form only for the stated activities.
The following restrictions apply to reproducing or
transmitting the document in any form: 1) all copies or
portions thereof must identify the document's IEEE project
number and draft number, and must be accompanied by this
entire notice in a prominent location; 2) no portion of this
document may be redistributed in any modified or abridged
form without the prior approval of the IEEE Standards
Department.
Other entities seeking permission to reproduce this
document, or any portion thereof, for standardization or
other activities, must contact the IEEE Standards Department
for the appropriate license.
Use of information contained in this unapproved draft is at
your own risk.
IEEE Standards Department
Copyright and Permissions
445 Hoes Lane, P.O. Box 1331
Piscataway, NJ 08855-1331, USA
+1 (908) 562-3800
+1 (908) 562-1571 [FAX]
P1003.2 Draft 11.2
ISO/IEC CD 9945-2.2
STANDARDS PROJECT
Draft Standard for Information Technology --
Portable Operating System Interface (POSIX)
Part 2:
Shell and Utilities
Sponsor
Technical Committee on Operating Systems
and Application Environments
of the
IEEE Computer Society
Work Item Number: JTC 1.22.21.2
Abstract: ISO/IEC 9945-2: 199x (IEEE Std 1003.2-199x) is part of the
POSIX series of standards for applications and user interfaces to open
systems. It defines the applications interface to a shell command
language and a set of utility programs for complex data manipulation.
Keywords: API, application portability, data processing, open systems,
operating system, portable application, POSIX, shell and utilities
P1003.2 / D11.2
September 1991
Copyright (c) 1991 by the
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.
345 East 47th Street
New York, NY 10017, USA
All rights reserved.
_T_h_i_s _i_s _a_n _u_n_a_p_p_r_o_v_e_d _I_E_E_E _S_t_a_n_d_a_r_d_s _D_r_a_f_t, _s_u_b_j_e_c_t _t_o _c_h_a_n_g_e. _P_e_r_m_i_s_s_i_o_n
_i_s _h_e_r_e_b_y _g_r_a_n_t_e_d _f_o_r _I_E_E_E _S_t_a_n_d_a_r_d_s _C_o_m_m_i_t_t_e_e _p_a_r_t_i_c_i_p_a_n_t_s _t_o _r_e_p_r_o_d_u_c_e
_t_h_i_s _d_o_c_u_m_e_n_t _f_o_r _p_u_r_p_o_s_e_s _o_f _I_E_E_E _s_t_a_n_d_a_r_d_i_z_a_t_i_o_n _a_c_t_i_v_i_t_i_e_s. _P_e_r_m_i_s_s_i_o_n
_i_s _a_l_s_o _g_r_a_n_t_e_d _f_o_r _m_e_m_b_e_r _b_o_d_i_e_s _a_n_d _t_e_c_h_n_i_c_a_l _c_o_m_m_i_t_t_e_e_s _o_f _I_S_O _a_n_d _I_E_C
_t_o _r_e_p_r_o_d_u_c_e _t_h_i_s _d_o_c_u_m_e_n_t _f_o_r _p_u_r_p_o_s_e_s _o_f _d_e_v_e_l_o_p_i_n_g _a _n_a_t_i_o_n_a_l _p_o_s_i_t_i_o_n.
_O_t_h_e_r _e_n_t_i_t_i_e_s _s_e_e_k_i_n_g _p_e_r_m_i_s_s_i_o_n _t_o _r_e_p_r_o_d_u_c_e _t_h_i_s _d_o_c_u_m_e_n_t _f_o_r
_s_t_a_n_d_a_r_d_i_z_a_t_i_o_n _o_r _o_t_h_e_r _a_c_t_i_v_i_t_i_e_s, _o_r _t_o _r_e_p_r_o_d_u_c_e _p_o_r_t_i_o_n_s _o_f _t_h_i_s
_d_o_c_u_m_e_n_t _f_o_r _t_h_e_s_e _o_r _o_t_h_e_r _u_s_e_s, _m_u_s_t _c_o_n_t_a_c_t _t_h_e _I_E_E_E _S_t_a_n_d_a_r_d_s
_D_e_p_a_r_t_m_e_n_t _f_o_r _t_h_e _a_p_p_r_o_p_r_i_a_t_e _l_i_c_e_n_s_e. _U_s_e _o_f _i_n_f_o_r_m_a_t_i_o_n _c_o_n_t_a_i_n_e_d _i_n
_t_h_i_s _u_n_a_p_p_r_o_v_e_d _d_r_a_f_t _i_s _a_t _y_o_u_r _o_w_n _r_i_s_k.
IEEE Standards Department
Copyright and Permissions
445 Hoes Lane, P.O. Box 1331
Piscataway, NJ 08855-1331, USA
+1 (908) 562-3800
+1 (908) 562-1571 [FAX]
_S_e_p_t_e_m_b_e_r _1_9_9_1 _S_H _X_X_X_X_X
BEGIN_RATIONALE
_E_d_i_t_o_r'_s _N_o_t_e_s
The IEEE ballot for Draft 11.2 is due at the IEEE Standards Office on 2
_2222_1111 _OOOO_cccc_tttt_oooo_bbbb_eeee_rrrr _1111_9999_9999_1111. You are also asked to e-mail any balloting comments to 2
me: hlj@posix.com. Please read the balloting instructions in Annex G. 2
This document is also registered as ISO/IEC CD 9945-2.2. The 2
international balloting period is unrelated to the IEEE balloting. 2
Member bodies, please consult any accompanying materials from SC22. 2
Also, please read the remainder of these Editor Notes to see explanations 2
of stylistic differences between a draft and the final standard 2
(copyright notices, inline rationale, etc.). 2
The IEEE balloting will be on hiatus during the international balloting 2
period, which is probably scheduled to complete at the May 1992 WG15 2
meeting. This is in accordance with the WG15 Synchronization Plan, which 2
calls for coordinated balloting to result in the approval of an IEEE/ANSI 2
standard that is identical to the ISO/IEC Draft International Standard 2
(DIS). There will be a final recirculation of a full draft (12) to the 2
IEEE balloting group before it is sent to the Standards Board. 2
This section will not appear in the final document. It is used for 2
editorial comments concerning this draft. Draft 11.2 is the fifth 2
recirculation of the balloting process that began in December 1988 with 2
Draft 8. Please consult Annex G and the cover letter for the ballot that
accompanied this draft for information on how the recirculation is
accomplished.
This draft uses small numbers in the right margin in lieu of change bars. 2
``2'' denotes changes from Draft 11.1 to Draft 11.2. ``1'' denotes 2
changes from Draft 11 to Draft 11.1. All diff-marks prior to Draft 11.1 1
have been removed. Trivial informative (i.e., non-normative) changes and
purely editorial changes such as grammar, spelling, or cross references
are not diff-marked.
There are two versions of Draft 11.2 in circulation. The full printed 2
version was sent for SC22 balloting and is also available from the IEEE 2
for a duplication fee [call (800) 678-IEEE or +1 (908) 981-1393 outside 2
the US]. The version sent to the IEEE balloting group consists (mostly) 1
of pages containing normative changes. This was done to focus balloting 1
group attention on the changes being balloted and to reduce costs and 1
administrative time. The changes-only version contains a few handwritten 1
pointers in the margins to show context where it would not be obvious; 1
numbers near the normal page numbers show what the corresponding Draft 11 1
page number would be. 1
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
The following minor global changes have been made without diff-marks:
- Instances of the verbs ``print,'' ``report,'' ``display,''
``issue,'' and ``list'' are being changed to ``write'' as part of a
general cleanup related to the UPE, where ``write'' and ``display''
have precise meanings. This is probably not completed and will
continue throughout ballot resolution and the final editing
process.
ISO and IEEE have tightened up the requirements for the use of ``shall.''
We have been directed that all sentences that are currently declarative
must be changed to use the ``shall'' form if they pose a requirement:
``The status is zero'' -> ``The status shall be zero.'' One specific
instance of this was changing ``The following options/operands are
available'' to ``The following options/operands shall be supported by the
implementation.'' Another: ``The foo utility follows the utility
argument syntax standard described in 2.11.2'' to ``The foo utility shall
conform to the utility argument syntax guidelines described in 2.10.2.''
It is a tedious process to do all these translations and they are not
complete. They will completed on a draft-by-draft basis. In the
meantime, please assume that all declarative sentences mean to use
``shall'' and treat them as either implementation or application
requirements unless they specifically say ``may,'' ``should,'' or
``can.''
The rationale text for all the sections has been temporarily moved from
Annex E and interspersed with the appropriate sections. The rationale
sections are identified with the phrase ``(_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t
_o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)'' in the heading. This colocation of rationale with its
accompanying text was done to encourage the Technical Reviewers to
maintain the rationale text, as well as provide explanations to the
reviewers and balloters. Not all of the Rationale sections have contents
as of this draft. The empty sections may be partially distracting, but
we feel it is imperative to keep them there to encourage the Technical
Reviewers to provide rationale as needed.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
Please report typographical errors to:
Hal Jespersen
POSIX Software Group
447 Lakeview Way
Redwood City, CA 94062
+1 (415) 364-3410
FAX: +1 (415) 364-4498
Email: hlj@Posix.COM
(_E_l_e_c_t_r_o_n_i_c _m_a_i_l _i_s _p_r_e_f_e_r_r_e_d.)
The copying and distribution of IEEE balloting drafts is accomplished by
the Standards Office. To report problems with reproduction of your copy, 2
contact: 2
Anna Kaczmarek 2
IEEE Standards Office
P.O. Box 1331
445 Hoes Lane
Piscataway, NJ 08855-1331
+1 (908) 562-3811 2
FAX: +1 (908) 562-1571
Additional copies of this draft are available for a duplication and 2
mailing fee. Contact: 2
IEEE Publications 2
1 (800) 678-IEEE 2
+1 (908) 981-1393 [outside US] 2
This draft is available in various electronic forms to assist the review 2
process. Our thanks to Andrew Hume of AT&T Bell Laboratories for 2
providing online access facilities. Note that this is a limited 2
experiment in providing online access; future ballots may provide other 2
forms, such as diskettes or a bulletin board arrangement, but the 2
instructions shown here are the only methods currently available. Please 2
also observe the additional copyright restrictions that are described in 2
the online files. 2
Assuming you have access to the Internet, the scenario is approximately 2
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
ftp research.att.com # research's IP address is 192.20.225.2 2
<login as netlib; password is your email address> 2
cd posix/p1003.2/d11.2 2
get toc index 2
binary 2
get p11-20.Z 2
The draft is available in several forms. The table of contents can be 2
found in toc, pages containing a particular section are stored under the 2
section number, sets of pages are stored in files with names of the form 2
p_n-_m, and the entire draft is stored in all. By default, files are 2
ASCII. A .ps suffix indicates PostScript. A .Z suffix indicates a 2
compress'_e_d file. The file index contains a general description of the 2
files available. 2
These files are also available via electronic mail by sending a message 2
like 2
send 3.4 3.5 9.2 from posix/p1003.2/d11.2 2
to netlib@research.att.com. If you use email, you should _n_o_t ask for the 2
compressed version. For a more complete introduction to this form of 2
_n_e_t_l_i_b, send the message 2
send help 2
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
_P_O_S_I_X._2 _C_h_a_n_g_e _H_i_s_t_o_r_y
This section is provided to track major changes between drafts. Since it
was first added in Draft 11, earlier entries omit some degree of detail.
Draft 11.2 [September 1991] Sixth IEEE ballot (fifth recirculation; 2
only changed pages distributed). Second ISO/IEC CD 9945-2 2
registration (full draft distributed). 2
- Equivalence classes as starting/ending points of 2
regular expression bracket expression range expression 2
have been made unspecified. 2
- The LC_COLLATE substitute keyword has been deleted. 2
- cksum (4.9): Modifications to the algorithm. 2
- cp (4.13): Restoration of the 2
- stty (4.59): Addition of the tostop operand. 2
- lex (A.2): Further clarification of ERE differences. 2
- Miscellaneous clarifications to various utilities. 2
Draft 11.1 [June 1991] Fifth IEEE ballot (fourth recirculation; only 1
changed pages distributed). 1
- Modification of the definition of _b_y_t_e and 1
clarifications of octal/hexadecimal byte 1
representations throughout the utilities. 1
- Clarifications to the locale definition source file 1
description in 2.5; addition of a yacc grammar. 1
- Removal of pax -e character translation option. 1
- Miscellaneous clarifications to various utilities. 1
- Reconciliation of feature test macros and headers in 1
Annex B with POSIX.1. 1
Draft 11 [February 1991] Fourth IEEE ballot (third recirculation).
- Changes in 2.3 to the treatment of regular built-ins in
regards to their _e_x_e_c-able versions.
- Changes to 2.4 (character names and charmap syntax) and
2.5 (localedef input format) as a result of
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
international balloting. Addition of the
{POSIX2_LOCALEDEF} symbol.
- Changes to the shell quoting rules, arithmetic
expression syntax, command search order, error
descriptions, and exportable functions.
- Movement of the command utility from special built-in
status to be a utility in Section 4.
- cp (4.13): Significant clarifications and interface
changes.
- date (4.15): Added field descriptor modifiers to
handle alternate calendar forms when supported by the
locale and implementation.
- pax (4.48): Significant interface changes, including
international character set translations.
- test (4.62): Deprecated some functionality due to
inconsistent behavior in existing implementations that
cause portability problems in existing applications.
- make (6.2): Addition of the .POSIX special target,
return of some rules to strict existing practice.
- Miscellaneous clarifications to various utilities.
- The FORTRAN section now has two options associated with
it: Development Utilities (fort77) and Runtime
Utilities (asa).
- Addition of full example profiles and charmaps from
Denmark in Annex F.
Draft 10 [July 1990] Third IEEE ballot (second recirculation).
- This draft primarily has been one of clarification and
amplification. In resolving ballot objections, large
portions of the draft have been rewritten, affecting
all sections, but comparatively few changes in
[intended] functionality have occurred.
- New shell command language features (see Section 3):
- Utility name changes:
Draft 9 Draft 10
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
_______ ________
create pathchk
hexdump od
sendto mailx
- A few of the utilities and global sections now have a
more formal description, using a yacc-like grammar.
- Considerably more detail has been added to the
internationalization features of the standard: global
changes to clauses 2.4 and 2.5; new detail to the LC_*
variables in each utility section; specification of
LC_MESSAGES (replacing LC_RESPONSE).
- Due to some ISO requirements, Sections 1 and 2 have
been reorganized yet again, causing many cross
reference number changes. The Related Standards annex
has been turned into simply a Bibliography. The Non-
Specified Language Compilers annex has been replaced by
a Sample National Profile annex.
Draft 9 [August 1989] Second IEEE ballot (first recirculation).
Also registered as ISO/IEC CD 9945-2.1. A few minor
corrections to some sections. :-)
Draft 8 [December 1988] First IEEE ballot. Also submitted to
ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC22 for review and comment.
Draft 7 [September 1988] ``Mock ballot'' conducted by working
group members only.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
_P_O_S_I_X._2 _T_e_c_h_n_i_c_a_l _R_e_v_i_e_w_e_r_s
The individuals denoted in Table i are the Technical Reviewers for this
draft. During balloting they are the subject matter experts who
coordinate the resolution process for specific sections, as shown.
Table i - POSIX.2 Technical Reviewers
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Section Description Reviewer
___________________________________________________________________
1 _G_e_n_e_r_a_l Jespersen
2.4,2.5 _D_e_f_i_n_i_t_i_o_n_s (_L_o_c_a_l_e_s) Leijonhufvud 1
2 (rest) _D_e_f_i_n_i_t_i_o_n_s (_V_a_r_i_o_u_s) Jespersen
3 _C_o_m_m_a_n_d _L_a_n_g_u_a_g_e Jespersen
4 _E_x_e_c_u_t_i_o_n _E_n_v_i_r_o_n_m_e_n_t _U_t_i_l_i_t_i_e_s: _c_p, rm Bostic 22
4 _E_x_e_c_u_t_i_o_n _E_n_v_i_r_o_n_m_e_n_t _U_t_i_l_i_t_i_e_s: (_t_h_e Jespersen 22
_r_e_s_t) 2
6 _S_o_f_t_w_a_r_e _D_e_v_e_l_o_p_m_e_n_t _U_t_i_l_i_t_i_e_s Jespersen
7 _L_a_n_g_u_a_g_e-_I_n_d_e_p_e_n_d_e_n_t _B_i_n_d_i_n_g_s Jespersen 2
A _C _D_e_v_e_l_o_p_m_e_n_t _U_t_i_l_i_t_i_e_s Jespersen
B _C _B_i_n_d_i_n_g_s Jespersen 2
C _F_O_R_T_R_A_N _D_e_v_e_l_o_p_m_e_n_t _a_n_d _R_u_n_t_i_m_e _U_t_i_l_i_t_i_e_s Jespersen
D-G _V_a_r_i_o_u_s Jespersen
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Also, our special thanks to Donn Terry for writing or improving all the
yacc-based grammars used in Draft 10.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
_P_O_S_I_X._2 _P_r_o_p_o_s_e_d _S_c_h_e_d_u_l_e
This section will not appear in the final document. It is used to
provide editorial notes regarding the proposed POSIX.2 schedule. In the
schedule, the UPE stands for ``User Portability Extension.''
_____________________________________________________________________
| Date | Milestone (End of Meeting) | Draft |
_|_______________________|______________________________________|_______|
|Sep 7-11, 1987 | Utility format frozen; | 3 |
|Nashua, NH | 10% of utilities described. | |
_|_______________________|______________________________________|_______|
|Dec 7-14, 87 | 50% of utilities described; | 4 |
|San Diego, CA | shell update; substantial | |
_|_______________________|_p_r_o_g_r_e_s_s__i_n__S_e_c_t_i_o_n_s__2_,__3_,__4_,__8_.______|_______|
|Mar 14-18, 1988 | Utility selection frozen; | 5 |
|Washington, DC | 75% described. | |
_|_______________________|______________________________________|_______|
|Jul 11-15, 1988 | 100% utilities described; | 6 |
|Denver, CO | functional freeze; produce ``mock | |
_|_______________________|_b_a_l_l_o_t_'_'__a_n_d__P_O_S_I_X__F_I_P_S__d_r_a_f_t__7_______|_______|
|[Sep-Oct 1988] | [Mock ballot] | 7 |
_|_______________________|______________________________________|_______|
|Oct 24-28, 1988 | Resolve mock ballot objections; | 7 |
|Honolulu, HI | produce first real ballot (draft 8) | |
_|_______________________|_U_P_E__p_l_a_n_n_i_n_g__b_e_g_i_n_s___________________|_______|
|[Jan-Feb 1989] | [First ballot] | 8 |
_|_______________________|______________________________________|_______|
|Jan 9-11, 1989 | Begin UPE definitions; | 8 |
|Ft. Lauderdale, FL | Technical Reviewer coordination | |
_|_______________________|_o_f__f_i_r_s_t__b_a_l_l_o_t__r_e_s_p_o_n_s_e_s_____________|_______|
|[Feb-Apr 1989] | [Ballot resolution] | 8 |
_|_______________________|______________________________________|_______|
|Apr 24-28, 1989 | Working Group concurrence with | 9 |
|Minneapolis, MN | ballot resolution; produce Draft 9 | |
_|_______________________|_f_o_r__r_e_c_i_r_c_u_l_a_t_i_o_n_;__U_P_E__w_o_r_k___________|_______|
|Jul 10-14, 1989 | UPE work | |
|San Jose, CA | | |
_|_______________________|______________________________________|_______|
_|[_O_c_t__1_9_8_9_]______________|_[_F_i_r_s_t__R_e_c_i_r_c_u_l_a_t_i_o_n_]_________________|___9____|
|[Nov-Feb 1990] | [Ballot resolution] | 9 |
_|_______________________|______________________________________|_______|
_|[_A_u_g_-_S_e_p__1_9_9_0_]__________|_[_S_e_c_o_n_d__R_e_c_i_r_c_u_l_a_t_i_o_n_]________________|__1_0____|
|[Mar 1991] | [Third Recirculation] | 11 |
_|_______________________|______________________________________|_______|
_|[_J_u_n__1_9_9_1_]______________|_[_F_o_u_r_t_h__R_e_c_i_r_c_u_l_a_t_i_o_n_]________________|_1_1_._1___| 11
_|_______________________|______________________________________|_______| 11111
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
|[Sep 1991] | [Fifth Recirculation] | 11.2 | 1
_|_______________________|______________________________________|_______| 1
_|[_m_i_d_-_1_9_9_2_]______________|_[_I_E_E_E__S_t_a_n_d_a_r_d__B_o_a_r_d__A_p_p_r_o_v_e_s_?_?_]______|__1_2____| 21
|[Jul 1990 - Apr 1992] | [Ballot .2a UPE supplement] | | 1
_|_______________________|______________________________________|_______|
END_RATIONALE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
IEEE Standards documents are developed within the Technical Committees of
the IEEE Societies and the Standards Coordinating Committees of the IEEE
Standards Board. Members of the committees serve voluntarily and without
compensation. They are not necessarily members of the Institute. The
standards developed within IEEE represent a consensus of the broad
expertise on the subject within the Institute as well as those activities
outside of IEEE that have expressed an interest in participating in the
development of the standard.
Use of an IEEE Standard is wholly voluntary. The existence of an IEEE
Standard does not imply that there are no other ways to produce, test,
measure, purchase, market, or provide other goods and services related to
the scope of the IEEE Standard. Furthermore, the viewpoint expressed at
the time a standard is approved and issued is subject to change brought
about through developments in the state of the art and comments received
from users of the standard. Every IEEE Standard is subjected to review
at least every five years for revision or reaffirmation. When a document
is more than five years old and has not been reaffirmed, it is reasonable
to conclude that its contents, although still of some value, do not
wholly reflect the present state of the art. Users are cautioned to
check to determine that they have the latest edition of any IEEE
Standard.
Comments for revision of IEEE Standards are welcome from any interested
party, regardless of membership affiliation with IEEE. Suggestions for
changes in documents should be in the form of a proposed change of text,
together with appropriate supporting comments.
Interpretations: Occasionally questions may arise regarding the meaning
of portions of standards as they relate to specific applications. When
the need for interpretations is brought to the attention of the IEEE, the
Institute will initiate action to prepare appropriate responses. Since
IEEE Standards represent a consensus of all concerned interests, it is
important to ensure that any interpretation has also received the
concurrence of a balance of interests. For this reason, the IEEE and the
members of its technical committees are not able to provide an instant
response to interpretation requests except in those cases where the
matter has previously received formal consideration.
Comments on standards and requests for interpretations should be
addressed to:
Secretary, IEEE Standards Board
445 Hoes Lane
P.O. Box 1331
Piscataway, NJ 08855-1331
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
__________________________________________________________________
|IEEE Standards documents are adopted by the Institute of |
|Electrical and Electronics Engineers without regard |
|to whether their adoption may involve patents |
|on articles, materials, or processes. |
|Such adoption does not assume any liability to any patent owner, |
|nor does it assume any obligation whatever to parties adopting |
_||t_h_e__s_t_a_n_d_a_r_d_s__d_o_c_u_m_e_n_t_s_.__________________________________________||
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
Contents
PAGE
Introduction....................................................... ii
Organization of the Standard.................................... ii
Base Documents.................................................. ii
Related Standards Activities.................................... ii
Section 1: General................................................. 1
1.1 Scope..................................................... 1
1.2 Normative References...................................... 13
1.3 Conformance............................................... 14
Section 2: Terminology and General Requirements.................... 21
2.1 Conventions............................................... 21
2.2 Definitions............................................... 26
2.3 Built-in Utilities........................................ 58
2.4 Character Set............................................. 61
2.5 Locale.................................................... 69
2.6 Environment Variables..................................... 119
2.7 Required Files............................................ 126
2.8 Regular Expression Notation............................... 128
2.9 Dependencies on Other Standards........................... 161
2.10 Utility Conventions....................................... 172
2.11 Utility Description Defaults.............................. 182
2.12 File Format Notation...................................... 198
2.13 Configuration Values...................................... 204
Section 3: Shell Command Language.................................. 215
3.1 Shell Definitions......................................... 217
3.2 Quoting................................................... 220
3.3 Token Recognition......................................... 224
3.4 Reserved Words............................................ 226
3.5 Parameters and Variables.................................. 228
3.6 Word Expansions........................................... 233
3.7 Redirection............................................... 249
3.8 Exit Status and Errors.................................... 255
3.9 Shell Commands............................................ 258
3.10 Shell Grammar............................................. 279
3.11 Signals and Error Handling................................ 288
3.12 Shell Execution Environment............................... 289
3.13 Pattern Matching Notation................................. 291
3.14 Special Built-in Utilities................................ 295
Section 4: Execution Environment Utilities......................... 317
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
ii
PAGE
4.1 awk - Pattern scanning and processing language............ 317
4.2 basename - Return nondirectory portion of pathname........ 358
4.3 bc - Arbitrary-precision arithmetic language.............. 362
4.4 cat - Concatenate and print files......................... 383
4.5 cd - Change working directory............................. 388
4.6 chgrp - Change file group ownership....................... 392
4.7 chmod - Change file modes................................. 395
4.8 chown - Change file ownership............................. 405
4.9 cksum - Write file checksums and sizes.................... 409
4.10 cmp - Compare two files................................... 416
4.11 comm - Select or reject lines common to two files......... 420
4.12 command - Execute a simple command........................ 424
4.13 cp - Copy files........................................... 430
4.14 cut - Cut out selected fields of each line of a file...... 440
4.15 date - Write the date and time............................ 445
4.16 dd - Convert and copy a file.............................. 452
4.17 diff - Compare two files.................................. 462
4.18 dirname - Return directory portion of pathname............ 471
4.19 echo - Write arguments to standard output................. 475
4.20 ed - Edit text............................................ 479
4.21 env - Set environment for command invocation.............. 498
4.22 expr - Evaluate arguments as an expression................ 503
4.23 false - Return false value................................ 509
4.24 find - Find files......................................... 511
4.25 fold - Fold lines......................................... 521
4.26 getconf - Get configuration values........................ 526
4.27 getopts - Parse utility options........................... 531
4.28 grep - File pattern searcher.............................. 537
4.29 head - Copy the first part of files....................... 545
4.30 id - Return user identity................................. 549
4.31 join - Relational database operator....................... 554
4.32 kill - Terminate or signal processes...................... 559
4.33 ln - Link files........................................... 566
4.34 locale - Get locale-specific information.................. 570
4.35 localedef - Define locale environment..................... 577
4.36 logger - Log messages..................................... 583
4.37 logname - Return user's login name........................ 586
4.38 lp - Send files to a printer.............................. 589
4.39 ls - List directory contents.............................. 595
4.40 mailx - Process messages.................................. 605
4.41 mkdir - Make directories.................................. 610
4.42 mkfifo - Make FIFO special files.......................... 614
4.43 mv - Move files........................................... 617
4.44 nohup - Invoke a utility immune to hangups................ 623
4.45 od - Dump files in various formats........................ 627
4.46 paste - Merge corresponding or subsequent lines of
files..................................................... 637
4.47 pathchk - Check pathnames................................. 642
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
iii
PAGE
4.48 pax - Portable archive interchange........................ 648
4.49 pr - Print files.......................................... 665
4.50 printf - Write formatted output........................... 672
4.51 pwd - Return working directory name....................... 679
4.52 read - Read a line from standard input.................... 682
4.53 rm - Remove directory entries............................. 686
4.54 rmdir - Remove directories................................ 692
4.55 sed - Stream editor....................................... 695
4.56 sh - Shell, the standard command language interpreter..... 706
4.57 sleep - Suspend execution for an interval................. 713
4.58 sort - Sort, merge, or sequence check text files.......... 716
4.59 stty - Set the options for a terminal..................... 725
4.60 tail - Copy the last part of a file....................... 736
4.61 tee - Duplicate standard input............................ 742
4.62 test - Evaluate expression................................ 745
4.63 touch - Change file access and modification times......... 756
4.64 tr - Translate characters................................. 762
4.65 true - Return true value.................................. 770
4.66 tty - Return user's terminal name......................... 772
4.67 umask - Get or set the file mode creation mask............ 775
4.68 uname - Return system name................................ 780
4.69 uniq - Report or filter out repeated lines in a file...... 784
4.70 wait - Await process completion........................... 790
4.71 wc - Word, line, and byte count........................... 795
4.72 xargs - Construct argument list(s) and invoke utility..... 799
Section 5: User Portability Utilities Option....................... 807
Section 6: Software Development Utilities Option................... 809
6.1 ar - Create and maintain library archives................. 809
6.2 make - Maintain, update, and regenerate groups of
programs.................................................. 818
6.3 strip - Remove unnecessary information from executable
files..................................................... 844
Section 7: Language-Independent System Services.................... 847
7.1 Shell Command Interface................................... 848
7.2 Access Environment Variables.............................. 849
7.3 Regular Expression Matching............................... 849
7.4 Pattern Matching.......................................... 850
7.5 Command Option Parsing.................................... 850
7.6 Generate Pathnames Matching a Pattern..................... 850
7.7 Perform Word Expansions................................... 851
7.8 Get POSIX Configurable Variables.......................... 851
7.9 Locale Control............................................ 852
Annex A (normative) C Language Development Utilities Option........ 855
A.1 c89 - Compile Standard C programs......................... 856
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
iv
PAGE
A.2 lex - Generate programs for lexical tasks................. 867
A.3 yacc - Yet another compiler compiler...................... 884
Annex B (normative) C Language Bindings Option..................... 907
B.1 C Language Definitions.................................... 908
B.1.1 POSIX Symbols...................................... 908
B.1.2 Headers and Function Prototypes.................... 910
B.1.3 Error Numbers...................................... 911
B.2 C Numerical Limits........................................ 911
B.2.1 C Macros for Symbolic Limits....................... 912
B.2.2 Compile-Time Symbolic Constants for Portability
Specifications..................................... 913
B.2.3 Execution-Time Symbolic Constants for Portability
Specifications..................................... 914
B.2.4 POSIX.1 C Numerical Limits......................... 915
B.3 C Binding for Shell Command Interface..................... 915
B.3.1 C Binding for Execute Command...................... 916
B.3.2 C Binding for Pipe Communications with Programs.... 919
B.4 C Binding for Access Environment Variables................ 925
B.5 C Binding for Regular Expression Matching................. 925
B.6 C Binding for Match Filename or Pathname.................. 934
B.7 C Binding for Command Option Parsing...................... 937
B.8 C Binding for Generate Pathnames Matching a Pattern....... 942
B.9 C Binding for Perform Word Expansions..................... 948
B.10 C Binding for Get POSIX Configurable Variables............ 954
B.11 C Binding for Locale Control.............................. 957
Annex C (normative) FORTRAN Development and Runtime Utilities
Options......................................................... 959
C.1 asa - Interpret carriage-control characters............... 960
C.2 fort77 - FORTRAN compiler................................. 964
Annex D (informative) Bibliography................................. 973
Annex E (informative) Rationale and Notes.......................... 977
E.1 General................................................... 977
E.2 Terminology and General Requirements...................... 978
E.3 Shell Command Language.................................... 979
E.4 Execution Environment Utilities........................... 980
E.5 User Portability Utilities Option......................... 993
E.6 Software Development Utilities Option..................... 993
E.7 Language-Independent System Services...................... 994
E.8 C Language Development Utilities Option................... 994
E.9 C Language Bindings Option................................ 995
E.10 FORTRAN Development and Runtime Utilities Options......... 996
Annex F (informative) Sample National Profile...................... 997
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
v
PAGE
Annex G (informative) Balloting Instructions....................... 1091
Identifier Index................................................... 1105
Alphabetic Topical Index........................................... 1111
FIGURES
Figure B-1 - Sample _ssss_yyyy_ssss_tttt_eeee_mmmm() Implementation....................... 922
Figure B-2 - Sample _pppp_cccc_llll_oooo_ssss_eeee() Implementation....................... 926
Figure B-3 - Example Regular Expression Matching.................. 933
Figure B-4 - Argument Processing with _gggg_eeee_tttt_oooo_pppp_tttt().................... 942
TABLES
Table 2-1 - Typographical Conventions............................. 22
Table 2-2 - Regular Built-in Utilities............................ 58
Table 2-3 - Character Set and Symbolic Names...................... 62
Table 2-4 - Control Character Set................................. 63
Table 2-5 - LC_CTYPE Category Definition in the POSIX Locale...... 76
Table 2-6 - Valid Character Class Combinations.................... 81
Table 2-7 - LC_COLLATE Category Definition in the POSIX Locale.... 84
Table 2-8 - LC_MONETARY Category Definition in the POSIX Locale... 96
Table 2-9 - LC_NUMERIC Category Definition in the POSIX Locale.... 101
Table 2-10 - LC_TIME Category Definition in the POSIX Locale...... 102
Table 2-11 - LC_MESSAGES Category Definition in the POSIX Locale.. 106
Table 2-12 - BRE Precedence....................................... 136
Table 2-13 - ERE Precedence....................................... 139
Table 2-14 - C Standard Operators and Functions................... 171
Table 2-15 - Escape Sequences..................................... 199
Table 2-16 - Utility Limit Minimum Values......................... 205
Table 2-17 - Symbolic Utility Limits.............................. 206
Table 2-18 - Optional Facility Configuration Values............... 212
Table 4-1 - awk Expressions in Decreasing Precedence.............. 322
Table 4-2 - awk Escape Sequences.................................. 347
Table 4-3 - bc Operators.......................................... 370
Table 4-4 - ASCII to EBCDIC Conversion............................ 459
Table 4-5 - ASCII to IBM EBCDIC Conversion........................ 460
Table 4-6 - dirname Examples...................................... 474
Table 4-7 - expr Expressions...................................... 505
Table 4-8 - od Named Characters................................... 632
Table 4-9 - stty Control Character Names.......................... 730
Table 4-10 - stty Circumflex Control Characters................... 731
Table 7-1 - POSIX.1 Numeric-Valued Configurable Variables......... 853
Table A-1 - lex Table Size Declarations........................... 873
Table A-2 - lex Escape Sequences.................................. 875
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
vi
Table A-3 - lex ERE Precedence.................................... 877
Table A-4 - yacc Internal Limits.................................. 903
Table B-1 - POSIX.2 Reserved Header Symbols....................... 911
Table B-2 - _POSIX_C_SOURCE....................................... 911
Table B-3 - C Macros for Symbolic Limits.......................... 914
Table B-4 - C Compile-Time Symbolic Constants..................... 916
Table B-5 - C Execution-Time Symbolic Constants................... 916
Table B-6 - Structure Type _rrrr_eeee_gggg_eeee_xxxx______tttt................................ 928
Table B-7 - Structure Type _rrrr_eeee_gggg_mmmm_aaaa_tttt_cccc_hhhh______tttt............................. 928
Table B-8 - _rrrr_eeee_gggg_cccc_oooo_mmmm_pppp() _cccc_ffff_llll_aaaa_gggg_ssss Argument............................. 928
Table B-9 - _rrrr_eeee_gggg_eeee_xxxx_eeee_cccc() _eeee_ffff_llll_aaaa_gggg_ssss Argument............................. 928
Table B-10 - _rrrr_eeee_gggg_cccc_oooo_mmmm_pppp(), _rrrr_eeee_gggg_eeee_xxxx_eeee_cccc() Return Values................... 932
Table B-11 - _ffff_nnnn_mmmm_aaaa_tttt_cccc_hhhh() _ffff_llll_aaaa_gggg_ssss Argument............................. 937
Table B-12 - Structure Type _gggg_llll_oooo_bbbb______tttt................................ 944
Table B-13 - _gggg_llll_oooo_bbbb() _ffff_llll_aaaa_gggg_ssss Argument................................ 945
Table B-14 - _gggg_llll_oooo_bbbb() Error Return Values........................... 947
Table B-15 - Structure Type _wwww_oooo_rrrr_dddd_eeee_xxxx_pppp______tttt............................. 950
Table B-16 - _wwww_oooo_rrrr_dddd_eeee_xxxx_pppp() _ffff_llll_aaaa_gggg_ssss Argument............................. 951
Table B-17 - _wwww_oooo_rrrr_dddd_eeee_xxxx_pppp() Return Values.............................. 952
Table B-18 - confstr() _nnnn_aaaa_mmmm_eeee Values................................ 955
Table B-19 - C Bindings for Numeric-Valued Configurable
Variables........................................................ 958
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
vii
Introduction
(This Introduction is not a normative part of P1003.2 Information
technology -- Portable Operating System Interface (POSIX) -- Part 2:
Shell and Utilities, but is included for information only.)
The purpose of this standard is to define a standard interface and
environment for application programs that require the services of a
``shell'' command language interpreter and a set of common utility
programs. It is intended for systems implementors and application
software developers, and is complementary to ISO/IEC 9945-1: 1990 {8}
(first in a family of ``POSIX'' standards), which specifies operating
system interfaces and source code level functions, based on the UNIX1)
system documentation. This standard, or ``POSIX.2,'' is based upon
documentation and the knowledge of existing programs that assume an
interface and architecture similar to that described by POSIX.1. (See
1.1 for a full description of the relationship between the standards.)
The majority of this standard describes the functions of utilities that
can interface with application programs. The standard also provides
high-level language interfaces that the application uses to access these
utilities and other useful, related services. These language-independent
service interfaces are temporarily described in terms of their C language
bindings. The C language assumed is that defined by the C Standard:
_A_N_S_I/_X_3._1_5_9-_1_9_8_9 _P_r_o_g_r_a_m_m_i_n_g _L_a_n_g_u_a_g_e _C _S_t_a_n_d_a_r_d produced by Technical
Committee X3J11 of the Accredited Standards Committee X3 -- Information
Processing Systems.
Organization of the Standard
The standard is divided into ten parts:
- General, including a statement of scope, normative references, and
conformance requirements. (Section 1).
- Definitions, general requirements, and the environment available to
applications. (Section 2).
__________
1) UNIX is a registered trademark of UNIX System Laboratories in the USA
and other countries.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
viii Introduction
- The shell command interpreter language. (Section 3).
- Descriptions of the utilities in the required ``Execution
Environment Utilities.'' (Section 4).
- Descriptions of the utilities required for user portability on
asynchronous terminals. (Section 5 [to be provided in a future
revision]).
- Descriptions of the utilities in the optional ``Software
Development Utilities.'' (Section 6).
- Language-independent interfaces for high-level programming language
access to shell and related services. (Section 7).
- Descriptions of the utilities in the optional ``C Language
Development Utilities.'' (Normative Annex A).
- C language bindings to the interfaces in Section 6. (Normative
Annex B).
- Descriptions of the utilities in the optional ``FORTRAN Development
and Runtime Utilities.'' (Normative Annex C).
This introduction, the foreword, any footnotes, NOTES accompanying the
text, and the _i_n_f_o_r_m_a_t_i_v_e annexes are not considered part of the
standard. Annexes D through G are informative.
Base Documents
Many of the interfaces and utilities of this standard were adapted from
materials in machine-readable forms donated by the following
organizations:
- AT&T: the _S_y_s_t_e_m _V _I_n_t_e_r_f_a_c_e _D_e_f_i_n_i_t_i_o_n (_S_V_I_D) {B24},2) Issue 2,
Volume 2. Copyright c 1986, AT&T; reprinted with permission.
- The X/Open Company, Ltd.: the _X/_O_p_e_n _P_o_r_t_a_b_i_l_i_t_y _G_u_i_d_e {B30}
{B31}, Issues II and III, Volume 1. Copyright c 1989, X/Open
Company, Ltd; reprinted with permission.
__________
2) The number in braces corresponds to those of the references in 1.2
(or the bibliographic entry in Annex D if the number is preceded by
the letter B).
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
ix
- University of California, _T_h_e _U_N_I_X _U_s_e_r'_s _R_e_f_e_r_e_n_c_e _M_a_n_u_a_l {B28},
4.3 Berkeley Software Distribution, Virtual VAX-11 Version, 1986.
Copyright c 1980, 1983, The Regents of the University of
California; reprinted with permission.3)
Significant reference use was also made of the following books:
- Bolsky, Morris I., Korn, David G., _T_h_e _K_o_r_n_S_h_e_l_l _C_o_m_m_a_n_d _a_n_d
_P_r_o_g_r_a_m_m_i_n_g _L_a_n_g_u_a_g_e {B25}, Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New
Jersey (1988).
- Aho, Alfred V., Kernighan, Brian W., Weinberger, Peter J., _T_h_e _A_W_K
_P_r_o_g_r_a_m_m_i_n_g _L_a_n_g_u_a_g_e {B21}, Addison-Wesley, Reading, Massachusetts
(1988).
Many other proposals for functions and utilities were received from the
various working group members, who are listed in the Acknowledgements
section of this standard.
Related Standards Activities
Activities to extend this standard to address additional requirements are
in progress, and similar efforts can be anticipated in the future.
The following areas are under active consideration at this time, or are
expected to become active in the near future:4)
(1) Language-independent service descriptions of POSIX.1 {8}
(2) C, Ada, and FORTRAN Language bindings to (1)
(3) Verification testing methods
(4) Realtime facilities
__________
3) The IEEE is grateful to AT&T, UniForum, and the Regents of the
University of California for permission to use their machine-readable
materials.
4) A _S_t_a_n_d_a_r_d_s _S_t_a_t_u_s _R_e_p_o_r_t that lists all current IEEE Computer
Society standards projects is available from the IEEE Computer
Society, 1730 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036-1903;
Telephone: +1 202 371-0101; FAX: +1 202 728-9614. Working drafts of
POSIX standards under development are also available from this
office.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
x Introduction
(5) Secure/Trusted System considerations
(6) Network interface facilities
(7) System Administration
(8) Graphical User Interfaces
(9) Profiles describing application- or user-specific combinations
of Open Systems standards for: supercomputing, multiprocessor,
and batch extensions; transaction processing; realtime systems;
and multiuser systems based on historical models
(10) An overall guide to POSIX-based or related Open Systems
standards and profiles
Extensions are approved as ``amendments'' or ``revisions'' to this
document, following the IEEE and ISO/IEC Procedures.
Approved amendments are published separately until the full document is
reprinted and such amendments are incorporated in their proper positions.
If you have interest in participating in the TCOS working groups
addressing these issues, please send your name, address, and phone number
to the Secretary, IEEE Standards Board, Institute of Electrical and
Electronics Engineers, Inc., P.O. Box 1331, 445 Hoes Lane, Piscataway, NJ
08855-1331, and ask to have this forwarded to the chairperson of the
appropriate TCOS working group. If you have interest in participating in
this work at the international level, contact your ISO/IEC national body.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
Related Standards Activities xi
P1003.2 was prepared by the 1003.2 working group, sponsored by the
Technical Committee on Operating Systems and Application Environments of
the IEEE Computer Society. At the time this standard was approved, the
membership of the 1003.2 working group was as follows:
Technical Committee on Operating Systems
and Application Environments (TCOS)
Chair: Jehan-Franc,ois Pa^ris
TCOS Standards Subcommittee
Chair: Jim Isaak
Vice Chairs: Ralph Barker
David Dodge
Robert Bismuth
Hal Jespersen
Lorraine Kevra
Treasurer: Quin Hahn
Secretary: Shane McCarron
1003.2 Working Group Officials
Chair: Hal Jespersen
Vice Chair: Donald W. Cragun
Editors: Hal Jespersen (1986, 1988-1991)
Maggie Lee (1987-1988)
Secretaries: Helene Armitage (1988-1990)
Dave Grindeland (1991)
Robert J. Makowski (1987-1988)
Technical Reviewers
Helene Armitage Ken Faubel Gary Miller
Keith Bostic Greger Leijonhufvud Marc Teitelbaum
John Caywood Bob Lenk Donn Terry
Donald Cragun Mark Levine Teoman Topcubasi
David Decot Shane McCarron David Willcox
Working Group
Helene Armitage Quin Hahn Jim Oldroyd
Brian Baird Michael J. Hannah Mark Parenti
John R. Barr Marjorie E. Harris John Peace
Philippe Bertrand David F. Hinnant Jon Penner
Robert Bismuth Leon M. Holmes Gerald Powell
Jim Blondeau Ron Holt John Quarterman
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
xii Introduction
James C. Bohem Randall Howard Joe Ramus
Kathy Bohrer Steven A. James Mike Ressler
Keith Bostic Steve Jennings Grover Righter
Phyllis Eve Bregman Hal Jespersen Andrew K. Roach
Peter Brouwer Ronald S. Karr Marco P. Roodzant
F. Lee Brown, Jr. Lorraine C. Kevra Seth Rosenthal
Jonathan Brown Martin Kirk Maude Sawyer
James A. Capps Brad Kline Norman K. Scherer
Bill Carpenter Hiromichi Kogure Glen Seeds
Steve Carter David Korn Jim Selkaitis
John Caywood Rick Kuhn Karen Sheaffer
Bob Claeson Mike Lambert Del Shoemaker
Mark Colburn Maggie Lee James Soddy
Donald W. Cragun Perry Lee Daniel Steinberg
Dave Decot Greger Leijonhufvud Scott A. Sutter
Terence S. Dowling Bob Lenk Ravi Tavakley
Stephen Dum Mark Levine Marc Teitelbaum
Dominic Dunlop Gary Lindgren Donn Terry
Mike Edmonds John Lomas Jack Thompson
Ron Elliott Craig Lund Teoman Topcubasi
Richard W. Elwood Rod MacDonald Eugene Tsuno
Hirsaki Eto Dan Magenheimer Geraldine Vitovitch
Fran Fadden Robert J. Makowski Carl vonLoewenfeldt
Ken Faubel Shane P. McCarron Mike Wallace
Martin C. Fong Jim McGinness Alan Weaver
Terance Fong John McGrory Larry Wehr
Glenn Fowler Stuart McKaig Bruce Weiner
Gary A. Gaudet Sunil Mehta N. Ray Wilkes
Al Gettier Bill Middlecamp David Willcox
Timothy D. Gill Gary W. Miller Neil Winton
Gregory Goddard Jim Moe David Woodend
Loretta Goudie Yasushi Nakahara Morten With
Dave Grindeland Martha Nalebuff Ken Witte
John Lawrence Gregg Sonya D. Neufer John Wu
Jerry Gross Landon Noll Peggy Younger
Douglas A. Gwyn Robin T. O'Neill Hilary Zaloom
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
Related Standards Activities xiii
The following persons were members of the 1003.2 Balloting Group that
approved the standard for submission to the IEEE Standards Board:
Derek Kaufman _X/_O_p_e_n _I_n_s_t_i_t_u_t_i_o_n_a_l _R_e_p_r_e_s_e_n_t_a_t_i_v_e
Shane McCarron _U_N_I_X _I_n_t_e_r_n_a_t_i_o_n_a_l _I_n_s_t_i_t_u_t_i_o_n_a_l _R_e_p_r_e_s_e_n_t_a_t_i_v_e
Peter Collinson _U_S_E_N_I_X _A_s_s_o_c_i_a_t_i_o_n _I_n_s_t_i_t_u_t_i_o_n_a_l _R_e_p_r_e_s_e_n_t_a_t_i_v_e
Scott Anderson Carol J. Harkness Jim R. Oldroyd
Helene Armitage Craig Harmer Craig Partridge
David Athersych Dale Harris Rob Peglar
Geoff Baldwin Myron Hecht John C. Penney
Jerome E. Banasik Morris J. Herbert Rand S. Phares
Steven E. Barber David F. Hinnant P. J. Plauger
Robert M. Barned Lee A. Hollaar Gerald Powell
David R. Bernstein Ronald Holt Jr. Scott E. Preece
Kabekode V. S. Bhat Randall Howard James M. Purtilo
Robert Bismuth Jim Isaak J. S. Quarterman
Jim Blondran Richard James Wendy Rauch-Hindin
Robert Borochoff Hal Jespersen Brad Rhoades
Keith Bostic Greg Jones Christopher J. Riddick
James P. Bound Michael J. Karels Andrew K. Roach
Joseph Boykin Lorraine C. Kevra Arnold Robbins
Kevin Brady Alan W. Kiecker R. Hughes Rowlands
Phyllis Eve Bregman Jeff Kimmel Robert Sarr
A. Winsor Brown M. J. Kirk Norman Schneidewind
F. Lee Brown Jr. Kenneth C. Klingman Wolfgang Schwabl
Luis-Felipe Cabrera Joshua W. Knight Richard Scott
Nicholas A. Camillone David Korn Glen Seeds
Andres Caravallo Takahiko Kuki Dan Shia
Steven L. Carter Robin B. Lake Roger Shimada
John Caywood Mike Lambert Mukesh Singhal
Kilnam Chon Doris Lebovits Richard Sniderman
Chan F. Chong Maggie Lee Steven Sommars
Robert L. Claeson Greger Leijonhufvud Bryan W. Sparks
Mark Colburn Robert M. Lenk Richard Stallman
Kenneth N. Cole David Lennert Daniel Steinberg
Richard Cornelius Mark E. Levine Douglas H. Steves
William M. Corwin Kevin Lewis Peter Sugar
Mike R. Cossey Kin F. Li Scott A. Sutter
William Cox James P. Lonjers Ravi Tavakley
Donald W. Cragun Joseph F. P. Luhukay Donn Terry
Terence Dowling Paul Lustgarten Gary F. Tom
Stephen A. Dum Ron Mabe A. T. Twigger
John D. Earls Robert J. Makowski Mark-Rene Uchida
Ron Elliott Roger J. Martin L. David Umbaugh
Richard W. Elwood Joberto S. B. Martins Michael W. Vannier
David Emery Yoshihiro Matsumoto M. B. Wagner
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
xiv Introduction
Philip H. Enslow Shane McCarron John W. Walz
Ken Faubel Martin J. McGowan III Alan G. Weaver
Terence Fong Marshall Kirk McKusick Larry Wehr
Ed Frankenberry Robert W. McWhirter Bruce Weiner
John A. Gertwagen Doug Michels Brian Weis
Al Gettier Gary W. Miller Peter J. Weyman
Michel Gien James M. Moe Andrew E. Wheeler
Gregory W. Goddard J. W. Moore David Willcox
Robert C. Groman Anita Mundkur Jeff Wubik
Judy Guist Martha Nalebuff Oren Yuen
Gregory Guthrie Fred Noz Jason Zions
Michael J. Hannah Alan F. Nugent
When the IEEE Standards Board approved this standard on <_d_a_t_e _t_o _b_e
_p_r_o_v_i_d_e_d>, it had the following membership:
(to be pasted in by IEEE)
END_RATIONALE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
Related Standards Activities xv
P1003.2/D11.2
Information technology -- Portable Operating System Interface (POSIX) --
Part 2: Shell and Utilities
Section 1: General
1.1 Scope
This standard defines a standard source code level interface to command
interpretation, or ``shell,'' services and common utility programs for
application programs. These services and programs are complementary to
those specified by ISO/IEC 9945-1: 1990 {8}, hereinafter referred to as
``POSIX.1 {8}.''
The standard has been designed to be used by both application programmers
and system implementors. However, it is intended to be a reference
document and not a tutorial on the use of the services, the utilities, or
the interrelationships between the utilities.
The emphasis of this standard is on the shell and utility functionality
required by application programs (including ``shell scripts'') and not on
the direct interactive use of the shell command language or the utilities
by humans.
Portions of this standard comprise optional language bindings to system
service interfaces. See, for example, the C Language Bindings Option in
Annex B. This standard is intended to describe language interfaces and
utilities in sufficient detail so that an application developer can
understand the required interfaces without access to the source code of
existing implementations on which they may be based. Therefore, it does
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
1.1 Scope 1
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
not attempt to describe the source programming language or internal
design of the utilities; they should be considered ``black boxes'' that
exhibit the described functionality.
For language interfaces, or functions, this standard has been defined
exclusively at the source code level. The objective is that a conforming
portable application source program can be translated to execute on a
conforming implementation. The standard assumes that the source program
may need to be retranslated to produce target code for a new environment
prior to execution in that environment.
There is no requirement that the base operating system supporting the
shell and utilities be one that fully conforms to ISO/IEC 9945-1: 1990
{8}. (The base system could contain a subset of POSIX.1 {8}
functionality, enough to support the requirements for this standard, as
described in 2.9.1, but that could not claim full conformance to all of
POSIX.1 {8}.) Furthermore, there is no requirement that the shell
command interpreter or any of the standard utilities be written as
POSIX.1 {8} conforming programs, or be written in any particular
language.
Although not requiring a fully conforming POSIX.1 {8} base, this standard
is based upon documentation and the knowledge of existing programs that
assume an interface and architecture similar to that described by
POSIX.1 {8}. Any questions regarding the definition of terms or the
semantics of an underlying concept should be referred to POSIX.1 {8}.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
1.1.1 Scope Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
This standard is one of a family of related standards. The term POSIX is
correctly used to describe this family, and not only its foundation, the
operating system interfaces of POSIX.1 {8}. Therefore, POSIX.2 could
colloquially be described as the ``POSIX Shell and Tools Standard.''
The interfaces documented for this standard are to and from high-level
language application programs and to and from the utilities themselves;
the standard does not directly address the interface with users.
The ``source code'' interface to the command interpreter is defined in
terms of high-level language functions in 7.1.1 or 7.1.2 (such as
_s_y_s_t_e_m(), B.3.1, or _p_o_p_e_n(), B.3.2). There are also other function
interfaces, such as those for matching regular expressions in 7.3
(_r_e_g_c_o_m_p() in B.5). Many of the utilities in this standard, and the
shell itself, also accept their own command languages or complex
directives as input data, which is also referred to as source code. This
data, an ordered series of characters, may be stored in files, or
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2 1 General
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
``scripts,'' that are portable between systems without true
recompilation. However, just as with POSIX.1 {8}, the standard addresses
only the issue of source code portability between systems; applications
using these calls may have to be recompiled or translated when moving
from one system to another.
There has been considerable debate concerning the appropriate scope of
the work represented by this standard. The following are rational
alternatives that have been evaluated:
(1) Define the shell and tools as extensions to POSIX.1 {8}. This
would require a full conforming POSIX.1 {8} system as a base for
the new facilities described here. Vocal proponents for this
view have been the members of the POSIX.3 working group, who
foresaw difficulties in producing a verification suite standard
without having a known operating system base.
(2) Decouple the shell and tools entirely from POSIX.1 {8}. This
would potentially allow the standard to be implemented on such
popular operating systems as MVS/TSO, VM/CMS, MS/DOS, VMS, etc.
Those systems would not have to provide every minor detail of
the POSIX.1 {8} language interfaces to conform under this model-
--only enough to support the shell and tools.
(3) Compromise between options 1 and 2. Base the standard on an
interface _s_i_m_i_l_a_r to POSIX.1 {8}, but don't require full
conformance. A simple example would be a Version 7 UNIX System,
which could not conform to POSIX.1 {8} without considerable
modification. However, a vendor could support all of the
features of this standard without changing its kernel or binary
compatibility. Another example would be a system that conformed
to all stated POSIX.1 {8} interfaces, but that didn't have a
fully conforming C Standard {7} compiler. The difficulty with
this option is that it makes the stated goal of the working
group a bit fuzzier and increases the amount of analysis
required for the features included.
The working group selected option 3 as its goal. It chose to retain the
full UNIX system-like orientation, but did not wish to arbitrarily
deprive legitimate systems that could _a_l_m_o_s_t conform. No useful feature
of shells or commonly-used utilities were discarded to accommodate
nonconforming base systems; on the other hand, no deliberate obstacles
were arbitrarily erected. Furthermore, POSIX.1 {8} is still required for
its definitions and architectural concepts, which are purposely not
repeated in this standard.
One concrete example of how the two standards interrelate is in the usage
of POSIX.1 {8} function names in the descriptions of utilities in
POSIX.2. There are a number of historical commands that directly mapped
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
1.1 Scope 3
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
into one of the UNIX system calls. For example: chmod and _c_h_m_o_d(); ln
and _l_i_n_k(). The POSIX.2 working group was faced with the problem of
having to define all of the complex interactions ``behind the scenes''
for some simple commands. Creating a file, for example, involves many
POSIX.1 {8} concepts, including processes, user IDs, multiple group
permissions (which are optional), error conditions, etc. Rather than
enumerating all of these interactions in many places, the POSIX.2 group
chose to employ the POSIX.1 {8} function descriptions, where appropriate.
See the chmod utility in 4.7 as an example. The utility description
includes the phrase:
... performing actions equivalent to the _c_h_m_o_d() function as
defined in the POSIX.1 {8} _c_h_m_o_d() function:
This means that the POSIX.2 implementor has to read the POSIX.1 {8}
_c_h_m_o_d() description and fully understand all of its functionality,
requirements, and side effects, which now don't have to be repeated here.
(Admittedly, this makes the POSIX.2 standard a bit more difficult to
read, but the working group felt that precision transcended the need for
readable or semi-tutorial documents.)
The Introduction states that one of the goals of the working group was:
``This interface should be implementable on conforming POSIX.1 {8}
systems.'' This implies that the working group has attempted to ensure
that no additional functionality or extension is required to implement
this standard on the base defined by POSIX.1 {8}. This is not to say
that extensions are not allowed, but that they should not be necessary.
The goal ``(7) Utilities and standards for the installation of
applications" was once interpreted to mean that an elaborate series of
tools was required to install and remove applications, based on complex
description files and system databases of capabilities. An attempt to
provide this was rejected by the balloting group and that type of system
is now being evaluated by the POSIX.7 System Administration group.
However, the original goal remains in the list, because many of the
standard utilities are, in fact, targeted specifically for application
installation--make, c89, lex, etc.
1.1.1.1 Existing Practice. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
The working group would have been very happy to develop a standard that
allowed all historical implementations (i.e., those existing prior to the
time of publication) to be fully conforming and all historical
applications to be Strictly Conforming POSIX Shell Applications without
requiring any changes. Some modifications will be required to reconcile
the specific differences between historical implementations; there are
many divergent versions of UNIX systems extant and applications have
sometimes been written to take advantage of features (or bugs) on
specific systems. Therefore, the working group established a set of
goals to maximize the value of the standard it eventually produced.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4 1 General
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
These goals are enumerated in the following subclauses. They are listed
in approximate priority sequence, where the first subclause is the most
important portability goal.
1.1.1.1.1 Preserve Historical Applications
The most important priority was to ensure that historical applications
continued to operate on conforming implementations. This required the
selection of many utilities and features from the most prevalent
historical implementations. The working group is relying on the
following factors:
(1) Many inconsistent historical features will still be supported as
_o_b_s_o_l_e_s_c_e_n_t.
(2) Common features of System V and BSD will continue to be
supported by their sponsors, even if they aren't included here
(just as long as they are not prevented from existing).
Therefore, the standard was written so that the large majority of well-
written historical applications should continue to operate as Conforming
POSIX Shell Applications Using Extensions.
1.1.1.1.2 Clean Up the Interfaces
The working group chose to extend the benefits of historical UNIX systems
by making limited improvements to the utility interfaces; numerous
complaints have been heard over the years about the inconsistencies in
the command line interface, which have allegedly made it harder for
novice users. Given the constraints of Preserve Historical Applications,
the working group has made the following general modifications:
(1) Utilities have been extended to deal with differences in
character sets, collating sequences, and some cultural aspects
relating to the locale of the user. (Examples: new features in
regular expressions; new formatting options in date; see 4.15.)
(2) The utility syntax guidelines in 2.10.2 have been applied to
almost all of the utilities to promote a consistent interface.
The guidelines themselves have been loosened up a bit from their
counterparts in the _S_V_I_D. In many cases historical utilities
have not conformed with these guidelines (which were written
considerably later than the utilities themselves). The older
interfaces have been maintained in the standard as obsolescent
features. (Examples: join, sort.) However, in some cases,
such as dd and find, such major surgery was required that the
working group decided to leave the historical interfaces as is.
``Fixing'' the interface would mean replacing the command, which
would not help applications portability. So, fixing was limited
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
1.1 Scope 5
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
to relatively minor abuses of the new guidelines, where
reasonable consistency could be achieved while still maintaining
the general type of interface of the historical version.
(3) Features that were not generally portable across machine
architectures or systems have been removed or marked obsolescent
and new, more portable interfaces have been introduced.
(Examples: the octal number methods of describing file modes in
chmod and other utilities have been marked obsolescent; the
symbolic ``ugo'' method has been extended to other utilities,
such as umask.)
(4) Features that have proved to be popular in some specific UNIX
system variants have been adopted. (Examples: diff -c, which
originated in BSD systems, and the ``new'' awk, from System V.)
Such features were selected given the requirements for balloting
group consensus; the features had to be used widely enough to
balance accusations of ``creeping featurism'' and violations of
the UNIX system ``tools philosophy.''
(5) Unreasonable inconsistencies between otherwise similar
interfaces have been reconciled. (Example: methods of
specifying the patterns to the three grep-_r_e_l_a_t_e_d utilities have
been made more consistent in the standard's single grep.)
(6) When irreconcilable differences arose between versions of
historical utilities, new interfaces (utility names or syntax)
were sometimes added in their places. The working group
resisted the urge to deviate significantly from historical
practice; the new interfaces are generally consistent with the
philosophy of historical systems and represent comparable
functionality to the interfaces being replaced. In some cases,
System V and BSD had diverged (such as with echo and sum) so
significantly that no compromises for a common interface were
possible. In these cases, either the divergent features were
omitted or an entirely new command name was selected (such as
with printf and cksum).
(7) Arbitrary limits to utility operations have been removed.
(Example: some historical ed utilities have very limited
capabilities for dealing with large files or long input lines.)
(8) Arbitrary limitations on historical extensions have been
eliminated. (Example: regular expressions have been described
so that the popular \< ... \> extension is allowed.)
(9) Input and output formats have been specified in more detail than
historical implementations have required, allowing applications
to more effectively operate in pipelines with these utilities.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
6 1 General
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
(Example: comm.)
Thus, in many cases the working group could be accused of ``violating
Existing Practice,'' and in fact received some balloting objections to
that effect from implementors (although rarely from users or application
developers). The working group was sensitive to charges that it was
engaged in arbitrary software engineering rather than merely codifying
existing practice. When changes were made, they were always written to
preserve historical applications, but to move new conforming applications
into a more consistent, portable environment. This strategy obviously
requires changes to historical implementations; the working group
carefully evaluated each change, weighing the value to users against the
one-time costs of adding the new interfaces (and of possibly breaking
applications that took advantage of bugs), generally siding with the
users when the costs to implementations and applications was not
excessively high.
In some cases, changes were reluctantly made that could conceivably break
some historical applications; the working group allowed these only in the
face of practices it considered rare or significantly misguided.
1.1.1.1.3 Allow Historical Conforming Applications
It is likely that many historical shell scripts will be Strictly
Conforming POSIX.2 Applications without requiring modifications.
Developers have long been aware of the differences among the historical
UNIX system variants and have avoided the nonportable aspects to increase
the scope of their applications' marketplace. However, the previous goal
of a consistent interface was considered to be quite important, so there
will be modifications required to some applications if they wish to be
maximally portable in the future.
1.1.1.1.4 Preserve Historical Implementations
As explained in 1.1.1.1.2, the requirements for portability and a
consistent interface have caused the working group to add new utilities
and features. No historical implementations contained all of the
attributes required by the working group. Therefore, this lowest
priority goal fell victim to the preceding goals, and every known
historical implementation will require some modifications to conform to
this standard.
The working group took care to ensure that the implementations could add
the new or modified features without breaking the operation of existing
applications. (Note that the standard utilities are not considered
applications in this regard, but are part of the implementation. In
fact, many or most of the utilities named by this standard will have to
change to some extent.)
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
1.1 Scope 7
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
1.1.1.2 Outside the Scope. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
The following areas are outside the scope of this standard. This
subclause explains more of the rationale behind the exclusions. (It
should be noted that this is not an official list. It was not part of
the Project Authorization Request submitted to the IEEE, but was devised
as a guide to keep the working group discussions on track.)
(1) _O_p_e_r_a_t_i_n_g _s_y_s_t_e_m _a_d_m_i_n_i_s_t_r_a_t_i_v_e _c_o_m_m_a_n_d_s (_p_r_i_v_i_l_e_g_e_d _p_r_o_c_e_s_s_e_s,
_s_y_s_t_e_m _p_r_o_c_e_s_s_e_s, _d_a_e_m_o_n_s, _e_t_c.).
The working group followed the lead of the POSIX.1 {8} group in
this instance. Administrative commands were felt to be too
implementation dependent and not useful for application
portability. Subsequent to this decision, a separate POSIX.7
working group was formed to deal with this area of ``operator
portability.'' It is anticipated that utilities needed for
system administration will be closely coordinated with the
POSIX.2 working group.
(2) _C_o_m_m_a_n_d_s _r_e_q_u_i_r_e_d _f_o_r _t_h_e _i_n_s_t_a_l_l_a_t_i_o_n, _c_o_n_f_i_g_u_r_a_t_i_o_n, _o_r
_m_a_i_n_t_e_n_a_n_c_e _o_f _o_p_e_r_a_t_i_n_g _s_y_s_t_e_m_s _o_r _f_i_l_e _s_y_s_t_e_m_s.
This area is similar to item (1). System installation is
contrasted against the application installation portion of the
Scope by its orientation to installing the operating system
itself, versus application programs. The exclusion of operating
system installation facilities should not be interpreted to mean
that the application installation procedures _c_a_n_n_o_t be used for
installing operating system components. The proposed interface
for this area encountered stiff resistance from the balloting
group in Draft 8 and was temporarily withdrawn. As described in
Annex E.4, a decision of the balloting group is pending on
whether to begin work on a supplement to this standard
(POSIX.2b) for application installation.
(3) _N_e_t_w_o_r_k_i_n_g _c_o_m_m_a_n_d_s.
These were excluded because they are deeply involved with other
standards making bodies and are probably too complicated. In
this case, several working groups were formed within the POSIX
family to deal with this. It is anticipated that utilities
needed for networking, if any, will be closely coordinated with
the POSIX.2 working group. (In early drafts of this standard,
which predated the formation of the networking-specific POSIX
working groups, the historical ``UNIX system to UNIX system copy
[UUCP]'' programs and protocols were included. These
descriptions have been removed in deference to a more
appropriate working group.)
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
8 1 General
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
(4) _T_e_r_m_i_n_a_l _c_o_n_t_r_o_l _o_r _u_s_e_r-_i_n_t_e_r_f_a_c_e _p_r_o_g_r_a_m_s (_e._g., _v_i_s_u_a_l
_s_h_e_l_l_s, _v_i_s_u_a_l _e_d_i_t_o_r_s, _w_i_n_d_o_w _m_a_n_a_g_e_r_s, _c_o_m_m_a_n_d _h_i_s_t_o_r_y
_m_e_c_h_a_n_i_s_m_s, _e_t_c.).
This is probably the most contentious exclusion. A common
complaint about many UNIX systems is how they're not very ``user
friendly.'' Some people have hoped that the interface to users
could be standardized with mice, icon-based desktop metaphors,
and so forth. This standard neatly sidesteps those concerns by
reminding its audience that it is an application portability
standard, and therefore has little relationship to the manner in
which users manage their terminals.
However, this guideline was not meant to apply to applications.
It is perfectly reasonable for an application to assume it can
have a user interacting with it. That is why such facilities as 1
displaying strings (with printf) without <newline>_s, stty, and 1
various prompting utilities are included in the standard.
The interfaces in this standard are very oriented to command
lines being issued by shell scripts, or through the _s_y_s_t_e_m() or
_p_o_p_e_n() functions. Therefore, interactive text editors, pagers,
and other user interface tools have been omitted for now.
Alternatively, other standards bodies, such as X3H3.6 and the
IEEE TCOS P1201 working group, are devising interfaces that
could possibly be more useful and long-lived than any prescribed
by POSIX.2.
There is one area of this subject that will be addressed by
POSIX.2. The scope of the working group has been expanded to
include what is being termed the _U_s_e_r _P_o_r_t_a_b_i_l_i_t_y _E_x_t_e_n_s_i_o_n,
POSIX.2a. This will be published as a supplement to this
standard and have the goal of providing a portable environment
for relatively expert time-sharing or software development
users. It will not attempt to deal with mice or windows or
other advanced interfaces at this time, but should cover many of
the terminal-oriented utilities, such as a full-screen editor,
currently avoided by this edition of POSIX.2.
(5) _G_r_a_p_h_i_c_s _p_r_o_g_r_a_m_s _o_r _i_n_t_e_r_f_a_c_e_s.
See the comments on user interface, above.
(6) _T_e_x_t _f_o_r_m_a_t_t_i_n_g _p_r_o_g_r_a_m_s _o_r _l_a_n_g_u_a_g_e_s.
The existing text formatting languages are generally too
primitive in scope to satisfy many users, who have relied on a
myriad of macro languages. There is an ISO standard text
description language, SGML, but this has had insufficient
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
1.1 Scope 9
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
exposure to the UNIX system community for standardization as
part of POSIX at this time.
(7) _D_a_t_a_b_a_s_e _p_r_o_g_r_a_m_s _o_r _i_n_t_e_r_f_a_c_e_s (_e._g. _S_Q_L, _e_t_c.).
These interfaces are the province of other standards bodies.
1.1.1.3 Language-Independent Descriptions. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t
_o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
The POSIX.1 {8} and POSIX.5 working groups are currently engaged in
developing the model for language-independent descriptions of system
services. When complete, it will allow the C language bias of the
POSIX.1 {8} standard to be excised and C will take its place among other
language bindings that interface with the core services descriptions.
The POSIX.2 working group did not wish to duplicate effort, and has
therefore waited until POSIX.1 {8} achieves progress in this area. Thus,
like the first version of POSIX.1 {8}, the initial drafts of POSIX.2
start life as a C-only standard, with language independence scheduled to
be included in a later draft. Fortunately, this standard is
substantially less involved with C than POSIX.1 {8} is. In fact, all of
the C interfaces are entirely optional.
1.1.1.4 Base Documents. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
The working group consulted a number of documents in the course of its
deliberations, to select utilities and features. There were five primary
documents that started off the process:
(1) The _S_y_s_t_e_m _V _I_n_t_e_r_f_a_c_e _D_e_f_i_n_i_t_i_o_n (_S_V_I_D), Issue 2, Volume 2.
(2) The _X/_O_p_e_n _P_o_r_t_a_b_i_l_i_t_y _G_u_i_d_e, (_X_P_G), Issues II and III, Volume
1.
(3) _T_h_e _U_N_I_X _U_s_e_r'_s _R_e_f_e_r_e_n_c_e _M_a_n_u_a_l, 4.3 Berkeley Software
Distribution, Virtual VAX-11 Version. (The printed
documentation as well as the online versions provided with the
BSD ``Tahoe'' and ``Reno'' distributions were considered as one
base document for the POSIX.2 work.)
(4) _T_h_e _K_o_r_n_S_h_e_l_l _C_o_m_m_a_n_d _a_n_d _P_r_o_g_r_a_m_m_i_n_g _L_a_n_g_u_a_g_e, by Bolsky and
Korn.
(5) _T_h_e _A_W_K _P_r_o_g_r_a_m_m_i_n_g _L_a_n_g_u_a_g_e, by Aho, Kernighan, and Weinberger.
The _X_P_G was used most heavily in initial deliberations about which
utilities and features to include. The X/Open companies had done a very
thorough job in analyzing the _S_V_I_D and other standards to compile a list
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
10 1 General
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
of the most useful and portable utilities. They carefully marked many
features that had portability problems and the working group avoided them
for this standard.
AT&T, X/Open, and Berkeley provided machine-readable documentation for
the use of the working group. However, due to very substantial
differences in formatting standards, there is little resemblance between
some of the utilities described here and their cousins in the _S_V_I_D, _X_P_G,
and BSD user manual. Nevertheless, early usage of these documents was an
invaluable aid in the production of the standard and the POSIX.2 working
group extends its sincere thanks to all three organizations for their
generous cooperation.
The biggest divergence in POSIX.2's documentation has been its philosophy
of fully specifying interfaces. The _S_V_I_D and _X_P_G are oriented solely
towards application portability. Implementors would have a difficult
time writing some of these utilities from the descriptions alone. In
fact, both documents freely rely on the potential implementors licensing
the source code for the reference systems to complete the specification.
The POSIX.2 standard, on the other hand, also has implementors in its
audience and it strove to expand its descriptions wherever useful and
feasible. For example, it makes use of BNF grammars to describe complex
syntaxes. It attempts to describe the interactions between options,
operands, and environment variables, where conflicts can exist. It also
attempts to describe all of the useful utility input and output formats.
The goal here was to allow application developers to write filters or
other programs that could parse the output of any of these utilities or
to provide meaningful input from their programs. To the working group's
knowledge, this is a task never before attempted for the historical UNIX
system commands-the source code was always so readily available to anyone
who really needed to know this information.
The two commercial books listed were used as reference materials in
preparing information on the shell and the _a_w_k language that was more
recent and complete than AT&T's or X/Open's documentation.
1.1.1.5 History. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
The _1_9_8_4 /_u_s_r/_g_r_o_u_p _S_t_a_n_d_a_r_d was originally intended to include the shell
and user level commands. However, the /usr/group (now known as
``UniForum'') Standards Committee was unable to begin this effort, due to
the complexity of the system call and library functions that it
eventually did publish.
A shell was referred to in the _s_y_s_t_e_m() function defined by _A_N_S_I/_X_3._1_5_9-
_1_9_8_9 _P_r_o_g_r_a_m_m_i_n_g _L_a_n_g_u_a_g_e _C _S_t_a_n_d_a_r_d, but no syntax for the shell command
language was attempted.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
1.1 Scope 11
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
As the first version of POSIX.1 {8} neared completion, it became apparent
that the usefulness of POSIX would be diminished if no shell or utilities
were defined. Therefore, the POSIX.2 working group was formed in January
1986 at the Denver, Colorado, meeting of POSIX.1 {8} to address this
concern.
The progress of the working group has seemed rather slow during the more
than three years of its existence. This is primarily because its
membership had substantial overlap with the POSIX.1 {8} working group;
for example, the Chair of POSIX.2 was also the Technical Editor of
POSIX.1 {8} (and POSIX.2 as well!) at the time. And, meetings were
arbitrarily shortened to allow the POSIX.1 {8} group to move forward as
quickly as possible.
1.1.1.6 Internationalization. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
Some of the utilities and concepts described in this standard contain
requirements that standardize multilingual and multicultural support.
Most of the internationalized support for this standard was proposed by
the UniForum Technical Committee Subcommittee on Internationalization, at
the request of the POSIX.2 working group.
UniForum, a nonprofit organization, organizes subcommittees of Technical
Committees to do standards research on different topics pertinent to
POSIX. The UniForum Subcommittee on Internationalization is one such
group. It was formed to propose and promote standard internationalized
extensions to POSIX-based systems. The POSIX.2 working group and the
UniForum Subcommittee on Internationalization coordinated their work by
the use of liaison members, who attended the meetings of both groups.
The interaction between the two groups started when POSIX.2 asked the
Subcommittee on Internationalization to provide internationalized support
for regular expressions. Later, the Subcommittee on Internationalization
was charged with identifying areas in the standard needing changes for
internationalized support and proposing those changes.
1.1.1.7 Test Methods. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
The POSIX.3 working group has worked on a test methods specification for
verifying conformance to POSIX standards in general and POSIX.1 {8} and
POSIX.2 in particular. Test methods for POSIX.2 should be published as a
separate document1) sometime after POSIX.2 is approved.
__________
1) See the Foreword for information on the activities of other POSIX
working groups.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
12 1 General
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
1.1.1.8 Organization of the Standard. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f
_P_1_0_0_3._2)
The standard document is organized into sections. Some of these, such as
the Scope in 1.1, are mandated by ISO/IEC, the IEEE, and other standards
bodies. The remainder of the document is organized into small sections
for the convenience of the working group and others. It has been
suggested that all of the utility descriptions (and maybe the functions,
too) should be lumped into one large section, all in alphabetical order.
This would presumably make it easier for some users to use the document
as a reference document. The working group deliberately chose to not
organize it in this way, for the following reasons:
(1) Certain sections are optional. It is more convenient for the
document's internal references, and also for people specifying
systems, if these optional sections are in large pieces, rather
than a detailed list of utility names.
(2) Future supplements to this standard will be adding new utilities
that will also be optional. It would be confusing to try to
merge documents at a level below major sections (chapters).
END_RATIONALE
1.2 Normative References
The following standards contain provisions which, through references in
this text, constitute provisions of this standard. At the time of
publication, the editions indicated were valid. All standards are
subject to revision, and parties to agreements based on this part of this
International Standard are encouraged to investigate the possibility of
applying the most recent editions of the standards listed below. Members
of IEC and ISO maintain registers of currently valid International
Standards.
{1} ISO/IEC 646: 1983,2) _I_n_f_o_r_m_a_t_i_o_n _p_r_o_c_e_s_s_i_n_g--_I_S_O _7-_b_i_t _c_o_d_e_d
_c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r _s_e_t _f_o_r _i_n_f_o_r_m_a_t_i_o_n _i_n_t_e_r_c_h_a_n_g_e.
__________
2) Under revision. (This notation is meant to explicitly reference the
1990 Draft International Standard version of ISO/IEC 646.)
ISO/IEC documents can be obtained from the ISO office, 1, rue de
Varembe', Case Postale 56, CH-1211, Gene`ve 20, Switzerland/Suisse.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
1.2 Normative References 13
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
{2} ISO 1539: 1980, _P_r_o_g_r_a_m_m_i_n_g _l_a_n_g_u_a_g_e_s--_F_O_R_T_R_A_N.
{3} ISO 4217: 1987, _C_o_d_e_s _f_o_r _t_h_e _r_e_p_r_e_s_e_n_t_a_t_i_o_n _o_f _c_u_r_r_e_n_c_i_e_s _a_n_d
_f_u_n_d_s.
{4} ISO 4873: 1986, _I_n_f_o_r_m_a_t_i_o_n _p_r_o_c_e_s_s_i_n_g--_I_S_O _8-_b_i_t _c_o_d_e _f_o_r
_i_n_f_o_r_m_a_t_i_o_n _i_n_t_e_r_c_h_a_n_g_e--_S_t_r_u_c_t_u_r_e _a_n_d _r_u_l_e _f_o_r _i_m_p_l_e_m_e_n_t_a_t_i_o_n.
{5} ISO 8859-1: 1987, _I_n_f_o_r_m_a_t_i_o_n _p_r_o_c_e_s_s_i_n_g--_8-_b_i_t _s_i_n_g_l_e-_b_y_t_e _c_o_d_e_d
_g_r_a_p_h_i_c _c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r _s_e_t_s--_P_a_r_t _1: _L_a_t_i_n _a_l_p_h_a_b_e_t _N_o. _1.
{6} ISO 8859-2: 1987, _I_n_f_o_r_m_a_t_i_o_n _p_r_o_c_e_s_s_i_n_g--_8-_b_i_t _s_i_n_g_l_e-_b_y_t_e _c_o_d_e_d
_g_r_a_p_h_i_c _c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r _s_e_t_s--_P_a_r_t _2: _L_a_t_i_n _a_l_p_h_a_b_e_t _N_o. _2.
{7} ISO/IEC 9899: 1990, _I_n_f_o_r_m_a_t_i_o_n _p_r_o_c_e_s_s_i_n_g _s_y_s_t_e_m_s--_P_r_o_g_r_a_m_m_i_n_g 1
_l_a_n_g_u_a_g_e_s--_C.
{8} ISO/IEC 9945-1: 1990, _I_n_f_o_r_m_a_t_i_o_n _t_e_c_h_n_o_l_o_g_y--_P_o_r_t_a_b_l_e _O_p_e_r_a_t_i_n_g
_S_y_s_t_e_m _I_n_t_e_r_f_a_c_e (_P_O_S_I_X)--_P_a_r_t _1: _S_y_s_t_e_m _A_p_p_l_i_c_a_t_i_o_n _P_r_o_g_r_a_m
_I_n_t_e_r_f_a_c_e (_A_P_I) [_C _L_a_n_g_u_a_g_e]
1.3 Conformance
1.3.1 Implementation Conformance
1.3.1.1 Requirements
A _c_o_n_f_o_r_m_i_n_g _i_m_p_l_e_m_e_n_t_a_t_i_o_n shall meet all of the following criteria:
(1) The system shall support all required interfaces defined within
this standard. These interfaces shall support the functional
behavior described herein. The system shall provide the shell
command language described in Section 3 and the utilities in
Section 4.
(2) The system may provide one or more of the following: the
Software Development Utilities Option, the C Language Bindings
Option, the C Language Development Utilities Option, the FORTRAN
Development Utilities Option, or the FORTRAN Runtime Utilities
Option. When an implementation claims that an optional facility
is provided, all of its constituent parts shall be provided.
(3) The system may provide additional or enhanced utilities,
functions, or facilities not required by this standard.
Nonstandard extensions should be identified as such in the
system documentation. Nonstandard extensions, when used, may
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
14 1 General
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
change the behavior of utilities, functions, or facilities
defined by this standard. In such cases, the implementation's
conformance document (see 2.2.1.2) shall define an execution
environment (i.e., shall provide general operating instructions)
in which an application can be run with the behavior specified
by the standard. In no case shall such an environment require
modification of a Strictly Conforming POSIX.2 Application.
1.3.1.2 Documentation
A conformance document with the following information shall be available
for an implementation claiming conformance to this standard. The
conformance document shall have the same structure as this standard, with
the information presented in the appropriately numbered sections;
sections that consist solely of subordinate section titles, with no other
information, are not required.
The conformance document shall not contain information about extended
facilities or capabilities outside the scope of this standard, unless
those extensions affect the behavior of a Strictly Conforming POSIX.2
Application; in such cases, the documentation required by the previous
subclause shall be included.
The conformance document shall contain a statement that indicates the
full name, number, and date of the standard that applies. The
conformance document may also list software standards approved by ISO/IEC
or any ISO/IEC member body that are available for use by a Conforming
POSIX.2 Application. It should indicate whether it is based on a fully-
conformant POSIX.1 {8} system. Applicable characteristics where
documentation is required by one of these standards, or by standards of
government bodies, may also be included.
The conformance document shall describe the symbolic values found in
2.13.2, stating values, the conditions under which those values can
change, and the limits of such variations, if any.
The conformance document shall describe the behavior of the
implementation for all implementation-defined features defined in this
standard. This requirement shall be met by listing these features and
providing either a specific reference to the system documentation or
providing full syntax and semantics of these features. When the value or
behavior in the implementation is designed to be variable or customizable
on each instantiation of the system, the implementation provider shall
document the nature and permissible ranges of this variation. When
information required by this standard is related to the underlying
operating system and is already available in the POSIX.1 {8} conformance
document, the implementation need not duplicate this information in the
POSIX.2 conformance document, but may provide a cross-reference for this
purpose.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
1.3 Conformance 15
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
The conformance document may specify the behavior of the implementation
for those features where this standard states that implementations may
vary or where features are identified as undefined or unspecified.
No specifications other than those described in this subclause (1.3.1.2)
shall be present in the conformance document.
The phrase ``shall be documented'' in this standard means that
documentation of the feature shall appear in the conformance document, as
described previously, unless the system documentation is explicitly
mentioned.
The system documentation should also contain the information found in the
conformance document.
1.3.1.3 Conforming Implementation Options
The following symbolic constants, described in 2.13.2 reflect
implementation options for this standard that could warrant requirement
by Conforming POSIX.2 Applications, or in specifications of conforming
systems, or both:
{POSIX2_SW_DEV} The system supports the Software Development
Utilities Option in Section 6.
{POSIX2_C_BIND} The system supports the C Language Bindings
Option in Annex B.
{POSIX2_C_DEV} The system supports the C Language Development
Utilities Option in Annex A.
{POSIX2_FORT_DEV} The system supports the FORTRAN Development
Utilities Option in Annex C.
{POSIX2_FORT_RUN} The system supports the FORTRAN Runtime
Utilities Option in Annex C.
{POSIX2_LOCALEDEF} The system supports the creation of locales as
described in 4.35.
Additional language bindings and development utility options may be
provided in other related standards or in future revisions to this
standard. In the former case, additional symbolic constants of the same
general form as shown in this subclause should be defined by the related
standard document and made available to the application, without
requiring this POSIX.2 document to be updated.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
16 1 General
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
1.3.2 Application Conformance
All applications claiming conformance to this standard fall within one of
the following categories:
1.3.2.1 Strictly Conforming POSIX.2 Application
A Strictly Conforming POSIX.2 Application is an application that requires
only the facilities described in this standard (including any required
facilities of the underlying operating system; see 2.9.1). Such an
application:
(1) shall accept any implementation behavior that results from
actions it takes in areas described in this standard as
_i_m_p_l_e_m_e_n_t_a_t_i_o_n-_d_e_f_i_n_e_d or _u_n_s_p_e_c_i_f_i_e_d, or where the standard
indicates that implementations may vary;
(2) shall not perform any actions that are described as producing
_u_n_d_e_f_i_n_e_d results;
(3) for symbolic constants, shall accept any value in the range
permitted by this standard, but shall not rely on any value in
the range being greater than the minimums listed in this
standard;
(4) shall not use facilities designated as _o_b_s_o_l_e_s_c_e_n_t;
(5) is required to tolerate, and is permitted to adapt to, the 1
presence or absence of optional facilities whose availability is 1
indicated by the constants in 2.13.1, or that are described 1
using the verb _m_a_y. However, an application requiring a high- 1
level language binding option can only be considered at best a
Conforming POSIX.2 Application; see 1.3.2.2.
Within this standard, any restrictions placed upon a Conforming POSIX.2
Application shall also restrict a Strictly Conforming POSIX.2
Application.
1.3.2.2 Conforming POSIX.2 Application
The term Conforming POSIX.2 Application is used to describe either of the
two following application types.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
1.3 Conformance 17
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
1.3.2.2.1 ISO/IEC Conforming POSIX.2 Application
An ISO/IEC Conforming POSIX.2 Application is an application that uses
only the facilities described in this standard (including the implied
facilities of the underlying operating system; see 2.9.1) and approved
conforming language bindings for any ISO/IEC standard. Such an
application shall include a statement of conformance that documents all
options and limit dependencies, and all other ISO/IEC standards used.
1.3.2.2.2 <National Body> Conforming POSIX.2 Application
A <National Body> Conforming POSIX.2 Application differs from an ISO/IEC
Conforming POSIX.2 Application in that it also may use specific standards
of a single ISO/IEC member body referred to here as ``<_N_a_t_i_o_n_a_l _B_o_d_y>.''
Such an application shall include a statement of conformance that
documents all options and limit dependencies, and all other <_N_a_t_i_o_n_a_l
_B_o_d_y> standards used.
1.3.2.3 Conforming POSIX.2 Application Using Extensions
A Conforming POSIX.2 Application Using Extensions is an application that
differs from a Conforming POSIX.2 Application only in that it uses
nonstandard facilities that are consistent with this standard. Such an
application shall fully document its requirements for these extended
facilities, in addition to the documentation required of a Conforming
POSIX.2 Application. A Conforming POSIX.2 Application Using Extensions
shall be either an ISO/IEC Conforming POSIX.2 Application Using
Extensions or a <National Body> Conforming POSIX.2 Application Using
Extensions (see 1.3.2.2.1 and 1.3.2.2.2).
BEGIN_RATIONALE
1.3.3 Conformance Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
These conformance definitions are closely related to those in
POSIX.1 {8}.
The terms _C_o_n_f_o_r_m_i_n_g _P_O_S_I_X._2 _A_p_p_l_i_c_a_t_i_o_n and its variants were selected
to parallel the terms used in POSIX.1 {8}.
The descriptions of the ISO/IEC and <National Body> Conforming POSIX.2
Applications are similar to the same descriptions in POSIX.1 {8}. This
is not a duplication of effort, as this standard relies on only a portion
of POSIX.1 {8}, as explained in 1.1 and 2.9.1. Therefore conformance to
POSIX.2 has to be described separately from any conformance options or
requirements in POSIX.1 {8}.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
18 1 General
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
A reference to a Language-Independent System Services Option was removed
from the list of optional features that may be provided by the conforming
implementation. There is no conformance value provided by that section,
except as a reference point for functions actually provided by a real
language binding. Therefore, the language binding sections are the ones
that remain in the optional list. The Draft 8 section Language-Dependent
Services for the C Programming Language was removed, as this subject is
adequately, and appropriately, covered in Annex A.
The documentation requirement for implementation extensions (``shall
define an execution environment'') is simply meant to require that
system-wide or per-user configuration options or environment variables
that affect the operation of applications that use the standard utilities
and functions be described in the conformance document. For example, if
setting the (imaginary) LC_TRUTH variable causes changes in the exit
status of true, the conformance document must describe this condition and
how to avoid it--say, by unsetting the variable in the login script.
For further rationale on the types of conformance, see the POSIX.1 {8}
Rationale.
END_RATIONALE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
1.3 Conformance 19
P1003.2/D11.2
Section 2: Terminology and General Requirements
2.1 Conventions
2.1.1 Editorial Conventions
This standard uses the following editorial and typographical conventions.
A summary of typographical conventions is shown in Table 2-1.
The Bold Courier font is used to show brackets that denote optional
arguments in a utility synopsis, as in
cut [-_c _l_i_s_t] [_f_i_l_e__n_a_m_e]
These brackets shall not be used by the application unless they are
specifically mentioned as literal input characters by the utility
description.
There are two types of symbols enclosed in angle brackets (< >):
C-Language Headers The header name is in the Courier font, such as
<sys/stat.h>. When coding C programs, the
brackets are used as required by the language.
Parameters Parameters, also called _m_e_t_a_v_a_r_i_a_b_l_e_s, are in
italics, such as <_d_i_r_e_c_t_o_r_y _p_a_t_h_n_a_m_e>. The
entire symbol, including the brackets, is meant
to be replaced by the value of the symbol
described within the brackets.
Numbers within braces, such as ``POSIX.1 {8},'' represent cross
references to the Normative References clause (see 1.2). If the number
is preceded by a B, it represents a Bibliographic entry (see Annex D).
Bibliographic entries are for information only.
In some examples, the Bold Courier font is used to indicate the system's
output that resulted from some user input, shown in Courier.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.1 Conventions 21
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
Table 2-1 - Typographical Conventions
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Reference Example
___________________________________________________________________
C-Language Data Type _l_o_n_g
C-Language Function _s_y_s_t_e_m()
C-Language Function Argument _a_r_g_1
C-Language Global External _e_r_r_n_o
C-Language Header <sys/stat.h>
C-Language Keyword #define
Cross Reference: Annex Annex A
Cross Reference: Clause 2.3
Cross Reference: Other Standard ISO 9999-1 {_n}
Cross Reference: Section Section 2
Cross Reference: Subclause 2.3.4, 2.3.4.5, 2.3.4.5.6
Defined Term (see text)
Environment Variable PATH
Error Number [EINTR]
Example Input echo foo
Example Output foo
Figure Reference Figure 7
File Name /tmp
Parameter <_d_i_r_e_c_t_o_r_y _p_a_t_h_n_a_m_e>
Special Character <newline>
Symbolic Constant, Limit {_POSIX_VDISABLE}, {LINE_MAX}
Table Reference Table 6
Utility Name awk
Utility Operand _f_i_l_e__n_a_m_e
Utility Option -c
Utility Option with Option-Argument -w _w_i_d_t_h
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Defined terms are shown in three styles, depending on context:
(1) Terms defined in 2.2.1, 2.2.2, and 3.1 are expressed as
subclause titles. Alternative forms of the terms appear in
[brackets].
(2) The initial appearances of other terms, applying to a limited
portion of the text, are in _i_t_a_l_i_c_s.
(3) Subsequent appearances of the term are in the Roman font.
Symbolic constants are shown in two styles: those within curly braces
are intended to call the reader's attention to values in <limits.h> and
<unistd.h>; those without braces are usually defined by one or a few
related functions. There is no semantic difference between these two
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
22 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
forms of presentation.
Filenames and pathnames are shown in Courier. When a pathname is shown
starting with ``$HOME/'', this indicates the remaining components of the
pathname are to be related to the directory named by the user's HOME
environment variable.
The style selected for some of the special characters, such as <newline>,
matches the form of the input given to the localedef utility (see 2.5.2).
Generally, the characters selected for this special treatment are those
that are not visually distinct, such as the control characters <tab> or
<newline>.
Literal characters and strings used as input or output are shown in
various ways, depending on context:
%, begin When no confusion would result, the character or string is
rendered in the Courier font and used directly in the
text.
'c' In some cases a character is enclosed in single-quote
characters, similar to a C-language character constant.
Unless otherwise noted, the quotes shall not be used as
input or output.
"string" In some cases, a string is enclosed in double-quote
characters, similar to a C-language string constant.
Unless otherwise noted, the quotes shall not be used as
input or output.
Defined names that are usually in lowercase, particularly function names,
are never used at the beginning of a sentence or anywhere else that
regular English usage would require them to be capitalized.
Parenthetical expressions within normative text also contain normative
information. The general typographic hierarchy of parenthetical
expressions is:
{ [ ( ) ] }
The square brackets are most frequently used to enclose a parenthetical
expression that contains a function name [such as _w_a_i_t_p_i_d()], with its
built-in parentheses.
In some cases, tabular information is presented inline; in others it is
presented in a separately-labeled Table. This arrangement was employed
purely for ease of reference and there is no normative difference between
these two cases.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.1 Conventions 23
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
Annexes marked as _n_o_r_m_a_t_i_v_e are parts of the standard that pose
requirements, exactly the same as the numbered Sections, but have been
moved to near the end of the document for clarity of exposition.
_I_n_f_o_r_m_a_t_i_v_e Annexes are for information only and pose no requirements.
All material preceding page 1 of the document (the ``front matter'') and
the two indexes at the end are also only informative.
NOTES that appear in a smaller point size and are indented have one of
two different meanings, depending on their location:
- When they are within the normal text of the document, they are the
same as footnotes--informative, posing no requirements on
implementations or applications.
- When they are attached to Tables or Figures, they are normative,
posing requirements.
Text marked as examples (including the use of ``e.g.'') is for
information only. The exception to this comes in the C-language programs
and program fragments used to represent algorithms, as described in
2.1.3.
The typographical conventions listed here are for ease of reading only.
Editorial inconsistencies in the use of typography are unintentional and
have no normative meaning in this standard.
2.1.2 Grammar Conventions
Portions of this standard are expressed in terms of a special grammar
notation. It is used to portray the complex syntax of certain program
input. The grammar is based on the syntax used by the yacc utility (see
A.3). However, it does not represent fully functional yacc input,
suitable for program use: the lexical processing and all semantic
requirements are described only in textual form. The grammar is not
based on source used in any traditional implementation and has not been
tested with the semantic code that would normally be required to
accompany it. Furthermore, there is no implication that the partial yacc
code presented represents the most efficient, or only, means of
supporting the complex syntax within the utility. Implementations may
use other programming languages or algorithms, as long as the syntax
supported is the same as that represented by the grammar.
The following typographical conventions are used in the grammar; they
have no significance except to aid in reading.
- The identifiers for the reserved words of the language are shown
with a leading capital letter. (These are terminals in the
grammar. Examples: While, Case.)
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
24 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
- The identifiers for terminals in the grammar are all named with 1
uppercase letters and underscores. Examples: NEWLINE, ASSIGN_OP, 1
NAME. 1
- The identifiers for nonterminals are all lowercase.
2.1.3 Miscellaneous Conventions
This standard frequently uses the C language to express algorithms in
terms of programs or program fragments. The following shall be
considered in reading this code:
- The programs use the syntax and semantics described by the
C Standard {7}.
- The programs are merely examples and do not represent the most
efficient, or only, means of coding the interface. Implementations
may use other programming languages or algorithms, as long as the
results are the same as those achieved by the programs in this
standard.
- C-language comments are informative and pose no requirements.
Further conventions are presented in:
- Utility Conventions, 2.10, describing utility and application
command-line syntax
- File Format Notation, 2.12, describing the notation used to
represent utility input and output
2.1.4 Conventions Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
The C language was chosen for many examples because:
- It eliminates any requirement to document a different pseudocode.
- It is a familiar language to many of the potential readers of
POSIX.2.
- It is the language most widely used for historical implementations
of the utilities.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.1 Conventions 25
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
2.2 Definitions
2.2.1 Terminology
For the purposes of this standard, the following definitions apply:
2.2.1.1 can: The word _c_a_n is to be interpreted as describing a
permissible optional feature or behavior available to the application;
the implementation shall support such features or behaviors as mandatory
requirements.
2.2.1.2 conformance document: A document provided by an implementor
that contains implementation details as described in 1.3.1.2.
2.2.1.3 implementation: An object providing to applications and users
the services defined by this standard. The word _i_m_p_l_e_m_e_n_t_a_t_i_o_n is to be
interpreted to mean that object, after it has been modified in accordance
with the manufacturer's instructions to:
- configure it for conformance with this standard;
- select some of the various optional facilities described by this
standard, through customization by local system administrators or
operators.
An exception to this meaning occurs when discussing conformance
documentation or using the term _i_m_p_l_e_m_e_n_t_a_t_i_o_n _d_e_f_i_n_e_d. See 2.2.1.4 and
1.3.1.2.
2.2.1.4 implementation defined: When a value or behavior is described
by this standard as _i_m_p_l_e_m_e_n_t_a_t_i_o_n _d_e_f_i_n_e_d, the implementation provider
shall document the requirements for correct program construction and
correct data in the use of that value or behavior. When the value or
behavior in the implementation is designed to be variable or customizable
on each instantiation of the system, the implementation provider shall
document the nature and permissible ranges of this variation. (See
1.3.1.2.)
2.2.1.5 may: The word _m_a_y is to be interpreted as describing an
optional feature or behavior of the implementation that is not required
by this standard, but there is no prohibition against providing it. A 1
Strictly Conforming POSIX.2 Application is permitted to use such 1
features, but shall not rely on the implementation's actions in such 1
cases. To avoid ambiguity, the reverse sense of _m_a_y is not expressed as 1
_m_a_y _n_o_t, but as _n_e_e_d _n_o_t.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
26 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
2.2.1.6 obsolescent: Certain features are _o_b_s_o_l_e_s_c_e_n_t, which means that
they may be considered for withdrawal in future revisions of this
standard. They are retained in this version because of their widespread
use. Their use in new applications is discouraged.
2.2.1.7 shall: In this standard, the word _s_h_a_l_l is to be interpreted as
a requirement on the implementation or on Strictly Conforming POSIX.2
Applications, where appropriate.
2.2.1.8 should: With respect to implementations, the word _s_h_o_u_l_d is to
be interpreted as an implementation recommendation, but not a
requirement. With respect to applications, the word _s_h_o_u_l_d is to be
interpreted as recommended programming practice for applications and a
requirement for Strictly Conforming POSIX.2 Applications.
2.2.1.9 system documentation: All documentation provided with an
implementation, except the conformance document. Electronically
distributed documents for an implementation are considered part of the
system documentation.
2.2.1.10 undefined: A value or behavior is _u_n_d_e_f_i_n_e_d if the standard
imposes no portability requirements on applications for erroneous program
construction, erroneous data, or use of an indeterminate value.
Implementations (or other standards) may specify the result of using that
value or causing that behavior. An application using such behaviors is
using extensions, as defined in 1.3.2.3.
2.2.1.11 unspecified: A value or behavior is _u_n_s_p_e_c_i_f_i_e_d if the
standard imposes no portability requirements on applications for a
correct program construction or correct data. Implementations (or other
standards) may specify the result of using that value or causing that
behavior. An application requiring a specific behavior, rather than
tolerating any behavior when using that functionality, is using
extensions, as defined in 1.3.2.3.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
2.2.1.12 Terminology Rationale (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
Most of these terms were adapted from their POSIX.1 {8} counterparts with
little modification.
The reader is referred to the definition of _p_r_o_g_r_a_m in 2.2.2.119 to
understand the expression ``program construction.'' The use of _p_r_o_g_r_a_m
in this standard is differentiated from POSIX.1 {8}'s emphasis only on
high level languages by this standard's broader concern with utility and
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.2 Definitions 27
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
command language interactions. Included in the scope of program
construction are:
(1) Shell command language
(2) Command arguments
(3) Regular expressions, of various types
(4) Command input language syntax, such as awk, bc, ed, lex, make,
sed, and yacc. Some of these are so complex that they rival
traditional high level languages.
The usage of _c_a_n and _m_a_y were selected to contrast optional application
behavior (can) against optional implementation behavior (may).
The term _s_u_p_p_o_r_t_e_d was removed from Draft 8; it had originally been
copied from the POSIX.1 {8} document, but it later became clear that its
requirement for function ``stubs'' for unsupported functions made little
sense in this standard. The term _s_u_p_p_o_r_t therefore reverts to its
English-language meaning.
The term _o_b_s_o_l_e_s_c_e_n_t was changed to _d_e_p_r_e_c_a_t_e_d in some earlier drafts,
but it was restored to match POSIX.1 {8}'s use of the term. It means
``do not use this feature in new applications.'' The obsolescence
concept is not an ideal solution, but was used as a method of increasing
consensus: many more objections would be heard from the user community
if some of these historical features were suddenly withdrawn without the
grace period obsolescence implies. The phrase ``may be considered for
withdrawal in future revisions'' implies that the result of that
consideration might in fact keep those features indefinitely if the
predominance of applications does not migrate away from them quickly.
END_RATIONALE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
28 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
2.2.2 General Terms
For the purposes of this standard, the following definitions apply.
2.2.2.1 absolute pathname: See _p_a_t_h_n_a_m_e _r_e_s_o_l_u_t_i_o_n in 2.2.2.104.
2.2.2.2 address space: The memory locations that can be referenced by a
process. [POSIX.1 {8}]
2.2.2.3 affirmative response: An input string that matches one of the
responses acceptable to the LC_MESSAGES category keyword yesexpr,
matching an extended regular expression in the current locale; see 2.5.
2.2.2.4 <alert>: A character that in the output stream shall indicate 1
that a terminal should alert its user via a visual or audible 1
notification.
The <alert> shall be the character designated by '\a' in the C language
binding. It is unspecified whether this character is the exact sequence
transmitted to an output device by the system to accomplish the alert
function.
2.2.2.5 angle brackets: The characters ``<'' (_l_e_f_t-_a_n_g_l_e-_b_r_a_c_k_e_t) and
``>'' (_r_i_g_h_t-_a_n_g_l_e-_b_r_a_c_k_e_t).
When used in the phrase ``enclosed in angle brackets'' the symbol ``<''
shall immediately precede the object to be enclosed, and ``>'' shall
immediately follow it. When describing these characters in 2.4, the
names <less-than-sign> and <greater-than-sign> are used.
2.2.2.6 appropriate privileges: An implementation-defined means of
associating privileges with a process with regard to the function calls
and function call options defined in POSIX.1 {8} that need special
privileges.
There may be zero or more such means. [POSIX.1 {8}]
2.2.2.7 argument: A parameter passed to a utility as the equivalent of
a single string in the _a_r_g_v array created by one of the POSIX.1 {8} _e_x_e_c
functions.
See 2.10.1 and 3.9.1.1. An argument is one of the options, option-
arguments, or operands following the command name.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.2 Definitions 29
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
2.2.2.8 asterisk: The character ``*''.
2.2.2.9 background process: A process that is a member of a background
process group. [POSIX.1 {8}]
2.2.2.10 background process group: Any process group, other than a
foreground process group, that is a member of a session that has
established a connection with a controlling terminal. [POSIX.1 {8}]
2.2.2.11 backquote: The character ```'', also known as a _g_r_a_v_e _a_c_c_e_n_t.
2.2.2.12 backslash: The character ``\'', also known as a _r_e_v_e_r_s_e
_s_o_l_i_d_u_s.
2.2.2.13 <backspace>: A character that normally causes printing (or
displaying) to occur one column position previous to the position about
to be printed.
The <backspace> shall be the character designated by '\b' in the C
language binding. It is unspecified whether this character is the exact
sequence transmitted to an output device by the system to accomplish the
backspace function. The <backspace> character defined here is not
necessarily the ERASE special character defined in POSIX.1 {8} 7.1.1.9.
2.2.2.14 basename: The final, or only, filename in a pathname.
2.2.2.15 basic regular expression: A pattern (sequence of characters or
symbols) constructed according to the rules defined in 2.8.3.
2.2.2.16 <blank>: One of the characters that belong to the blank
character class as defined via the LC_CTYPE category in the current
locale.
In the POSIX Locale, a <blank> is either a <tab> or a <space>.
2.2.2.17 blank line: A line consisting solely of zero or more <blank>s
terminated by a <newline>.
See also _e_m_p_t_y _l_i_n_e (2.2.2.44).
2.2.2.18 block special file: A file that refers to a device.
A block special file is normally distinguished from a character special
file by providing access to the device in a manner such that the hardware
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
30 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
characteristics of the device are not visible. [POSIX.1 {8}]
2.2.2.19 braces: The characters ``{'' (_l_e_f_t _b_r_a_c_e) and ``}'' (_r_i_g_h_t
_b_r_a_c_e), also known as _c_u_r_l_y _b_r_a_c_e_s.
When used in the phrase ``enclosed in (curly) braces'' the symbol ``{''
shall immediately precede the object to be enclosed, and ``}'' shall
immediately follow it. When describing these characters in 2.4, the
names <left-brace> and <right-brace> are used.
2.2.2.20 brackets: The characters ``['' (_l_e_f_t-_b_r_a_c_k_e_t) and ``]''
(_r_i_g_h_t-_b_r_a_c_k_e_t), also known as _s_q_u_a_r_e _b_r_a_c_k_e_t_s.
When used in the phrase ``enclosed in (square) brackets'' the symbol
``['' shall immediately precede the object to be enclosed, and ``]''
shall immediately follow it. When describing these characters in 2.4,
the names <left-square-bracket> and <right-square-bracket> are used.
2.2.2.21 built-in utility: A utility implemented within a shell.
The utilities referred to as _s_p_e_c_i_a_l _b_u_i_l_t-_i_n_s have special qualities,
described in 3.14. Unless qualified, the term _b_u_i_l_t-_i_n includes the
special built-in utilities.
The utilities referred to as _r_e_g_u_l_a_r _b_u_i_l_t-_i_n_s are those named in
Table 2-2. As indicated in 2.3, there is no requirement that these
utilities be actually built into the shell on the implementation, but
that they do have special command-search qualities.
2.2.2.22 byte: An individually addressable unit of data storage that is 1
equal to or larger than an octet, used to store a character or a portion 1
of a character; see 2.2.2.24. 1
A byte is composed of a contiguous sequence of bits, the number of which 1
is implementation defined. The least significant bit is called the _l_o_w-
_o_r_d_e_r bit; the most significant is called the _h_i_g_h-_o_r_d_e_r bit.
[POSIX.1 {8}]
NOTE: This definition of _b_y_t_e is actually from the C Standard {7}
because POSIX.1 {8} merely references it without copying the text. It 1
has been reworded slightly to clarify its intent without introducing the 1
C Standard {7} terminology ``basic execution character set,'' which is 1
inapplicable to this standard. It deviates intentionally from the usage 1
of _b_y_t_e in some other standards, where it is used as a synonym for _o_c_t_e_t 1
(always eight bits). On a POSIX.1 {8} system, a byte may be larger than 1
eight bits so that it can be an integral portion of larger data objects 1
that are not evenly divisible by eight bits (such as a 36-bit word that 1
contains 4 9-bit bytes). 1
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.2 Definitions 31
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
2.2.2.23 <carriage-return>: A character that in the output stream shall 1
indicate that printing should start at the beginning of the same physical
line in which the <carriage-return> occurred.
The <carriage-return> shall be the character designated by '\r' in the C
language binding. It is unspecified whether this character is the exact
sequence transmitted to an output device by the system to accomplish the
movement to the beginning of the line.
2.2.2.24 character: A sequence of one or more bytes representing a
single graphic symbol.
NOTE: This term corresponds in the C Standard {7} to the term _m_u_l_t_i_b_y_t_e
_c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r, noting that a single-byte character is a special case of
multibyte character. Unlike the usage in the C Standard {7}, _c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r
here has no necessary relationship with storage space, and _b_y_t_e is used
when storage space is discussed.
[POSIX.1 {8}]
(See 2.4 for a further explanation of the graphical representations of
characters, or ``glyphs,'' versus character encodings.)
2.2.2.25 character class: A named set of characters sharing an
attribute associated with the name of the class.
The classes and the characters that they contain are dependent on the
value of the LC_CTYPE category in the current locale; see 2.5.
2.2.2.26 character special file: A file that refers to a device.
One specific type of character special file is a terminal device file,
whose access is defined in POSIX.1 {8} section 7.1. Other character
special files have no structure defined by this standard, and their use
is unspecified by this standard. [POSIX.1 {8}]
2.2.2.27 circumflex: The character ``^''.
2.2.2.28 collating element: The smallest entity used to determine the
logical ordering of strings.
See _c_o_l_l_a_t_i_o_n _s_e_q_u_e_n_c_e (2.2.2.30). A collating element shall consist of
either a single character, or two or more characters collating as a
single entity. The value of the LC_COLLATE category in the current
locale determines the current set of collating elements.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
32 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
2.2.2.29 collation: The logical ordering of strings according to
defined precedence rules.
These rules identify a collation sequence between the collating elements,
and such additional rules that can be used to order strings consisting of
multiple collating elements.
2.2.2.30 collation sequence: The relative order of collating elements
as determined by the setting of the LC_COLLATE category in the current
locale.
The character order, as defined for the LC_COLLATE category in the 2
current locale (see 2.5.2.2), defines the relative order of all collating 2
elements, such that each element occupies a unique position in the order. 2
In addition, one or more collation weights can be assigned for each 2
collating element; these weights are used to determine the relative order 2
of strings in, e.g., the sort utility. 2
Multilevel sorting is accomplished by assigning elements one or more
collation weights, up to the limit {COLL_WEIGHTS_MAX}. On each level,
elements may be given the same weight (at the primary level, called an 1
_e_q_u_i_v_a_l_e_n_c_e _c_l_a_s_s; see 2.2.2.47) or be omitted from the sequence.
Strings that collate equal using the first assigned weight (primary
ordering), are then compared using the next assigned weight (secondary
ordering), and so on.
2.2.2.31 column position: A unit of horizontal measure related to
characters in a line. 2
It is assumed that each character in a character set has an intrinsic 2
column width independent of any output device. Each printable character 2
in the portable character set has a column width of one. The standard 2
utilities, when used as described in this standard, assume that all 2
characters have integral column widths. The column width of a character 2
is not necessarily related to the internal representation of the 2
character (numbers of bits or octets). 2
The column position of a character in a line is defined as one plus the 2
sum of the column widths of the preceding characters in the line. Column 2
positions are numbered starting from 1.
2.2.2.32 command: A directive to the shell to perform a particular
task; see 3.9.
2.2.2.33 current working directory: See _w_o_r_k_i_n_g _d_i_r_e_c_t_o_r_y in 2.2.2.159.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.2 Definitions 33
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
2.2.2.34 command language interpreter: See 2.2.2.133.
2.2.2.35 directory: A file that contains directory entries.
No two directory entries in the same directory shall have the same name.
[POSIX.1 {8}]
2.2.2.36 directory entry [link]: An object that associates a filename
with a file.
Several directory entries can associate names with the same file.
[POSIX.1 {8}]
2.2.2.37 dollar-sign: The character ``$''.
This standard permits the substitution of the ``currency symbol'' graphic
defined in ISO/IEC 646 {1} for this symbol when the character set being
used has substituted that graphic for the graphic $. The graphic symbol
$ is always used in this standard, but not in any monetary sense.
2.2.2.38 dot: The filename consisting of a single dot character (.).
See _p_a_t_h_n_a_m_e _r_e_s_o_l_u_t_i_o_n in 2.2.2.104. [POSIX.1 {8}]
In the context of shell special built-in utilities, see 3.14.4.
2.2.2.39 dot-dot: The filename consisting solely of two dot characters
(..).
See _p_a_t_h_n_a_m_e _r_e_s_o_l_u_t_i_o_n in 2.2.2.104. [POSIX.1 {8}]
2.2.2.40 double-quote: The character ``"'', also known as _q_u_o_t_a_t_i_o_n-
_m_a_r_k.
2.2.2.41 effective group ID: An attribute of a process that is used in
determining various permissions, including file access permissions,
described in 2.2.2.55.
See _g_r_o_u_p _I_D. This value is subject to change during the process
lifetime, as described in POSIX.1 {8} 3.1.2 (_e_x_e_c) and 4.2.2 [_s_e_t_g_i_d()].
[POSIX.1 {8}]
2.2.2.42 effective user ID: An attribute of a process that is used in
determining various permissions, including file access permissions.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
34 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
See _u_s_e_r _I_D. This value is subject to change during the process
lifetime, as described in POSIX.1 {8} 3.1.2 (_e_x_e_c) and 4.2.2 [_s_e_t_u_i_d()].
[POSIX.1 {8}]
2.2.2.43 empty directory: A directory that contains, at most, directory
entries for dot and dot-dot. [POSIX.1 {8}]
2.2.2.44 empty line: A line consisting of only a <newline> character.
See also _b_l_a_n_k _l_i_n_e (2.2.2.17).
2.2.2.45 empty string [null string]: A character array whose first
element is a null character. [POSIX.1 {8}]
2.2.2.46 Epoch: The time 0 hours, 0 minutes, 0 seconds, January 1,
1970, Coordinated Universal Time.
See _s_e_c_o_n_d_s _s_i_n_c_e _t_h_e _E_p_o_c_h. [POSIX.1 {8}]
2.2.2.47 equivalence class: A set of collating elements with the same 1
primary collation weight. 1
Elements in an equivalence class are typically elements that naturally
group together, such as all accented letters based on the same base
letter.
The collation order of elements within an equivalence class is determined 1
by the weights assigned on any subsequent levels after the primary 1
weight. 1
2.2.2.48 executable file: A regular file acceptable as a new process
image file by the equivalent of the POSIX.1 {8} _e_x_e_c family of functions,
and thus usable as one form of a utility.
See _e_x_e_c in POSIX.1 {8} 3.1.2. The standard utilities described as
compilers can produce executable files, but other unspecified methods of
producing executable files may also be provided. The internal format of
an executable file is unspecified, but a conforming application shall not
assume an executable file is a text file.
2.2.2.49 execute: To perform the actions described in 3.9.1.1.
See also _i_n_v_o_k_e (2.2.2.79).
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.2 Definitions 35
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
2.2.2.50 extended regular expression: A pattern (sequence of characters
or symbols) constructed according to the rules defined in 2.8.4.
2.2.2.51 extended security controls: A concept of the underlying
system, as follows. [POSIX.1 {8}]
The access control (see _f_i_l_e _a_c_c_e_s_s _p_e_r_m_i_s_s_i_o_n_s) and privilege (see
_a_p_p_r_o_p_r_i_a_t_e _p_r_i_v_i_l_e_g_e_s in 2.2.2.6) mechanisms have been defined to allow
implementation-defined extended security controls. These permit an
implementation to provide security mechanisms to implement different
security policies than described in POSIX.1 {8}. These mechanisms shall
not alter or override the defined semantics of any of the functions in
POSIX.1 {8}.
2.2.2.52 feature test macro: A #defined symbol used to determine
whether a particular set of features will be included from a header.
See POSIX.1 {8} 2.7.1. [POSIX.1 {8}]
2.2.2.53 FIFO special file [FIFO]: A type of file with the property
that data written to such a file is read on a first-in-first-out basis.
Other characteristics of _F_I_F_Os are described in POSIX.1 {8} 5.3.1
[_o_p_e_n()], 6.4.1 [_r_e_a_d()], 6.4.2 [_w_r_i_t_e()], and 6.5.3 [_l_s_e_e_k()].
[POSIX.1 {8}]
2.2.2.54 file: An object that can be written to, or read from, or both.
A file has certain attributes, including access permissions and type.
File types include regular file, character special file, block special
file, FIFO special file, and directory. Other types of files may be
defined by the implementation. [POSIX.1 {8}]
2.2.2.55 file access permissions: A concept of the underlying system,
as follows. [POSIX.1 {8}]
The standard file access control mechanism uses the file permission bits,
as described below. These bits are set at file creation by _o_p_e_n(),
_c_r_e_a_t(), _m_k_d_i_r(), and _m_k_f_i_f_o() and are changed by _c_h_m_o_d(). These bits
are read by _s_t_a_t() or _f_s_t_a_t().
Implementations may provide _a_d_d_i_t_i_o_n_a_l or _a_l_t_e_r_n_a_t_e file access control
mechanisms, or both. An additional access control mechanism shall only
further restrict the access permissions defined by the file permission
bits. An alternate access control mechanism shall:
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
36 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
(1) Specify file permission bits for the file owner class, file
group class, and file other class of the file, corresponding to
the access permissions, to be returned by _s_t_a_t() or _f_s_t_a_t().
(2) Be enabled only by explicit user action, on a per-file basis by
the file owner or a user with the appropriate privilege.
(3) Be disabled for a file after the file permission bits are
changed for that file with _c_h_m_o_d(). The disabling of the
alternate mechanism need not disable any additional mechanisms
defined by an implementation.
Whenever a process requests file access permission for read, write, or
execute/search, if no additional mechanism denies access, access is
determined as follows:
(1) If a process has the appropriate privilege:
(a) If read, write, or directory search permission is
requested, access is granted.
(b) If execute permission is requested, access is granted if
execute permission is granted to at least one user by the
file permission bits or by an alternate access control
mechanism; otherwise, access is denied.
(2) Otherwise:
(a) The file permission bits of a file contain read, write,
and execute/search permissions for the file owner class,
file group class, and file other class.
(b) Access is granted if an alternate access control mechanism
is not enabled and the requested access permission bit is
set for the class (file owner class, file group class, or
file other class) to which the process belongs, or if an
alternate access control mechanism is enabled and it
allows the requested access; otherwise, access is denied.
2.2.2.56 file descriptor: A per-process unique, nonnegative integer
used to identify an open file for the purpose of file access.
[POSIX.1 {8}]
2.2.2.57 file group class: The property of a file indicating access
permissions for a process related to the process's group identification.
A process is in the file group class of a file if the process is not in
the file owner class and if the effective group ID or one of the
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.2 Definitions 37
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
supplementary group IDs of the process matches the group ID associated
with the file. Other members of the class may be implementation defined.
[POSIX.1 {8}]
2.2.2.58 file hierarchy: A concept of the underlying system, as
follows. [POSIX.1 {8}]
Files in the system are organized in a hierarchical structure in which
all of the nonterminal nodes are directories and all of the terminal
nodes are any other type of file. Because multiple directory entries may
refer to the same file, the hierarchy is properly described as a
``directed graph.''
2.2.2.59 file mode: An object containing the file permission bits and
other characteristics of a file, as described in POSIX.1 {8} 5.6.1.
[POSIX.1 {8}]
2.2.2.60 file mode bits: A file's file permission bits, set-user-ID-
on-execution bit (S_ISUID), and set-group-ID-on-execution bit (S_ISGID)
(see POSIX.1 {8} 5.6.1.2).
2.2.2.61 filename: A name consisting of 1 to {NAME_MAX} bytes used to
name a file.
The characters composing the name may be selected from the set of all
character values excluding the slash character and the null character.
The filenames dot and dot-dot have special meaning; see _p_a_t_h_n_a_m_e
_r_e_s_o_l_u_t_i_o_n in 2.2.2.104. A filename is sometimes referred to as a
pathname component. [POSIX.1 {8}]
2.2.2.62 filename portability: A concept of the underlying system, as
follows. [POSIX.1 {8}]
Filenames should be constructed from the portable filename character set
because the use of other characters can be confusing or ambiguous in
certain contexts.
2.2.2.63 file offset: The byte position in the file where the next I/O
operation begins.
Each open file description associated with a regular file, block special
file, or directory has a file offset. A character special file that does
not refer to a terminal device may have a file offset. There is no file
offset specified for a pipe or FIFO. [POSIX.1 {8}]
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
38 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
2.2.2.64 file other class: The property of a file indicating access
permissions for a process related to the process's user and group
identification.
A process is in the file other class of a file if the process is not in
the file owner class or file group class. [POSIX.1 {8}]
2.2.2.65 file owner class: The property of a file indicating access
permissions for a process related to the process's user identification.
A process is in the file owner class of a file if the effective user ID
of the process matches the user ID of the file. [POSIX.1 {8}]
2.2.2.66 file permission bits: Information about a file that is used,
along with other information, to determine if a process has read, write,
or execute/search permission to a file.
The bits are divided into three parts: owner, group, and other. Each
part is used with the corresponding file class of processes. These bits
are contained in the file mode, as described in POSIX.1 {8} 5.6.1. The
detailed usage of the file permission bits in access decisions is
described in _f_i_l_e _a_c_c_e_s_s _p_e_r_m_i_s_s_i_o_n_s in 2.2.2.55. [POSIX.1 {8}]
2.2.2.67 file serial number: A per-file-system unique identifier for a
file.
File serial numbers are unique throughout a file system. [POSIX.1 {8}]
2.2.2.68 file system: A collection of files and certain of their
attributes.
It provides a name space for file serial numbers referring to those
files. [POSIX.1 {8}]
2.2.2.69 file times update: A concept of the underlying system, as
follows. [POSIX.1 {8}]
Each file has three distinct associated time values: _s_t__a_t_i_m_e, _s_t__m_t_i_m_e,
and _s_t__c_t_i_m_e. The _s_t__a_t_i_m_e field is associated with the times that the
file data is accessed; _s_t__m_t_i_m_e is associated with the times that the
file data is modified; and _s_t__c_t_i_m_e is associated with the times that
file status is changed. These values are returned in the file
characteristics structure, as described in POSIX.1 {8} 5.6.1.
Any function in this standard that is required to read or write file data
or change the file status indicates which of the appropriate time-related
fields are to be ``marked for update.'' If an implementation of such a
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.2 Definitions 39
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
function marks for update a time-related field not specified by this
standard, this shall be documented, except that any changes caused by
pathname resolution need not be documented. For the other functions in
this standard (those that are not explicitly required to read or write
file data or change file status, but that in some implementations happen
to do so), the effect is unspecified.
An implementation may update fields that are marked for update
immediately, or it may update such fields periodically. When the fields
are updated, they are set to the current time and the update marks are
cleared. All fields that are marked for update shall be updated when the
file is no longer open by any process, or when a _s_t_a_t() or _f_s_t_a_t() is
performed on the file. Other times at which updates are done are
unspecified. Updates are not done for files on read-only file systems.
2.2.2.70 file type: See _f_i_l_e in 2.2.2.54.
2.2.2.71 filter: A command whose operation consists of reading data
from standard input or a list of input files and writing data to standard
output.
Typically, its function is to perform some transformation on the data
stream.
2.2.2.72 foreground process: A process that is a member of a foreground
process group. [POSIX.1 {8}]
2.2.2.73 foreground process group: A process group whose member
processes have certain privileges, denied to processes in background
process groups, when accessing their controlling terminal.
Each session that has established a connection with a controlling
terminal has exactly one process group of the session as the foreground
process group of that controlling terminal. See POSIX.1 {8} 7.1.1.4.
[POSIX.1 {8}]
2.2.2.74 <form-feed>: A character that in the output stream shall 1
indicate that printing should start on the next page of an output device.
The <form-feed> shall be the character designated by '\f' in the C
language binding. If <form-feed> is not the first character of an output
line, the result is unspecified. It is unspecified whether this
character is the exact sequence transmitted to an output device by the
system to accomplish the movement to the next page.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
40 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
2.2.2.75 group ID: A nonnegative integer, which can be contained in an
object of type _g_i_d__t, that is used to identify a group of system users.
Each system user is a member of at least one group. When the identity of
a group is associated with a process, a group ID value is referred to as
a real group ID, an effective group ID, one of the (optional)
supplementary group IDs, or an (optional) saved set-group-ID.
[POSIX.1 {8}]
2.2.2.76 hard link: The relationship between two directory entries that
represent the same file; the result of an execution of the ln utility or
the POSIX.1 {8} _l_i_n_k() function.
2.2.2.77 home directory: The current directory associated with a user
at the time of login.
2.2.2.78 incomplete line: A sequence of text consisting of one or more
non-<newline> characters at the end of the file.
2.2.2.79 invoke: To perform the actions described in 3.9.1.1, except
that searching for shell functions and special built-ins is suppressed.
See also _e_x_e_c_u_t_e (2.2.2.49).
2.2.2.80 job control: A facility that allows users to selectively stop
(suspend) the execution of processes and continue (resume) their
execution at a later point.
The user typically employs this facility via the interactive interface
jointly supplied by the terminal I/O driver and a command interpreter.
POSIX.1 {8} conforming implementations may optionally support job control
facilities; the presence of this option is indicated to the application
at compile time or run time by the definition of the {_POSIX_JOB_CONTROL}
symbol; see POSIX.1 {8} 2.9. [POSIX.1 {8}]
2.2.2.81 line: A sequence of text consisting of zero or more non-
<newline> characters plus a terminating <newline> character.
2.2.2.82 link: See _d_i_r_e_c_t_o_r_y _e_n_t_r_y in 2.2.2.36.
2.2.2.83 link count: The number of directory entries that refer to a
particular file. [POSIX.1 {8}]
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.2 Definitions 41
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
2.2.2.84 locale: The definition of the subset of a user's environment
that depends on language and cultural conventions; see 2.5.
2.2.2.85 login: The unspecified activity by which a user gains access
to the system.
Each login shall be associated with exactly one login name.
[POSIX.1 {8}]
2.2.2.86 login name: A user name that is associated with a login.
[POSIX.1 {8}]
2.2.2.87 mode: A collection of attributes that specifies a file's type
and its access permissions.
See _f_i_l_e _a_c_c_e_s_s _p_e_r_m_i_s_s_i_o_n_s in 2.2.2.55. [POSIX.1 {8}]
2.2.2.88 multicharacter collating element: A sequence of two or more
characters that collate as an entity.
For example, in some coded character sets, an accented character is
represented by a (nonspacing) accent, followed by the letter. Another
example is the Spanish elements ``ch'' and ``ll.''
2.2.2.89 negative response: An input string that matches one of the
responses acceptable to the LC_MESSAGES category keyword noexpr, matching
an extended regular expression in the current locale.
See 2.5.
2.2.2.90 <newline>: A character that in the output stream shall 1
indicate that printing should start at the beginning of the next line.
The <newline> shall be the character designated by '\n' in the C language
binding. It is unspecified whether this character is the exact sequence
transmitted to an output device by the system to accomplish the movement
to the next line.
2.2.2.91 NUL: A character with all bits set to zero.
2.2.2.92 null string: See _e_m_p_t_y _s_t_r_i_n_g in 2.2.2.45.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
42 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
2.2.2.93 number-sign: The character ``#''.
This standard permits the substitution of the ``pound sign'' graphic
defined in ISO/IEC 646 {1} for this symbol when the character set being
used has substituted that graphic for the graphic #. The graphic symbol
# is always used in this standard.
2.2.2.94 object file: A regular file containing the output of a
compiler, formatted as input to a linkage editor for linking with other
object files into an executable form.
The methods of linking are unspecified and may involve the dynamic
linking of objects at run-time. The internal format of an object file is
unspecified, but a conforming application shall not assume an object file
is a text file.
2.2.2.95 open file: A file that is currently associated with a file
descriptor. [POSIX.1 {8}]
2.2.2.96 operand: An argument to a command that is generally used as an
object supplying information to a utility necessary to complete its
processing.
Operands generally follow the options in a command line. See 2.10.1.
2.2.2.97 option: An argument to a command that is generally used to
specify changes in the _u_t_i_l_i_t_y's default behavior; see 2.10.1.
2.2.2.98 option-argument: A parameter that follows certain options.
In some cases an option-argument is included within the same argument
string as the option; in most cases it is the next argument. See 2.10.1.
2.2.2.99 parent directory:
(1) When discussing a given directory, the directory that both
contains a directory entry for the given directory and is
represented by the pathname dot-dot in the given directory.
(2) When discussing other types of files, a directory containing a
directory entry for the file under discussion.
This concept does not apply to dot and dot-dot. [POSIX.1 {8}]
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.2 Definitions 43
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
2.2.2.100 parent process: See _p_r_o_c_e_s_s in 2.2.2.114. [POSIX.1 {8}]
2.2.2.101 parent process ID: An attribute of a new process after it is
created by a currently active process.
The parent process ID of a process is the process ID of its creator, for
the lifetime of the creator. After the creator's lifetime has ended, the
parent process ID is the process ID of an implementation-defined system
process. [POSIX.1 {8}]
2.2.2.102 pathname: A string that is used to identify a file.
A pathname consists of, at most, {PATH_MAX} bytes, including the
terminating null character. It has an optional beginning slash, followed
by zero or more filenames separated by slashes. If the pathname refers
to a directory, it may also have one or more trailing slashes. Multiple
successive slashes are considered to be the same as one slash. A
pathname that begins with two successive slashes may be interpreted in an
implementation-defined manner, although more than two leading slashes
shall be treated as a single slash. The interpretation of the pathname
is described in _p_a_t_h_n_a_m_e _r_e_s_o_l_u_t_i_o_n in 2.2.2.104. [POSIX.1 {8}]
2.2.2.103 pathname component: See _f_i_l_e_n_a_m_e in 2.2.2.61. [POSIX.1 {8}]
2.2.2.104 pathname resolution: A concept of the underlying system, as
follows. [POSIX.1 {8}]
Pathname resolution is performed for a process to resolve a pathname to a
particular file in a file hierarchy. There may be multiple pathnames
that resolve to the same file.
Each filename in the pathname is located in the directory specified by
its predecessor (for example, in the pathname fragment ``a/b'', file
``b'' is located in directory ``a''). Pathname resolution fails if this
cannot be accomplished. If the pathname begins with a slash, the
predecessor of the first filename in the pathname is taken to be the root
directory of the process (such pathnames are referred to as absolute
pathnames). If the pathname does not begin with a slash, the predecessor
of the first filename of the pathname is taken to be the current working
directory of the process (such pathnames are referred to as ``relative
pathnames'').
The interpretation of a pathname component is dependent on the values of
{NAME_MAX} and {_POSIX_NO_TRUNC} associated with the path prefix of that
component. If any pathname component is longer than {NAME_MAX}, and
{_POSIX_NO_TRUNC} is in effect for the path prefix of that component [see
_p_a_t_h_c_o_n_f() in POSIX.1 {8} 5.7.1], the implementation shall consider this
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
44 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
an error condition. Otherwise, the implementation shall use the first
{NAME_MAX} bytes of the pathname component.
The special filename dot refers to the directory specified by its
predecessor. The special filename dot-dot refers to the parent directory
of its predecessor directory. As a special case, in the root directory,
dot-dot may refer to the root directory itself.
A pathname consisting of a single slash resolves to the root directory of
the process. A null pathname is invalid.
2.2.2.105 path prefix: A pathname, with an optional ending slash, that
refers to a directory. [POSIX.1 {8}]
2.2.2.106 pattern: A sequence of characters used either with regular
expression notation (see 2.8) or for pathname expansion (see 3.6.6), as a
means of selecting various character strings or pathnames, respectively.
The syntaxes of the two patterns are similar, but not identical; this
standard always indicates the type of pattern being referred to in the
immediate context of the use of the term.
2.2.2.107 period: The character ``.''.
The term _p_e_r_i_o_d is contrasted against _d_o_t (2.2.2.38), which is used to
describe a specific directory entry.
2.2.2.108 permissions: See _f_i_l_e _a_c_c_e_s_s _p_e_r_m_i_s_s_i_o_n_s in 2.2.2.55.
2.2.2.109 pipe: An object accessed by one of the pair of file
descriptors created by the POSIX.1 {8} _p_i_p_e() function.
Once created, the file descriptors can be used to manipulate it, and it
behaves identically to a FIFO special file when accessed in this way. It
has no name in the file hierarchy. [POSIX.1 {8}]
2.2.2.110 portable character set: The set of characters described in
2.4 that is supported on all conforming systems.
This term is contrasted against the smaller _p_o_r_t_a_b_l_e _f_i_l_e_n_a_m_e _c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r
_s_e_t; see 2.2.2.111.
2.2.2.111 portable filename character set: The set of characters from
which portable filenames are constructed.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.2 Definitions 45
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
For a filename to be portable across conforming implementations of this
standard, it shall consist only of the following characters:
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 . _ -
The last three characters are the period, underscore, and hyphen
characters, respectively. The hyphen shall not be used as the first
character of a portable filename. Upper- and lowercase letters shall
retain their unique identities between conforming implementations. In
the case of a portable pathname, the slash character may also be used.
[POSIX.1 {8}]
2.2.2.112 printable character: One of the characters included in the
print character classification of the LC_CTYPE category in the current
locale; see 2.5.2.1.
2.2.2.113 privilege: See _a_p_p_r_o_p_r_i_a_t_e _p_r_i_v_i_l_e_g_e_s in 2.2.2.6.
[POSIX.1 {8}]
2.2.2.114 process: An address space and single thread of control that
executes within that address space, and its required system resources.
A process is created by another process issuing the POSIX.1 {8} _f_o_r_k()
function. The process that issues _f_o_r_k() is known as the parent process,
and the new process created by the _f_o_r_k() is known as the child process.
[POSIX.1 {8}]
The attributes of processes required by POSIX.2 form a subset of those in
POSIX.1 {8}; see 2.9.1.
2.2.2.115 process group: A collection of processes that permits the
signaling of related processes.
Each process in the system is a member of a process group that is
identified by a process group ID. A newly created process joins the
process group of its creator. [POSIX.1 {8}]
2.2.2.116 process group ID: The unique identifier representing a
process group during its lifetime.
A process group ID is a positive integer that can be contained in a
_p_i_d__t. It shall not be reused by the system until the process group
lifetime ends. [POSIX.1 {8}]
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
46 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
2.2.2.117 process group leader: A process whose process ID is the same
as its process group ID. [POSIX.1 {8}]
2.2.2.118 process ID: The unique identifier representing a process.
A process ID is a positive integer that can be contained in a _p_i_d__t. A
process ID shall not be reused by the system until the process lifetime
ends. In addition, if there exists a process group whose process group
ID is equal to that process ID, the process ID shall not be reused by the
system until the process group lifetime ends. A process that is not a
system process shall not have a process ID of 1. [POSIX.1 {8}]
2.2.2.119 program: A prepared sequence of instructions to the system to
accomplish a defined task.
The term _p_r_o_g_r_a_m in POSIX.2 encompasses applications written in the Shell
Command Language, complex utility input languages (for example, awk, lex,
sed, etc.), and high-level languages.
2.2.2.120 read-only file system: A file system that has
implementation-defined characteristics restricting modifications.
[POSIX.1 {8}]
2.2.2.121 real group ID: The attribute of a process that, at the time
of process creation, identifies the group of the user who created the
process.
See _g_r_o_u_p _I_D in 2.2.2.75. This value is subject to change during the
process lifetime, as described in POSIX.1 {8} 4.2.2 [_s_e_t_g_i_d()].
[POSIX.1 {8}]
2.2.2.122 real user ID: The attribute of a process that, at the time of
process creation, identifies the user who created the process.
See _u_s_e_r _I_D in 2.2.2.154. This value is subject to change during the
process lifetime, as described in POSIX.1 {8} 4.2.2 [_s_e_t_u_i_d()].
[POSIX.1 {8}]
2.2.2.123 regular expression: A pattern (sequence of characters or 1
symbols) constructed according to the rules defined in 2.8. 1
2.2.2.124 regular file: A file that is a randomly accessible sequence
of bytes, with no further structure imposed by the system. [POSIX.1 {8}]
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.2 Definitions 47
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
2.2.2.125 relative pathname: See _p_a_t_h_n_a_m_e _r_e_s_o_l_u_t_i_o_n in 2.2.2.104.
[POSIX.1 {8}]
2.2.2.126 root directory: A directory, associated with a process, that
is used in pathname resolution for pathnames that begin with a slash.
[POSIX.1 {8}]
2.2.2.127 saved set-group-ID: An attribute of a process that allows
some flexibility in the assignment of the effective group ID attribute,
when the saved set-user-ID option is implemented, as described in
POSIX.1 {8} 3.1.2 (_e_x_e_c) and 4.2.2 [_s_e_t_g_i_d()]. [POSIX.1 {8}]
2.2.2.128 saved set-user-ID: An attribute of a process that allows some
flexibility in the assignment of the effective user ID attribute, when
the saved set-user-ID option is implemented, as described in POSIX.1 {8}
3.1.2 and 4.2.2 [_s_e_t_u_i_d()]. [POSIX.1 {8}]
2.2.2.129 seconds since the Epoch: A value to be interpreted as the
number of seconds between a specified time and the Epoch.
A Coordinated Universal Time name [specified in terms of seconds
(_t_m__s_e_c), minutes (_t_m__m_i_n), hours (_t_m__h_o_u_r), days since January 1 of the
year (_t_m__y_d_a_y), and calendar year minus 1900 (_t_m__y_e_a_r)] is related to a
time represented as seconds since the Epoch, according to the expression
below.
If the year < 1970 or the value is negative, the relationship is
undefined. If the year _> 1970 and the value is nonnegative, the value is
related to a Coordinated Universal Time name according to the expression:
_t_m__s_e_c + _t_m__m_i_n*60 + _t_m__h_o_u_r*3600 + _t_m__y_d_a_y*86400 +
(_t_m__y_e_a_r-70)*31536000 + ((_t_m__y_e_a_r-69)/4)*86400
[POSIX.1 {8}]
2.2.2.130 session: A collection of process groups established for job
control purposes.
Each process group is a member of a session. A process is considered to
be a member of the session of which its process group is a member. A
newly created process joins the session of its creator. A process can
alter its session membership (see POSIX.1 {8} 4.3.2 [_s_e_t_s_i_d()].
Implementations that support the POSIX.1 {8} _s_e_t_p_g_i_d() function (see
POSIX.1 {8} 4.3.3) can have multiple process groups in the same session.
[POSIX.1 {8}]
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
48 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
2.2.2.131 session leader: A process that has created a session; see
POSIX.1 {8} 4.3.2 [_s_e_t_s_i_d()]. [POSIX.1 {8}]
2.2.2.132 session lifetime: The period between when a session is
created and the end of the lifetime of all the process groups that remain
as members of the session. [POSIX.1 {8}]
2.2.2.133 shell: A program that interprets sequences of text input as
commands.
It may operate on an input stream or it may interactively prompt and read
commands from a terminal.
2.2.2.134 Shell, The: The Shell Command Language Interpreter (see
4.56), a specific instance of a shell.
2.2.2.135 shell script: A file containing shell commands.
If the file is made executable, it can be executed by specifying its name
as a simple command (see the description of _s_i_m_p_l_e _c_o_m_m_a_n_d in 3.9.1).
Execution of a shell script causes a shell to execute the commands within
the script. Alternately, a shell can be requested to execute the
commands in a shell script by specifying the name of the shell script as
the operand to the sh utility.
2.2.2.136 signal: A mechanism by which a process may be notified of, or
affected by, an event occurring in the system.
Examples of such events include hardware exceptions and specific actions
by processes. The term _s_i_g_n_a_l is also used to refer to the event itself.
[POSIX.1 {8}]
2.2.2.137 single-quote: The character ``''', also known as _a_p_o_s_t_r_o_p_h_e.
2.2.2.138 slash: The character ``/'', also known as _s_o_l_i_d_u_s.
2.2.2.139 source code: When dealing with the Shell Command Language,
source code is input to the command language interpreter.
The term _s_h_e_l_l _s_c_r_i_p_t is synonymous with this meaning.
When dealing with the C Language Bindings Option, source code is input to
a C compiler conforming to the C Standard {7}.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.2 Definitions 49
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
When dealing with another ISO/IEC conforming language, source code is
input to a compiler conforming to that ISO/IEC standard.
Source code also refers to the input statements prepared for the
following standard utilities: awk, bc, ed, lex, localedef, make, sed,
and yacc.
Source code can also refer to a collection of sources meeting any or all
of these meanings.
_2._2._2._1_4_0 <space>: The character defined in 2.4 as <space>.
The <space> character is a member of the space character class of the
current locale, but represents the single character, and not all of the
possible members of the class. (See 2.2.2.158.)
2.2.2.141 standard error: An output stream usually intended to be used
for diagnostic messages.
2.2.2.142 standard input: An input stream usually intended to be used
for primary data input.
2.2.2.143 standard output: An output stream usually intended to be used
for primary data output.
2.2.2.144 standard utilities: The utilities defined by this standard,
in the Sections 4, 5, and 6, and Annex A, and Annex C, and in similar
sections of utility definitions introduced in future revisions of, and
supplements to, this standard.
2.2.2.145 stream: An ordered sequence of characters, as described by
the C Standard {7}.
2.2.2.146 supplementary group ID: An attribute of a process used in
determining file access permissions.
A process has up to {NGROUPS_MAX} supplementary group IDs in addition to
the effective group ID. The supplementary group IDs of a process are set
to the supplementary group IDs of the parent process when the process is
created. Whether a process's effective group ID is included in or
omitted from its list of supplementary group IDs is unspecified.
[POSIX.1 {8}]
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
50 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
2.2.2.147 system: An implementation of this standard.
2.2.2.148 <tab>: The horizontal tab character.
2.2.2.149 terminal [terminal device]: A character special file that
obeys the specifications of the POSIX.1 {8} General Terminal Interface.
[POSIX.1 {8}]
2.2.2.150 text column: A roughly rectangular block of characters
capable of being laid out side-by-side next to other text columns on an
output page or terminal screen.
The widths of text columns are measured in column positions.
2.2.2.151 text file: A file that contains characters organized into one
or more lines.
The lines shall not contain NUL characters and none shall exceed
{LINE_MAX} bytes in length, including the <newline>. Although
POSIX.1 {8} does not distinguish between text files and binary files (see
the C Standard {7}), many utilities only produce predictable or
meaningful output when operating on text files. The standard utilities
that have such restrictions always specify _t_e_x_t _f_i_l_e_s in their Standard
Input or Input Files subclauses.
2.2.2.152 tilde: The character ``~''.
2.2.2.153 user database: See Section 9 in POSIX.1 {8}.
2.2.2.154 user ID: A nonnegative integer, which can be contained in an
object of type _u_i_d__t, that is used to identify a system user.
When the identity of a user is associated with a process, a user ID value
is referred to as a real user ID, an effective user ID, or an (optional)
saved set-user-ID. [POSIX.1 {8}]
2.2.2.155 user name: A string that is used to identify a user, as
described in POSIX.1 {8} 9.1. [POSIX.1 {8}]
2.2.2.156 utility: A program that can be called by name from a shell to
perform a specific task, or related set of tasks.
This program shall either be an executable file, such as might be
produced by a compiler/linker system from computer source code, or a file
of shell source code, directly interpreted by the shell. The program may
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.2 Definitions 51
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
have been produced by the user, provided by the implementor of this
standard, or acquired from an independent distributor. The term _u_t_i_l_i_t_y
does not apply to the special built-in utilities provided as part of the
shell command language; see 3.14. The system may implement certain
utilities as shell functions (see 3.9.5) or built-ins (see 2.3), but only
an application that is aware of the command search order described in
3.9.1.1 or of performance characteristics can discern differences between
the behavior of such a function or built-in and that of a true executable
file.
_2._2._2._1_5_7 <vertical-tab>: The vertical tab character.
2.2.2.158 white space: A sequence of one or more characters that belong
to the space character class as defined via the LC_CTYPE category in the
current locale.
In the POSIX Locale, white space consists of one or more <blank>s
(<space>s and <tab>s), <newline>s, <carriage-return>s, <form-feed>s, and
<vertical-tab>s.
2.2.2.159 working directory [current working directory]: A directory,
associated with a process, that is used in pathname resolution for
pathnames that do not begin with a slash.
2.2.2.160 write: To output characters to a file, such as standard
output or standard error.
Unless otherwise stated, standard output is the default output
destination for all uses of the term _w_r_i_t_e.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
2.2.2.161 General Terms Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f
_P_1_0_0_3._2)
Many of the terms originated in POSIX.1 {8} and are duplicated in this
standard to meet editorial requirements. In some cases, there is
supplementary text that presents additional information concerning
POSIX.2 aspects of the concept.
This standard uses the term _c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r to mean a sequence of one or more
bytes representing a single graphic symbol, as defined in POSIX.1 {8}. 1
The deviation in the exact text of the C Standard {7} definition for _b_y_t_e 1
meets the intent of the C Standard {7} Rationale and the developers of 1
POSIX.1 {8}, but clears up the ambiguity raised by the term _b_a_s_i_c 1
_e_x_e_c_u_t_i_o_n _c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r _s_e_t, which is not defined in POSIX.1 {8}. It is 1
expected that a future version of POSIX.1 {8} will align with the text 1
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
52 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
used here. The octet-minimum requirement is merely a reflection of the 1
{CHAR_BIT} value in POSIX.1 {8} and the C Standard {7}. 1
The POSIX.1 {8} term _f_i_l_e _m_o_d_e is a superset of the POSIX.2 _f_i_l_e _m_o_d_e
_b_i_t_s. POSIX.1 {8} defines the file mode as the entire _m_o_d_e__t object
(which includes the file type in historically the upper four bits, the
sticky bit on most implementations, and potentially other nonstandardized
attributes), while POSIX.2 file mode bits include only the eleven defined
bits.
The terms _c_o_m_m_a_n_d and _u_t_i_l_i_t_y are related but have distinct meanings.
Command is defined as ``a directive to a shell to perform a specific
task.'' The directive can be in the form of a single utility name (for
example, ls), or the directive can take the form of a compound command
(for example, ls | grep name | pr).
A utility is a program that is callable by name from a shell. Issuing
only the utility's name to a shell is the equivalent of a one-word
command. A utility may be invoked as a separate program that executes in
a different process than the command language interpreter, or may be
implemented as a part of the command language interpreter. For example,
the echo command (the directive to perform a specific task) may be
implemented such that the echo utility (the logic that performs the task
of echoing) is in a separate program; and therefore, is executed in a
process that is different than the command language interpreter.
Conversely, the logic that performs the echo utility could be built into
the command language interpreter; and therefore, execute in the same
process as the command language interpreter.
The terms _t_o_o_l and _a_p_p_l_i_c_a_t_i_o_n can be thought of as being synonymous with
_u_t_i_l_i_t_y from the perspective of the operating system kernel. Tools,
applications, and utilities have historically run, typically, in
processes above the kernel level. Tools and utilities have been
historically a part of the operating system nonkernel code, and performed
system related functions such as listing directory contents, checking
file systems, repairing file systems, or extracting system status
information. Applications have not generally been a part of the
operating system, and perform nonsystem related functions such as word
processing, architectural design, mechanical design, workstation
publishing, or financial analysis. Utilities have most frequently been
provided by the operating system vendor, applications by third party
software vendors or by the users themselves. Nevertheless, the standard
does not differentiate between tools, utilities, and applications when it
comes to receiving services from the system, a shell, or the standard
utilities. (For example, the xargs utility invokes another utility; it
would be of fairly limited usefulness if the users couldn't run their own
applications in place of the standard utilities.) Utilities are not
applications in the sense that they are not themselves subjects to the
restrictions of this standard or any other standard--there is no
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.2 Definitions 53
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
requirement for grep, stty, or any of the utilities defined here to be
any of the classes of Conforming POSIX.2 Applications.
The term _t_e_x_t _f_i_l_e does not prevent the inclusion of control or other
nonprintable characters (other than NUL). Therefore, standard utilities
that list text files as inputs or outputs are either able to process the
special characters gracefully or they explicitly describe their
limitations within their individual subclauses. The definition of _t_e_x_t
_f_i_l_e has caused a good deal of controversy. The only difference between
text and binary here is that text files have lines of (less than
{LINE_MAX}) bytes, with no NUL characters, each terminated by a <newline>
character. The definition allows a file with a single <newline>, but not
a totally empty file, to be called a text file. If a file ends with an
incomplete line it is not strictly a text file by this definition. A
related point is that the <newline> character referred to in this
standard is not some generic line separator, but a single character;
files created on systems where they use multiple characters for ends of
lines are not portable to all POSIX systems without some translation
process unspecified by this standard.
The term _h_a_r_d _l_i_n_k is historically-derived. In systems without
extensions to ln, it is a synonym for _l_i_n_k. The concept of a _s_y_m_b_o_l_i_c
_l_i_n_k originated with BSD systems and the term _h_a_r_d is used to
differentiate between the two types of links.
There are some terms used that are undefined in POSIX.2, POSIX.1 {8}, or
the C Standard {7}. The working group believes that these terms have a
``common usage,'' and that a definition in POSIX.2 would not be
appropriate. Terms in this category include, but are not limited to, the
following: _a_p_p_l_i_c_a_t_i_o_n, _c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r _s_e_t, _l_o_g_i_n _s_e_s_s_i_o_n, _u_s_e_r. Good
sources for general terms of this type are the _I_S_O/_A_F_N_O_R _D_i_c_t_i_o_n_a_r_y _o_f
_C_o_m_p_u_t_e_r _S_c_i_e_n_c_e {B12} and _I_E_E_E _D_i_c_t_i_o_n_a_r_y {B18}.
The term _f_i_l_e _n_a_m_e was defined in previous drafts to be a synonym for
_p_a_t_h_n_a_m_e. It was removed in the face of objections that it was too close
to _f_i_l_e_n_a_m_e, which means something different (a pathname component). The
general solution to this has been to use the term _f_i_l_e in parameter
names, rather than _f_i_l_e__n_a_m_e, and to make more liberal use of the correct
term, _p_a_t_h_n_a_m_e; an alternate solution has been to replace _f_i_l_e _n_a_m_e with
_t_h_e _n_a_m_e _o_f _t_h_e _f_i_l_e.
Many character names are included in this subclause. Because of
historical usage, some of these names are a bit different than the ones
used in international standards for character sets, such as ISO/IEC 646
{1}. It was felt that many more UNIX system people than character set
lawyers would be reading and reviewing the standard, so the former group
was the one accommodated. On the other hand, the precise definitions of
<space>, <blank>, and _w_h_i_t_e _s_p_a_c_e have replaced common usage (where they
have been used virtually interchangeably), as the standard attempts to
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
54 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
balance readability against precision.
In earlier drafts, the names for the character pairs ( ), [ ], and { }
were referred to as ``opening'' and ``closing'' parentheses, brackets,
and braces. These were changed to the current ``left'' and right.''
When the characters are used to express natural language, the terms
``open'' and ``close'' imply text direction more strongly than ``left''
and ``right.'' By POSIX.2 definition, the character <open-parenthesis>
will always be mapped to the glyph '(' regardless of the locale. But
when reading right-to-left, the opening punctuation of a parenthesized
text segment would be ')'. The <left-parenthesis> and <right-
parenthesis> forms are the correct ones because the punctuation appears
on the left and right, respectively, of the parenthesized text regardless
of the direction one might be reading the text.
The <backspace> character and the ERASE special character defined in
POSIX.1 {8} should not be confused. The use of the <backspace> character
and the ERASE special character defined in the POSIX.1 {8} _t_e_r_m_i_o_s clause
on special characters (7.1.1.9) are distinct even though the ERASE
special character may be set to <backspace>.
In most one-byte character sets, such as ASCII, the concepts of column
positions is identical to character positions and to bytes. Therefore,
it has been historically acceptable for some implementations to describe
line folding or tab stops or table column alignment in terms of bytes or
character positions. Other character sets pose complications, as they
can have internal representations longer than one octet and they can have
displayable characters that have different widths on the terminal screen
or printer.
In this standard the term _c_o_l_u_m_n _p_o_s_i_t_i_o_n_s has been defined to mean
character--not byte--positions in input files (such as ``column position
7 of the FORTRAN input''). Output files describe the column position in
terms of the display width of the narrowest printable character in the
character set, adjusted to fit the characteristics of the output device.
It is very possible that _n column positions will not be able to hold _n
characters in some character sets, unless all of those characters are of
the narrowest width. It is assumed that the implementation is aware of
the width of the various characters, deriving this information from the
value of LC_CTYPE, and thus can determine how many column positions to
allot for each character in those utilities where it is important. This
information is not available to the portable application writer because
POSIX.2 provides no interface specification to retrieve such information.
The term _c_o_l_u_m_n _p_o_s_i_t_i_o_n was used instead of the more natural _c_o_l_u_m_n as
the latter is frequently used in the standard in the different contexts
of columns of figures, columns of table values, etc. Wherever confusion
might result, these latter types of columns are referred to as _t_e_x_t
_c_o_l_u_m_n_s.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.2 Definitions 55
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
The definition of _b_i_n_a_r_y _f_i_l_e was removed, as the term is not used in the
standard.
The ISO/IEC 646 {1} character set standard permits substitution of
national currency symbols for the character $ in the ``reference
character set'' (which is the same as ASCII). This standard permits the
substitution only of the actual characters shown in ISO/IEC 646 {1}:
currency sign for the dollar sign and pound sign for the number sign.
This document uses the latter names and their symbols, but it is valid
for an implementation to accept, for instance, the pound sign () as a
comment character in the shell, if that is what the locale's character
set uses instead of the number sign (#). Other variation of national
currency symbols are not allowed, per the request of the WG15 POSIX
working group.
The term _s_t_r_e_a_m is not related to System V's STREAMS communications
facility; it is derived from historical UNIX system usage and has been
made official by the C Standard {7}. The POSIX.2 standard makes no
differentiation between C's _t_e_x_t _s_t_r_e_a_m and _b_i_n_a_r_y _s_t_r_e_a_m.
The formula used in the POSIX.1 {8} definition of _s_e_c_o_n_d_s _s_i_n_c_e _t_h_e _E_p_o_c_h 1
is not perfect in all cases. See the related rationale in POSIX.1 {8}. 1
END_RATIONALE 1
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
56 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
2.2.3 Abbreviations
For the purposes of this standard, the following abbreviations apply:
2.2.3.1 C Standard: ISO/IEC 9899: ..., _I_n_f_o_r_m_a_t_i_o_n _p_r_o_c_e_s_s_i_n_g _s_y_s_t_e_m_s-
-_P_r_o_g_r_a_m_m_i_n_g _l_a_n_g_u_a_g_e_s--_C {7}.
2.2.3.2 ERE: An Extended Regular Expression, as defined in 2.8.4.
2.2.3.3 LC_*: An abbreviation used to represent all of the environment
variables named in 2.6 whose names begin with the characters ``LC_''.
2.2.3.4 POSIX.1: ISO/IEC 9945-1: 1990: _I_n_f_o_r_m_a_t_i_o_n _t_e_c_h_n_o_l_o_g_y--
_P_o_r_t_a_b_l_e _O_p_e_r_a_t_i_n_g _S_y_s_t_e_m _I_n_t_e_r_f_a_c_e (_P_O_S_I_X)--_P_a_r_t _1: _S_y_s_t_e_m _A_p_p_l_i_c_a_t_i_o_n
_P_r_o_g_r_a_m _I_n_t_e_r_f_a_c_e (_A_P_I) [_C _L_a_n_g_u_a_g_e] {8}.
2.2.3.5 POSIX.2: This standard.
2.2.3.6 RE [BRE]: A Basic Regular Expression, as defined in 2.8.3.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.2 Definitions 57
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
2.3 Built-in Utilities
Any of the standard utilities may be implemented as _r_e_g_u_l_a_r _b_u_i_l_t-_i_n
utilities within the command language interpreter. This is usually done
to increase the performance of frequently-used utilities or to achieve
functionality that would be more difficult in a separate environment.
The utilities named in Table 2-2 are frequently provided in built-in
form. All of the utilities named in the table have special properties in
terms of command search order within the shell, as described in 3.9.1.1.
Table 2-2 - Regular Built-in Utilities
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
cd false kill true wait
command getopts read umask
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
However, all of the standard utilities, including the regular built-ins
in the table, but not the special built-ins described in 3.14, shall be
implemented in a manner so that they can be accessed via the POSIX.1 {8}
_e_x_e_c family of functions (if the underlying operating system provides the
services of such a family to application programs) and can be invoked
directly by those standard utilities that require it (env, find, nohup,
xargs).
Since versions shall be provided for all utilities except for those
listed previously, an application running on a system that conforms to
both POSIX.1 {8} and Section 7 of this standard can use the _e_x_e_c family
of functions, in addition to the shell command interface in 7.1 [such as
the _s_y_s_t_e_m() and _p_o_p_e_n() functions in the C binding] defined by this
standard, to execute any of these utilities.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
2.3.1 Built-in Utilities Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f
_P_1_0_0_3._2)
In earlier drafts, the table of built-ins implied two things to a
conforming application: these may be built-ins and these need not be
executable. The second implication has now been removed and all
utilities can be _e_x_e_c-ed. There is no requirement that these be actually
built into the shell itself, but many shells will want to do so because
3.9.1.1 requires that they be found prior to the PATH search. The shell
could satisfy its requirements by keeping a list of the names and
directly accessing the file-system versions regardless of PATH.
Providing all of the required functionality for those such as cd or read
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
58 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
would be more difficult.
There were originally three justifications for allowing the omission of
_e_x_e_c-able versions:
(1) This would require wasting space in the file system, at the
expense of very small systems. However, it has been pointed out
that all nine in the table can be provided with nine links to a
single-line shell script:
$0 "$@"
(2) There is no sense in requiring invocation of utilities like cd
because they have no value outside the shell environment or
cannot be useful in a child process. However, counter-examples
always seemed to be available for even the strangest cases:
find . -type d -exec cd {} ; -exec foo {} ;
(which invokes foo on accessible directories)
ps ... | sed ... | xargs kill
find . -exec true ; -a ...
(where true is used for temporary debugging)
(3) It is confusing to have something such as kill that can easily
be in the file system in the base standard, but requires built-
in status for the UPE (for the % job control job ID notation).
It was decided that it was more appropriate to describe the
required functionality (rather than the implementation) to the
system implementors and let them decide how to satisfy it.
On the other hand, there were objections raised during balloting that any
distinction like this between utilities was not useful to applications
and that the cost to correct it was small. These arguments were
ultimately the most effective.
There were varying reasons for including utilities in the table of
built-ins:
cd, getopts, read, umask, wait
The functionality of these utilities is performed more
simply within the context of the current process. An
example can be taken from the usage of the cd utility.
The purpose of the utility is to change the working
directory for subsequent operations. The actions of cd
affect the process in which cd is executed and all
subsequent child processes of that process. Based on the
POSIX.1 {8} process model, changes in the process
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.3 Built-in Utilities 59
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
environment of a child process have no effect on the
parent process. If the cd utility were executed from a
child process, the working directory change would be
effective only in the child process. Child processes
initiated subsequent to the child process that executed
the cd utility would not have a changed working directory
relative to the parent process.
command This utility was placed in the table primarily to protect
scripts that are concerned about their PATH being
manipulated. The ``secure'' shell script example in
4.12.10 would not be possible if a PATH change retrieved
an alien version of command. (An alternative would have
been to implement getconf as a built-in, but it was felt
that it carried too many changing configuration strings to
require in the shell.)
kill Since common extensions to kill (including the planned
User Portability Extension) provide optional job control
functionality using shell notation (%1, %2, etc.), some
implementations would find it extremely difficult to
provide this outside the shell.
true, false
These are in the table as a courtesy to programmers who
wish to use the ``while true'' shell construct without
protecting true from PATH searches. (It is acknowledged
that ``while :'' also works, but the idiom with true is
historically pervasive.)
All utilities, including those in the table, are accessible via the
functions in 7.1.1 or 7.1.2 [such as _s_y_s_t_e_m() or _p_o_p_e_n()]. There are
situations where the return functionality of _s_y_s_t_e_m() and _p_o_p_e_n() is not
desirable. Applications that require the exit status of the invoked
utility will not be able to use _s_y_s_t_e_m() or _p_o_p_e_n(), since the exit
status returned is that of the command language interpreter rather than
that of the invoked utility. The alternative for such applications is
the use of the _e_x_e_c family. (The text concerning conformance to
POSIX.1 {8} was included because where _e_x_e_c is not provided in the
underlying system, there is no way to require that utilities be _e_x_e_c-
able).
END_RATIONALE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
60 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
2.4 Character Set
Conforming implementations shall support one or more coded character
sets. Each supported coded character set shall include the _p_o_r_t_a_b_l_e
_c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r _s_e_t specified in Table 2-3. The table defines the characters
in the portable character set and the corresponding symbolic character
names used to identify each character in a character set description
file. The names are chosen to correspond closely with character names
defined in other international standards. The table contains more than
one symbolic character name for characters whose traditional name differs
from the chosen name.
This standard places only the following requirements on the encoded
values of the characters in the portable character set:
(1) If the encoded values associated with each member of the
portable character set are not invariant across all locales
supported by the implementation, the results achieved by an
application accessing those locales are unspecified.
(2) The encoded values associated with the digits '0' to '9' shall
be such that the value of each character after '0' shall be one
greater than the value of the previous character.
(3) A null character, NUL, which has all bits set to zero, shall be
in the set of characters.
Conforming implementations shall support certain character and character
set attributes, as defined in 2.5.1.
2.4.1 Character Set Description File
Implementations shall provide a character set description file for at
least one coded character set supported by the implementation. These
files are referred to elsewhere in this standard as _c_h_a_r_m_a_p files. It is
implementation defined whether or not users or applications can provide
additional character set description files. If such a capability is
supported, the system documentation shall describe the rules for the
creation of such files.
Each character set description file shall define characteristics for the
coded character set and the encoding for the characters specified in
Table 2-3, and may define encoding for additional characters supported by
the implementation. Other information about the coded character set may
also be in the file. Coded character set character values shall be
defined using symbolic character names followed by character encoding
values.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.4 Character Set 61
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
Table 2-3 - Character Set and Symbolic Names
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Symbolic Symbolic Symbolic
Name Glyph Name Glyph Name Glyph
_____________________________________________________________________________
<NUL> <colon> : <circumflex> ^
<alert> <semicolon> ; <circumflex-accent> ^
<backspace> <less-than-sign> < <underscore> _
<tab> <equals-sign> = <low-line> _
<newline> <greater-than-sign> > <grave-accent> `
<vertical-tab> <question-mark> ? <a> a
<form-feed> <commercial-at> @ <b> b
<carriage-return> <A> A <c> c
<space> <B> B <d> d
<exclamation-mark> ! <C> C <e> e
<quotation-mark> " <D> D <f> f
<number-sign> # <E> E <g> g
<dollar-sign> $ <F> F <h> h
<percent-sign> % <G> G <i> i
<ampersand> & <H> H <j> j
<apostrophe> ' <I> I <k> k
<left-parenthesis> ( <J> J <l> l
<right-parenthesis> ) <K> K <m> m
<asterisk> * <L> L <n> n
<plus-sign> + <M> M <o> o
<comma> , <N> N <p> p
<hyphen> - <O> O <q> q
<hyphen-minus> - <P> P <r> r
<period> . <Q> Q <s> s
<full-stop> . <R> R <t> t
<slash> / <S> S <u> u
<solidus> / <T> T <v> v
<zero> 0 <U> U <w> w
<one> 1 <V> V <x> x
<two> 2 <W> W <y> y
<three> 3 <X> X <z> z
<four> 4 <Y> Y <left-brace> {
<five> 5 <Z> Z <left-curly-bracket> {
<six> 6 <left-square-bracket> [ <vertical-line> |
<seven> 7 <backslash> \ <right-brace> }
<eight> 8 <reverse-solidus> \ <right-curly-bracket> }
<nine> 9 <right-square-bracket> ] <tilde> ~
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Each symbolic name specified in Table 2-3 shall be included in the file
and shall be mapped to a unique encoding value (except for those symbolic 1
names that are shown with identical glyphs). If the control characters 1
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
62 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
commonly associated with the symbolic names in Table 2-4 are supported by
the implementation, the symbolic names and their corresponding encoding
values shall be included in the file. Some of the values associated with 1
the symbolic names in this table also may be contained in Table 2-3. 1
Table 2-4 - Control Character Set
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
<ACK> <DC2> <ENQ> <FS> <IS4> <SOH> 1
<BEL> <DC3> <EOT> <GS> <LF> <STX> 1
<BS> <DC4> <ESC> <HT> <NAK> <SUB> 1
<CAN> <DEL> <ETB> <IS1> <RS> <SYN> 1
<CR> <DLE> <ETX> <IS2> <SI> <US> 1
<DC1> <EM> <FF> <IS3> <SO> <VT> 1
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The following declarations can precede the character definitions. Each
shall consist of the symbol shown in the following list, starting in
column 1, including the surrounding brackets, followed by one of more
<blank>s, followed by the value to be assigned to the symbol.
<code_set_name> The name of the coded character set for which the
character set description file is defined. The
characters of the name shall be taken from the set
of characters with visible glyphs defined in 1
Table 2-3. 1
<mb_cur_max> The maximum number of bytes in a multibyte
character. This shall default to 1.
<mb_cur_min> An unsigned positive integer value that shall
define the minimum number of bytes in a character
for the encoded character set. The value shall be
less than or equal to mb_cur_max. If not
specified, the minimum number shall be equal to
mb_cur_max.
<escape_char> The escape character used to indicate that the
characters following shall be interpreted in a
special way, as defined later in this subclause.
This shall default to backslash (\), which is the
character glyph used in all the following text and
examples, unless otherwise noted.
<comment_char> The character, that when placed in column 1 of a
charmap line, is used to indicate that the line
shall be ignored. The default character shall be
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.4 Character Set 63
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
the number-sign (#).
The character set mapping definitions shall be all the lines immediately
following an identifier line containing the string CHARMAP starting in
column 1, and preceding a trailer line containing the string END CHARMAP
starting in column 1. Empty lines and lines containing a comment_char in
the first column shall be ignored. Each noncomment line of the character
set mapping definition (i.e., between the CHARMAP and END CHARMAP lines
of the file) shall be in either of two forms:
"%s %s %s\n", <_s_y_m_b_o_l_i_c-_n_a_m_e>, <_e_n_c_o_d_i_n_g>, <_c_o_m_m_e_n_t_s>
or
"%s...%s %s %s\n", <_s_y_m_b_o_l_i_c-_n_a_m_e>, <_s_y_m_b_o_l_i_c-_n_a_m_e>, <_e_n_c_o_d_i_n_g>,
<_c_o_m_m_e_n_t_s>
In the first format, the line in the character set mapping definition
defines a single symbolic name and a corresponding encoding. A symbolic
name is one or more characters from the set shown with visible glyphs in
Table 2-3, enclosed between angle brackets. A character following an
escape character shall be interpreted as itself; for example, the
sequence ``<\\\>>'' represents the symbolic name ``\>'' enclosed between
angle brackets.
In the second format, the line in the character set mapping definition
defines a range of one or more symbolic names. In this form, the
symbolic names shall consist of zero or more nonnumeric characters from
the set shown with visible glyphs in Table 2-3, followed by an integer
formed by one or more decimal digits. The characters preceding the
integer shall be identical in the two symbolic names, and the integer
formed by the digits in the second symbolic name shall be equal to or
greater than the integer formed by the digits in the first name. This
shall be interpreted as a series of symbolic names formed from the common
part and each of the integers between the first and the second integer,
inclusive. As an example, <j0101>...<j0104> is interpreted as the
symbolic names <j0101>, <j0102>, <j0103>, and <j0104>, in that order.
A character set mapping definition line shall exist for all symbolic
names specified in Table 2-3, and shall define the coded character value
that corresponds with the character glyph indicated in the table, or the
coded character value that corresponds with the control character
symbolic name. If the control characters commonly associated with the
symbolic names in Table 2-4 are supported by the implementation, the
symbolic name and the corresponding encoding value shall be included in
the file. Additional unique symbolic names may be included. A coded
character value can be represented by more than one symbolic name.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
64 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
The encoding part shall be expressed as one (for single-byte character 1
values) or more concatenated decimal, octal, or hexadecimal constants in 1
the following formats:
"%cd%d", <_e_s_c_a_p_e__c_h_a_r>, <_d_e_c_i_m_a_l _b_y_t_e _v_a_l_u_e>
"%cx%x", <_e_s_c_a_p_e__c_h_a_r>, <_h_e_x_a_d_e_c_i_m_a_l _b_y_t_e _v_a_l_u_e>
"%c%o", <_e_s_c_a_p_e__c_h_a_r>, <_o_c_t_a_l _b_y_t_e _v_a_l_u_e>
Decimal constants shall be represented by two or three decimal digits, 2
preceded by the escape character and the lowercase letter d; for example, 2
\d05, \d97, or \d143. Hexadecimal constants shall be represented by two 2
hexadecimal digits, preceded by the escape character and the lowercase 2
letter x; for example, \x05, \x61, or \x8f. Octal constants shall be 2
represented by two or three octal digits, preceded by the escape 2
character; for example, \05, \141, or \217. In a portable charmap file, 2
each constant shall represent an 8-bit byte. Implementations supporting 2
other byte sizes may allow constants to represent values larger than 2
those that can be represented in 8-bit bytes, and to allow additional 2
digits in constants. When constants are concatenated for multibyte 2
character values, they shall be of the same type, and interpreted in byte 2
order from left to right. The manner in which constants are represented 2
in the character is implementation defined. Omitting bytes from a 2
multibyte character definition produces undefined results. 2
In lines defining ranges of symbolic names, the encoded value is the
value for the first symbolic name in the range (the symbolic name
preceding the ellipsis). Subsequent symbolic names defined by the range
shall have encoding values in increasing order. For example, the line
<j0101>...<j0104> \d129\d254
shall be interpreted as
<j0101> \d129\d254
<j0102> \d129\d255
<j0103> \d130\d0
<j0104> \d130\d1
The comment is optional.
For the interpretation of the dollar-sign and the number-sign, see
2.2.2.37 and 2.2.2.93.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.4 Character Set 65
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
2.4.2 Character Set Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
The portable character set is listed in full so there is no dependency on
the ISO/IEC 646 {1} (or historically ASCII) encoded character set,
although the set is identical to the characters defined in the
International Reference Version of ISO/IEC 646 {1}.
This standard poses no requirement that multiple character sets or code
sets be supported, leaving this as a marketing differentiation for
implementors. Although multiple _c_h_a_r_m_a_p files are supported, it is the
responsibility of the implementation to provide the file(s); if only one
is provided, only that one will be accessible using the localedef
utility's -f option (although in the case of just one file on the system,
-f is not useful).
The statement about invariance in code sets for the portable character
set is worded as it is to avoid precluding implementations where multiple
incompatible code sets are available (say, ASCII and EBCDIC). The
standard utilities cannot be expected to produce predictable results if
they access portable characters that vary on the same implementation.
The character set description file provides:
- the capability to describe character set attributes (such as
collation order or character classes) independent of character set
encoding, and using only the characters in the portable character
set. This makes it possible to create ``generic'' localedef source
files for all code sets that share the portable character set (such
as the ISO 8859 family or IBM Extended ASCII).
- standardized symbolic names for all characters in the portable
character set, making it possible to refer to any such character
regardless of encoding.
Implementations are free to describe more than one code set in a
character set description file, as long as only one encoding exists for
the characters in Table 2-3. For example, if an implementation defines
ISO 8859-1 {5} as the primary code set, and ISO 8859-2 {6} as an
alternate set, with each character from the alternate code set preceded
in data by a shift code, a character set description file could contain a
complete description of the primary set and those characters from the
secondary that are not identical, the encoding of the latter including
the shift code.
Implementations are free to choose their own symbolic names, as long as
the names identified by this standard are also defined; this provides
support for already existing ``character names.''
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
66 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
The names selected for the members of the portable character set follow
the ISO 8859 {5} and the ISO/IEC 10646 {B11} standards. However, several
commonly used UNIX system names occur as synonyms in the list:
- The traditional UNIX system names are used for control characters.
- The word ``slash'' is in addition to ``solidus.'' 1
- The word ``backslash'' is in addition to ``reverse-solidus.'' 1
- The word ``hyphen'' in addition to ``hyphen-minus.''
- The word ``period'' in addition to ``full-stop.''
- For the digits, the word ``digit'' is eliminated.
- For letters, the words ``Latin Capital Letter'' and ``Latin Small
Letter'' are eliminated.
- The words ``left-brace'' and ``right-brace'' in addition to
``left-curly-bracket'' and ``right-curly-bracket.''
- The names of the digits are preferred over the numbers, to avoid
possible confusion between ``0'' and ``O'', and between ``1'' and
``l'' (one and the letter ell).
The names for the control characters in Table 2-4 were taken from
ISO 4873 {4}.
The charmap file was introduced to resolve problems with the portability
of, especially, localedef sources. This standard assumes that the 1
portable character set is constant across all locales, but does not 1
prohibit implementations from supporting two incompatible codings, such 1
as both ASCII and EBCDIC. Such ``dual-support'' implementations should 1
have all charmaps and localedef sources encoded using one portable 1
character set, in effect ``cross-compiling'' for the other environment. 1
Naturally, charmaps (and localedef sources) are only portable without 1
transformation between systems using the same encodings for the portable 1
character set. They can, however, be transformed between two sets using 1
only a subset of the actual characters (the portable set). However, the 1
particular coded character set used for an application or an 1
implementation does not necessarily imply different characteristics or
collation: on the contrary, these attributes should in many cases be
identical, regardless of code set. The charmap provides the capability
to define a common locale definition for multiple code sets (the same
localedef source can be used for code sets with different extended
characters; the ability in the charmap to define ``empty'' names allows
for characters missing in certain code sets).
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.4 Character Set 67
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
In addition, several implementors have expressed an interest in using the
charmap concept to provide the information required for support of
multiple character sets. Examples of such information is encoding
mechanism, string parsing rules, default font information, etc. Such
extensions are not described here.
The <escape_char> declaration was added at the request of the
international community to ease the creation of portable _c_h_a_r_m_a_p files on
terminals not implementing the default backslash escape. (This approach
was adopted because this is a new interface invented by POSIX.2.
Historical interfaces, such as the shell command language and awk, have
not been modified to accommodate this type of terminal.) The
<comment_char> declaration was added at the request of the international
community to eliminate the potential confusion between the number sign
and the pound sign.
The octal number notation with no leading zero required was selected to 1
match those of awk and tr and is consistent with that used by localedef. 1
To avoid confusion between an octal constant and the backreferences used 1
in localedef source, the octal, hexadecimal, and decimal constants must 1
contain at least two digits. As single-digit constants are relatively 1
rare, this should not impose any significant hardship. Each of the 1
constants includes ``two or more'' digits to account for systems in which 1
the byte size is larger than eight bits. For example, a Unicode system 1
that has defined 16-bit bytes may require six octal, four hexadecimal, 1
and five decimal digits. 1
The decimal notation is supported because some newer international
standards define character values in decimal, rather than in the old
column/row notation.
The charmap identifies the coded character sets supported by an
implementation. At least one charmap must be provided, but no
implementation is required to provide more than one. Likewise,
implementations can allow users to generate new charmaps (for instance
for a new version of the 8859 family of coded character sets), but does
not have to do so. If users are allowed to create new charmaps, the
system documentation must describe the rules that apply (for instance:
``only coded character sets that are supersets of ISO/IEC 646 {1} IRV, no
multibyte characters, etc.'')
END_RATIONALE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
68 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
2.5 Locale
A _l_o_c_a_l_e is the definition of the subset of a user's environment that
depends on language and cultural conventions. It is made up from one or
more categories. Each category is identified by its name and controls
specific aspects of the behavior of components of the system. Category
names correspond to the following environment variable names:
LC_CTYPE Character classification and case conversion.
LC_COLLATE Collation order.
LC_TIME Date and time formats.
LC_NUMERIC Numeric, nonmonetary formatting.
LC_MONETARY Monetary formatting.
LC_MESSAGES Formats of informative and diagnostic messages and
interactive responses.
Conforming implementations shall provide the standard utilities and the 1
interfaces in Annex B (if that option is supported) with the capability 1
to modify their behavior based on the current locale, as defined in the 1
Environment Variables subclause for each utility and interface. 1
Locales other than those supplied by the implementation can be created
via the localedef utility (see 4.35), provided that the
{POSIX2_LOCALEDEF} symbol is defined on the system; see 2.13.2.
Otherwise, only the implementation-provided locale(s) can be used. The
input to the utility is described in 2.5.2. The value that shall be used
to specify a locale when using environment variables shall be the string
specified as the _n_a_m_e operand to the localedef utility when the locale
was created. The strings "C" and "POSIX" are reserved as identifiers for
the POSIX Locale (see 2.5.1.) When the value of a locale environment
variable begins with a slash (/), it shall be interpreted as the pathname
of the locale definition. If the value of the locale value does not
begin with a slash, the mechanism used to locate the locale is
implementation defined.
If different character sets are used by the locale categories, the
results achieved by an application utilizing these categories is
undefined. Likewise, if different code sets are used for the data being
processed by interfaces whose behavior is dependent on the current
locale, or the code set is different from the code set assumed when the
locale was created, the result is also undefined.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.5 Locale 69
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
2.5.0.1 Locale Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
The description of locales is based on work performed in the UniForum
Technical Committee Subcommittee on Internationalization. Wherever
appropriate, keywords were taken from the C Standard {7} or the _X/_O_p_e_n
_P_o_r_t_a_b_i_l_i_t_y _G_u_i_d_e {B31}.
The value that shall be used to specify a locale when using environment
variables is the name specified as the _n_a_m_e operand to the localedef
utility when the locale was created. This provides a verifiable method
to create and invoke a locale.
The ``object'' definitions need not be portable, as long as ``source''
definitions are. Strictly speaking, ``source'' definitions are portable
only between implementations using the same character set(s). Such
``source'' definitions can, if they use symbolic names only, easily be
ported between systems using different code sets as long as the
characters in the portable character set (Table 2-3) have common values
between the code sets; this is frequently the case in historical
implementations. Of course, this requires that the symbolic names used
for characters outside the portable character set are identical between
character sets. The definition of symbolic names for characters is
outside the scope of this standard, but is certainly within the scope of
other standards organizations. When such names are standardized, future
versions of POSIX.2 should require the use of these names.
Applications can select the desired locale by invoking the _s_e_t_l_o_c_a_l_e()
function (or equivalent) with the appropriate value. If the function is
invoked with an empty string, the value of the corresponding environment
variable is used. If the environment variable is unset or is set to the
empty string, the implementation sets the appropriate environment as
defined in 2.6.
END_RATIONALE
2.5.1 POSIX Locale
Conforming implementations shall provide a _P_O_S_I_X _L_o_c_a_l_e. The behavior of
standard utilities in the POSIX Locale shall be as if the locale was
defined via the localedef utility with input data from Table 2-5,
Table 2-7, Table 2-9, Table 2-10, Table 2-8, and Table 2-11, all in
2.5.2.
The tables describe the characteristics and behavior of the POSIX Locale
for data consisting entirely of characters from the portable character
set in Table 2-3 and the control characters in Table 2-4. For characters
other than those in the two tables, the behavior is unspecified.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
70 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
The POSIX Locale can be specified by assigning the appropriate
environment variables the values "C" or "POSIX".
Table 2-5 shows the definition for the LC_CTYPE category.
Table 2-7 shows the definition for the LC_COLLATE category.
Table 2-8 shows the definition for the LC_MONETARY category.
Table 2-9 shows the definition for the LC_NUMERIC category.
Table 2-10 shows the definition for the LC_TIME category.
Table 2-11 shows the definition for the LC_MESSAGES category.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
2.5.1.1 POSIX Locale Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f
_P_1_0_0_3._2)
The POSIX Locale is equal to the "C" locale, as specified in POSIX.1 {8}.
To avoid being classified as a C-language function, the name has been
changed to the _P_O_S_I_X _L_o_c_a_l_e; the environment variable value can be either
"POSIX", or, for historical reasons, "C".
The POSIX definitions mirror the historical UNIX system behavior.
The use of symbolic names for characters in the tables does not imply
that the POSIX Locale must be described using symbolic character names,
but merely that it may be advantageous to do so.
Implementations must define a locale as the ``default'' locale, to be
invoked when no environment variables are set, or set to the empty
string. This default locale can be the POSIX Locale or any other,
implementation-defined locale. Some implementations may provide
facilities for local installation administrators to set the default
locale, customizing it for each location. This standard does not require
such a facility. 1
END_RATIONALE 1
2.5.2 Locale Definition
The capability to specify additional locales to those provided by an
implementation is optional (see 2.13.2). If the option is not supported,
only implementation-supplied locales are available. Such locales shall
be documented using the format specified in this clause.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.5 Locale 71
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
Locales can be described with the file format presented in this
subclause. The file format is that accepted by the localedef utility
(see 4.35). For the purposes of this subclause, the file is referred to
as the _l_o_c_a_l_e _d_e_f_i_n_i_t_i_o_n _f_i_l_e, but no locales shall be affected by this
file unless it is processed by localedef or some similar mechanism. Any 1
requirements in this subclause imposed upon ``the utility'' shall apply 1
to localedef or to any other similar utility used to install locale 1
information using the locale definition file format described here. 1
The locale definition file shall contain one or more locale category
source definitions, and shall not contain more than one definition for
the same locale category. If the file contains source definitions for
more than one category, implementation-defined categories, if present,
shall appear after the categories defined by this clause (2.5). A
category source definition shall contain either the definition of a
category or a copy directive. For a description of the copy directive,
see 4.35. In the event that some of the information for a locale
category, as specified in this standard, is missing from the locale
source definition, the behavior of that category, if it is referenced, is
unspecified.
A category source definition shall consist of a category header, a
category body, and a category trailer. A category header shall consist
of the character string naming of the category, beginning with the
characters LC_. The category trailer shall consist of the string END, 1
followed by one or more <blank>s and the string used in the corresponding 1
category header.
The category body shall consist of one or more lines of text. Each line
shall contain an identifier, optionally followed by one or more operands.
Identifiers shall be either keywords, identifying a particular locale
element, or collating elements. In addition to the keywords defined in
this standard, the source can contain implementation-defined keywords.
Each keyword within a locale shall have a unique name (i.e., two
categories cannot have a commonly-named keyword); no keyword shall start
with the characters LC_. Identifiers shall be separated from the
operands by one or more <blank>s.
Operands shall be characters, collating elements, or strings of
characters. Strings shall be enclosed in double-quotes. Literal 1
double-quotes within strings shall be preceded by the <_e_s_c_a_p_e _c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r>, 1
described below. When a keyword is followed by more than one operand, 1
the operands shall be separated by semicolons; <blank>s shall be allowed
before and/or after a semicolon.
The first category header in the file can be preceded by a line modifying
the comment character. It shall have the following format, starting in
column 1:
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
72 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
"comment_char %c\n", <_c_o_m_m_e_n_t _c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r>
The comment character shall default to the number-sign (#). Blank lines
and lines containing the <_c_o_m_m_e_n_t _c_h_a_r> in the first position shall be
ignored.
The first category header in the file can be preceded by a line modifying
the escape character to be used in the file. It shall have the following
format, starting in column 1:
"escape_char %c\n", <_e_s_c_a_p_e _c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r>
The escape character shall default to backslash, which is the character
used in all examples shown in this standard.
A line can be continued by placing an escape character as the last
character on the line; this continuation character shall be discarded 1
from the input. Although the implementation need not accept any one 1
portion of a continued line with a length exceeding {LINE_MAX} bytes, it 1
shall place no limits on the accumulated length of the continued line. 1
Comment lines shall not be continued on a subsequent line using an 1
escaped <newline>.
Individual characters, characters in strings, and collating elements 2
shall be represented using symbolic names, as defined below. In 2
addition, characters can be represented using the characters themselves, 2
or as octal, hexadecimal, or decimal constants. When nonsymbolic 2
notation is used, the resultant locale definitions need not be portable 2
between systems. The left angle bracket (<) is a reserved symbol, 2
denoting the start of a symbolic name; when used to represent itself it 2
shall be preceded by the escape character. The following rules apply to 2
character representation: 2
(1) A character can be represented via a symbolic name, enclosed 2
within angle brackets (< and >). The symbolic name, including 2
the angle brackets, shall exactly match a symbolic name defined 2
in the charmap file specified via the localedef -f option, and 2
shall be replaced by a character value determined from the value 2
associated with the symbolic name in the charmap file. The use 2
of a symbolic name not found in the _c_h_a_r_m_a_p file shall 1
constitute an error, unless the category is LC_CTYPE or
LC_COLLATE, in which case it shall constitute a warning
condition (see localedef in 4.35 for a description of action
resulting from errors and warnings). The specification of a
symbolic name in a collating-element or collating-symbol clause
that duplicates a symbolic name in the charmap file (if present)
is an error. Use of the escape character or a right angle
bracket within a symbolic name shall be invalid unless the
character is preceded by the escape character.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.5 Locale 73
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e: <c>;<c-cedilla> "<M><a><y>"
(2) A character can be represented by the character itself, in which 2
case the value of the character is implementation defined. 2
Within a string, the double-quote character, the escape 2
character, and the right angle bracket character shall be 2
escaped (preceded by the escape character) to be interpreted as 2
the character itself. Outside strings, the characters 2
, ; < > _e_s_c_a_p_e__c_h_a_r 2
shall be escaped to be interpreted as the character itself. 2
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e: c B "May"
(3) A character can be represented as an octal constant. An octal 2
constant shall be specified as the escape character followed by 1
two or more octal digits. Each constant shall represent a byte 1
value. Multibyte characters can be represented by concatenated
constants.
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e: \143;\347;\143\150 "\115\141\171"
(4) A character can be represented as a hexadecimal constant. A 2
hexadecimal constant shall be specified as the escape character 2
followed by an x followed by two or more hexadecimal digits. 1
Each constant shall represent a byte value. Multibyte
characters can be represented by concatenated constants.
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e: \x63;\xe7;\x63\x68 "\x4d\x61\x79"
(5) A character can be represented as a decimal constant. A decimal 2
constant shall be specified as the escape character followed by 2
a d followed by two or more decimal digits. Each constant shall 1
represent a byte value. Multibyte values can be represented by
concatenated constants.
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e: \d99;\d231;\d99\d104 "\d77\d97\d121"
Implementations may accept single-digit octal, decimal, or hexadecimal 1
constants following the escape character. Only characters existing in 1
the character set for which the locale definition is created shall be 1
specified, whether using symbolic names, the characters themselves, or 1
octal, decimal, or hexadecimal constants. If a charmap file is present, 2
only characters defined in the charmap can be specified using octal, 2
decimal, or hexadecimal constants. Symbolic names not present in the 2
charmap file can be specified and shall be ignored, as specified under 2
item (1) above. 2
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
74 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
BEGIN_RATIONALE 2
2.5.2.0.1 Locale Definition Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f
_P_1_0_0_3._2)
The decision to separate the file format from the localedef utility 1
description was only partially editorial. Implementations may provide 1
other interfaces than localedef. Requirements on ``the utility,'' mostly 1
concerning error messages, are described in this way because they are 1
meant to affect the other interfaces implementations may provide as well 1
as localedef. (This is similar to the philosophy used by POSIX.1 {8} 1
where the descriptions of the tar and cpio file formats impose 1
requirements on any utilities processing them.) 1
The text about {POSIX2_LOCALEDEF} does not mean that internationalization
is optional; only that the functionality of the localedef utility is.
Regular expressions, for instance, must still be able to recognize e.g.,
character class expressions such as [[:alpha:]].
A possible analogy is with an applications development environment:
while all conforming implementations must be capable of executing
applications, not all need to have the development environment installed.
The assumption is that the capability to modify the behavior of utilities
(and applications) via locale settings must be supported. If the
localedef utility is not present, then the only choice is to select an
existing (presumably implementation-documented) locale. An
implementation could, for example, chose to support only the POSIX
Locale, which would in effect limit the amount of changes from historical
implementations quite drastically. The localedef utility is still
required, but would always terminate with an exit code indicating that no
locale could be created. Supported locales must be documented using the
syntax defined in 2.5. (This ensures that users can accurately determine
what capabilities are provided. If the implementation decides to provide
additional capabilities to the ones in 2.5, that is already provided
for.)
If the option is present (i.e., locales can be created), then the
localedef utility must be capable of creating locales based on the syntax
and rules defined in 2.5. This does not mean that the implementation
cannot also provide alternate means for creating locales.
The octal, decimal, and hexadecimal notations are the same employed by 1
the charmap facility (see 2.4.1). To avoid confusion between an octal 1
constant and a backreference, the octal, hexadecimal, and decimal 1
constants must contain at least two digits. As single-digit constants 1
are relatively rare, this should not impose any significant hardship. 1
Each of the constants includes ``two or more'' digits to account for 1
systems in which the byte size is larger than eight bits. For example, a 1
Unicode system that has defined 16-bit bytes may require six octal, four 1
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.5 Locale 75
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
hexadecimal, and five decimal digits. 1
This standard is intended as an international (ISO/IEC) standard as well 1
as an IEEE standard, and must therefore follow the ISO/IEC guidelines. 1
One such rule is that characters outside the invariant part of 1
ISO/IEC 646 {1} should not be used in portable specifications. The 1
backslash character is not in the invariant part; the number-sign is, but 1
with multiple representations: as a number-sign and as a pound sign. As 1
far as general usage of these symbols, they are covered by the 1
``grandfather clause,'' but for newly defined interfaces, ISO has 1
requested that POSIX provides alternate representations. Consequently, 1
while the default escape character remains the backslash, and the default 1
comment character is the number-sign, implementations are required to 1
recognize alternative representations, identified in the applicable 1
source file via the escape_char and comment_char keywords. 1
END_RATIONALE 1
2.5.2.1 LC_CTYPE
Table 2-5 - LC_CTYPE Category Definition in the POSIX Locale
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
LC_CTYPE
# The following is the POSIX Locale LC_CTYPE.
# "alpha" is by default "upper" and "lower"
# "alnum" is by definition "alpha" and "digit"
# "print" is by default "alnum", "punct" and the <space> character
# "graph" is by default "alnum" and "punct"
#
upper <A>;<B>;<C>;<D>;<E>;<F>;<G>;<H>;<I>;<J>;<K>;<L>;<M>;\
<N>;<O>;<P>;<Q>;<R>;<S>;<T>;<U>;<V>;<W>;<X>;<Y>;<Z>
#
lower <a>;<b>;<c>;<d>;<e>;<f>;<g>;<h>;<i>;<j>;<k>;<l>;<m>;\
<n>;<o>;<p>;<q>;<r>;<s>;<t>;<u>;<v>;<w>;<x>;<y>;<z>
#
digit <zero>;<one>;<two>;<three>;<four>;<five>;<six>;<seven>;<eight>;<nine>
#
space <tab>;<newline>;<vertical-tab>;<form-feed>;<carriage-return>;<space>
#
cntrl <alert>;<backspace>;<tab>;<newline>;<vertical-tab>;\
<form-feed>;<carriage-return>;\
<NUL>;<SOH>;<STX>;<ETX>;<EOT>;<ENQ>;<ACK>;<SO>;\
<SI>;<DLE>;<DC1>;<DC2>;<DC3>;<DC4>;<NAK>;<SYN>;\
<ETB>;<CAN>;<EM>;<SUB>;<ESC>;<IS4>;<IS3>;<IS2>;\
<IS1>;<DEL>
#
punct <exclamation-mark>;<quotation-mark>;<number-sign>;\
<dollar-sign>;<percent-sign>;<ampersand>;<apostrophe>;\
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
76 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
<left-parenthesis>;<right-parenthesis>;<asterisk>;\
<plus-sign>;<comma>;<hyphen>;<period>;<slash>;\
<colon>;<semicolon>;<less-than-sign>;<equals-sign>;\
<greater-than-sign>;<question-mark>;<commercial-at>
<left-square-bracket>;<backslash>;<right-square-bracket>;\
<circumflex>;<underline>;<grave-accent>;\
<left-curly-bracket>;<vertical-line>;<right-curly-bracket>;<tilde>
#
xdigit <zero>;<one>;<two>;<three>;<four>;<five>;<six>;<seven>;<eight>;\
<nine>;<A>;<B>;<C>;<D>;<E>;<F>;<a>;<b>;<c>;<d>;<e>;<f>
#
blank <space>;<tab>
#
toupper (<a>,<A>);(<b>,<B>);(<c>,<C>);(<d>,<D>);(<e>,<E>);\
(<f>,<F>);(<g>,<G>);(<h>,<H>);(<i>,<I>);(<j>,<J>);\
(<k>,<K>);(<l>,<L>);(<m>,<M>);(<n>,<N>);(<o>,<O>);\
(<p>,<P>);(<q>,<Q>);(<r>,<R>);(<s>,<S>);(<t>,<T>);\
(<u>,<U>);(<v>,<V>);(<w>,<W>);(<x>,<X>);(<y>,<Y>);(<z>,<Z>)
#
tolower (<A>,<a>);(<B>,<b>);(<C>,<c>);(<D>,<d>);(<E>,<e>);\
(<F>,<f>);(<G>,<g>);(<H>,<h>);(<I>,<i>);(<J>,<j>);\
(<K>,<k>);(<L>,<l>);(<M>,<m>);(<N>,<n>);(<O>,<o>);\
(<P>,<p>);(<Q>,<q>);(<R>,<r>);(<S>,<s>);(<T>,<t>);\
(<U>,<u>);(<V>,<v>);(<W>,<w>);(<X>,<x>);(<Y>,<y>);(<Z>,<z>)
END LC_CTYPE
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The LC_CTYPE category shall define character classification, case
conversion, and other character attributes. In addition, a series of
characters can be represented by three adjacent periods representing an 1
ellipsis symbol (``...''). The ellipsis specification shall be 1
interpreted as meaning that all values between the values preceding and 1
following it represent valid characters. The ellipsis specification only 1
shall be valid within a single encoded character set. An ellipsis shall
be interpreted as including in the list all characters with an encoded
value higher than the encoded value of the character preceding the
ellipsis and lower than the encoded value of the character following the
ellipsis.
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e: \x30;...;\x39; includes in the character class all characters
with encoded values between the endpoints.
The following keywords shall be recognized. In the descriptions, the
term ``automatically included'' means that it shall not be an error to
either include the referenced characters or to omit them; the
implementation shall provide them if missing and accept them silently if
present.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.5 Locale 77
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
copy Specify the name of an existing locale to be used as the
source for the definition of this category. If this
keyword is specified, no other keyword shall be
specified.
upper Define characters to be classified as uppercase letters.
No character specified for the keywords cntrl, digit,
punct, or space shall be specified. If this keyword is 2
not specified, the uppercase letters A through Z, as 2
defined in Table 2-3 (see 2.4.1), shall automatically 2
belong to this class, with implementation-defined 2
character values. 2
lower Define characters to be classified as lowercase letters.
No character specified for the keywords cntrl, digit,
punct, or space shall be specified. If this keyword is 2
not specified, the lowercase letters a through z, as 2
defined in Table 2-3 (see 2.4.1), shall automatically 2
belong to this class, with implementation-defined 2
character values. 2
alpha Define characters to be classified as letters. No
character specified for the keywords cntrl, digit, punct,
or space shall be specified. In addition, characters
classified as either upper or lower shall automatically
belong to this class.
digit Define the characters to be classified as numeric digits. 2
Only the digits 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 shall be 2
specified, and in ascending sequence by numerical value. 2
If this keyword is not specified, the digits 0 through 9, 2
as defined in Table 2-3 (see 2.4.1), shall automatically 2
belong to this class, with implementation-defined 2
character values. 2
space Define characters to be classified as white-space
characters. No character specified for the keywords
upper, lower, alpha, digit, graph, or xdigit shall be 1
specified. If this keyword is not specified, the 2
characters <space>, <form-feed>, <newline>, <carriage- 2
return>, <tab>, and <vertical-tab>, as defined in 2
Table 2-3 (see 2.4.1), shall automatically belong to this 2
class, with implementation-defined character values. Any 2
characters included in the class blank shall be 1
automatically included. 1
cntrl Define characters to be classified as control characters.
No character specified for the keywords upper, lower,
alpha, digit, punct, graph, print, or xdigit shall be 1
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
78 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
specified. 1
punct Define characters to be classified as punctuation
characters. No character specified for the keywords
upper, lower, alpha, digit, cntrl, xdigit, or as the
<space> character shall be specified.
graph Define characters to be classified as printable
characters, not including the <space> character. If this
keyword is not specified, characters specified for the
keywords upper, lower, alpha, digit, xdigit, and punct
shall belong to this character class. No character
specified for the keyword cntrl shall be specified.
print Define characters to be classified as printable
characters, including the <space> character. If this
keyword is not provided, characters specified for the
keywords upper, lower, alpha, digit, xdigit, punct, and
the <space> character shall belong to this character
class. No character specified for the keyword cntrl
shall be specified.
xdigit Define the characters to be classified as hexadecimal
digits. Only the characters defined for the class digit 2
shall be specified, in ascending sequence by numerical 2
value, followed by one or more sets of six characters 2
representing the hexadecimal digits 10 through 15, with 2
each set in ascending order (for example A, B, C, D, E, 2
F, a, b, c, d, e, f). If this keyword is not specified, 2
the digits 0 through 9, the uppercase letters A through 2
F, and the lowercase letters a through f, as defined in 2
Table 2-3 (see 2.4.1), shall automatically belong to this 2
class, with implementation-defined character values. 2
blank Define characters to be classified as <blank> characters.
If this keyword is unspecified, the characters <space>
and <tab> shall belong to this character class.
toupper Define the mapping of lowercase letters to uppercase
letters. The operand shall consist of character pairs,
separated by semicolons. The characters in each
character pair shall be separated by a comma and the pair
enclosed by parentheses. The first character in each
pair shall be the lowercase letter, the second the
corresponding uppercase letter. Only characters
specified for the keywords lower and upper shall be
specified. If this keyword is not specified, the 2
lowercase letters a through z, and their corresponding 2
uppercase letters A through Z, as defined in Table 2-3 2
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.5 Locale 79
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
(see 2.4.1), shall automatically be included, with 2
implementation-defined character values. 2
tolower Define the mapping of uppercase letters to lowercase
letters. The operand shall consist of character pairs,
separated by semicolons. The characters in each
character pair are separated by a comma and the pair
enclosed by parentheses. The first character in each
pair shall be the uppercase letter, the second the
corresponding lowercase letter. Only characters
specified for the keywords lower and upper shall be
specified.
The tolower keyword is optional. If specified, the
uppercase letters A through Z, as defined in Table 2-3,
and their corresponding lowercase letter, shall be
specified. If this keyword is not specified, the mapping
shall be the reverse mapping of the one specified for
toupper.
Table 2-6 shows the allowed character class combinations.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
80 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
Table 2-6 - Valid Character Class Combinations
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
| In |_________________________C_a_n__A_l_s_o__B_e_l_o_n_g__T_o__________________________|
|Class | upper lower alpha digit space cntrl punct graph print xdigit blank |
_|________|____________________________________________________________________|
|upper | - - M X X X X D D - X |
|lower | - - M X X X X D D - X |
|alpha | - - - X X X X D D - X |
|digit | X X X - X X X D D - X |
|space | X X X X - - * * * X - 2|
|cntrl | X X X X - - X X X X - 2|
|punct | X X X X - X - D D X - |
|graph | - - - - - X - - - - - |
|print | - - - - - X - - - - - |
|xdigit | - - - - X X X D D - X |
_||b_l_a_n_k____||___X______X______X______X______M______-______*______*______*______X_______-___2_||
NOTES:
(1) Explanation of codes:
M Always
D Default; belongs to class if not specified
- Permitted
X Mutually exclusive
* See note (2)
(2) The <space> character, which is part of the space and blank
classes, cannot belong to punct or graph, but automatically
shall belong to the print class. Other space or blank
characters can be classified as punct, graph, and/or print.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
BEGIN_RATIONALE
2.5.2.1.1 LC_CTYPE Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
The LC_CTYPE category primarily is used to define the encoding-
independent aspects of a character set, such as character classification.
In addition, certain encoding-dependent characteristics are also defined
for an application via the LC_CTYPE category. POSIX.2 does not mandate
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.5 Locale 81
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
that the encoding used in the locale is the same as the one used by the
application, because an implementation may decide that it is advantageous
to define locales in a system-wide encoding rather than having multiple,
logically identical locales in different encodings, and to convert from
the application encoding to the system-wide encoding on usage. Other
implementations could require encoding-dependent locales.
In either case, the LC_CTYPE attributes that are directly dependent on
the encoding, such as mb_cur_max and the display width of characters, are
not user-specifiable in a locale source, and are consequently not defined
as keywords.
As the LC_CTYPE character classes are based on the C Standard {7}
character-class definition, the category does not support multicharacter
elements. For instance, the German character <sharp-s> is traditionally
classified as a lowercase letter. There is no corresponding uppercase
letter; in proper capitalization of German text the <sharp-s> will be
replaced by SS; i.e., by two characters. This kind of conversion is
outside the scope of the toupper and tolower keywords.
Where POSIX.2 specifies that only certain characters can be specified, as 1
for the keywords digit and xdigit, the specified characters must be from 1
the portable character set, as shown. As an example, only the Arabic 1
digits 0 through 9 are acceptable as digits. 1
The character classes digit, xdigit, lower, upper, and space have a set 2
of automatically included characters. These only need to be specified if 2
the character values (i.e., encoding) differs from the implementation 2
default values. 2
The definition of character class digit requires that only ten 2
characters--the ones defining digits--can be specified; alternate digits 2
(e.g., Hindi or Kanji) cannot be specified here. However, the encoding 2
may vary if an implementation supports more than one encoding. 2
The definition of character class xdigit requires that the characters 2
included in character class digit are included here also, and allows for 2
different symbols for the hexadecimal digits 10 through 15. 2
END_RATIONALE 2
2.5.2.2 LC_COLLATE
A collation sequence definition shall define the relative order between
collating elements (characters and multicharacter collating elements) in
the locale. This order is expressed in terms of collation values; i.e.,
by assigning each element one or more collation values (also known as
collation weights). This does not imply that implementations shall
assign such values, but that ordering of strings using the resultant
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
82 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
collation definition in the locale shall behave as if such assignment is
done and used in the collation process. The collation sequence
definition shall be used by regular expressions, pattern matching, and
sorting. The following capabilities are provided:
(1) Multicharacter collating elements. Specification of
multicharacter collating elements (i.e., sequences of two or
more characters to be collated as an entity).
(2) User-defined ordering of collating elements. Each collating
element shall be assigned a collation value defining its order
in the character (or basic) collation sequence. This ordering
is used by regular expressions and pattern matching and, unless
collation weights are explicitly specified, also as the
collation weight to be used in sorting.
(3) Multiple weights and equivalence classes. Collating elements
can be assigned one or more (up to the limit {COLL_WEIGHTS_MAX})
collating weights for use in sorting. The first weight is
hereafter referred to as the primary weight.
(4) One-to-Many mapping. A single character is mapped into a string
of collating elements.
(5) Many-to-Many substitution. A string of one or more characters
is substituted by another string (or an empty string, i.e., the
character or characters shall be ignored for collation
purposes).
(6) Equivalence class definition. Two or more collating elements
have the same collation value (primary weight).
(7) Ordering by weights. When two strings are compared to determine 2
their relative order, the two strings are first broken up into a 2
series of collating elements, and each successive pair of 2
elements are compared according to the relative primary weights 2
for the elements. If equal, and more than one weight has been 2
assigned, then the pairs of collating elements are recompared 2
according to the relative subsequent weights, until either a 2
pair of collating elements compare unequal or the weights are 2
exhausted. 2
The following keywords shall be recognized in a collation sequence
definition. They are described in detail in the following subclauses.
copy Specify the name of an existing locale to be
used as the source for the definition of this
category. If this keyword is specified, no
other keyword shall be specified.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.5 Locale 83
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
collating-element Define a collating-element symbol representing a 1
multicharacter collating element. This keyword 1
is optional.
collating-symbol Define a collating symbol for use in collation 1
order statements. This keyword is optional. 1
2
order_start Define collation rules. This statement is
followed by one or more collation order
statements, assigning character collation values
and collation weights to collating elements.
order_end Specify the end of the collation-order 1
statements. 1
Table 2-7 - LC_COLLATE Category Definition in the POSIX Locale
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
LC_COLLATE
# This is the POSIX Locale definition for the LC_COLLATE category.
# The order is the same as in the ASCII code set.
order_start forward
<NUL>
<SOH>
<STX>
<ETX>
<EOT>
<ENQ>
<ACK>
<alert>
<backspace>
<tab>
<newline>
<vertical-tab>
<form-feed>
<carriage-return>
<SO>
<SI>
<DLE>
<DC1>
<DC2>
<DC3>
<DC4>
<NAK>
<SYN>
<ETB>
<CAN>
<EM>
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
84 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
<SUB>
<ESC>
<IS4>
<IS3>
<IS2>
<IS1>
<space>
<exclamation-mark>
<quotation-mark>
<number-sign>
<dollar-sign>
<percent-sign>
<ampersand>
<apostrophe>
<left-parenthesis>
<right-parenthesis>
<asterisk>
_________________________________________________________________________
Table 2-7 - LC_COLLATE Category Definition in the POSIX Locale (_c_o_n_t_i_n_u_e_d)
_________________________________________________________________________
<plus-sign>
<comma>
<hyphen>
<period>
<slash>
<zero>
<one>
<two>
<three>
<four>
<five>
<six>
<seven>
<eight>
<nine>
<colon>
<semicolon>
<less-than-sign>
<equals-sign>
<greater-than-sign>
<question-mark>
<commercial-at>
<A>
<B>
<C>
<D>
<E>
<F>
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.5 Locale 85
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
<G>
<H>
<I>
<J>
<K>
<L>
<M>
<N>
<O>
<P>
<Q>
<R>
<S>
<T>
<U>
<V>
<W>
<X>
<Y>
<Z>
_________________________________________________________________________
2.5.2.2.1 collating-element Keyword
In addition to the collating elements in the character set, the
collating-element keyword shall be used to define multicharacter
collating elements. The syntax is
"collating-element %s from %s\n", <_c_o_l_l_a_t_i_n_g-_s_y_m_b_o_l>, <_s_t_r_i_n_g>
The <_c_o_l_l_a_t_i_n_g-_s_y_m_b_o_l> operand shall be a symbolic name, enclosed between 1
angle brackets (< and >), and shall not duplicate any symbolic name in
the current charmap file (if any), or any other symbolic name defined in
this collation definition. The string operand shall be a string of two
or more characters that shall collate as an entity. A <_c_o_l_l_a_t_i_n_g- 1
_e_l_e_m_e_n_t> defined via this keyword is only recognized with the LC_COLLATE 1
category.
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e:
collating-element <ch> from <c><h>
collating-element <e-acute> from <acute><e>
collating-element <ll> from ll
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
86 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
Table 2-7 - LC_COLLATE Category Definition in the POSIX Locale (_c_o_n_c_l_u_d_e_d)
_________________________________________________________________________
<left-square-bracket>
<backslash>
<right-square-bracket>
<circumflex>
<underline>
<grave-accent>
<a>
<b>
<c>
<d>
<e>
<f>
<g>
<h>
<i>
<j>
<k>
<l>
<m>
<n>
<o>
<p>
<q>
<r>
<s>
<t>
<u>
<v>
<w>
<x>
<y>
<z>
<left-curly-bracket>
<vertical-line>
<right-curly-bracket>
<tilde>
<DEL>
order_end
#
END LC_COLLATE
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_2._5._2._2._2 collating-symbol _K_e_y_w_o_r_d
This keyword shall be used to define symbols for use in collation
sequence statements; i.e., between the order_start and the order_end
keywords. The syntax is
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.5 Locale 87
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
"collating-symbol %s\n", <_c_o_l_l_a_t_i_n_g-_s_y_m_b_o_l>
The <_c_o_l_l_a_t_i_n_g-_s_y_m_b_o_l> shall be a symbolic name, enclosed between angle 1
brackets (< and >), and shall not duplicate any symbolic name in the
current charmap file (if any), or any other symbolic name defined in this
collation definition. A <_c_o_l_l_a_t_i_n_g-_s_y_m_b_o_l> defined via this keyword is
only recognized with the LC_COLLATE category.
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e:
collating-symbol <UPPER_CASE>
collating-symbol <HIGH>
2
_2._5._2._2._3 order_start _K_e_y_w_o_r_d
The order_start keyword shall precede collation order entries and also
defines the number of weights for this collation sequence definition and
other collation rules.
The syntax of the order_start keyword is:
"order_start %s;%s;...;%s\n", <_s_o_r_t-_r_u_l_e_s>, <_s_o_r_t-_r_u_l_e_s> ...
The operands to the order_start keyword are optional. If present, the
operands define rules to be applied when strings are compared. The
number of operands define how many weights each element is assigned; if
no operands are present, one forward operand is assumed. If present, the
first operand defines rules to be applied when comparing strings using
the first (primary) weight; the second when comparing strings using the
second weight, and so on. Operands shall be separated by semicolons (;).
Each operand shall consist of one or more collation directives, separated
by commas (,). If the number or operands exceeds the {COLL_WEIGHTS_MAX}
limit, the utility shall issue a warning message. The following
directives shall be supported:
forward Specifies that comparison operations for the weight
level shall proceed from start of string towards
the end of string.
backward Specifies that comparison operations for the weight
level shall proceed from end of string towards the
beginning of string.
2
position Specifies that comparison operations for the weight
level will consider the relative position of non- 2
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
88 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
IGNOREd elements in the strings. The string 2
containing a non-IGNOREd element after the fewest 2
IGNOREd collating elements from the start of the 2
compare shall collate first. If both strings 2
contain a non-IGNOREd character in the same 2
relative position, the collating values assigned to 2
the elements shall determine the ordering. In case 2
of equality, subsequent non-IGNOREd characters 2
shall be considered in the same manner. 2
The directives forward and backward are mutually exclusive.
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e:
order_start forward;backward 2
If no operands are specified, a single forward operand shall be assumed. 1
2.5.2.2.4 Collation Order
The order_start keyword shall be followed by collating element entries.
The syntax for the collating element entries is
"%s %s;%s;...;%s\n", <_c_o_l_l_a_t_i_n_g-_e_l_e_m_e_n_t>, <_w_e_i_g_h_t>, <_w_e_i_g_h_t>, ...
Each _c_o_l_l_a_t_i_n_g-_e_l_e_m_e_n_t shall consist of either a character (in any of the 1
forms defined in 2.5.2), a <_c_o_l_l_a_t_i_n_g-_e_l_e_m_e_n_t>, a <_c_o_l_l_a_t_i_n_g-_s_y_m_b_o_l>, an 1
ellipsis, or the special symbol UNDEFINED. The order in which collating 1
elements are specified determines the character collation sequence, such 1
that each collating element shall compare less than the elements 1
following it. The NUL character shall compare lower than any other 1
character. 1
A <_c_o_l_l_a_t_i_n_g-_e_l_e_m_e_n_t> shall be used to specify multicharacter collating 1
elements, and indicates that the character sequence specified via the 1
<_c_o_l_l_a_t_i_n_g-_e_l_e_m_e_n_t> is to be collated as a unit and in the relative order 1
specified by its place. 1
A <_c_o_l_l_a_t_i_n_g-_s_y_m_b_o_l> shall be used to define a position in the relative 1
order for use in weights. 1
The ellipsis symbol (``...'') specifies that a sequence of characters 1
shall collate according to their encoded character values. It shall be 1
interpreted as indicating that all characters with a coded character set
value higher than the value of the character in the preceding line, and
lower than the coded character set value for the character in the
following line, in the current coded character set, shall be placed in
the character collation order between the previous and the following
character in ascending order according to their coded character set
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.5 Locale 89
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
values. An initial ellipsis shall be interpreted as if the preceding
line specified the NUL character, and a trailing ellipsis as if the
following line specified the highest coded character set value in the
current coded character set. An ellipsis shall be treated as invalid if
the preceding or following lines do not specify characters in the current
coded character set. The use of the ellipsis symbol ties the definition 1
to a specific coded character set and may preclude the definition from 1
being portable between implementations. 1
The symbol UNDEFINED shall be interpreted as including all coded
character set values not specified explicitly or via the ellipsis symbol.
Such characters shall be inserted in the character collation order at the
point indicated by the symbol, and in ascending order according to their 1
coded character set values. If no UNDEFINED symbol is specified, and the 1
current coded character set contains characters not specified in this
clause, the utility shall issue a warning message and place such
characters at the end of the character collation order.
The optional operands for each collation-element shall be used to define
the primary, secondary, or subsequent weights for the collating element.
The first operand specifies the relative primary weight, the second the
relative secondary weight, and so on. Two or more collation-elements can
be assigned the same weight; they belong to the same _e_q_u_i_v_a_l_e_n_c_e _c_l_a_s_s if 1
they have the same primary weight. Collation shall behave as if, for 1
each weight level, IGNOREd elements are removed. Then each successive 2
pair of elements shall be compared according to the relative weights for 1
the elements. If the two strings compare equal, the process shall be 1
repeated for the next weight level, up to the limit {COLL_WEIGHTS_MAX}. 1
Weights shall be expressed as characters (in any of the forms specified 1
in 2.5.2), <_c_o_l_l_a_t_i_n_g-_s_y_m_b_o_l>s, <_c_o_l_l_a_t_i_n_g-_e_l_e_m_e_n_t>s, an ellipsis, or the 1
special symbol IGNORE. A single character, a <_c_o_l_l_a_t_i_n_g-_s_y_m_b_o_l>, or a 1
<_c_o_l_l_a_t_i_n_g-_e_l_e_m_e_n_t> shall represent the relative order in the character 1
collating sequence of the character or symbol, rather than the character 1
or characters themselves. 1
One-to-many mapping is indicated by specifying two or more concatenated 1
characters or symbolic names. Thus, if the character ``<eszet>'' is 1
given the string <s><s> as a weight, comparisons shall be performed as if 1
all occurrences of the character <eszet> are replaced by <s><s>. If it 1
is desirable to define <eszet> and <s><s> as an equivalence class, then a 1
collating-element must be defined for the string ``ss'', as in the 1
example below. 1
All characters specified via an ellipsis shall by default be assigned 1
unique weights, equal to the relative order of characters. Characters 1
specified via an explicit or implicit UNDEFINED special symbol shall by 1
default be assigned the same primary weight (i.e., belong to the same 1
equivalence class). An ellipsis symbol as a weight shall be interpreted 1
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
90 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
to mean that each character in the sequence shall have unique weights, 1
equal to the relative order of their character in the character collation 1
sequence. Secondary and subsequent weights have unique values. The use 1
of the ellipsis as a weight shall be treated as an error if the collating 1
element is neither an ellipsis nor the special symbol UNDEFINED. 1
The special keyword IGNORE as a weight shall indicate that when strings
are compared using the weights at the level where IGNORE is specified,
the collating element shall be ignored; i.e., as if the string did not
contain the collating element. In regular expressions and pattern
matching, all characters that are IGNOREd in their primary weight form an
equivalence class.
An empty operand shall be interpreted as the collating-element itself.
For example, the order statement
<a> <a>;<a>
is equal to
<a>
An ellipsis can be used as an operand if the collating-element was an
ellipsis, and shall be interpreted as the value of each character defined
by the ellipsis.
The collation order as defined in this clause defines the interpretation 1
of bracket expressions in regular expressions (see 2.8.3.2). 1
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.5 Locale 91
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e:
order_start forward;backward
UNDEFINED IGNORE;IGNORE
<LOW>
<space> <LOW>;<space>
... <LOW>;...
<a> <a>;<a>
<a-acute> <a>;<a-acute>
<a-grave> <a>;<a-grave>
<A> <a>;<A>
<A-acute> <a>;<A-acute>
<A-grave> <a>;<A-grave>
<ch> <ch>;<ch>
<Ch> <ch>;<Ch>
<s> <s>;<s>
2
<eszet> <s><s>;<eszet><eszet>
... <HIGH>;...
<HIGH>
order_end
This example is interpreted as follows:
(1) The UNDEFINED means that all characters not specified in this
definition (explicitly or via the ellipsis) shall be ignored for
collation purposes; for regular expression purposes they are
ordered first.
(2) All characters between <space> and <a> shall have the same
primary equivalence class and individual secondary weights based
on their ordinal encoded values.
(3) All characters based on the upper- or lowercase character a
belong to the same primary equivalence class.
(4) The multicharacter collating element <c><h> is represented by
the collating symbol <ch> and belongs to the same primary
equivalence class as the multicharacter collating element
<C><h>.
(5) Note that it is not possible to use the collating element <ss> 1
as a weight and expect it to be expanded to the string ``ss''. 1
When used as a weight, any collating-element represents the 1
relative order assigned to it in the character collation 1
sequence, not the string from which it was derived (compare with 1
<ch>). 1
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
92 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
2.5.2.2.5 order_end Keyword
The collating order entries shall be terminated with an order_end
keyword.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
2.5.2.2.6 LC_COLLATE Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f
_P_1_0_0_3._2)
The LC_COLLATE category governs the collation order in the locale, and
thus the processing of the C Standard {7} _s_t_r_x_f_r_m() and _s_t_r_c_o_l_l()
functions, as well as a number of POSIX.2 utilities.
The rules governing collation depends to some extent on the use. At
least five different levels of increasingly complex collation rules can
be distinguished:
(1) Byte/machine code order. This is the historical collation order
in the UNIX system and many proprietary operating systems.
Collation is here done character by character, without any
regard to context. The primary virtue is that it usually is
quite fast, and also completely deterministic; it works well
when the native machine collation sequence matches the user
expectations.
(2) Character order. On this level, collation is also done
character by character, without regard to context. The order
between characters is, however, not determined by the code
values, but on the user's expectations of the ``correct'' order
between characters. In addition, such a (simple) collation
order can specify that certain characters collate equal (e.g.,
upper- and lowercase letters).
(3) String ordering. On this level, entire strings are compared
based on relatively straightforward rules. At this level,
several ``passes'' may be required to determine the order
between two strings. Characters may be ignored in some passes,
but not in others; the strings may be compared in different
directions; and simple string substitutions may be made before
strings are compared. This level is best described as
``dictionary'' ordering; it is based on the spelling, not the
pronunciation, or meaning, of the words.
(4) Text search ordering. This is a further refinement of the
previous level, best described as ``telephone book ordering''; 1
some common homonyms (words spelled differently but with same 1
pronunciation) are collated together; numbers are collated as if
spelled with words, and so on.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.5 Locale 93
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
(5) Semantic level ordering. Words and strings are collated based
on their meaning; entire words (such as ``the'') are eliminated,
the ordering is not deterministic. This usually requires
special software, and is highly dependent on the intended use.
While the historical collation order formally is at level 1, for the
English language it corresponds roughly to elements at level 2. The user
expects to see the output from the ls utility sorted very much as as it
would be in a dictionary. While telephone book ordering would be an
optimal goal for standard collation, this was ruled out as the order
would be language dependent. Furthermore, a requirement was that the
order must be determined solely from the text string and the collation
rules; no external information (e.g., ``pronunciation dictionaries'')
could be required.
As a result, the goal for the collation support is at level 3. This also
matches the requirements for the proposed Canadian collation order, as
well as other, known collation requirements for alphabetic scripts. It
specifically rules out collation based on pronunciation rules, or based
on semantic analysis of the text.
The syntax for the LC_COLLATE category source is the result of a
cooperative effort between representatives for many countries and
organizations working with international issues, such as UniForum,
X/Open, and ISO, and it meets the requirements for level 3, and has been
verified to produce the correct result with examples based on French,
Canadian, and Danish collation order, as well as meeting the requirements
in the X/Open Portability Guide, Issue 3. {B31}. Because it supports
multicharacter collating elements, it is also capable of supporting
collation in code sets where a character is expressed using nonspacing
characters followed by the base character (such as ISO 6937 {B6}).
The directives that can be specified in an operand to the order_start 2
keyword are based on the requirements specified in several proposed 2
standards and in customary use. The following is a rephrasing of rules 2
defined for ``lexical ordering in English and French'' by the Canadian 2
Standards Association (text is brackets is rephrased): 2
(1) Once special characters ([punctuation]) have been removed from 2
original strings, the ordering is determined by scanning forward 2
(left to right) [disregarding case and diacriticals]. 2
(2) In case of equivalence, special characters are once again 2
removed from original strings and the ordering is determined 2
scanning backward (starting from the rightmost character of the 2
string and back), character by character, [disregarding case but 2
considering diacriticals]. 2
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
94 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
(3) In case of repeated equivalence, special characters are removed 2
again from original strings and the ordering is determined 2
scanning forward, character by character, [considering both case 2
and diacriticals]. 2
(4) If there is still an ordering equivalence after rules (1) 2
through (3) have been applied, then only special characters and 2
the position they occupy in the string are considered to 2
determine ordering. The string that has a special character in 2
the lowest position comes first. If two strings have a special 2
character in the same position, the character [with the lowest 2
collation value] comes first. In case of equality, the other 2
special characters are considered until there is a difference or 2
all special characters have been exhausted. 2
It is estimated that the standard covers the requirements for all
European languages, and no particular problems are anticipated with
Slavic or Middle East character sets.
The Far East (particularly Japanese/Chinese) collations are often based
on contextual information and pronunciation rules (the same ideogram can
have different meanings and different pronunciations). Such collation,
in general, falls outside the desired goal of the standard. There are,
however, several other collation rules (stroke/radical, or ``most common
pronunciation'') which can be supported with the mechanism described
here.
Previous drafts contained a substitute statement, which performed a 2
regular expression style replacement before string compares. It has been 2
withdrawn based on balloter objections that it was not required for the 2
types of ordering POSIX.2 is aimed at. 2
The character (and collating element) order is defined by the order in 2
which characters and elements are specified between the order_start and 2
order_end keywords. This character order is used in range expressions in 2
regular expressions (see 2.8). Weights assigned to the characters and 2
elements defines the collation sequence; in the absence of weights, the 2
character order is also the collation sequence. 2
The position keyword was introduced to provide the capability to 1
consider, in a compare, the relative position of non-IGNORE_d characters. 1
As an example, consider the two strings ``o-ring'' and ``or-ing''. 1
Assuming the hyphen is IGNORE_d on the first pass, the two strings will 1
compare equal, and the position of the hyphen is immaterial. On second 1
pass, all characters except the hyphen are IGNORE_d, and in the normal 1
case the two strings would again compare equal. By taking position into 1
account, the first collates before the second. 1
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.5 Locale 95
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
END_RATIONALE 1
2.5.2.3 LC_MONETARY
Table 2-8 - LC_MONETARY Category Definition in the POSIX Locale
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
LC_MONETARY
# This is the POSIX Locale definition for
# the LC_MONETARY category.
#
int_curr_symbol ""
currency_symbol ""
mon_decimal_point ""
mon_thousands_sep ""
mon_grouping ""
positive_sign ""
negative_sign ""
int_frac_digits -1
p_cs_precedes -1
p_sep_by_space -1
n_cs_precedes -1
n_sep_by_space -1
p_sign_posn -1
n_sign_posn -1
#
END LC_MONETARY
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The LC_MONETARY category shall define the rules and symbols that shall be
used to format monetary numeric information. The operands are strings.
For some keywords, the strings can contain only integers. Keywords that
are not provided, string values set to the empty string (""), or integer 1
keywords set to -1, shall be used to indicate that the value is 1
unspecified. The following keywords shall be recognized:
copy Specify the name of an existing locale to be
used as the source for the definition of this
category. If this keyword is specified, no
other keyword shall be specified.
int_curr_symbol The international currency symbol. The operand
shall be a four-character string, with the first
three characters containing the alphabetic
international currency symbol in accordance with
those specified in ISO 4217 {3} (_C_o_d_e_s _f_o_r _t_h_e
_r_e_p_r_e_s_e_n_t_a_t_i_o_n _o_f _c_u_r_r_e_n_c_i_e_s _a_n_d _f_u_n_d_s). The
fourth character shall be the character used to
separate the international currency symbol from
the monetary quantity.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
96 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
currency_symbol The string that shall be used as the local
currency symbol.
mon_decimal_point The operand is a string containing the symbol 2
that shall be used as the decimal delimiter in 2
monetary formatted quantities. In contexts 2
where other standards limit the 2
mon_decimal_point to a single byte, the result 2
of specifying a multibyte operand is 2
unspecified. 2
mon_thousands_sep The operand is a string containing the symbol 2
that shall be used as a separator for groups of 2
digits to the left of the decimal delimiter in 2
formatted monetary quantities. In contexts 2
where other standards limit the 2
mon_thousands_sep to a single byte, the result 2
of specifying a multibyte operand is 2
unspecified. 2
mon_grouping Define the size of each group of digits in
formatted monetary quantities. The operand is a
sequence of integers separated by semicolons.
Each integer specifies the number of digits in
each group, with the initial integer defining
the size of the group immediately preceding the
decimal delimiter, and the following integers
defining the preceding groups. If the last 2
integer is not -1, then the size of the previous 2
group (if any) shall be repeatedly used for the 2
remainder of the digits. If the last integer is 2
-1, then no further grouping shall be performed. 2
positive_sign A string that shall be used to indicate a
nonnegative-valued formatted monetary quantity.
negative_sign A string that shall be used to indicate a
negative-valued formatted monetary quantity.
int_frac_digits An integer representing the number of fractional
digits (those to the right of the decimal
delimiter) to be written in a formatted monetary
quantity using int_curr_symbol.
frac_digits An integer representing the number of fractional
digits (those to the right of the decimal
delimiter) to be written in a formatted monetary
quantity using currency_symbol.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.5 Locale 97
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
p_cs_precedes An integer set to 1 if the currency_symbol or
int_curr_symbol precedes the value for a
nonnegative formatted monetary quantity, and set
to 0 if the symbol succeeds the value.
p_sep_by_space An integer set to 0 if no space separates the
currency_symbol or int_curr_symbol from the
value for a nonnegative formatted monetary
quantity, set to 1 if a space separates the
symbol from the value, and set to 2 if a space
separates the symbol and the sign string, if
adjacent.
n_cs_precedes An integer set to 1 if the currency_symbol or
int_curr_symbol precedes the value for a
negative formatted monetary quantity, and set to
0 if the symbol succeeds the value.
n_sep_by_space An integer set to 0 if no space separates the
currency_symbol or int_curr_symbol from the
value for a negative formatted monetary
quantity, set to 1 if a space separates the
symbol from the value, and set to 2 if a space
separates the symbol and the sign string, if
adjacent.
p_sign_posn An integer set to a value indicating the
positioning of the positive_sign for a
nonnegative formatted monetary quantity. The
following integer values shall be recognized:
0 Parentheses enclose the quantity and the
currency_symbol or int_curr_symbol.
1 The sign string precedes the quantity and
the currency_symbol or int_curr_symbol.
2 The sign string succeeds the quantity and
the currency_symbol or int_curr_symbol.
3 The sign string immediately precedes the
currency_symbol or int_curr_symbol.
4 The sign string immediately succeeds the
currency_symbol or int_curr_symbol.
n_sign_posn An integer set to a value indicating the
positioning of the negative_sign for a negative 1
formatted monetary quantity. The following
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
98 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
integer values shall be recognized:
0 Parentheses enclose the quantity and the
currency_symbol or int_curr_symbol.
1 The sign string precedes the quantity and
the currency_symbol or int_curr_symbol.
2 The sign string succeeds the quantity and
the currency_symbol or int_curr_symbol.
3 The sign string immediately precedes the
currency_symbol or int_curr_symbol.
4 The sign string immediately succeeds the
currency_symbol or int_curr_symbol.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
2.5.2.3.1 LC_MONETARY Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f
_P_1_0_0_3._2)
The currency symbol does not appear in LC_MONETARY because it is not
defined in the C Standard's {7} C locale.
The C Standard {7} limits the size of decimal points and thousands 2
delimiters to single-byte values. In locales based on multibyte coded 2
character sets this cannot be enforced, obviously; this standard does not 2
prohibit such characters, but makes the behavior unspecified [in the text 2
``In contexts where other standards ...'']. 2
The grouping specification is based on, but not identical to, the 2
C Standard {7}. The ``-1'' signals that no further grouping shall be 2
performed, the equivalent of {CHAR_MAX} in the C Standard {7}). 2
The locale definition is an extension of the C Standard {7} _l_o_c_a_l_e_c_o_n_v()
specification. In particular, rules on how currency_symbol is treated
are extended to also cover int_curr_symbol, and p_set_by_space and
n_sep_by_space have been augmented with the value 2, which places a space
between the sign and the symbol (if they are adjacent; otherwise it
should be treated as a 0). The following table shows the result of
various combinations:
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.5 Locale 99
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
p_sep_by_space
2 1 0
p_cs_precedes = 1 p_sign_posn = 0 ($1.25) ($ 1.25) ($1.25)
p_sign_posn = 1 + $1.25 +$ 1.25 +$1.25
p_sign_posn = 2 $1.25 + $ 1.25+ $1.25+
p_sign_posn = 3 + $1.25 +$ 1.25 +$1.25
p_sign_posn = 4 $ +1.25 $+ 1.25 $+1.25
p_cs_precedes = 0 p_sign_posn = 0 (1.25 $) (1.25 $) (1.25$)
p_sign_posn = 1 +1.25 $ +1.25 $ +1.25$
p_sign_posn = 2 1.25$ + 1.25 $+ 1.25$+
p_sign_posn = 3 1.25+ $ 1.25 +$ 1.25+$
p_sign_posn = 4 1.25$ + 1.25 $+ 1.25$+
The following is an example of the interpretation of the mon_grouping
keyword. Assuming that the value to be formatted is 123456789 and the
mon_thousands_sep is ', then the following table shows the result. The 1
third column shows the equivalent C Standard {7} string that would be 1
used to accommodate this grouping. It is the responsibility of the 1
utility to perform mappings of the formats in this clause to those used 1
by language bindings such as the C Standard {7}. 1
mon_grouping Formatted Value C Standard {7} String 1
____________ _______________ _____________________ 1
3;-1 123456'789 "\3\177" 2
3 123'456'789 "\3" 2
3;2;-1 1234'56'789 "\3\2\177" 2
3;2 12'34'56'789 "\3\2" 2
-1 123456789 "177" 2
In these examples, the octal value of {CHAR_MAX} is 177. 2
END_RATIONALE
2.5.2.4 LC_NUMERIC
The LC_NUMERIC category shall define the rules and symbols that shall be
used to format nonmonetary numeric information. The operands are
strings. For some keywords, the strings only can contain integers.
Keywords that are not provided, string values set to the empty string 1
(""), or integer keywords set to -1, shall be used to indicate that the 1
value is unspecified. The following keywords shall be recognized:
copy Specify the name of an existing locale to be used
as the source for the definition of this category.
If this keyword is specified, no other keyword
shall be specified.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
100 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
decimal_point The operand is a string containing the symbol that 2
shall be used as the decimal delimiter in numeric, 2
nonmonetary formatted quantities. This keyword 2
cannot be omitted and cannot be set to the empty 2
string. In contexts where other standards limit 2
the decimal_point to a single byte, the result of 2
specifying a multibyte operand is unspecified. 2
thousands_sep The operand is a string containing the symbol that 2
shall be used as a separator for groups of digits 2
to the left of the decimal delimiter in numeric, 2
nonmonetary formatted monetary quantities. In 2
contexts where other standards limit the 2
thousands_sep to a single byte, the result of 2
specifying a multibyte operand is unspecified. 2
grouping Define the size of each group of digits in
formatted nonmonetary quantities. The operand is a
sequence of integers separated by semicolons. Each
integer specifies the number of digits in each
group, with the initial integer defining the size
of the group immediately preceding the decimal
delimiter, and the following integers defining the
preceding groups. If the last integer is not -1, 2
then the size of the previous group (if any) shall 2
be repeatedly used for the remainder of the digits. 2
If the last integer is -1, then no further grouping 2
shall be performed. 2
Table 2-9 - LC_NUMERIC Category Definition in the POSIX Locale
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
LC_NUMERIC
# This is the POSIX Locale definition for
# the LC_NUMERIC category.
#
decimal_point "<period>" 2
thousands_sep ""
grouping 0
#
END LC_NUMERIC
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
BEGIN_RATIONALE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.5 Locale 101
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
2.5.2.4.1 LC_NUMERIC Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f
_P_1_0_0_3._2)
See the rationale for LC_MONETARY (2.5.2.3.1) for a description of the 1
behavior of grouping. 1
END_RATIONALE 1
2.5.2.5 LC_TIME
The LC_TIME category shall define the interpretation of the field
descriptors supported by the date utility (see 4.15).
Table 2-10 - LC_TIME Category Definition in the POSIX Locale
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
LC_TIME
# This is the POSIX Locale definition for
# the LC_TIME category.
#
# Abbreviated weekday names (%a)
abday "<S><u><n>";"<M><o><n>";"<T><u><e>";"<W><e><d>";\
"<T><h><u>";"<F><r><i>";"<S><a><t>"
#
# Full weekday names (%A)
day "<S><u><n><d><a><y>";"<M><o><n><d><a><y>";\
"<T><u><e><s><d><a><y>";"<W><e><d><n><e><s><d><a><y>";\
"<T><h><u><r><s><d><a><y>";"<F><r><i><d><a><y>";\
"<S><a><t><u><r><d><a><y>"
#
# Abbreviated month names (%b)
abmon "<J><a><n>";"<F><e><b>";"<M><a><r>";\
"<A><p><r>";"<M><a><y>";"<J><u><n>";\
"<J><u><l>";"<A><u><g>";"<S><e><p>";\
"<O><c><t>";"<N><o><v>";"<D><e><c>"
#
# Full month names (%B)
mon "<J><a><n><u><a><r><y>";"<F><e><b><r><u><a><r><y>";\
"<M><a><r><c><h>";"<A><p><r><i><l>";\
"<M><a><y>";"<J><u><n><e>";\
"<J><u><l><y>";"<A><u><g><u><s><t>";\
"<S><e><p><t><e><m><b><e><r>";"<O><c><t><o><b><e><r>";\
"<N><o><v><e><m><b><e><r>";"<D><e><c><e><m><b><e><r>"
#
# Equivalent of AM/PM (%p) "AM";"PM"
am_pm "<A><M>";"<P><M>"
#
# Appropriate date and time representation (%c)
# "%a %b %e %H:%M:%S %Y" 1
d_t_fmt "<percent-sign><a><space><percent-sign><b><space><percent-sign><e>\1
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
102 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
<space><percent-sign><H><colon><percent-sign><M>\
<colon><percent-sign><S><space><percent-sign><Y>"
#
# Appropriate date representation (%x) "%m/%d/%y"
d_fmt "<percent-sign><m><slash><percent-sign><d><slash><percent-sign><y>"
#
# Appropriate time representation (%X) "%H:%M:%S"
t_fmt "<percent-sign><H><colon><percent-sign><M><colon><percent-sign><S>"
#
# Appropriate 12-hour time representation (%r) "%I:%M:%S %p"
t_fmt_ampm "<percent-sign><I><colon><percent-sign><M><colon>\
<percent-sign><S> <percent_sign><p>"
#
END LC_TIME
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The following mandatory keywords shall be recognized:
copy Specify the name of an existing locale to be used as the
source for the definition of this category. If this
keyword is specified, no other keyword shall be specified.
abday Define the abbreviated weekday names, corresponding to the
%a field descriptor. The operand shall consist of seven
semicolon-separated strings. The first string shall be the
abbreviated name of the first day of the week (Sunday), the
second the abbreviated name of the second day, and so on.
day Define the full weekday names, corresponding to the %A
field descriptor. The operand shall consist of seven
semicolon-separated strings. The first string shall be the
full name of the first day of the week (Sunday), the second
the full name of the second day, and so on.
abmon Define the abbreviated month names, corresponding to the %b
field descriptor. The operand shall consist of twelve
semicolon-separated strings. The first string shall be the
abbreviated name of the first month of the year (January),
the second the abbreviated name of the second month, and so
on.
mon Define the full month names, corresponding to the %B field
descriptor. The operand shall consist of twelve
semicolon-separated strings. The first string shall be the
full name of the first month of the year (January), the
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.5 Locale 103
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
second the full name of the second month, and so on.
d_t_fmt Define the appropriate date and time representation,
corresponding to the %c field descriptor. The operand
shall consist of a string, and can contain any combination
of characters and field descriptors. In addition, the
string can contain escape sequences defined in Table 2-15. 1
d_fmt Define the appropriate date representation, corresponding
to the %x field descriptor. The operand shall consist of a
string, and can contain any combination of characters and
field descriptors. In addition, the string can contain
escape sequences defined in Table 2-15. 1
t_fmt Define the appropriate time representation, corresponding
to the %X field descriptor. The operand shall consist of a
string, and can contain any combination of characters and
field descriptors. In addition, the string can contain
escape sequences defined in Table 2-15. 1
am_pm Define the appropriate representation of the _a_n_t_e _m_e_r_i_d_i_e_m
and _p_o_s_t _m_e_r_i_d_i_e_m strings, corresponding to the %p field
descriptor. The operand shall consist of two strings,
separated by a semicolon. The first string shall represent
the _a_n_t_e _m_e_r_i_d_i_e_m designation, the last string the _p_o_s_t
_m_e_r_i_d_i_e_m designation.
t_fmt_ampm
Define the appropriate time representation in the 12-hour
clock format with am_pm, corresponding to the %r field
descriptor. The operand shall consist of a string and can
contain any combination of characters and field
descriptors. If the string is empty, the 12-hour format is
not supported in the locale.
It is implementation defined whether the following optional keywords
shall be recognized. If they are not supported, but present in a
localedef source, they shall be ignored.
era Shall be used to define alternate Eras, corresponding
to the %E field descriptor modifier. The format of the
operand is unspecified, but shall support the
definition of the %EC and %Ey field descriptors, and
may also define the era_year format (%EY).
era_year Shall be used to define the format of the year in
alternate Era format, corresponding to the %EY field
descriptor.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
104 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
era_d_fmt Shall be used to define the format of the date in
alternate Era notation, corresponding to the %Ex field
descriptor.
alt_digits Shall be used to define alternate symbols for digits,
corresponding to the %O field descriptor modifier. The
operand shall consist of semicolon-separated strings.
The first string shall be the alternate symbol
corresponding with zero, the second string the symbol
corresponding with one, and so on. Up to 100 alternate
symbol strings can be specified. The %O modifier
indicates that the string corresponding to the value
specified via the field descriptor shall be used
instead of the value.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
2.5.2.5.1 LC_TIME Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
Although certain of the field descriptors in the POSIX Locale (such as
the name of the month) are shown with initial capital letters, this need
not be the case in other locales. Programs using these fields may need
to adjust the capitalization if the output is going to be used at the
beginning of a sentence.
The LC_TIME descriptions of abday, daya, and abmon imply a Gregorian 1
style calendar (7-day weeks, 12-month years, leap years, etc.). 1
Formatting time strings for other types of calendars is outside the scope 1
of this standard. 1
As specified under the date command, the field descriptors corresponding
to the optional keywords consist of a modifier followed by a traditional
field descriptor (for instance %Ex). If the optional keywords are not
supported by the implementation or are unspecified for the current
locale, these field descriptors shall be treated as the traditional field
descriptor. For instance, assume the following keywords:
alt_digits "0th";"1st";"2nd";"3rd";"4th";"5th";\ 1
"6th";"7th";"8th";"9th";"10th" 1
d_fmt "The %Od day of %B in %Y" 1
On 7/4/1776, the %x field descriptor would result in ``The 4th day of 1
July in 1776,'' while 7/14/1789 would come out as ``The 14 day of July in
1789.'' It can be noted that the above example is for illustrative
purposes only; the %O modifier is primarily intended to provide for Kanji
or Hindi digits in date formats.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.5 Locale 105
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
While it is clear that an alternate year format is required, there is no
consensus on the format or the requirements. As a result, while these
keywords are reserved, the details are left unspecified. It is expected
that National Standards Bodies will provide specifications.
END_RATIONALE
2.5.2.6 LC_MESSAGES
The LC_MESSAGES category shall define the format and values for
affirmative and negative responses. The operands shall be strings or
extended regular expressions; see 2.8.4. The following keywords shall be
recognized:
copy Specify the name of an existing locale to be used as the
source for the definition of this category. If this
keyword is specified, no other keyword shall be specified.
yesexpr The operand shall consist of an extended regular expression
that describes the acceptable affirmative response to a
question expecting an affirmative or negative response.
noexpr The operand shall consist of an extended regular expression
that describes the acceptable negative response to a
question expecting an affirmative or negative response.
Table 2-11 - LC_MESSAGES Category Definition in the POSIX Locale
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
LC_MESSAGES
# This is the POSIX Locale definition for
# the LC_MESSAGES category.
#
yesexpr "<circumflex><left-square-bracket><y><Y><right-square-bracket>"
#
noexpr "<circumflex><left-square-bracket><n><N><right-square-bracket>"
END LC_MESSAGES
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
BEGIN_RATIONALE
2.5.2.6.1 LC_MESSAGES Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f
_P_1_0_0_3._2)
The LC_MESSAGES category is described in 2.6 as affecting the language
used by utilities for their output. The mechanism used by the
implementation to accomplish this, other than the responses shown here in
the locale definition file, is not specified by this version of this
standard. The POSIX.1 working group is developing an interface that
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
106 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
would allow applications (and, presumably some of the standard utilities)
to access messages from various message catalogs, tailored to a user's
LC_MESSAGES value.
END_RATIONALE
2.5.3 Locale Definition Grammar 1
The grammar and lexical conventions in this subclause shall together 1
describe the syntax for the locale definition source. The general 1
conventions for this style of grammar are described in 2.1.2. Any 1
discrepancies found between this grammar and other descriptions in this 1
clause shall be resolved in favor of this grammar. 1
2.5.3.1 Locale Lexical Conventions 1
The lexical conventions for the locale definition grammar are described 1
in this subclause. 1
The following tokens shall be processed (in addition to those string 1
constants shown in the grammar): 1
LOC_NAME A string of characters representing the name of a 1
locale. 1
CHAR Any single character. 1
NUMBER A decimal number, represented by one or more decimal 2
digits. 2
COLLSYMBOL A symbolic name, enclosed between angle brackets. The 1
string shall not duplicate any charmap symbol defined 1
in the current charmap (if any), or a COLLELEMENT 1
symbol. 1
COLLELEMENT A symbolic name, enclosed between angle brackets, which 1
shall not duplicate either any charmap symbol or a 1
CHARSYMBOL symbol. 1
CHARSYMBOL A symbolic name, enclosed between angle brackets, from 1
the current charmap (if any). 1
OCTAL_CHAR One or more octal representations of the encoding of 1
each byte in a single character. The octal 1
representation consists of an escape_char (normally a 1
backslash) followed by two or more octal digits. 1
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.5 Locale 107
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
HEX_CHAR One or more hexadecimal representations of the encoding 1
of each byte in a single character. The hexadecimal 1
representation consists of an escape_char followed by 1
the constant 'x' and two or more hexadecimal digits. 1
DECIMAL_CHAR One or more decimal representations of the encoding of 1
each byte in a single character. The decimal 1
representation consists of an escape_char and followed 1
by a 'd' and two or more decimal digits. 1
ELLIPSIS The string ``...''. 1
2
EXTENDED_REG_EXP 1
An extended regular expression as defined in the 1
grammar in 2.8.5.2. 1
2
EOL The line termination character <newline>. 1
2.5.3.2 Locale Grammar 1
This subclause presents the grammar for the locale definition. 1
%token LOC_NAME 1
%token CHAR 1
%token NUMBER 2
%token COLLSYMBOL COLLELEMENT 1
%token CHARSYMBOL OCTAL_CHAR HEX_CHAR DECIMAL_CHAR 1
%token ELLIPSIS 1
%token EXTENDED_REG_EXP 2
%token EOL 1
%start locale_definition 1
%% 1
locale_definition : global_statements locale_categories 2
| locale_categories 2
; 1
global_statements : global_statements symbol_redefine 2
| symbol_redefine 2
; 1
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
108 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
symbol_redefine : '#escape_char' CHAR EOL 1
| '#comment_char' CHAR EOL 1
; 1
locale_categories : locale_categories locale_category 2
| locale_category 2
; 1
locale_category : lc_ctype | lc_collate | lc_messages 1
| lc_monetary | lc_numeric | lc_time 1
; 1
/* The following grammar rules are common to all categories */ 1
char_list : char_list char_symbol 2
| char_symbol 2
; 1
char_symbol : CHAR | CHARSYMBOL 1
| OCTAL_CHAR | HEX_CHAR | DECIMAL_CHAR 1
; 1
locale_name : LOC_NAME 1
| '"' LOC_NAME '"' 1
; 1
/* The following is the LC_CTYPE category grammar */ 1
lc_ctype : ctype_hdr ctype_keywords ctype_tlr 2
| ctype_hdr 'copy' locale_name EOL ctype_tlr 2
; 2
ctype_hdr : 'LC_CTYPE' EOL 2
; 2
ctype_keywords : ctype_keywords ctype_keyword 2
| ctype_keyword 2
; 1
ctype_keyword : charclass_keyword charclass_list EOL 1
| charconv_keyword charconv_list EOL 1
; 1
charclass_keyword : 'upper' | 'lower' | 'alpha' | 'digit' 1
| 'alnum' | 'xdigit' | 'space' | 'print' 1
| 'graph' | 'blank' | 'cntrl' 1
; 1
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.5 Locale 109
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
charclass_list : charclass_list ';' char_symbol 2
| charclass_list ';' ELLIPSIS ';' char_symbol 1
| char_symbol 2
; 1
charconv_keyword : 'toupper' 1
| 'tolower' 1
; 1
charconv_list : charconv_list ';' charconv_entry 2
| charconv_entry 2
; 1
charconv_entry : '(' char_symbol ',' char_symbol ')' 1
; 1
ctype_tlr : 'END' 'LC_CTYPE' EOL 2
; 1
/* The following is the LC_COLLATE category grammar */ 1
lc_collate : collate_hdr collate_keywords collate_tlr 2
| collate_hdr 'copy' locale_name EOL collate_tlr 2
; 2
collate_hdr : 'LC_COLLATE' EOL 2
; 2
collate_keywords : order_statements 2
| opt_statements order_statements 2
; 1
opt_statements : opt_statements collating_symbols 2
| opt_statements collating_elements 2
| collating_symbols 1
| collating_elements 1
; 1
collating_symbols : 'collating-symbol' COLLSYMBOL EOL 1
; 1
collating_elements : 'collating-element' COLLELEMENT 1
'from' '"' char_list '"' EOL 2
; 1
2
order_statements : order_start collation_order order_end 1
; 1
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
110 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
order_start : 'order_start' EOL 1
| 'order_start' order_opts EOL 1
; 1
order_opts : order_opts ';' order_opt 2
| order_opt 2
; 1
order_opt : order_opt ',' opt_word 2
| opt_word 2
; 1
opt_word : 'forward' | 'backward' | 'position' 2
; 1
collation_order : collation_order collation_entry 2
| collation_entry 2
; 1
collation_entry : COLLSYMBOL EOL 1
| collation_element weight_list EOL 1
| collation_element EOL 2
; 1
collation_element : char_symbol 1
| COLLELEMENT 1
| ELLIPSIS 1
| 'UNDEFINED' 1
; 1
weight_list : weight_list ';' weight_symbol 2
| weight_list ';' 2
| weight_symbol 2
; 1
weight_symbol : char_symbol 2
| COLLSYMBOL 1
| '"' char_list '"' 1
| ELLIPSIS 1
| 'IGNORE' 1
; 1
order_end : 'order_end' EOL 1
; 1
collate_tlr : 'END' 'LC_COLLATE' EOL 2
; 1
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.5 Locale 111
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
/* The following is the LC_MESSAGES category grammar */ 1
lc_messages : messages_hdr messages_keywords messages_tlr 2
| messages_hdr 'copy' locale_name EOL messages_tlr 2
; 2
messages_hdr : 'LC_MESSAGES' EOL 2
; 2
messages_keywords : messages_keywords messages_keyword 2
| messages_keyword 2
; 1
messages_keyword : 'yesexpr' '"' EXTENDED_REG_EXP '"' EOL 2
| 'noexpr' '"' EXTENDED_REG_EXP '"' EOL 2
; 2
messages_tlr : 'END' 'LC_MESSAGES' EOL 2
; 1
/* The following is the LC_MONETARY category grammar */ 1
lc_monetary : monetary_hdr monetary_keywords monetary_tlr2
| monetary_hdr 'copy' locale_name EOL monetary_tlr2
; 2
monetary_hdr : 'LC_MONETARY' EOL 2
; 2
monetary_keywords : monetary_keywords monetary_keyword 2
| monetary_keyword 2
; 1
monetary_keyword : mon_keyword_string mon_string EOL 1
| mon_keyword_char NUMBER EOL 2
| mon_keyword_char '-1' EOL 2
| mon_keyword_grouping mon_group_list EOL 1
; 1
mon_keyword_string : 'int_curr_symbol' | 'currency_symbol' 1
| 'mon_decimal_point' | 'mon_thousands_sep' 1
| 'positive_sign' | 'negative_sign' 1
; 1
mon_string : '"' char_list '"' 1
| '""' 1
; 1
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
112 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
mon_keyword_char : 'int_frac_digits' | 'frac_digits' 1
| 'p_cs_precedes' | 'p_sep_by_space' 1
| 'n_cs_precedes' | 'n_sep_by_space' 1
| 'p_sign_posn' | 'n_sign_posn' 1
; 1
2
mon_keyword_grouping : 'mon_grouping' 1
; 1
mon_group_list : NUMBER 2
| mon_group_list ';' NUMBER 2
; 2
monetary_tlr : 'END' 'LC_MONETARY' EOL 2
; 2
/* The following is the LC_NUMERIC category grammar */ 2
lc_numeric : numeric_hdr numeric_keywords numeric_tlr 2
| numeric_hdr 'copy' locale_name EOL numeric_tlr 2
; 2
numeric_hdr : 'LC_NUMERIC' EOL 2
; 2
numeric_keywords : numeric_keywords numeric_keyword 2
| numeric_keyword 2
; 1
numeric_keyword : num_keyword_string num_string EOL 1
| num_keyword_grouping num_group_list EOL 1
; 1
num_keyword_string : 'decimal_point' 1
| 'thousands_sep' 1
; 1
num_string : '"' char_list '"' 1
| '""' 1
; 1
num_keyword_grouping : 'num_grouping' 1
; 1
num_group_list : NUMBER 2
| num_group_list ';' NUMBER 2
; 1
2
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.5 Locale 113
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
numeric_tlr : 'END' 'LC_NUMERIC' EOL 2
; 1
/* The following is the LC_TIME category grammar */ 1
lc_time : time_hdr time_keywords time_tlr 2
| time_hdr 'copy' locale_name EOL time_tlr 2
; 1
time_hdr : 'LC_TIME' EOL 2
; 1
time_keywords : time_keywords time_keyword 2
| time_keyword 2
; 1
time_keyword : time_keyword_name time_list EOL 2
| time_keyword_fmt time_string EOL 1
| time_keyword_opt time_list EOL 1
; 1
time_keyword_name : 'abday' | 'day' | 'abmon' | 'mon' 2
; 1
time_keyword_fmt : 'd_t_fmt' | 'd_fmt' | 't_fmt' | 'am_pm' | 't_fmt_ampm'1
; 1
time_keyword_opt : 'era' | 'era_year' | 'era_d_fmt' | 'alt_digits' 1
; 1
time_list : time_list ';' time_string 2
| time_string 2
; 1
time_string : '"' char_list '"' 1
; 1
time_tlr : 'END' 'LC_TIME' EOL 2
; 1
BEGIN_RATIONALE 1
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
114 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
2.5.4 Locale Definition Example. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f
_P_1_0_0_3._2)
The following is an example of a locale definition file that could be
used as input to the localedef utility. It assumes that the utility is
executed with the -f option, naming a _c_h_a_r_m_a_p file with (at least) the
following content:
CHARMAP
<space> \x20
<dollar> \x24
<A> \101
<a> \141
<A-acute> \346
<a-acute> \365
<A-grave> \300 1
<a-grave> \366
<b> \142
<C> \103
<c> \143
<c-cedilla> \347
<d> \x64
<H> \110
<h> \150
<eszet> \xb7
<s> \x73
<z> \x7a
END CHARMAP
It should not be taken as complete or to represent any actual locale, but
only to illustrate the syntax.
A further set of examples is offered as part of Annex F.
#
LC_CTYPE
lower <a>;<b>;<c>;<c-cedilla>;<d>;...;<z>
upper A;B;C;C,;...;Z
space \x20;\x09;\x0a;\x0b;\x0c;\x0d 1
blank \040;\011
toupper (<a>,<A>);(b,B);(c,C);(c,,C,);(d,D);(z,Z)
END LC_CTYPE
#
LC_COLLATE
#
# The following example of collation is based on the proposed 1
# Canadian standard Z243.4.1-1990, "Canadian Alphanumeric 1
# Ordering Standard For Character sets of CSA Z234.4 Standard". 1
# (Other parts of this example locale definition file do not 1
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.5 Locale 115
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
# purport to relate to Canada, or to any other real culture.) 1
# The proposed standard defines a 4-weight collation, such that
# in the first pass, characters are compared without regard to
# case or accents; in second pass, backwards compare without
# regard to case; in the third pass, forward compare without
# regard to diacriticals. In the 3 first passes, non-alphabetic 2
# characters are ignored; in the fourth pass, only special
# characters are considered, such that "The string that has a
# special character in the lowest position comes first. If two
# strings have a special character in the same position, the
# collation value of the special character determines ordering.
#
# Only a subset of the character set is used here; mostly to
# illustrate the set-up.
#
2
#
collating-symbol <LOW_VALUE> 2
collating-symbol <LOWER-CASE>
collating-symbol <SUBSCRIPT-LOWER>
collating-symbol <SUPERSCRIPT-LOWER>
collating-symbol <UPPER-CASE>
collating-symbol <NO-ACCENT>
collating-symbol <PECULIAR>
collating-symbol <LIGATURE>
collating-symbol <ACUTE>
collating-symbol <GRAVE>
# Further collating-symbols follow.
#
# Properly, the standard does not include any multi-character
# collating elements; the one below is added for completeness.
#
collating_element <ch> from <c><h>
collating_element <CH> from <C><H>
collating_element <Ch> from <C><h>
#
order_start forward;backward;forward;forward,position
#
# Collating symbols are specified first in the sequence to allocate
# basic collation values to them, lower that than of any character.
<LOW_VALUE> 2
<LOWER-CASE>
<SUBSCRIPT-LOWER>
<SUPERSCRIPT-LOWER>
<UPPER-CASE>
<NO-ACCENT>
<PECULIAR>
<LIGATURE>
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
116 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
<ACUTE>
<GRAVE>
<RING-ABOVE>
<DIAERESIS>
<TILDE>
# Further collating symbols are given a basic collating value here.
#
# Here follows special characters.
<space> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE;<space>
# Other special characters follow here.
#
# Here comes the regular characters.
<a> <a>;<NO-ACCENT>;<LOWER-CASE>;IGNORE
<A> <a>;<NO-ACCENT>;<UPPER-CASE>;IGNORE
<a-acute> <a>;<ACUTE>;<LOWER-CASE>;IGNORE
<A-acute> <a>;<ACUTE>;<UPPER-CASE>;IGNORE
<a-grave> <a>;<GRAVE>;<LOWER-CASE>;IGNORE
<A-grave> <a>;<GRAVE>;<UPPER-CASE>;IGNORE
<ae> <a><e>;<LIGATURE><LIGATURE>;<LOWER-CASE><LOWER-CASE>;IGNORE
<AE> <a><e>;<LIGATURE><LIGATURE>;<UPPER-CASE><UPPER-CASE>;IGNORE
<b> <b>;<NO-ACCENT>;<LOWER-CASE>;IGNORE
<B> <b>;<NO-ACCENT>;<UPPER-CASE>;IGNORE
<c> <c>;<NO-ACCENT>;<LOWER-CASE>;IGNORE
<C> <c>;<NO-ACCENT>;<UPPER-CASE>;IGNORE
<ch> <ch>;<NO-ACCENT>;<LOWER-CASE>;IGNORE
<Ch> <ch>;<NO-ACCENT>;<PECULIAR>;IGNORE
<CH> <ch>;<NO-ACCENT>;<UPPER-CASE>;IGNORE
#
# As an example, the strings "Bach" and "bach" could be encoded (for
# compare purposes) as:
# "Bach" <b>;<a>;<ch>;<LOW_VALUE>;<NO_ACCENT>;<NO_ACCENT>;\ 2
# <NO_ACCENT>;<LOW_VALUE>;<UPPER>;<LOWER>;<LOWER>;<NULL> 2
# "bach" <b>;<a>;<ch>;<LOW_VALUE>;<NO_ACCENT>;<NO_ACCENT>;\ 2
# <NO_ACCENT>;<LOW_VALUE>;<LOWER>;<LOWER>;<LOWER>;<NULL> 2
#
# The two strings are equal in pass 1 and 2, but differ in pass 3.
#
# Further characters follow.
#
UNDEFINED IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
#
order_end
#
END LC_COLLATE
#
LC_MONETARY
int_curr_symbol "USD "
currency_symbol "$"
mon_decimal_point "."
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.5 Locale 117
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
mon_grouping 3;0
positive_sign ""
negative_sign "-"
p_cs_precedes 1
n_sign_posn 0
END LC_MONETARY
#
LC_NUMERIC
copy "US_en.ASCII" 1
END LC_NUMERIC
#
LC_TIME
abday "Sun";"Mon";"Tue";"Wed";"Thu";"Fri";"Sat"
#
day "Sunday";"Monday";"Tuesday";"Wednesday";\
"Thursday";"Friday";"Saturday"
#
abmon "Jan";"Feb";"Mar";"Apr";"May";"Jun";\
"Jul";"Aug";"Sep";"Oct";"Nov";"Dec"
#
mon "January";"February";"March";"April";\
"May";"June";"July";"August";"September";\
"October";"November";"December"
#
d_t_fmt "%a %b %d %T %Z %Y\n"
END LC_TIME
#
LC_MESSAGES
yesexpr "^([yY][[:alpha:]]*)|(OK)" 1
#
noexpr "^[nN][[:alpha:]]*" 1
END LC_MESSAGES
END_RATIONALE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
118 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
2.6 Environment Variables
Environment variables defined in this clause affect the operation of
multiple utilities and applications. There are other environment
variables that are of interest only to specific utilities. Environment
variables that apply to a single utility only are defined as part of the
utility description. See the Environment Variables subclause of the
utility descriptions for information on environment variable usage.
The value of an environment variable is a string of characters, as
described in 2.7 in POSIX.1 {8}.
Environment variable names used by the standard utilities shall consist
solely of uppercase letters, digits, and the _ (underscore) from the
characters defined in 2.4. The namespace of environment variable names
containing lowercase letters shall be reserved for applications.
Applications can define any environment variables with names from this
namespace without modifying the behavior of the standard utilities.
If the following variables are present in the environment during the
execution of an application or utility, they are given the meaning
described below. They may be put into the environment, or changed, by
either the implementation or the user. If they are defined in the
utility's environment, the standard utilities assume they have the
specified meaning. Conforming applications shall not set these
environment variables to have meanings other than as described. See 7.2
and 3.12 for methods of accessing these variables.
HOME A pathname of the user's home directory.
LANG This variable shall determine the locale category for 1
any category not specifically selected via a variable 1
starting with LC_. LANG and the LC_ variables can be 1
used by applications to determine the language for
messages and instructions, collating sequences, date
formats, etc. Additional semantics of this variable,
if any, are implementation defined.
LC_ALL This variable shall override the value of the LANG
variable and the value of any of the other variables
starting with LC_.
LC_COLLATE This variable shall determine the locale category for
character collation information within bracketed
regular expressions and for sorting. This
environment variable determines the behavior of
ranges, equivalence classes, and multicharacter
collating elements. Additional semantics of this
variable, if any, are implementation defined.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.6 Environment Variables 119
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
LC_CTYPE This variable shall determine the locale category for
character handling functions. This environment
variable shall determine the interpretation of
sequences of bytes of text data as characters (e.g.,
single- versus multibyte characters), the
classification of characters (e.g., alpha, digit,
graph), and the behavior of character classes.
Additional semantics of this variable, if any, are
implementation defined.
LC_MESSAGES This variable shall determine the locale category for
processing affirmative and negative responses and the
language and cultural conventions in which messages
should be written. Additional semantics of this
variable, if any, are implementation defined. The
language and cultural conventions of diagnostic and
informative messages whose format is unspecified by
this standard should be affected by the setting of
LC_MESSAGES.
LC_MONETARY This variable shall determine the locale category for
monetary-related numeric formatting information.
Additional semantics of this variable, if any, are
implementation defined.
LC_NUMERIC This variable shall determine the locale category for
numeric formatting (for example, thousands separator
and radix character) information. Additional
semantics of this variable, if any, are
implementation defined.
LC_TIME This variable shall determine the locale category for
date and time formatting information. Additional
semantics of this variable, if any, are
implementation defined.
LOGNAME The user's login name.
PATH The sequence of path prefixes that certain functions
and utilities apply in searching for an executable
file known only by a filename. The prefixes shall be
separated by a colon (:). When a nonzero-length
prefix is applied to this filename, a slash shall be
inserted between the prefix and the filename. A
zero-length prefix is an obsolescent feature that
indicates the current working directory. It appears
as two adjacent colons (::), as an initial colon
preceding the rest of the list, or as a trailing
colon following the rest of the list. A Strictly
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
120 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
Conforming POSIX.2 Application shall use an actual
pathname (such as '.') to represent the current
working directory in PATH. The list shall be
searched from beginning to end, applying the filename
to each prefix, until an executable file with the
specified name and appropriate execution permissions
is found. If the pathname being sought contains a
slash, the search through the path prefixes shall not
be performed. If the pathname begins with a slash,
the specified path shall be resolved as described in
2.2.2.104. If PATH is unset or is set to null, the
path search is implementation-defined.
SHELL A pathname of the user's preferred command language
interpreter. If this interpreter does not conform to
the shell command language in Section 3, utilities
may behave differently than described in this
standard.
TMPDIR A pathname of a directory made available for programs
that need a place to create temporary files.
TERM The terminal type for which output is to be prepared.
This information is used by utilities and application
programs wishing to exploit special capabilities
specific to a terminal. The format and allowable
values of this environment variable are unspecified.
TZ Time-zone information. The format is described in
POSIX.1 {8} 8.1.1.
The environment variables LANG, LC_ALL, LC_COLLATE, LC_CTYPE,
LC_MESSAGES, LC_MONETARY, LC_NUMERIC, and LC_TIME (LC_*) provide for the
support of internationalized applications. The standard utilities shall
make use of these environment variables as described in this clause and
the individual Environment Variables subclauses for the utilities. If
these variables specify locale categories that are not based upon the
same underlying code set, the results are unspecified.
For utilities used in internationalized applications, if the LC_ALL is
not set in the environment or is set to the empty string, and if any of
LC_* variables is not set in the environment or is set to the empty
string, the operational behavior of the utility for the corresponding
locale category shall be determined by the setting of the LANG
environment variable. If the LANG environment variable is not set or is
set to the empty string, the implementation-defined default locale shall
be used.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.6 Environment Variables 121
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
If LANG (or any of the LC_* environment variables) contains the value
"C", or the value "POSIX", the POSIX Locale shall be selected and the
standard utilities shall behave in accordance with the rules in the 2.5.1
for the associated category.
If LANG (or any of the LC_* environment variables) begins with a slash,
it shall be interpreted as the pathname of a file that was created in the
output format used by the localedef utility; see 4.35.6.3. Referencing
such a pathname shall result in that locale being used for the category
indicated.
If LANG (or any of the LC_* environment variables) contains one of a set
of implementation-defined values, the standard utilities shall behave in
accordance with the rules in a corresponding implementation-defined
locale description for the associated category.
If LANG (or any of the LC_* environment variables) contains a value that
the implementation does not recognize, the behavior is unspecified.
Additional criteria for determining a valid locale name are
implementation defined.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
2.6.1 Environment Variables Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f
_P_1_0_0_3._2)
The standard is worded so that the specified variables _m_a_y be provided to
the application. There is no way that the implementation can guarantee
that a utility will ever see an environment variable, as a parent process
can change the environment for its children. The env -i command in this
standard and the POSIX.1 {8} _e_x_e_c family both offer ways to remove any of
these variables from the environment.
The language about locale implies that any utilities written in Standard
C and conforming to POSIX.2 must issue the following call:
setlocale(LC_ALL, "")
If this were omitted, the C Standard {7} specifies that the C Locale
would be used.
If any of the environment variables is invalid, it makes sense to default
to an implementation-defined, consistent locale environment. It is more
confusing for a user to have partial settings occur in case of a mistake.
All utilities would then behave in one language/cultural environment.
Furthermore, it provides a way of forcing the whole environment to be the
implementation-defined default. Disastrous results could occur if a
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
122 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
pipeline of utilities partially use the environment variables in
different ways. In this case, it would be appropriate for utilities that
use LANG and related variables to exit with an error if any of the
variables are invalid. For example, users typing individual commands at
a terminal might want date to work if LC_MONETARY is invalid as long as
LC_TIME is valid. Since these are conflicting reasonable alternatives,
POSIX.2 leaves the results unspecified if the locale environment
variables would not produce a complete locale matching the user's
specification.
The locale settings of individual categories cannot be truly independent
and still guarantee correct results. For example, when collating two
strings, characters must first be extracted from each string (governed by
LC_CTYPE) before being mapped to collating elements (governed by
LC_COLLATE) for comparison. That is, if LC_CTYPE is causing parsing
according to the rules of a large, multibyte code set (potentially
returning 20000 or more distinct character code set values), but
LC_COLLATE is set to handle only an 8-bit code set with 256 distinct
characters, meaningful results are obviously impossible.
The LC_MESSAGES variable affects the language of messages generated by
the standard utilities. This standard does not provide a means whereby
applications can easily be written to perform similar feats. Future
versions of POSIX.1 {8} and POSIX.2 are expected to provide both
functions and utilities to accomplish multilanguage messaging (using
message catalogs), but such facilities were not ready for standardization
at the time the initial versions of the standards were developed.
This clause is not a full list of all environment variables, but only
those of importance to multiple utilities. Nevertheless, to satisfy some
members of the balloting group, here is a list of the other environment
variable symbols mentioned in this standard:
Variable Utility Variable Utility
________ _______ _________ _______
CDPATH cd MAKEFLAGS make
COLUMNS ls OPTARG getopts
DEAD mailx OPTIND getopts
IFS sh PRINTER lp 1
LPDEST lp PS1 sh
MAIL sh PS2 sh
MAILRC mailx
The description of PATH is similar to that in POSIX.1 {8}, except:
- The behavior of a null prefix is marked obsolescent in favor of
using a real pathname. This was done at the behest of some members
of the balloting group, who apparently felt it offered a more
secure environment, where the current directory would not be
selected unintentionally.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.6 Environment Variables 123
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
- The POSIX.1 {8} _e_x_e_c description requires an implementation-defined
path search when PATH is ``not present.'' POSIX.2 spells out that
this means ``unset or set to null.'' Many implementations
historically have used a default value of /bin and /usr/bin.
POSIX.2 does not mandate that this default path be identical to
that retrieved from getconf _CS_PATH because it is likely that a
transition to POSIX.2 conformance will see the newly-standardized
utilities in another directory that needs to be isolated from some
historical applications.
- The POSIX.1 {8} PATH description is ambiguous about whether an
``executable file'' means one that has the appropriate permissions
for the searching process to execute it. One reading would say
that a file with any of the execution bits set on would satisfy the
search and that an [EACCES] could be returned at that point. This
is not the way historical systems work and POSIX.2 has clarified it
to mean that the path search will continue until it finds the name
with the execute permissions that would allow the process to
execute it. (The case of the [ENOEXEC] error is handled in the
text of 3.9.1.1.)
The terminology ``beginning to end'' is used in PATH to avoid the
noninternationalized ``left to right.'' There is no way to have a colon
character embedded within a pathname that is part of the PATH variable
string. Colon is not a member of the portable filename character set, so
this should not be a problem. A portable application can retrieve a
default PATH value (that will allow access to all the standard utilities)
from the system using the command:
getconf _CS_PATH
See the rationale with command for an example of using this.
The SHELL variable names the user's preferred shell; it is a guide to
applications. There is no direct requirement that that shell conform to
this standard--that decision should rest with the user. It is the
intention of the developers of this standard that alternative shells be
permitted, if the user chooses to develop or acquire one. An operating
system that builds its shell into the ``kernel'' in such a manner that
alternative shells would be impossible does not conform to the spirit of
the standard.
The following environment variables are not currently used by the
standard utilities (although they may be by future UPE utilities).
Implementations should reserve the names for the following purposes:
EDITOR The name of the user's preferred text file editor. The
value of this variable is the name of a utility: either a
pathname containing a slash, or a filename to be located
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
124 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
using the PATH environment variable.
VISUAL The name of the user's preferred ``visual,'' or full-
screen, text file editor. The value of this variable is
the name of a utility: either a pathname containing a
slash, or a filename to be located using the PATH
environment variable.
The decision to restrict conforming systems to the use of digits,
uppercase letters, and underscores for environment variable names allows
applications to use lowercase letters in their environment variable names
without conflicting with any conforming system.
PROCLANG was added to an earlier draft for internationalized
applications, but was removed from the standard because the working group
determined that it was not of use.
USER was removed from an earlier draft because it was an unreasonable
duplication of LOGNAME.
END_RATIONALE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.6 Environment Variables 125
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
2.7 Required Files
The following directories shall exist on conforming systems and shall be
used as described. Strictly Conforming POSIX.2 Applications shall not
assume the ability to create files in any of these directories.
/ The root directory.
/dev Contains /dev/null and /dev/tty, described below.
The following directory shall exist on conforming systems and shall be
used as described.
/tmp A directory made available for programs that need a place
to create temporary files. Applications shall be allowed
to create files in this directory, but shall not assume
that such files are preserved between invocations of the
application.
The following files shall exist on conforming systems and shall be both
readable and writable.
/dev/null An infinite data source/sink. Data written to /dev/null
is discarded. Reads from /dev/null always return end-of-
file (EOF).
/dev/tty In each process, a synonym for the controlling terminal
associated with the process group of that process, if any.
It is useful for programs or shell procedures that wish to
be sure of writing messages to or reading data from the
terminal no matter how output has been redirected.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
2.7.1 Required Files Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f
_P_1_0_0_3._2)
A description of the historical /usr/tmp was omitted, removing any
concept of differences in emphasis between the / and /usr versions. The
descriptions of /bin, /usr/bin, /lib, and /usr/lib were omitted because
they are not useful for applications. In an early draft, a distinction
was made between _s_y_s_t_e_m and _a_p_p_l_i_c_a_t_i_o_n directory usage, but this was not
found to be useful.
In Draft 8, /, /dev, /local, /usr/local, and /usr/man were removed. The
directories / and /dev were restored in Draft 9. It was pointed out by
several balloters that the notion of a hierarchical directory structure
is key to other information presented in later sections of the standard.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
126 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
(Previously, some had argued that special devices and temporary files
could conceivably be handled without a directory structure on some
implementations. For example, the system could treat the characters
``/tmp'' as a special token that would store files using some non-POSIX
file system structure. This notion was rejected by the working group,
which requires that all the files in this clause be implemented via POSIX
file systems.)
The /tmp directory is retained in the standard to accommodate historical
applications that assume its availability. Future implementations are
encouraged to provide suitable directory names in TMPDIR and future
applications are encouraged to use the contents of TMPDIR for creating
temporary files.
The standard files /dev/null and /dev/tty are required to be both
readable and writable to allow applications to have the intended
historical access to these files.
END_RATIONALE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.7 Required Files 127
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
2.8 Regular Expression Notation
_E_d_i_t_o_r'_s _N_o_t_e: _T_h_e _e_n_t_i_r_e _r_a_t_i_o_n_a_l_e _f_o_r _t_h_i_s _c_l_a_u_s_e _a_p_p_e_a_r_s _a_t _t_h_e _e_n_d
_o_f _t_h_e _c_l_a_u_s_e.
_R_e_g_u_l_a_r _E_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n_s (REs) provide a mechanism to select specific strings
from a set of character strings.
Regular expressions are a context-independent syntax that can represent a
wide variety of character sets and character set orderings, where these
character sets are interpreted according to the current locale. While
many regular expressions can be interpreted differently depending on the
current locale, many features, such as character class expressions,
provide for contextual invariance across locales.
The Basic Regular Expression (BRE) notation and construction rules in
2.8.3 shall apply to most utilities supporting regular expressions. Some
utilities, instead, support the Extended Regular Expressions (ERE)
described in 2.8.4; any exceptions for both cases are noted in the
descriptions of the specific utilities using regular expressions. Both
BREs and EREs are supported by the Regular Expression Matching interface
in 7.3.
2.8.1 Regular Expression Definitions
For the purposes of this clause, the following definitions apply.
2.8.1.1 entire regular expression: The concatenated set of one or more
BREs or EREs that make up the pattern specified for string selection.
2.8.1.2 matched: A sequence of zero or more characters is said to be
matched by a BRE or ERE when the characters in the sequence corresponds
to a sequence of characters defined by the pattern.
Matching shall be based on the bit pattern used for encoding the 1
character, not on the graphic representation of the character. 1
The search for a matching sequence shall start at the beginning of a
string and stop when the first sequence matching the expression is found,
where ``first'' is defined to mean ``begins earliest in the string.'' If
the pattern permits a variable number of matching characters and thus
there is more than one such sequence starting at that point, the longest 1
such sequence shall be matched. For example: the BRE bb* matches the 1
second through fourth characters of abbbc, and the ERE 1
(wee|week)(knights|night) matches all ten characters of weeknights. 1
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
128 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
Consistent with the whole match being the longest of the leftmost 1
matches, each subpattern, from left to right, shall match the longest 1
possible string. For this purpose, a null string shall be considered to 2
be longer than no match at all. For example, matching the BRE \(.*\).* 2
against abcdef, the subexpression (\1) is abcdef, and matching the BRE 2
\(a*\)* against bc, the subexpression (\1) is the null string. 2
When a multicharacter collating element in a bracket expression (see 1
2.8.3.2) is involved, the longest sequence shall be measured in 1
characters consumed from the string to be matched; i.e., the collating 1
element counts not as one element, but as the number of characters it 1
matches. 1
2.8.1.3 BRE [ERE] matching a single character: A BRE or ERE that
matches either a single character or a single collating element.
Only a BRE or ERE of this type that includes a bracket expression (see 1
2.8.3.2) can match a collating element. 1
2.8.1.4 BRE [ERE] matching multiple characters: A BRE or ERE that
matches a concatenation of single characters or collating elements.
Such a BRE or ERE is made up from a _B_R_E (_E_R_E) _m_a_t_c_h_i_n_g _a _s_i_n_g_l_e _c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r
and _B_R_E (_E_R_E) _s_p_e_c_i_a_l _c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_rs. 1
2.8.2 Regular Expression General Requirements
The requirements in this subclause shall apply to both basic and extended
regular expressions.
The use of regular expressions is generally associated with text
processing; i.e., REs (BREs and EREs) operate on text strings; i.e., zero
or more characters followed by an end-of-string delimiter (typically
NUL). Some utilities employing regular expressions limit the processing
to lines; i.e., zero or more characters followed by a <newline>. In the
regular expression processing described in this standard, the <newline>
character is regarded as an ordinary character. This standard specifies 1
within the individual descriptions of those standard utilities employing 1
regular expressions whether they permit matching of <newline>s; if not 1
stated otherwise, the use of literal <newline>s or any escape sequence 1
equivalent produces undefined results. 1
The interfaces specified in this standard do not permit the inclusion of
a NUL character in an RE or in the string to be matched. If during the
operation of a standard utility a NUL is included in the text designated
to be matched, that NUL may designate the end of the text string for the 1
purposes of matching. 1
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.8 Regular Expression Notation 129
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
When a standard utility or function that uses regular expressions
specifies that pattern matching shall be performed without regard to the
case (upper- or lower-) of either data or patterns, then when each
character in the string is matched against the pattern, not only the
character, but also its case counterpart (if any), shall be matched.
The implementation shall support any regular expression that does not
exceed 256 bytes in length.
This clause uses the term ``invalid'' for certain constructs or 1
conditions. Invalid REs shall cause the utility or function using the RE 1
to generate an error condition. When ``invalid'' is not used, violations 1
of the specified syntax or semantics for REs produce undefined results: 1
this may entail an error, enabling an extended syntax for that RE, or 1
using the construct in error as literal characters to be matched. 1
2.8.3 Basic Regular Expressions
2.8.3.1 BREs Matching a Single Character or Collating Element
A BRE ordinary character, a special character preceded by a backslash, or
a period shall match a single character. A bracket expression shall
match a single character or a single collating element.
2.8.3.1.1 BRE Ordinary Characters
An ordinary character is a BRE that matches itself: any character in the
supported character set, except for the BRE special characters listed in
2.8.3.1.2.
The interpretation of an ordinary character preceded by a backslash (\)
is undefined, except for:
(1) The characters ), (, {, and }.
(2) The digits 1 through 9 (see 2.8.3.3).
(3) A character inside a bracket expression.
2.8.3.1.2 BRE Special Characters
A _B_R_E _s_p_e_c_i_a_l _c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r has special properties in certain contexts. 1
Outside of those contexts, or when preceded by a backslash, such a 1
character shall be a BRE that matches the special character itself. The 1
BRE special characters and the contexts in which they have their special
meaning are:
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
130 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
. [ \ The period, left-bracket, and backslash shall be special
except when used in a bracket expression (see 2.8.3.2). An
expression containing a [ that is not preceded by a backslash
and is not part of a bracket expression produces undefined 1
results. 1
* The asterisk is special except when used
- In a bracket expression, 1
- As the first character of an entire BRE (after an initial 1
^, if any), or 1
- As the first character of a subexpression (after an 1
initial ^, if any); see 2.8.3.3. 1
^ The circumflex shall be special when used 1
- As an anchor (see 2.8.3.5) or, 1
- As the first character of a bracket expression (see 1
2.8.3.2). 1
$ The dollar-sign shall be special when used as an anchor. 1
2.8.3.1.3 Periods in BREs
A period (.), when used outside of a bracket expression, is a BRE that
shall match any character in the supported character set except NUL. 1
2.8.3.2 RE Bracket Expression
A bracket expression (an expression enclosed in square brackets, []) is
an RE that matches a single collating element contained in the nonempty 1
set of collating elements represented by the bracket expression. 1
The following rules and definitions apply to bracket expressions:
(1) A _b_r_a_c_k_e_t _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n is either a matching list expression or a
nonmatching list expression. It consists of one or more
expressions: collating elements, collating symbols, equivalence 1
classes, character classes, or range expressions. Strictly
Conforming POSIX.2 Applications shall not use range expressions,
but conforming implementations shall support regular expressions
containing range expressions. The right-bracket (]) shall lose
its special meaning and represent itself in a bracket expression
if it occurs first in the list [after an initial circumflex (^),
if any]. Otherwise, it shall terminate the bracket expression,
unless it appears in a collating symbol (such as [.].]) or is 1
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.8 Regular Expression Notation 131
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
the ending right-bracket for a collating symbol, equivalence 1
class, or character class). The special characters
. * [ \
(period, asterisk, left-bracket, and backslash, respectively)
shall lose their special meaning within a bracket expression.
The character sequences
[. [= [:
(left-bracket followed by a period, equals-sign, or colon) shall
be special inside a bracket expression and are used to delimit
collating symbols, equivalence class expressions, and character
class expressions. These symbols shall be followed by a valid
expression and the matching terminating sequence .], =], or :],
as described in the following items.
(2) A _m_a_t_c_h_i_n_g _l_i_s_t expression specifies a list that shall match any
one of the expressions represented in the list. The first
character in the list shall not be the circumflex. For example,
[abc] is an RE that matches any of a, b, or c.
(3) A _n_o_n_m_a_t_c_h_i_n_g _l_i_s_t expression begins with a circumflex (^), and
specifies a list that shall match any character or collating
element except for the expressions represented in the list after 1
the leading circumflex. For example, [^abc] is an RE that
matches any character or collating element except a, b, or c. 1
The circumflex shall have this special meaning only when it
occurs first in the list, immediately following the left-
bracket.
(4) A _c_o_l_l_a_t_i_n_g _s_y_m_b_o_l is a collating element enclosed within
bracket-period ([. .]) delimiters. Collating elements are
defined as described in 2.5.2.2.4. Multicharacter collating 1
elements shall be represented as collating symbols when it is
necessary to distinguish them from a list of the individual
characters that make up the multicharacter collating element.
For example, if the string ch is a collating element in the
current collation sequence with the associated collating symbol
<ch>, the expression [[.ch.]] shall be treated as an RE matching
the character sequence ch, while [ch] shall be treated as an RE
matching c or h. Collating symbols shall be recognized only 1
inside bracket expressions. This implies that the RE [[.ch.]]*c
shall match the first through fifth character in the string
chchch. If the string is not a collating element in the current
collating sequence definition, or if the collating element has 1
no characters associated with it (e.g., see the symbol <HIGH> in 1
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
132 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
the example collation definition shown in 2.5.2.2.4), the symbol 1
shall be treated as an invalid expression. 1
(5) An _e_q_u_i_v_a_l_e_n_c_e _c_l_a_s_s _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n shall represent the set of
collating elements belonging to an equivalence class, as 1
described in 2.5.2.2.4. Only primary equivalence classes shall 1
be recognized. The class shall be expressed by enclosing any
one of the collating elements in the equivalence class within
bracket-equal ([= =]) delimiters. For example, if a, a`, and a^
belong to the same equivalence class, then [[=a=]b], [[=a`=]b],
and [[=a^=]b] shall each be equivalent to [aa`a^b]. If the
collating element does not belong to an equivalence class, the
equivalence class expression shall be treated as a _c_o_l_l_a_t_i_n_g
_s_y_m_b_o_l.
(6) A _c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r _c_l_a_s_s _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n shall represent the set of
characters belonging to a character class, as defined in the
LC_CTYPE category in the current locale. All character classes
specified in the current locale shall be recognized. A
character class expression shall be expressed as a character
class name enclosed within ``bracket-colon'' ([: :]) delimiters.
Strictly conforming POSIX.2 applications shall only use the
following character class expressions, which shall be supported
on all conforming implementations:
[:alnum:] [:cntrl:] [:lower:] [:space:]
[:alpha:] [:digit:] [:print:] [:upper:]
[:blank:] [:graph:] [:punct:] [:xdigit:]
(7) A _r_a_n_g_e _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n represents the set of collating elements that
fall between two elements in the current collation sequence, 1
inclusively. It shall be expressed as the starting point and 1
the ending point separated by a hyphen (-).
Range expressions shall not be used in Strictly Conforming
POSIX.2 Applications because their behavior is dependent on the
collating sequence. Range expressions shall be supported by
conforming implementations.
In the following, all examples assume the collation sequence
specified for the POSIX Locale, unless another collation
sequence is specifically defined.
The starting range point and the ending range point shall be a
collating element or collating symbol. An equivalence class 2
expression used as a starting or ending point of a range 2
expression produces unspecified results. The ending range point 2
shall collate equal to or higher than the starting range point; 2
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.8 Regular Expression Notation 133
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
otherwise the expression shall be treated as invalid. The order
used is the order in which the collating elements are specified
in the current collation definition. One-to-many mappings (see
2.5.2.2) shall not be performed. For example, assuming that the
character eszet (B) is placed in the basic collation sequence
after r and s, but before t, and that it maps to the sequence ss
for collation purposes, then the expression [r-s] matches only r
and s, but the expression [s-t] matches s, B, or t.
The interpretation of range expressions where the ending range
point also is the starting range point of a subsequent range
expression is undefined.
The hyphen character shall be treated as itself if it occurs
first (after an initial ^, if any) or last in the list, or as an
ending range point in a range expression. As examples, the
expressions [-ac] and [ac-] are equivalent and match any of the
characters a, c, or -; the expressions [^-ac] and [^ac-] are
equivalent and match any characters except a, c, or -; the 1
expression [%--] matches any of the characters between % and - 1
inclusive; the expression [--@] matches any of the characters
between - and @, inclusive; and the expression [a--@] is
invalid, because the letter a follows the symbol - in the POSIX
Locale. To use a hyphen as the starting range point, it shall
either come first in the bracket expression or be specified as a
collating symbol. For example: [][.-.]-0], which matches
either a right bracket or any character or collating element 1
that collates between hyphen and 0, inclusive. 1
2.8.3.3 BREs Matching Multiple Characters
The following rules can be used to construct BREs matching multiple
characters from BREs matching a single character:
(1) The concatenation of BREs shall match the concatenation of the
strings matched by each component of the BRE. 1
(2) A _s_u_b_e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n can be defined within a BRE by enclosing it
between the character pairs \( and \). Such a subexpression
shall match whatever it would have matched without the \( and
\), except that anchoring within subexpressions is optional 1
behavior; see 2.8.3.5. Subexpressions can be arbitrarily 1
nested. 1
(3) The _b_a_c_k_r_e_f_e_r_e_n_c_e expression \_n shall match the same (possibly 1
empty) string of characters as was matched by a subexpression 1
enclosed between \( and \) preceding the \_n. The character _n
shall be a digit from 1 through 9, specifying the _n-th
subexpression [the one that begins with the _n-th \( and ends
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
134 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
with the corresponding paired \)]. The expression is invalid if
less than _n subexpressions precede the \_n. For example, the
expression ^\(.*\)\1$ matches a line consisting of two adjacent
appearances of the same string, and the expression \(a\)*\1 2
fails to match a. 2
(4) When a BRE matching a single character, a subexpression, or a 1
backreference is followed by the special character asterisk (*), 1
together with that asterisk it shall match what zero or more 2
consecutive occurrences of the BRE would match. For example, 2
[ab]* and [ab][ab] are equivalent when matching the string ab. 2
(5) When a BRE matching a single character, a subexpression, or a 1
backreference is followed by an _i_n_t_e_r_v_a_l _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n of the 1
format \{_m\}, \{_m,\}, or \{_m,_n\}, together with that interval 1
expression it shall match what repeated consecutive occurrences 2
of the BRE would match. The values of _m and _n shall be decimal 2
integers in the range 0 _< _m _< _n _< {RE_DUP_MAX}, where _m 1
specifies the exact or minimum number of occurrences and _n
specifies the maximum number of occurrences. The expression
\{_m\} shall match exactly _m occurrences of the preceding BRE,
\{_m,\} shall match at least _m occurrences, and \{_m,_n\} shall
match any number of occurrences between _m and _n, inclusive. 1
For example, in the string abababccccccd the BRE c\{3\} is
matched by characters seven through nine, the BRE \(ab\)\{4,\}
is not matched at all, and the BRE c\{1,3\}d is matched by
characters ten through thirteen.
The behavior of multiple adjacent duplication symbols (* and intervals) 1
produces undefined results. 1
2.8.3.4 BRE Precedence 1
The order of precedence shall be as shown in Table 2-12, from high to 1
low. 1
2.8.3.5 BRE Expression Anchoring
A BRE can be limited to matching strings that begin or end a line; this 1
is called _a_n_c_h_o_r_i_n_g. The circumflex and dollar-sign special characters 1
shall be considered BRE anchors in the following contexts: 1
(1) A circumflex (^) shall be an anchor when used as the first 1
character of an entire BRE. The implementation may treat 1
circumflex as an anchor when used as the first character of a 1
subexpression. The circumflex shall anchor the expression (or 1
optionally subexpression) to the beginning of a string; only 1
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.8 Regular Expression Notation 135
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
Table 2-12 - BRE Precedence 1
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 1
_c_o_l_l_a_t_i_o_n-_r_e_l_a_t_e_d _b_r_a_c_k_e_t _s_y_m_b_o_l_s [= =] [: :] [. .] 1
_e_s_c_a_p_e_d _c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r_s \<_s_p_e_c_i_a_l _c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r> 1
_b_r_a_c_k_e_t _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n [ ] 1
_s_u_b_e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n_s/_b_a_c_k_r_e_f_e_r_e_n_c_e_s \( \) \_n 1
_s_i_n_g_l_e-_c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r-_B_R_E _d_u_p_l_i_c_a_t_i_o_n * \{_m,_n\} 1
_c_o_n_c_a_t_e_n_a_t_i_o_n 1
_a_n_c_h_o_r_i_n_g ^ $ 1
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
sequences starting at the first character of a string shall be 1
matched by the BRE. For example, the BRE ^ab matches ab in the 1
string abcdef, but fails to match in the string cdefab. The BRE 1
\(^ab\) may match the former string. A portable BRE shall 1
escape a leading circumflex in a subexpression to match a 1
literal circumflex. 1
(2) A dollar-sign ($) shall be an anchor when used as the last 1
character of an entire BRE. The implementation may treat a 1
dollar-sign as an anchor when used as the last character of a 1
subexpression. The dollar-sign shall anchor the expression (or 1
optionally subexpression) to the end of the string being 1
matched; the dollar-sign can be said to match the ``end-of- 1
string'' following the last character. 1
(3) A BRE anchored by both ^ and $ shall match only an entire 2
string. For example, the BRE ^abcdef$ matches strings
consisting only of abcdef. 1
2.8.4 Extended Regular Expressions
The _e_x_t_e_n_d_e_d _r_e_g_u_l_a_r _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n (ERE) notation and construction rules
shall apply to utilities defined as using extended regular expressions;
any exceptions to the following rules are noted in the descriptions of
the specific utilities using EREs.
2.8.4.1 EREs Matching a Single Character or Collating Element
An ERE ordinary character, a special character preceded by a backslash, 1
or a period shall match a single character. A bracket expression shall 1
match a single character or a single collating element. An _E_R_E _m_a_t_c_h_i_n_g 1
_a _s_i_n_g_l_e _c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r enclosed in parentheses shall match the same as the
ERE without parentheses would have matched.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
136 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
2.8.4.1.1 ERE Ordinary Characters
An _o_r_d_i_n_a_r_y _c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r is an ERE that matches itself. An ordinary
character is any character in the supported character set, except for the 2
ERE special characters listed in 2.8.4.1.2. The interpretation of an 2
ordinary character preceded by a backslash (\) is undefined.
2.8.4.1.2 ERE Special Characters
An _E_R_E _s_p_e_c_i_a_l _c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r has special properties in certain contexts. 1
Outside of those contexts, or when preceded by a backslash, such a 1
character shall be an ERE that matches the special character itself. The
extended regular expression special characters and the contexts in which
they shall have their special meaning are:
. [ \ ( The period, left-bracket, backslash, and left-parenthesis 1
are special except when used in a bracket expression (see 1
2.8.3.2).
* + ? { The asterisk, plus-sign, question-mark, and left-brace are
special except when used in a bracket expression (see
2.8.3.2). Any of the following uses produce undefined 2
results: 2
- If these characters appear first in an ERE, or
immediately following a vertical-line, circumflex, or
left-parenthesis.
- If a left-brace is not part of a valid interval 1
expression. 1
| The vertical-line is special except when used in a bracket
expression (see 2.8.3.2). A vertical-line appearing first
or last in an ERE, or immediately following a vertical-
line or a left-parentheses, produces undefined results. 1
^ The circumflex shall be special when used 1
- As an anchor (see 2.8.4.6) or, 1
- As the first character of a bracket expression (see 1
2.8.3.2). 1
$ The dollar-sign shall be special when used as an anchor. 1
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.8 Regular Expression Notation 137
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
2.8.4.1.3 Periods in EREs
A period (.), when used outside of a bracket expression, is an ERE that
shall match any character in the supported character set except NUL. 1
2.8.4.2 ERE Bracket Expression
The rules for ERE Bracket Expressions are the same as for Basic Regular
Expressions; see 2.8.3.2.
2.8.4.3 EREs Matching Multiple Characters
The following rules shall be used to construct EREs matching multiple
characters from EREs matching a single character:
(1) A _c_o_n_c_a_t_e_n_a_t_i_o_n _o_f _E_R_E_s shall match the concatenation of the
character sequences matched by each component of the ERE. A 1
concatenation of EREs enclosed in parentheses shall match
whatever the concatenation without the parentheses matches. For
example, both the ERE cd and the ERE (cd) are matched by the
third and fourth character of the string abcdefabcdef.
(2) When an ERE matching a single character, or a concatenation of 1
EREs enclosed in parentheses is followed by the special 1
character plus-sign (+), together with that plus-sign it shall 1
match what one or more consecutive occurrences of the ERE would 2
match. For example, the ERE b+(bc) matches the fourth through 2
seventh characters in the string acabbbcde. And, [ab]+ and 2
[ab][ab]* are equivalent. 2
(3) When an ERE matching a single character, or a concatenation of 1
EREs enclosed in parentheses is followed by the special 1
character asterisk (*), together with that asterisk it shall 1
match what zero or more consecutive occurrences of the ERE would 2
match. For example, the ERE b*c matches the first character in
the string cabbbcde, and the ERE b*cd matches the third through
seventh characters in the string cabbbcdebbbbbbcdbc. And, [ab]* 2
and [ab][ab] are equivalent when matching the string ab. 2
(4) When an ERE matching a single character, or a concatenation of 1
EREs enclosed in parentheses is followed by the special 1
character question-mark (?), together with that question-mark it 1
shall match what zero or one consecutive occurrences of the ERE 2
would match. For example, the ERE b?c matches the second 2
character in the string acabbbcde.
(5) When an ERE matching a single character, or a concatenation of 1
EREs enclosed in parentheses is followed by an _i_n_t_e_r_v_a_l 1
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
138 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
_e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n of the format {_m}, {_m,}, or {_m,_n}, together with that 1
interval expression it shall match what repeated consecutive 2
occurrences of the ERE would match. The values of _m and _n shall 2
be decimal integers in the range 0 _< _m _< _n _< {RE_DUP_MAX}, where 1
_m specifies the exact or minimum number of occurrences and _n
specifies the maximum number of occurrences. The expression {_m}
shall match exactly _m occurrences of the preceding ERE, {_m,}
shall match at least _m occurrences, and {_m,_n} shall match any
number of occurrences between _m and _n, inclusive. 1
For example, in the string abababccccccd the ERE c{3} is matched 1
by characters seven through nine, and the ERE (ab){2,} is 2
matched by characters one through six. 2
The behavior of multiple adjacent duplication symbols (+, *, ?, and 1
intervals) produces undefined results. 1
2.8.4.4 ERE Alternation
Two EREs separated by the special character vertical-line (|) shall match
a string that is matched by either. For example, the ERE a((bc)|d)
matches the string abc and the string ad. Single characters, or
expressions matching single characters, separated by the vertical bar and
enclosed in parentheses, shall be treated as an ERE matching a single
character. 1
2.8.4.5 ERE Precedence
The order of precedence shall be as shown in Table 2-13, from high to 1
low. 1
Table 2-13 - ERE Precedence 1
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 1
_c_o_l_l_a_t_i_o_n-_r_e_l_a_t_e_d _b_r_a_c_k_e_t _s_y_m_b_o_l_s [= =] [: :] [. .] 1
_e_s_c_a_p_e_d _c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r_s \<_s_p_e_c_i_a_l _c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r> 1
_b_r_a_c_k_e_t _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n [ ] 1
_g_r_o_u_p_i_n_g ( ) 1
_s_i_n_g_l_e-_c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r-_E_R_E _d_u_p_l_i_c_a_t_i_o_n * + ? {_m,_n} 1
_c_o_n_c_a_t_e_n_a_t_i_o_n 1
_a_n_c_h_o_r_i_n_g ^ $ 1
_a_l_t_e_r_n_a_t_i_o_n | 1
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
For example, the ERE abba|cde matches either the string abba or the 1
string cde (because concatenation has a higher order of precedence than 1
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.8 Regular Expression Notation 139
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
alternation).
2.8.4.6 ERE Expression Anchoring
An ERE can be limited to matching strings that begin or end a line; this 1
is called _a_n_c_h_o_r_i_n_g. The circumflex and dollar-sign special characters 1
shall be considered ERE anchors in the following contexts: 1
(1) A circumflex (^) shall be an anchor when used anywhere outside a 1
bracket expression. The circumflex shall anchor the 1
(sub)expression to the beginning of a string; only sequences 1
starting at the first character of a string shall be matched by 1
the ERE. For example, the EREs ^ab and (^ab) match ab in the 1
string abcdef, but fail to match in the string cdefab. 1
(2) A dollar-sign ($) shall be an anchor when used anywhere outside 1
a bracket expression. It shall anchor the expression to the end 1
of the string being matched; the dollar-sign can be said to
match the ``end-of-string'' following the last character.
(3) An ERE anchored by both ^ and $ shall match only an entire 2
string. For example, the EREs ^abcdef$ and (^abcdef$) match
strings consisting only of abcdef.
2.8.5 Regular Expression Grammar
Grammars describing the syntax of both basic and extended regular
expressions are presented in this subclause. See the grammar conventions
in 2.1.2.
2.8.5.1 BRE/ERE Grammar Lexical Conventions
The lexical conventions for regular expressions shall be as described in
this subclause.
Except as noted, the longest possible token or delimiter beginning at a
given point shall be recognized.
The following tokens shall be processed (in addition to those string
constants shown in the grammar):
COLL_ELEM Shall be any single-character collating element,
unless it is a META_CHAR.
BACKREF (Applicable only to basic regular expressions.) Shall
be the character string consisting of '\' followed by
a single-digit numeral, 1 through 9. 1
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
140 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
DUP_COUNT Shall represent a numeric constant. It shall be an
integer in the range 0 _< DUP_COUNT _< {RE_DUP_MAX}. 1
This token shall only be recognized when the context
of the grammar requires it. At all other times,
digits not preceded by '\' shall be treated as
ORD_CHAR.
META_CHAR Shall be one of the characters:
^ When found first in a bracket expression
- When found anywhere but first (after an initial
^, if any) or last in a bracket expression, or
as the ending range point in a range expression
] When found anywhere but first (after an initial
^, if any) in a bracket expression.
L_ANCHOR (Applicable only to basic regular expressions.) Shall
be the character ^ when it appears as the first
character of a basic regular expression and when not 1
QUOTED_CHAR. The ^ may be recognized as an anchor 1
elsewhere; see 2.8.3.5. 1
ORD_CHAR Shall be a character, other than one of the special 1
characters in SPEC_CHAR. 1
QUOTED_CHAR Shall be one of the character sequences: 1
\^ \. \* \[ \$ \\ 1
R_ANCHOR (Applicable only to basic regular expressions). Shall 1
be the character $ when it appears as the last 1
character of a basic regular expression and when not 1
QUOTED_CHAR. The $ may be recognized as an anchor 1
elsewhere; see 2.8.3.5. 1
SPEC_CHAR For basic regular expressions, shall be one of the
following special characters:
. Anywhere outside bracket expressions
\ Anywhere outside bracket expressions
[ Anywhere outside bracket expressions
^ When an anchor; see 2.8.3.5 2
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.8 Regular Expression Notation 141
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
$ When an anchor; see 2.8.3.5 2
* Anywhere except: first in an entire RE;
anywhere in a bracket expression; directly
following \(; directly following an anchoring
^.
For extended regular expressions, shall be one of the
following special characters found anywhere outside
bracket expressions:
^ . [ $ ( ) | * + ? { \
(The close-parenthesis shall be considered special in 2
this context only if matched with a preceding open- 2
parenthesis.) 2
2.8.5.2 RE and Bracket Expression Grammar
This subclause presents the grammar for basic regular expressions,
including the bracket expression grammar that is common to both BREs and
EREs.
%token ORD_CHAR QUOTED_CHAR SPEC_CHAR DUP_COUNT
%token BACKREF L_ANCHOR R_ANCHOR
%token Back_open_paren Back_close_paren
/* '\(' '\)' */
%token Back_open_brace Back_close_brace
/* '\{' '\}' */
/* The following tokens are for the Bracket Expression
grammar common to both REs and EREs. */
%token COLL_ELEM META_CHAR 1
%token Open_equal Equal_close Open_dot Dot_close Open_colon Colon_close 1
/* '[=' '=]' '[.' '.]' '[:' ':]' */ 1
%token class_name
/* class_name is a keyword to the LC_CTYPE locale category */
/* (representing a character class) in the current locale */
/* and is only recognized between [: and :] */
%start basic_reg_exp
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
142 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
%%
/* --------------------------------------------
Basic Regular Expression
--------------------------------------------
*/
basic_reg_exp : RE_expression
| L_ANCHOR
| R_ANCHOR
| L_ANCHOR R_ANCHOR
| L_ANCHOR RE_expression
| RE_expression R_ANCHOR
| L_ANCHOR RE_expression R_ANCHOR
;
RE_expression : simple_RE
| RE_expression simple_RE
;
simple_RE : nondupl_RE
| nondupl_RE RE_dupl_symbol 1
;
nondupl_RE : one_character_RE
| Back_open_paren RE_expression Back_close_paren
| Back_open_paren Back_close_paren
| BACKREF
;
/* 1
Note: This grammar does not permit L_ANCHOR or 1
R_ANCHOR inside \( and \) (which implies that ^ and $ 1
are ordinary characters). This reflects the semantic 1
limits on the application, as noted in 2.8.3.5. 1
Implementations are permitted to extend the language to 1
interpret ^ and $ as anchors in these locations, and as 1
such portable applications shall not use unescaped ^ 1
and $ in positions inside \( and \) that might be 1
interpreted as anchors. 1
*/ 1
one_character_RE : ORD_CHAR
| QUOTED_CHAR
| '.'
| bracket_expression
;
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.8 Regular Expression Notation 143
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
RE_dupl_symbol : '*'
| Back_open_brace DUP_COUNT Back_close_brace
| Back_open_brace DUP_COUNT ',' Back_close_brace
| Back_open_brace DUP_COUNT ',' DUP_COUNT Back_close_brace
;
/* --------------------------------------------
Bracket Expression
-------------------------------------------
*/
bracket_expression : '[' matching_list ']'
| '[' nonmatching_list ']'
;
matching_list : bracket_list
;
nonmatching_list : '^' bracket_list
;
bracket_list : follow_list
| follow_list '-' 1
;
follow_list : expression_term
| follow_list expression_term
;
expression_term : single_expression
| range_expression
;
single_expression : end_range
| character_class 1
;
range_expression : start_range end_range
| start_range '-'
;
start_range : end_range '-'
;
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
144 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
end_range : COLL_ELEM
| collating_symbol
2
;
collating_symbol : Open_dot COLL_ELEM Dot_close
| Open_dot META_CHAR Dot_close
;
equivalence_class : Open_equal COLL_ELEM Equal_close
;
character_class : Open_colon class_name Colon_close 1
;
2.8.5.3 ERE Grammar
This subclause presents the grammar for extended regular expressions,
excluding the bracket expression grammar.
NOTE: The bracket expression grammar and the associated %token lines are
identical between BREs and EREs. It has been omitted from the ERE
subclause to avoid unnecessary editorial duplication.
%token ORD_CHAR QUOTED_CHAR SPEC_CHAR DUP_COUNT
%start extended_reg_exp
%%
/* --------------------------------------------
Extended Regular Expression
--------------------------------------------
*/
extended_reg_exp : anchored_ERE
| nonanchored_ERE
| extended_reg_exp '|' nonanchored_ERE
| extended_reg_exp '|' anchored_ERE
;
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.8 Regular Expression Notation 145
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
anchored_ERE : '^' nonanchored_ERE
| '^' nonanchored_ERE '$'
| nonanchored_ERE '$'
| '^'
| '$'
| '^' '$'
;
nonanchored_ERE : ERE_expression
| nonanchored_ERE ERE_expression
;
ERE_expression : one_character_ERE
| '(' extended_reg_exp ')'
| ERE_expression ERE_dupl_symbol
;
one_character_ERE : ORD_CHAR
| '\' SPEC_CHAR
| '.'
| bracket_expression
;
ERE_dupl_symbol : '*'
| '+'
| '?'
| '{' DUP_COUNT '}'
| '{' DUP_COUNT ',' '}'
| '{' DUP_COUNT ',' DUP_COUNT '}'
;
BEGIN_RATIONALE
2.8.6 Regular Expression Notation Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a
_p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
_E_d_i_t_o_r'_s _N_o_t_e: _S_o_m_e _o_f _t_h_e _t_e_x_t _a_n_d _h_e_a_d_i_n_g_s _o_f _t_h_i_s _r_a_t_i_o_n_a_l_e _h_a_v_e _b_e_e_n 1
_r_e_a_r_r_a_n_g_e_d. _M_o_v_e_d _t_e_x_t _h_a_s _n_o_t _b_e_e_n _d_i_f_f_m_a_r_k_e_d _u_n_l_e_s_s _i_t _c_h_a_n_g_e_d. 1
Rather than repeating the description of regular expressions for each
utility supporting REs, the working group preferred a common,
comprehensive description of regular expressions in one place. The most
common behavior is described here, and exceptions or extensions to this
are documented for the respective utilities, if appropriate.
The Basic Regular Expression corresponds to the ed or historical grep
type, and the Extended Regular Expression corresponds to the historical
egrep type (now grep -E).
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
146 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
The text is based on the ed description and substantially modified,
primarily to aid developers and others in the understanding of the
capabilities and limitations of regular expressions. Much of this was
influenced by the internationalization requirements.
It should be noted that the definitions in this clause do not cover the
tr utility (see 4.64); the tr syntax does not employ regular expressions.
The specification of regular expressions are particularly important to
internationalization, because pattern matching operations are very basic
operations in business and other operations. The syntax and rules of
regular expressions are intended to be as intuitive as possible, to make
them easy to understand and use. The historical rules and behavior do
not provide that capability to non-English-language users, and does not
provide the necessary support for commonly used characters and language
constructs. It was necessary to provide extensions to the historical
regular expression syntax and rules, to accommodate other languages.
Such modifications were proposed by the UniForum Technical Committee
Subcommittee on Internationalization and accepted by the working group.
As they are limited to bracket expressions, the rationale for these
modifications can be found in 2.8.6.3.2.
2.8.6.1 Regular Expression Definitions Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t
_a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
The definition of which sequence is matched when several are possible is
based on the leftmost-longest rule historically used by deterministic 1
recognizers. This rule is much easier to define and describe, and
arguably more useful, than the first-match rule historically used by
nondeterministic recognizers. It is thought that dependencies on the
choice of rule are rare; carefully-contrived examples are needed to
demonstrate the difference.
A formal expression of the leftmost-longest rule is: 1
The search is performed as if all possible suffixes of the
string were tested for a prefix matching the pattern; the
longest suffix containing a matching prefix is chosen, and
the longest possible matching prefix of the chosen suffix is
identified as the matching sequence.
It is possible to determine what strings correspond to subexpressions by 1
recursively applying the leftmost longest rule to each subexpression, but 1
only with the proviso that the overall match is leftmost longest (see 1
2.8.1.2). For example, matching \(ac*\)c*d[ac]*\1 against acdacaaa 1
should match acdacaaa (with \1=a); simply matching the longest match for 1
\(ac*\) would yield \1=ac, but the overall match would be smaller 1
(acdac). In principle, the implementation must examine every possible 1
match and among those that yield the leftmost longest total matches, pick 1
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.8 Regular Expression Notation 147
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
the one that does the longest match for the leftmost subexpression and so 1
on. Note that this means that matching by subexpressions is context 1
dependent: a subexpression within a larger RE may match a different 1
string from the one it would match as an independent RE, and two 1
instances of the same subexpression within the same larger RE may match 1
different lengths even in similar sequences of characters. For example, 1
in the ERE (a.*b)(a.*b), the two identical subexpressions would match 1
four and six characters, respectively, of accbaccccb. Thus, it is not 1
possible to hierarchically decompose the matching problem into smaller, 1
independent, matching problems. 1
Matching is based on the bit pattern used for encoding the character, not
on the graphic representation of the character. This means that if a
character set contains two or more encodings for a graphic symbol, or if
the strings searched contain text encoded in more than one code set, no
attempt is made to search for any other representation of the encoded
symbol. If that is required, the user can specify equivalence classes
containing all variations of the desired graphic symbol.
The definition of ``single character'' has been expanded to include also
collating elements consisting of two or more characters; this expansion 1
is applicable only when a bracket expression is included in the BRE or 1
ERE. An example of such a collating element may be the Dutch ``ij'', 1
which collates as a ``y.'' In some encodings, a ligature ``i with j''
exists _a_s _a _c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r, and would represent a single-character collating
element. In another encoding, no such ligature exists, and the two-
character sequence ``ij'' is defined as a multicharacter collating
element. Outside brackets, the ``ij'' is treated as a two-character RE
and will match the same characters in a string. Historically, a bracket
expression only matched a single character. If, however, the bracket
expression defines, for example, a range that includes ``ij'', then this
particular bracket expression will also match a sequence of the two
characters ``i'' and ``j'' in the string.
2.8.6.2 Regular Expression General Requirements Rationale. (_T_h_i_s
_s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
Historically, most regular expression implementations only match lines,
not strings. However, that is more an effect of the usage than of an
inherent feature of regular expressions itself. Consequently, POSIX.2
does not regard <newline>s as special; they are ordinary characters, and
both a period and a nonmatching list can match them. Those utilities
(like grep) that do not allow <newline>s to match are responsible for
eliminating any <newline> from strings before matching against the RE.
The _r_e_g_c_o_m_p() function, however, can provide support for such processing
without violating the rules of this clause.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
148 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
The definition of case-insensitive processing is intended to allow
matching of multicharacter collating elements as well as characters. For
instance, as each character in the string is matched using both its
cases, the RE [[.Ch.]], when matched against char, is in reality matched
against ch, Ch, cH, and CH. 1
Some implementations of egrep have had very limited flexibility in
handling complex extended regular expressions. POSIX.2 does not attempt
to define the complexity of a BRE or ERE, but does place a lower limit on
it--any regular expression must be handled, as long as it can be
expressed in 256 bytes or less. (Of course, this does not place an upper
limit on the implementation.) There are existing programs using a
nondeterministic-recognizer implementation that should have no difficulty
with this limit. It is possible that a good approach would be to attempt
to use the faster, but more limited, deterministic recognizer for simple
expressions and to fall back on the nondeterministic recognizer for those
expressions requiring it. Nondeterministic implementations must be
careful to observe the 2.8.1.2 rules on which match is chosen; the
longest match, not the first match, starting at a given character is
used.
The term ``invalid'' highlights a difference between this clause and some 1
others: POSIX.2 frequently avoids mandating of errors for syntax 1
violations because they can be used by implementors to trigger 1
extensions. However, the authors of the internationalization features of 1
regular expressions desired to mandate errors for certain conditions to 1
identify usage problems or nonportable constructs. These are identified 1
within this rationale as appropriate. The remaining syntax violations 1
have been left implicitly or explicitly undefined. For example, the BRE 1
construct \{1,2,3\} does not comply with the grammar. A conforming 1
application cannot rely on it producing an error nor matching the literal 1
characters \{1,2,3\}. The term ``undefined'' was used in favor of 1
``unspecified'' because many of the situations are considered errors on 1
some implementations and it was felt that consistency throughout the 1
clause was preferable to mixing undefined and unspecified. 1
2.8.6.3 Basic Regular Expressions Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a
_p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
2.8.6.3.1 BREs Matching a Single Character or Collating Element
Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.8 Regular Expression Notation 149
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
2.8.6.3.2 RE Bracket Expression Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t
_o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
If a bracket expression must specify both - and ], then the ] must be
placed first (after the ^, if any) and the - last within the bracket
expression.
Range expressions are, historically, an integral part of regular
expressions. However, the requirements of ``natural language behavior''
and portability does conflict: ranges must be treated according to the
current collating sequence, and include such characters that fall within
the range based on that collating sequence, regardless of character
values. This, however, means that the interpretation will differ
depending on collating sequence. If, for instance, one collating
sequence defines ``a'..' as a variant of ``a'', while another defines it as
a letter following ``z'', then the expression [a-..z] is valid in the first
language and invalid in the second. This kind of ambiguity should be
avoided in portable applications, and therefore the working group elected
to state that ranges must not be used in strictly conforming
applications; however, implementations must support them.
Some historical implementations allow range expressions where the ending
range point of one range is also the starting point of the next (for
instance [a-m-o]). This behavior should not be permitted, but to avoid
breaking existing implementations, it is now _u_n_d_e_f_i_n_e_d whether it is a
valid expression, and how it should be interpreted.
Current practice in awk and lex is to accept escape sequences in bracket
expressions as per Table 2-15, while the normal regular expression
behavior is to regard such a sequence as consisting of two characters.
Allowing the awk/lex behavior in regular expressions would change the
normal behavior in an unacceptable way; it is expected that awk and lex
will decode escape sequences in regular expressions before passing them
to _r_e_g_c_o_m_p() or comparable routines. Each utility describes the escape
sequences it accepts as an exception to the rules in this clause; the
list is not the same, for historical reasons.
As noted earlier, the new syntax and rules have been added to accommodate
other languages than English. These modifications were proposed by the
UniForum Subcommittee on Internationalization and accepted by the working
group. The remainder of this clause describes the rationale for these
modifications.
_I_n_t_e_r_n_a_t_i_o_n_a_l_i_z_a_t_i_o_n__R_e_q_u_i_r_e_m_e_n_t_s
The goal of the internationalization effort was to provide functions and
capabilities that matched the capabilities of existing implementations,
but that adhered to the user's local customs, rules, and environment.
This has also been described as ``removing the ASCII (and English
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
150 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
language) bias.''
In addition, other requirements also influence the standardization
efforts, such as _p_o_r_t_a_b_i_l_i_t_y, _e_x_t_e_n_s_i_b_i_l_i_t_y, and _c_o_m_p_a_t_i_b_i_l_i_t_y.
In a worldwide environment _p_o_r_t_a_b_i_l_i_t_y carries much weight. Wherever
feasible, users should be given the capability to develop code that can
execute independently of character set, code set, or language.
Standards must also be _e_x_t_e_n_s_i_b_l_e; to support further development, to
allow for local or regional extensions, or to accommodate new concepts
(such as multibyte characters).
_C_o_m_p_a_t_i_b_i_l_i_t_y does not only refer to support of existing code, but also
to making the new syntax, semantics, and functions compatible with
existing environments and implementations.
_I_n_t_e_r_n_a_t_i_o_n_a_l_i_z_a_t_i_o_n__T_e_c_h_n_i_c_a_l__B_a_c_k_g_r_o_u_n_d
The C Standard {7} (and, by implication, also POSIX) recognizes that the
ASCII character set used in historical UNIX system implementations is not
adequate outside the Anglo-American language area. It is, however, not
enough to remove the ASCII bias; the dependency on Anglo-Saxon
conventions and rules must also be broadened to accommodate other
cultures, including those that require thousands of characters.
Character sets are defined by their _a_t_t_r_i_b_u_t_e_s; typical attributes are
the _e_n_c_o_d_i_n_g, the _c_o_l_l_a_t_i_n_g _s_e_q_u_e_n_c_e, the _c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r _c_l_a_s_s_i_f_i_c_a_t_i_o_n, and
the _c_a_s_e _m_a_p_p_i_n_g.
It is also recognized that, even within one language area, several
combinations of attributes exist: character set attributes are _m_u_t_a_b_l_e
and _c_o_m_b_i_n_a_t_o_r_y. So, rather than replacing one straitjacket by another,
the proposed standards make character sets _u_s_e_r-_d_e_f_i_n_a_b_l_e and _p_r_o_g_r_a_m-
_s_e_l_e_c_t_a_b_l_e.
The existence of character set attributes is implicit in regular
expressions (REs). This implies that regular expressions must recognize
and adapt to the _p_r_o_g_r_a_m-_s_e_l_e_c_t_e_d set of attributes.
A program _s_e_l_e_c_t_s the appropriate character set (or combination of
attributes) using the mechanism described in 2.5. The _d_e_f_i_n_i_t_i_o_n of a
character set (its attributes) is _e_x_t_e_r_n_a_l to an executing program. Many
combinations of attributes can exist concurrently. Of particular
interest are the following attributes:
(1) _C_o_l_l_a_t_i_n_g _S_e_q_u_e_n_c_e. In existing implementations, the _e_n_c_o_d_e_d
ASCII ordering matches the _l_o_g_i_c_a_l English collating sequence.
This correspondence does not exist for all code sets or
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.8 Regular Expression Notation 151
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
languages. In addition, many languages employ concepts that
have no counterparts in English collation:
(a) In many languages, ordering is based on the concept of
_s_t_r_i_n_g _c_o_l_l_a_t_i_o_n rather than _c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r _c_o_l_l_a_t_i_o_n as in
English. One of the effects of this is that the ordering
is based on _c_o_l_l_a_t_i_n_g _e_l_e_m_e_n_t_s rather than on characters.
Characters typically map into collating elements:
_O_n_e-_t_o-_o_n_e mapping, where a character is also a
collating element,
_O_n_e-_t_o-_N mapping, where a single character maps into
two or more collating elements (as the German ``B''
(eszet), which collates as ``ss''),
_N-_t_o-_o_n_e mapping, where two or more characters map into
one collating element (as in the Spanish ``ll'',
which collates between ``l'' and ``m''; i.e., a word
beginning with ``ll'' collates _a_f_t_e_r a word beginning
with ``lo'').
(b) A common method for adding characters to an alphabet is to
use diacritical marks, such as accents or circumflex
( ^). In some languages, this creates a completely new
c`h'aracter, collated differently from the Latin ``base.''
In other languages these accented characters are collated
as variants of the Latin base letter; i.e., they have the
same relative order; they are _e_q_u_i_v_a_l_e_n_t.
If the strings (words) being compared are equal except for
``accents,'' the strings can be ordered based on a
secondary ordering _w_i_t_h_i_n the ``equivalence class.'' For
instance, in French, the words ``_t_a_c_h_e'', ``_t_^a_c_h_e'', and
``_t_a_c_h_e_t_e_r'' collate in that order.
The C Standard {7} recognizes this; it includes new library
functions capable of handling complex collation rules. These
functions depend on the setting of the _s_e_t_l_o_c_a_l_e() category
LC_COLLATE for a definition of the current collation rules.
(2) _C_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r _C_l_a_s_s_i_f_i_c_a_t_i_o_n. Character classification and case
mapping is another area where each language (or even language
area) has its own rules. Although users in different countries
can use the same code set, such as ISO 8859-1 {5}, the
definition of what constitutes a letter or an uppercase letter
may vary.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
152 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
The C Standard {7} recognizes this; library functions used to
classify characters or perform case mapping depend on the
_s_e_t_l_o_c_a_l_e() category LC_CTYPE for a definition of how characters
map to character classes.
_I_n_t_e_r_n_a_t_i_o_n_a_l_i_z_a_t_i_o_n__P_r_o_p_o_s_a_l__A_r_e_a_s
Based on the requirements and attribute characteristics defined above,
and after reviewing proposals and definitions by X/Open and other
organizations, the UniForum Subcommittee on Internationalization decided
to concentrate on the following areas: the range expression, character
classes, the definition of one-character RE (multicharacter element), and
equivalence classes.
Most of these are heavily dependent on the current definition of
collation sequence; the Subcommittee felt it natural to couple the
capabilities and interpretation of bracket expressions closely to the
requirements for extended collation capabilities.
In addition, the Subcommittee felt that the capabilities described in 2.5
formed a suitable basis for runtime control of regular expression
behavior.
The Subcommittee realized that the mechanism selected requires changes in
the existing syntax. As a rule, the Subcommittee wished to minimize
changes and avoid syntactical changes that may cause existing regular
expressions to fail.
(1) _C_o_l_l_a_t_i_n_g _E_l_e_m_e_n_t_s _a_n_d _S_y_m_b_o_l_s. As noted above, many
expressions within a bracket expression are closely connected
with collation, and the Subcommittee defined many capabilities
in terms of collating elements and collating symbols.
A collating element is defined as a sequence of one or more
bytes defined in the current collating sequence definition as a
unit of collation. In most cases, a collating element is equal
to a character, but the collation sequence may exclude some
characters, or define two or more characters as a collating
element.
A one-character RE is, logically enough, defined as one
character or something that translates into one character (the
number of bits used to represent the character is not an issue
here). The expression within square brackets is a one-character
RE; i.e., single characters are matched against the list of
single characters defined within the brackets.
In Spanish, the phrase ``a _t_o _d'' means the sequence of
collating elements a, a', b, c, ch, and d. Consequently, with a
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.8 Regular Expression Notation 153
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
Spanish character set, the range statement [a-d] includes the ch
collating element, even though it is expressed with two
characters (N-to-1 mapping).
The historical syntax, however, does not allow the user to
define either the range from a through ch, or to define ch as a
single character rather than as either c or h.
The Subcommittee decided that N-to-1 mappings be recognized (if
properly delimited), as _o_n_e-_c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r _R_E_s inside, but not
outside, square brackets (e.g., a period will never match ch).
To be distinguishable from a list of the characters themselves,
the multicharacter element must be delimited from the remainder
of the characters in the string. The characters [. _a_n_d .] are
used to delimit a multicharacter collating element from other
elements, and can be used to delimit single-character collating
elements.
(2) _E_q_u_i_v_a_l_e_n_c_e _C_l_a_s_s_e_s. As stated previously, many languages
extend the Latin alphabet by using diacritical marks. In some
cases, the Latin base character (e.g., a) and the accented
versions of the base (e.g., a`, a^ in French) constitute a
``subclass'' of characters with some partially equivalent
characteristics but different code values. Because these
characters are related, they are often processed as a group.
The historical syntax, however, does not provide for this in a
portable manner.
Although it represents an extension of the historical
capabilities, the X/Open group strongly recommended that a
properly delimited collating element be recognized as
representing an equivalence class, that is as the collating
element itself, and all other characters with the same primary
order in the collation sequence.
The Subcommittee supported this recommendation, and also
selected [= and =] as delimiters for equivalence classes.
(3) _R_a_n_g_e _E_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n_s. The hyphen historically indicated ``a range
of consecutive ASCII characters;'' typically it stands for the
word ``to,'' as in ``a to z,'' _a_n_d _i_m_p_l_i_e_s _a_n _o_r_d_e_r_e_d _i_n_t_e_r_v_a_l.
_I_n _A_S_C_I_I, _t_h_e _e_n_c_o_d_e_d _o_r_d_e_r _m_a_t_c_h_e_s _t_h_e _l_o_g_i_c_a_l _E_n_g_l_i_s_h _o_r_d_e_r;
_t_h_i_s _i_s _n_o_t _t_r_u_e _w_i_t_h _o_t_h_e_r _e_n_c_o_d_i_n_g_s _o_r _w_i_t_h _o_t_h_e_r _a_l_p_h_a_b_e_t_s.
_I_f _t_h_e _A_S_C_I_I _d_e_p_e_n_d_e_n_c_y _i_s _r_e_m_o_v_e_d, _a_n _a_l_t_e_r_n_a_t_i_v_e _c_o_u_l_d _h_a_v_e
_b_e_e_n _t_o _u_s_e _t_h_e _e_n_c_o_d_e_d _s_e_q_u_e_n_c_e _o_f _w_h_a_t_e_v_e_r _c_o_d_e _s_e_t _i_s
_c_u_r_r_e_n_t_l_y _u_s_e_d. _T_h_i_s, _h_o_w_e_v_e_r, _w_o_u_l_d _c_e_r_t_a_i_n_l_y _d_e_c_r_e_a_s_e
_p_o_r_t_a_b_i_l_i_t_y, _a_s _w_e_l_l _a_s _r_e_q_u_i_r_i_n_g _t_h_e _u_s_e_r _t_o _k_n_o_w _t_h_e _o_r_d_e_r_i_n_g
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
154 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
_o_f _t_h_e _c_u_r_r_e_n_t _c_o_d_e _s_e_t. _I_t _w_o_u_l_d _a_l_s_o _m_o_s_t _c_e_r_t_a_i_n_l_y _b_e
_c_o_u_n_t_e_r-_i_n_t_u_i_t_i_v_e; _a _F_r_e_n_c_h _u_s_e_r _w_o_u_l_d _e_x_p_e_c_t _t_h_e _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n
[_a-_d] to match any of the letters a, a` a^, b, c, c, or d. The
Subcommittee regards this interpretation of ranges as most
compatible with existing capabilities, and one that provides for
the desired portability.
As the _l_o_g_i_c_a_l ordering need not be inherent in the _e_n_c_o_d_e_d
sequence, an external definition was required. Such a
definition was already present via the _c_o_l_l_a_t_i_n_g _s_e_q_u_e_n_c_e
attribute of the character set. The _s_e_t_l_o_c_a_l_e() function
provides for an LC_COLLATE category, which defines the current
collating sequence. The Subcommittee selected this as the basis
for the interpretation of ranges, as well as of equivalence
classes and multicharacter collating symbols.
(4) _C_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r _C_l_a_s_s_e_s. The _r_a_n_g_e expression is commonly used to
indicate a _c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r _c_l_a_s_s; the _e_x(_a_u__c_m_d) section of the _S_V_I_D
states: ``... _a _p_a_i_r _o_f _c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r_s _s_e_p_a_r_a_t_e_d _b_y - defines a
range (e.g., a-z defines any lowercase letter)....'' In
reality, [a-z] means ``any lowercase letter between a and z,
inclusive.'' This is _o_n_l_y equivalent to ``any lowercase
letter'' if the _a is the first and z is the last lowercase
letter in the collating sequence.
To provide the intended capabilities in a portable way, the
Subcommittee introduced a new syntactical element, namely an
explicit _c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r _c_l_a_s_s. The definition of which characters
constitute a specific character class is already present via the
LC_CTYPE category of the _s_e_t_l_o_c_a_l_e() function.
The Subcommittee selected the identification of character
classes by _n_a_m_e, bracketed by [: and :]. A character class
cannot be used as an endpoint in a range statement.
_I_n_t_e_r_n_a_t_i_o_n_a_l_i_z_a_t_i_o_n__S_y_n_t_a_x
The Subcommittee was careful to propose changes in the regular expression
syntax that minimize the impact on existing REs. In evaluating
alternatives, the Subcommittee looked at ease of use (terseness, ease to
remember, keyboard availability), impact on historical REs
(compatibility), implementability, performance and how error-prone the
syntax is likely to be (ambiguity).
The Subcommittee made the following evaluation:
(1) Syntax changes must be limited to expressions within square
brackets.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.8 Regular Expression Notation 155
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
(2) Strings or characters with special meaning must be delimited
from ordinary strings, to avoid compatibility problems.
(3) Both initial and terminating delimiter should consist of two
characters, to minimize compatibility and ambiguity problems.
(4) Outer delimiter character should be bracketing; i.e., naturally
indicate initial and terminating side. Examples: {} <> ().
(5) The brackets ([]) are, due to the special rules for ``brackets
within brackets,'' rather unlikely to be used in the intended
way (a closing bracket must precede an open bracket in the
existing syntax).
(6) To minimize ambiguity, brackets must be paired with another
character. Many other symbols are already in use, either within
regular expressions, or in the shell. Examples of usable
characters are: = . :
(7) Because a multicharacter collating element also can be a member
of an equivalence class, different delimiters must be chosen for
these two expressions. Also, the character class expression
must be distinguishable from, e.g., multicharacter collating
symbols; although no historical example is known to the
Subcommittee, prudence dictated that character classes be given
separate delimiters.
(8) The Subcommittee selected the period as the secondary delimiter
for multicharacter collating symbols.
(9) The Subcommittee selected the equals-sign as the secondary
delimiter for equivalence classes.
(10) The Subcommittee selected the colon as the secondary delimiter
for character classes.
The specific syntax and facilities described in this clause represent a
coalescence of proposals and implementations from several vendors. Due
to differences in facilities and syntax, it was not possible to take one
implementation and codify it. There are now several implementations
closely patterned on the existing proposal.
The facilities presented in this clause are described in a manner that
does not preclude their use with multibyte character sets. However, no
attempt has been made to include facilities specifically intended for
such character sets.
The definitions of character classes is tied to the LC_CTYPE definition.
The set of character classes defined in the C Standard {7} represents the
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
156 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
minimum set of character classes required worldwide, i.e., those required
by all implementations. It is the working group's belief that local
standards bodies, as well as individual vendors, will provide extensions
to the standard in these areas, for instance to provide, for example,
Kanji character classes.
In many historical implementations, an _i_n_v_a_l_i_d _r_a_n_g_e is treated as if it
consisted of the endpoints only. For example, [z-a] is treated as [za].
Some implementations treat the above range as [z], and others as [-az].
Neither is correct, and the working group decided that this should be
treated as an error.
It was proposed that the syntax for bracket expressions be simplified
such that the ``extra'' brackets are not needed if the bracket expression
only consists of a character class, an equivalence class, or a collating
symbol: ``[:alpha:]'' instead of ``[[:alpha:]]''. To ensure
unambiguity, if a bracket expression starts with :, =, or ., then it
cannot contain a class expression or a collating symbol (or duplicated
characters). In addition, it was also proposed that only valid class or
collating symbol expressions be accepted: e.g., [[:ctrl:]] is an invalid
expression. The working group rejected the proposal. While the syntax
[:alpha:] may be intuitive to some, the proposal does not allow, e.g.,
[:digit:.ch.]. The alternative, to require additional brackets for the
latter case would probably cause more errors than the historical syntax.
Requiring erroneous class expressions or collating symbols to make the
regular expression invalid may minimize the risks for inadvertent
spelling errors. However, at this point it was judged that this would
reduce consensus.
Consideration was given to eliminating the [.ch.] syntax and providing
that collating element should be recognized as such both inside and
outside bracket expressions. In addition, consideration was given to
defining character classes such that collating elements are included.
The working group rejected these proposals. The [.ch.] syntax is only
required inside bracket expressions due to the fact that a bracket
expression historically only matched a single character. If ch is a
collating element, a range [a-z] (if ``ch'' falls within it) matches ch.
Outside brackets, an expression ch is treated as two concatenated
characters, matching the string ``ch''. The [.ch.] expression is
intended to allow the specification of a multicharacter collating element
separately from ranges in a bracket expression. Character classes are
not intended to include collating elements; there is no requirement that
all characters in a multicharacter collating element belong to the same
character class (for instance ``Ch'' is ``alpha'' but neither ``upper''
nor ''lower''). Introducing collating elements in character classes
would be nonintuitive.
It was suggested that, because ranges may or may not be meaningful (or
even accepted) based on the current collating sequence, they should be
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.8 Regular Expression Notation 157
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
eliminated from the syntax (or at least marked obsolescent). It was
suggested that, e.g., [z-a] should always be or never be an error,
regardless of collating sequence. The working group did not wish to
eliminate ranges from the syntax. While it is true that ranges may not
be universally portable, they are nevertheless a useful and fundamental
construct in regular expressions. The regular expression syntax has
consciously been extended to provide both increased portability and
extended local capabilities. Where supported, ranges must reflect the
current collating sequence. The working group instead elected to include
range expressions as an implementation requirement, but state that
strictly conforming applications (but not, e.g., National-Body-conforming
applications) shall not use range expressions. Treating erroneous ranges
as invalid points out that these may not be portable across collating
sequences; and is better than (silently) making them behave in a way
contrary to the intents of the user.
Earlier drafts allowed the use of an equivalence class expression as the 2
starting or ending point of a range expression, such as [[=e=]-f]. This 2
now produces unspecified results because it is possible to define the 2
equivalence class as a disjoint set of characters. This example could 2
produce different results on various systems: 2
- An error. 2
- The equivalent of [[=e=]e-f] (which is the correct portable way to 2
include equivalence class effects in a bracket expression). 2
- All of the collating elements from the lowest value found in the 2
equivalence class, including any of the elements found between the 2
disjoint values. 2
Consideration was given to saying that equivalence classes with disjoint 2
elements produce unspecified results at the start or end of a range, but 2
since the application cannot predict which equivalence classes are 2
disjoint, this is no improvement over the more general statement chosen. 2
It was suggested that, while reference to nonprintable characters is
partially supported by the proposed set of character classes, the
specificity is not precise enough, and that additional character classes
should be supported, e.g., [:tab:] or [:a:]. The working group rejected
this proposal, because this feature would represent a substantial
enhancement to the current regular expression syntax, and one that cannot
be based on internationalization requirements. It is judged that its
inclusion would reduce consensus. A future revision of regular
expressions should study the capability to create temporary character
classes for use in regular expressions; a ``character class macro
facility.''
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
158 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
2.8.6.3.3 BREs Matching Multiple Characters Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e
_i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
The limit of nine backreferences to subexpressions in the RE is based on
the use of a single digit identifier; increasing this to multiple digits
would break historical applications. This does not imply that only nine 1
subexpressions are allowed in REs. The following is a valid BRE with ten 1
subexpressions: 1
\(\(\(ab\)*c\)*d\)\(ef\)*\(gh\)\{2\}\(ij\)*\(kl\)*\(mn\)*\(op\)*\(qr\)* 1
The working group regards the common current behavior, which supports
\_n*, but not \_n\{_m_i_n,_m_a_x\}, or \(...\)*, or \(...\)\{_m_i_n,_m_a_x\}, as a
nonintentional result of a specific implementation, and supports both
duplication and interval expressions following subexpressions and
backreferences.
2.8.6.3.4 Expression Anchoring Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t
_o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
Often, the dollar-sign is viewed as matching the ending <newline> in text
files. This is not strictly true; the <newline> is typically eliminated
from the strings to be matched and the dollar-sign matches the
terminating null character.
The ability of ^, $, and * to be nonspecial in certain circumstances may 1
be confusing to some programmers, but this situation was changed only in 1
a minor way from historical practice to avoid breaking many existing 1
scripts. Some consideration was given to making the use of the anchoring 1
characters undefined if not escaped and not at the beginning or end of 1
strings. This would cause a number of historical BREs, such as 2^10, 1
$HOME, and $1.35, which relied on the characters being treated literally, 1
to become invalid. 1
However, one relatively uncommon case was changed to allow an extension 1
used on some implementations. Historically, the BREs ^foo and \(^foo\) 1
did not match the same string, despite the general rule that 1
subexpressions and entire BREs match the same strings. To achieve 1
balloting consensus, POSIX.2 has allowed an extension on some systems to 1
treat these two cases in the same way by declaring that anchoring _m_a_y 1
occur at the beginning or end of a subexpression. Therefore, portable 1
BREs that require a literal circumflex at the beginning or a dollar-sign 1
at the end of a subexpression must escape them. Note that a BRE such as 1
a\(^bc\) will either match a^bc or nothing on different systems under the 1
POSIX.2 rules. 1
ERE anchoring has been different from BRE anchoring in all historical 1
systems. An unescaped anchor character has never matched its literal 1
counterpart outside of a bracket expression. Some systems treated 1
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.8 Regular Expression Notation 159
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
foo$bar as a valid expression that never matched anything, others treated 1
it as invalid. POSIX.2 mandates the former, valid unmatched behavior. 1
Some systems have extended the BRE syntax to add alternation. For 1
example, the subexpression \(foo$\|bar\) would match either foo at the 1
end of the string or bar anywhere. The extension is triggered by the use 1
of the undefined \| sequence. Because the BRE is undefined for portable 1
scripts, the extending system is free to make other assumptions, such as 1
that the $ represents the end-of-line anchor in the middle of a 1
subexpression. If it were not for the extension, the $ would match a 1
literal dollar-sign under the POSIX.2 rules. 1
2.8.6.4 Extended Regular Expressions Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a
_p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
As with basic regular expressions, the working group decided to make the
interpretation of escaped ordinary characters undefined.
The right-parenthesis is not listed as an ERE special character because 1
it is only special in the context of a preceding left-parenthesis. If 1
found without a preceding left-parenthesis, the right-parenthesis has no 1
special meaning. 1
Based on objections in several ballots, the _i_n_t_e_r_v_a_l _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n, {_m,_n},
has been added to extended regular expressions. Historically, the
interval expression has only been supported in some extended regular
expression implementations. The working group estimated that the
addition of interval expressions to extended regular expressions would
not decrease consensus, and would also make basic regular expressions
more of a subset of extended regular expressions than in many historical
implementations.
It was suggested that, in addition to interval expressions,
backreferences (\_n) also should be added to extended regular expressions.
This was rejected by the working group as likely to decrease consensus.
In historical implementations, multiple duplication symbols are usually
interpreted from left to right and treated as additive. As an example,
a+*b matches zero or more instances of a followed by a b. In POSIX.2,
multiple duplication symbols are undefined; i.e., they cannot be relied
upon for portable applications. One reason for this is to provide some
scope for future enhancements; the current syntax is very crowded.
The precedence of operations differs between EREs and those in lex; in
lex, for historical reasons, interval expressions have a lower precedence
than concatenation.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
160 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
2.8.6.5 Regular Expression Grammar Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a
_p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
None.
END_RATIONALE
2.9 Dependencies on Other Standards
2.9.1 Features Inherited from POSIX.1
This subclause describes some of the features provided by POSIX.1 {8}
that are assumed to be globally available by all systems conforming to
POSIX.2. This subclause does not attempt to detail all of the
POSIX.1 {8} features that are required by all of the utilities and
functions defined in this standard; the utility and function descriptions
point out additional functionality required to provide the corresponding
specific features needed by each.
The following subclauses describe frequently used concepts. Utility and
function description statements override these defaults when appropriate.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
2.9.1.0.1 Features Inherited from POSIX.1 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s
_n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
It has been pointed out that POSIX.2 assumes that a lot of POSIX.1 {8}
functionality is present, but never states exactly how much. This is an
attempt to clarify the assumptions.
This subclause only covers the ``utilities and functions defined by this
standard.'' It does not mandate that the specific POSIX.1 {8} interfaces
themselves be available to all application programs. A C language
program compiled on a POSIX.2 system is not guaranteed that any of the
POSIX.1 {8} functions are accessible. (For example, although UNIX
system-based implementations of ls will use _s_t_a_t() to get file status, a
POSIX.2 implementation of ls on a ``LONG_NAME_OS-based'' implementation
might use the _g_e_t__f_i_l_e__a_t_t_r_i_b_u_t_e_s() and the _g_e_t__f_i_l_e__t_i_m_e__s_t_a_m_p_s() system
calls.) POSIX.2 only requires equivalent functionality, not equal means
of access. In any event, programs requiring the POSIX.1 {8} system
interface should specify that they need POSIX.1 {8} conformance and not
hope to achieve it by piggybacking on POSIX.2.
END_RATIONALE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.9 Dependencies on Other Standards 161
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
2.9.1.1 Process Attributes
The following process attributes, as described in POSIX.1 {8}, are
assumed to be supported for all processes in POSIX.2:
controlling terminal real group ID
current working directory real user ID
effective group ID root directory
effective user ID saved set-group-ID
file descriptors saved set-user-ID
file mode creation mask session membership
process ID supplementary group IDs
process group ID
A conforming implementation may include additional process attributes.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
2.9.1.1.1 Process Attributes Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f
_P_1_0_0_3._2)
The supplementary group IDs requirement is minimal. If {NGROUPS_MAX} is
defined to be zero, they are not required. If {NGROUPS_MAX} is greater
than zero, the supplementary group IDs are used as described in
POSIX.1 {8} in various permission checking operations.
The saved-set-group-ID and saved-set-user-ID requirements are also
minimal. If {_POSIX_SAVED_IDS} is defined, they are required; otherwise,
they are not.
A controlling terminal is needed to control access to /dev/tty.
The file creation semantics of POSIX.2 require the effective group ID,
effective user ID, and the file mode creation mask.
Pathname resolution and access permission checks require the current
working directory, effective group ID, effective user ID, and root
directory.
The kill utility requires the effective group ID, effective user ID,
process ID, process group ID, real group ID, real user ID, saved set-
group-ID, saved set-user-ID, and session membership attributes to perform
the various signal addressing and permission checks.
The id utility is based on the effective group ID, effective user ID,
real group ID, real user ID, and supplementary group IDs.
The following process attributes described in POSIX.1 {8} do not seem to
be required by POSIX.2: parent process ID, pending signals, process
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
162 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
signal mask, time left until an alarm clock signal, _t_m_s__c_s_t_i_m_e,
_t_m_s__c_u_t_i_m_e, _t_m_s__s_t_i_m_e, and _t_m_s__u_t_i_m_e. There are probably other
attributes mentioned in POSIX.1 {8} that are not listed here.
END_RATIONALE
2.9.1.2 Concurrent Execution of Processes
The following functionality of the POSIX.1 {8} _f_o_r_k() function shall be
available on all POSIX.2 conformant systems:
(1) Independent processes shall be capable of executing
independently without either process terminating.
(2) A process shall be able to create a new process with all of the
attributes referenced in 2.9.1.1, determined according to the
semantics of a call to the POSIX.1 {8} _f_o_r_k() function followed
by a call in the child process to one of the POSIX.1 {8} _e_x_e_c
functions.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
2.9.1.2.1 Concurrent Execution of Processes Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e
_i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
The historical functionality of _f_o_r_k() is required, which permits the
concurrent execution of independent processes. A system with a single
thread of process execution is not an appropriate base upon which to
build a POSIX.2 system. (This requirement was not explicitly stated in
the 1988 POSIX.1, but is included in the current POSIX.1 {8}.)
END_RATIONALE
2.9.1.3 File Access Permissions
The file access control mechanism described by _f_i_l_e _a_c_c_e_s_s _p_e_r_m_i_s_s_i_o_n_s in
2.2.2.55 applies to all files on a conforming POSIX.2 implementation.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
2.9.1.3.1 File Access Permissions Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a
_p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
The entire concept of file protections and access control is assumed to
be handled as in POSIX.1 {8}.
END_RATIONALE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.9 Dependencies on Other Standards 163
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
2.9.1.4 File Read, Write, and Creation
When a file is to be read or written, the file shall be opened with an
access mode corresponding to the operation to be performed. If file
access permissions deny access, the requested operation shall fail.
When a file that does not exist is created, the following POSIX.1 {8}
features shall apply unless the utility or function description states
otherwise:
(1) The file's user ID is set to the effective user ID of the
calling process.
(2) The file's group ID is set to the effective group ID of the
calling process or the group ID of the directory in which the
file is being created.
(3) The file's permission bits are set to:
S_IROTH | S_IWOTH | S_IRGRP | S_IWGRP | S_IRUSR | S_IWUSR
(see POSIX.1 {8} 5.6.1.2) except that the bits specified by the
process's file mode creation mask are cleared.
(4) The _s_t__a_t_i_m_e, _s_t__c_t_i_m_e, and _s_t__m_t_i_m_e fields of the file shall be
updated as specified in _f_i_l_e _t_i_m_e_s _u_p_d_a_t_e in 2.2.2.69.
(5) If the file is a directory, it shall be an empty directory;
otherwise the file shall have length zero.
(6) Unless otherwise specified, the file created shall be a regular
file.
When an attempt is made to create a file that already exists, the action
shall depend on the file type:
(1) For directories and FIFO special files, the attempt shall fail
and the utility shall either continue with its operation or exit
immediately with a nonzero status, depending on the description
of the utility.
(2) For regular files:
(a) The file's user ID, group ID, and permission bits shall
not be changed.
(b) The file shall be truncated to zero length.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
164 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
(c) The _s_t__c_t_i_m_e and _s_t__m_t_i_m_e fields shall be marked for
update.
(3) For other file types, the effect is implementation defined.
When a file is to be appended, the file shall be opened in a manner
equivalent to using the O_APPEND flag, without the O_TRUNC flag, in the
POSIX.1 {8} _o_p_e_n() call.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
2.9.1.4.1 File Read, Write, and Creation Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s
_n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
Even though it might be possible for a process to change the mode of a
file to match a requested operation and change the mode back to its
original state after the operation is completed, utilities are not
allowed to do this unless the utility description states otherwise. As
an example, the ed utility r command fails if the file to be read does
not exist (even though it could create the file and then read it) or the
file permissions do not allow read access [even though it could use the
POSIX.1 {8} _c_h_m_o_d() function to make the file readable before attempting
to open the file].
END_RATIONALE
2.9.1.5 File Removal
When a directory that is the root directory or current working directory
of any process is removed, the effect is implementation defined. If file
access permissions deny access, the requested operation shall fail.
Otherwise, when a file is removed:
(1) Its directory entry shall be removed from the file system.
(2) The link count of the file shall be decremented.
(3) If the file is an empty directory (see 2.2.2.43):
(a) If no process has the directory open, the space occupied
by the directory shall be freed and the directory shall no
longer be accessible.
(b) If one or more processes have the directory open, the
directory contents shall be preserved until all references
to the file have been closed.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.9 Dependencies on Other Standards 165
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
(4) If the file is a directory that is not empty, the _s_t__c_t_i_m_e field
shall be marked for update.
(5) If the file is not a directory:
(a) If the link count becomes zero:
[1] If no process has the file open, the space occupied
by the file shall be freed and the file shall no
longer be accessible.
[2] If one or more processes have the file open, the
file contents shall be preserved until all
references to the file have been closed.
(b) If the link count is not reduced to zero, the _s_t__c_t_i_m_e
field shall be marked for update.
(6) The _s_t__c_t_i_m_e and _s_t__m_t_i_m_e fields of the containing directory
shall be marked for update.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
2.9.1.5.1 File Removal Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f
_P_1_0_0_3._2)
This is intended to be a summary of the POSIX.1 {8} _u_n_l_i_n_k() and _r_m_d_i_r()
requirements needed by POSIX.2.
END_RATIONALE
2.9.1.6 File Time Values
All files have the three time values described by _f_i_l_e _t_i_m_e_s _u_p_d_a_t_e in
2.2.2.69.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
2.9.1.6.1 File Time Values Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f
_P_1_0_0_3._2)
All three time stamps specified by POSIX.1 {8} are needed for utilities
like find, ls, make, test, and touch to work as expected.
END_RATIONALE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
166 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
2.9.1.7 File Contents
When a reference is made to the contents of a file, _p_a_t_h_n_a_m_e, this means
the equivalent of all of the data placed in the space pointed to by _b_u_f
when performing the _r_e_a_d() function calls in the following POSIX.1 {8}
operations:
while (read (fildes, buf, nbytes) > 0)
;
If the file is indicated by a pathname _p_a_t_h_n_a_m_e, the file descriptor
shall be determined by the equivalent of the following POSIX.1 operation:
fildes = open (pathname, O_RDONLY);
The value of _n_b_y_t_e_s in the above sequence is unspecified; if the file is
of a type where the data returned by _r_e_a_d() would vary with different
values, the value shall be one that results in the most data being
returned.
If the _r_e_a_d() function calls would return an error, it is unspecified
whether the contents of the file are considered to include any data from
offsets in the file beyond where the error would be returned.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
2.9.1.7.1 File Contents Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f
_P_1_0_0_3._2)
This description is intended to convey the traditional behavior for all
types of files. This matches the intuitive meaning for regular files,
but the meaning is not always intuitive for other types of files. In
particular, for FIFOs, pipes, and terminals it must be clear that the
contents are not necessarily static at the time a file is opened, but
they include the data returned by a sequence of reads until end-of-file
is indicated. This is why the _o_p_e_n() call is specified, with the
O_NONBLOCK flag not set.
Some files, especially character special files, are sensitive to the size
of a _r_e_a_d() request. The contents of the file are those resulting from
proper choice of this size.
END_RATIONALE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.9 Dependencies on Other Standards 167
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
2.9.1.8 Pathname Resolution
The pathname resolution algorithm described by _p_a_t_h_n_a_m_e _r_e_s_o_l_u_t_i_o_n in
2.2.2.104 shall be used by conforming POSIX.2 implementations. See also
_f_i_l_e _h_i_e_r_a_r_c_h_y in 2.2.2.58.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
2.9.1.8.1 Pathname Resolution Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t
_o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
The whole concept of hierarchical file systems and pathname resolution is
assumed to be handled as in POSIX.1 {8}.
END_RATIONALE
2.9.1.9 Changing the Current Working Directory 2
When the current working directory (see 2.2.2.159) is to be changed, 2
unless the utility or function description states otherwise, the 2
operation shall succeed unless a call to the POSIX.1 {8} _c_h_d_i_r() function 2
would fail when invoked with the new working directory pathname as its 2
argument. 2
2.9.1.9.1 Changing the Current Working Directory Rationale. (_T_h_i_s 2
_s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2) 2
This subclause covers the access permissions and pathname structures 2
involved with changing directories, such as with cd or (the UPE-extended) 2
mailx utilities. 2
2.9.1.10 Establish the Locale
The functionality of the POSIX.1 {8} _s_e_t_l_o_c_a_l_e() function is assumed to
be available on all POSIX.2 conformant systems; i.e., utilities that
require the capability of establishing an international operating
environment shall be permitted to set the specified category of the
international environment.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
2.9.1.10.1 Establish the Locale Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t
_o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
The entire concept of locale categories such as the LC_* variables along
with any implementation-defined categories is assumed to be handled as in
POSIX.1 {8}.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
168 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
END_RATIONALE
2.9.1.11 Actions Equivalent to POSIX.1 Functions
Some utility descriptions specify that a utility performs actions
equivalent to a POSIX.1 {8} function. Such specifications require only
that the external effects be equivalent, not that any effect within the
utility and visible only to the utility be equivalent.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
2.9.1.11.1 Actions Equivalent to POSIX.1 Functions Rationale. (_T_h_i_s
_s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
An objection was received to an earlier draft that said this approach of
equivalent functions was unreasonable, as the reader (and the person
writing a test suite) would be responsible for interpreting which
portions of POSIX.1 {8} were included and which were not. For example,
would such intermediate effects as the setting of _e_r_r_n_o be required if
the related POSIX.1 {8} function called for that? The answer is no:
this standard is only concerned with the end results of functions against
the file system and the environment, and not any intermediate values or
results visible only to the programmer using the POSIX.1 {8} function in
a C (or other high-level language) program.
END_RATIONALE
2.9.2 Concepts Derived from the C Standard
Some of the standard utilities perform complex data manipulation using
their own procedure and arithmetic languages, as defined in their
Extended Description or Operands subclauses. Unless otherwise noted, the
arithmetic and semantic concepts (precision, type conversion, control
flow, etc.) are equivalent to those defined in the C Standard {7}, as
described in the following subclauses. Note that there is no requirement
that the standard utilities be implemented in any particular programming
language.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
2.9.2.0.1 Concepts Derived from the C Standard Rationale. (_T_h_i_s
_s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
This subclause was introduced to answer complaints that there was
insufficient detail presented by such utilities as awk or sh about their
procedural control statements and their methods of performing arithmetic
functions. Earlier drafts, derived heavily from the original manual
pages, contained statements such as ``for loops similar to the
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.9 Dependencies on Other Standards 169
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
C Standard {7},'' which was good enough for a general understanding, but
insufficient for a real implementation.
The C Standard {7} was selected as a model because most historical
implementations of the standard utilities were written in C. Thus, it is
more likely that they will act in a manner desired by POSIX.2 without
modification.
Using the C Standard {7} is primarily a notational convenience, so the
many ``little languages'' in POSIX.2 would not have to be rigorously
described in every aspect. Its selection does not require that the
standard utilities be written in Standard C; they could be written in
common-usage C, Ada, Pascal, assembler language, or anything else.
The sizes of the various numeric values refer to C-language datatypes 1
that are allowed to be different sizes by the C Standard {7}. Thus, like 1
a C-language application, a shell application cannot rely on their exact 1
size. However, it can rely on their minimum sizes expressed in the 1
C Standard {7}, such as {LONG_MAX} for a _l_o_n_g type. 1
END_RATIONALE 1
2.9.2.1 Arithmetic Precision and Operations
Integer variables and constants, including the values of operands and
option-arguments, used by the standard utilities shall be implemented as
equivalent to the C Standard {7} _s_i_g_n_e_d _l_o_n_g data type; floating point
shall be implemented as equivalent to the C Standard {7} _d_o_u_b_l_e type.
Conversions between types shall be as described in the C Standard {7}.
All variables shall be initialized to zero if they are not otherwise
assigned by the application's input.
Arithmetic operators and functions shall be implemented as equivalent to
those in the cited C Standard {7} section, as listed in Table 2-14.
The evaluation of arithmetic expressions shall be equivalent to that
described in the C Standard {7} section 3.3 Expressions.
2.9.2.2 Mathematic Functions
Any mathematic functions with the same names as those in the C Standard
{7}'s sections:
4.5 _M_a_t_h_e_m_a_t_i_c_s <math.h>
4.10.2 _P_s_e_u_d_o-_r_a_n_d_o_m _s_e_q_u_e_n_c_e _g_e_n_e_r_a_t_i_o_n _f_u_n_c_t_i_o_n_s
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
170 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
Table 2-14 - C Standard Operators and Functions
_________________________________________________________________________
___________O_p_e_r_a_t_i_o_n________________C__S_t_a_n_d_a_r_d__{_7_}__E_q_u_i_v_a_l_e_n_t__R_e_f_e_r_e_n_c_e____
( ) _3._3._1 _P_r_i_m_a_r_y _E_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n_s
_________________________________________________________________________
postfix ++ _3._3._2 _P_o_s_t_f_i_x _O_p_e_r_a_t_o_r_s
__p_o_s_t_f_i_x__-_-______________________________________________________________
unary +
unary -
prefix ++
prefix -- _3._3._3 _U_n_a_r_y _O_p_e_r_a_t_o_r_s
~!
sizeof()
_________________________________________________________________________
*
/ _3._3._5 _M_u_l_t_i_p_l_i_c_a_t_i_v_e _O_p_e_r_a_t_o_r_s
__%_______________________________________________________________________
| + | |
| - | _3._3._6 _A_d_d_i_t_i_v_e _O_p_e_r_a_t_o_r_s |
_|________________________________|________________________________________|
| << | _3._3._7 _B_i_t_w_i_s_e _S_h_i_f_t _O_p_e_r_a_t_o_r_s |
_|_>_>______________________________|________________________________________|
| <, <= | |
| >, >= | _3._3._8 _R_e_l_a_t_i_o_n_a_l _O_p_e_r_a_t_o_r_s |
_|________________________________|________________________________________|
| == | _3._3._9 _E_q_u_a_l_i_t_y _O_p_e_r_a_t_o_r_s |
_|_!_=______________________________|________________________________________|
| & | _3._3._1_0 _B_i_t_w_i_s_e _A_N_D _O_p_e_r_a_t_o_r |
_|________________________________|________________________________________|
_|_^_______________________________|____3.___3.___1__1___B__i__t__w__i__s__e___E__x__c__l__u__s__i__v__e___O__R___O__p__e__r__a__t__o__r__|
| | | _3._3._1_2 _B_i_t_w_i_s_e _I_n_c_l_u_s_i_v_e _O_R _O_p_e_r_a_t_o_r |
_|________________________________|________________________________________|
_|_&_&______________________________|____3.___3.___1__3___L__o__g__i__c__a__l___A__N__D___O__p__e__r__a__t__o__r___________|
| || | _3._3._1_4 _L_o_g_i_c_a_l _O_R _O_p_e_r_a_t_o_r |
_|________________________________|________________________________________|
_|___e__x__p__r?___e__x__p__r:___e__x__p__r_________________|____3.___3.___1__5___C__o__n__d__i__t__i__o__n__a__l___O__p__e__r__a__t__o__r___________|
| =, *=, /=, %=, +=, -= | |
| <<=, >>=, &=, ^=, |= | _3._3._1_6 _A_s_s_i_g_n_m_e_n_t _O_p_e_r_a_t_o_r_s |
_|________________________________|________________________________________|
| if ( ) | |
| _i_f ( ) ... else | _3._6._4 _S_e_l_e_c_t_i_o_n _S_t_a_t_e_m_e_n_t_s |
_|___s__w__i__t__c__h_(__)______________________|________________________________________|
| _w_h_i_l_e ( ) | |
| _d_o ... _w_h_i_l_e ( ) | _3._6._5 _I_t_e_r_a_t_i_o_n _S_t_a_t_e_m_e_n_t_s |
| _f_o_r ( ) | |
_|________________________________|________________________________________|
| _g_o_t_o | |
| | |
| Copyright c 1991 IE|EE. All rights reserved. |
| This is an unapproved IEEE S|tandards Draft, subject to change. |
| | |
| | |
| | |
| | |
| | |
2|.9 Dependencies on Other Standar|ds 171|
| | |
| | |
| | |
| | |
| | |
P|1003.2/D11.2 | INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX|
| | |
| _c_o_n_t_i_n_u_e | |
| _b_r_e_a_k | _3._6._6 _J_u_m_p _S_t_a_t_e_m_e_n_t_s |
| _r_e_t_u_r_n | |
_|________________________________|________________________________________|
shall be implemented to return the results equivalent to those returned
from a call to the corresponding C function described in the
C Standard {7}.
2.10 Utility Conventions
2.10.1 Utility Argument Syntax
This subclause describes the argument syntax of the standard utilities
and introduces terminology used throughout the standard for describing
the arguments processed by the utilities.
Within the standard, a special notation is used for describing the syntax
of a utility's arguments. Unless otherwise noted, all utility
descriptions use this notation, which is illustrated by this example (see
3.9.1):
utility_name [-a] [-b] [-c _o_p_t_i_o_n__a_r_g_u_m_e_n_t] [-d | -e]
[-f_o_p_t_i_o_n__a_r_g_u_m_e_n_t] [_o_p_e_r_a_n_d ...]
The notation used for the Synopsis subclauses imposes requirements on the
implementors of the standard utilities and provides a simple reference
for the reader of the standard.
(1) The utility in the example is named utility_name. It is
followed by _o_p_t_i_o_n_s, _o_p_t_i_o_n-_a_r_g_u_m_e_n_t_s, and _o_p_e_r_a_n_d_s. The
arguments that consist of hyphens and single letters or digits,
such as -a, are known as _o_p_t_i_o_n_s (or, historically, _f_l_a_g_s).
Certain options are followed by an _o_p_t_i_o_n-_a_r_g_u_m_e_n_t, as shown
with [-c _o_p_t_i_o_n__a_r_g_u_m_e_n_t]. The arguments following the last
options and option-arguments are named _o_p_e_r_a_n_d_s.
(2) Option-arguments are sometimes shown separated from their
options by <blanks>, sometimes directly adjacent. This reflects
the situation that in some cases an option-argument is included
within the same argument string as the option; in most cases it
is the next argument. The Utility Syntax Guidelines in 2.10.2
require that the option be a separate argument from its option-
argument, but there are some exceptions in this standard to
ensure continued operation of historical applications:
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
172 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
(a) If the Synopsis of a standard utility shows a <space>
between an option and option-argument (as with
[-c _o_p_t_i_o_n__a_r_g_u_m_e_n_t] in the example), a conforming
application shall use separate arguments for that option
and its option-argument.
(b) If a <space> is not shown (as with [-f_o_p_t_i_o_n__a_r_g_u_m_e_n_t] in
the example), a conforming application shall place an
option and its option-argument directly adjacent in the
same argument string, without intervening <blank>s.
(c) Notwithstanding the requirements on conforming
applications, a conforming implementation shall permit,
but shall not require, an application to specify options
and option-arguments as separate arguments whether or not
a <space> is shown on the synopsis line.
(d) A standard utility may also be implemented to operate
correctly when the required separation into multiple
arguments is violated by a nonconforming application.
(3) Options are usually listed in alphabetical order unless this
would make the utility description more confusing. There are no
implied relationships between the options based upon the order
in which they appear, unless otherwise stated in the Options
subclause, or unless the exception in 2.10.2 guideline 11
applies. If an option that does not have option-arguments is
repeated, the results are undefined, unless otherwise stated.
(4) Frequently, names of parameters that require substitution by
actual values are shown with embedded underscores.
Alternatively, parameters are shown as follows:
<_p_a_r_a_m_e_t_e_r _n_a_m_e>
The angle brackets are used for the symbolic grouping of a
phrase representing a single parameter and shall never be
included in data submitted to the utility.
(5) When a utility has only a few permissible options, they are
sometimes shown individually, as in the example. Utilities with
many flags generally show all of the individual flags (that do
not take option-arguments) grouped, as in:
utility_name [-abcDxyz] [-p _a_r_g] [_o_p_e_r_a_n_d]
Utilities with very complex arguments may be shown as follows:
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.10 Utility Conventions 173
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
utility_name [_o_p_t_i_o_n_s] [_o_p_e_r_a_n_d_s]
(6) Unless otherwise specified, whenever an operand or option-
argument is or contains a numeric value:
- the number shall be interpreted as a decimal integer.
- numerals in the range 0 to 2147483647 shall be syntactically
recognized as numeric values.
- When the utility description states that it accepts negative
numbers as operands or option-arguments, numerals in the
range -2147483647 to 2147483647 shall be syntactically
recognized as numeric values.
This does not mean that all numbers within the allowable range
are necessarily semantically correct. A standard utility that
accepts an option-argument or operand that is to be interpreted
as a number, and for which a range of values smaller than that
shown above is permitted by this standard, describes that
smaller range along with the description of the option-argument
or operand. If an error is generated, the utility's diagnostic
message shall indicate that the value is out of the supported
range, not that it is syntactically incorrect.
(7) Arguments or option-arguments enclosed in the [ and ] notation
are optional and can be omitted. The [ and ] symbols shall
never be included in data submitted to the utility.
(8) Arguments separated by the | vertical bar notation are mutually
exclusive. The | symbols shall never be included in data
submitted to the utility. Alternatively, mutually exclusive
options and operands may be listed with multiple Synopsis lines.
For example:
utility_name -d [-a] [-c _o_p_t_i_o_n__a_r_g_u_m_e_n_t] [_o_p_e_r_a_n_d ...]
utility_name -e [-b] [_o_p_e_r_a_n_d ...]
When multiple synopsis lines are given for a utility, that is an
indication that the utility has mutually exclusive arguments.
These mutually exclusive arguments alter the functionality of
the utility so that only certain other arguments are valid in
combination with one of the mutually exclusive arguments. Only
one of the mutually exclusive arguments is allowed for
invocation of the utility. Unless otherwise stated in an
accompanying Options subclause, the relationships between
arguments depicted in the Synopsis subclauses are mandatory
requirements placed on conforming applications. The use of
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
174 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
conflicting mutually exclusive arguments produces undefined
results, unless a utility description specifies otherwise. When
an option is shown without the [ ] brackets, it means that
option is required for that version of the Synopsis. However,
it is not required to be the first argument, as shown in the
example above, unless otherwise stated.
(9) Ellipses (...) are used to denote that one or more occurrences
of an option or operand are allowed. When an option or an
operand followed by ellipses is enclosed in brackets, zero or
more options or operands can be specified. The forms
utility_name -f _o_p_t_i_o_n__a_r_g_u_m_e_n_t ... [_o_p_e_r_a_n_d ...] 1
utility_name [-g _o_p_t_i_o_n__a_r_g_u_m_e_n_t] ... [_o_p_e_r_a_n_d ...]
indicate that multiple occurrences of the option and its
option-argument preceding the ellipses are valid, with semantics
as indicated in the Options subclause of the utility. (See also
Guideline 11 in 2.10.2.) In the first example, each option- 1
argument requires a preceding -f and at least one 1
-f _o_p_t_i_o_n__a_r_g_u_m_e_n_t must be given. 1
(10) When the synopsis line is too long to be printed on a single
line in this document, the indented lines following the initial
line are continuation lines. An actual use of the command would
appear on a single logical line.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
2.10.1.1 Utility Argument Syntax Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a
_p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
This is the subclause where the definitions of _o_p_t_i_o_n, _o_p_t_i_o_n-_a_r_g_u_m_e_n_t,
and _o_p_e_r_a_n_d come together.
The working group felt that recent trends toward diluting the Synopsis
subclauses of historical manual pages to something like:
command [_o_p_t_i_o_n_s] [_o_p_e_r_a_n_d_s]
were a disservice to the reader. Therefore, considerable effort was
placed into rigorous definitions of all the command line arguments and
their interrelationships. The relationships depicted in the Synopses are
normative parts of this standard; this information is sometimes repeated
in textual form, but that is only for clarity within context.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.10 Utility Conventions 175
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
The use of ``undefined'' for conflicting argument usage and for repeated
usage of the same option is meant to prevent portable applications from
using conflicting arguments or repeated options, unless specifically
allowed, as is the case with ls (which allows simultaneous, repeated use
of the -C, -l, and -1 options). Many historical implementations will
tolerate this usage, choosing either the first or the last applicable
argument, and this tolerance can continue, but portable applications
cannot rely upon it. (Other implementations may choose to print usage
messages instead.)
The use of ``undefined'' for conflicting argument usage also allows an
implementation to make reasonable extensions to utilities where the
implementor considers mutually exclusive options according to POSIX.2 to
have a sensible meaning and result.
POSIX.2 does not define the result of a utility when an option-argument
or operand is not followed by ellipses and the application specifies more
than one of that option-argument or operand. This allows an
implementation to define valid (although nonstandard) behavior for the
utility when more than one such option or operand are specified.
Allowing <blank>s after an option (i.e., placing an option and its
option-argument into separate argument strings) when the standard does
not require it encourages portability of users, while still preserving
backward compatibility of scripts. Inserting <blank>s between the option
and the option-argument is preferred; however, historical usage has not
been consistent in this area; therefore, <blank>s are required to be
handled by all implementations, but implementations are also allowed to
handle the historical syntax. Another justification for selecting the
multiple-argument method was that the single-argument case is inherently
ambiguous when the option-argument can legitimately be a null string.
Wording was also added to explicitly state that digits are permitted as
operands and option-arguments. The lower and upper bounds for the values
of the numbers used for operands and option-arguments were derived from
the C Standard {7} values for {LONG_MIN} and {LONG_MAX}. The requirement
on the standard utilities is that numbers in the specified range do not
cause a syntax error although the specification of a number need not be
semantically correct for a particular operand or option-argument of a
utility. For example, the specification of dd obs=3000000000 would yield
undefined behavior for the application and would be a syntax error
because the number 3000000000 is outside of the range -2147483647 to
+2147483647. On the other hand, dd obs=2000000000 may cause some error,
such as ``blocksize too large,'' rather than a syntax error.
END_RATIONALE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
176 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
2.10.2 Utility Syntax Guidelines
The following guidelines are established for the naming of utilities and
for the specification of options, option-arguments, and operands. Clause
7.5 describes a function that assists utilities in handling options and
operands that conform to these guidelines.
Operands and option-arguments can contain characters not specified in
2.4.
The guidelines are intended to provide guidance to the authors of future
utilities. Some of the standard utilities do not conform to all of these
guidelines; in those cases, the Options subclauses describe the
deviations.
Guideline 1: Utility names should be between two and nine
characters, inclusive.
Guideline 2: Utility names should include lowercase letters (the
lower character classification) from the set
described in 2.4 and digits only.
Guideline 3: Each option name should be a single alphanumeric
character (the alnum character classification) from
the set described in 2.4. The -W (capital-W) option
shall be reserved for vendor extensions.
NOTE: The other alphanumeric characters are subject
to standardization in the future, based on historical
usage. Implementors should be aware that future
POSIX working groups may offer little sympathy to
vendors with isolated extensions in conflict with
future drafts.
Guideline 4: All options should be preceded by the '-' delimiter
character.
Guideline 5: Options without option-arguments should be accepted
when grouped behind one '-' delimiter.
Guideline 6: Each option and option-argument should be a separate
argument, except as noted in 2.10.1, item (2).
Guideline 7: Option-arguments should not be optional.
Guideline 8: When multiple option-arguments are specified to
follow a single option, they should be presented as a
single argument, using commas within that argument or 2
<blank>s within that argument to separate them.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.10 Utility Conventions 177
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
Guideline 9: All options should precede operands on the command
line.
Guideline 10: The argument "--" should be accepted as a delimiter
indicating the end of options. Any following
arguments should be treated as operands, even if they
begin with the '-' character. The "--" argument
should not be used as an option or as an operand.
Guideline 11: The order of different options relative to one
another should not matter, unless the options are
documented as mutually exclusive and such an option
is documented to override any incompatible options
preceding it. If an option that has option-arguments
is repeated, the option and option-argument
combinations should be interpreted in the order
specified on the command line.
Guideline 12: The order of operands may matter and position-related
interpretations should be determined on a utility-
specific basis.
Guideline 13: For utilities that use operands to represent files to
be opened for either reading or writing, the "-"
operand should be used only to mean standard input
(or standard output when it is clear from context
that an output file is being specified).
Any utility claiming conformance to these guidelines shall conform
completely to these guidelines, as if these guidelines contained the term
``shall'' instead of ``should,'' except that the utility is permitted to
accept usage in violation of these guidelines for backward compatibility
as long as the required form is also accepted.
Guidelines 1 and 2 are offered as guidance for locales using Latin
alphabets. No recommendations are made by this standard concerning
utility naming in other locales.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
2.10.2.1 Utility Syntax Guidelines Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a
_p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
This subclause is based on the rules listed in the _S_V_I_D. It was included
for two reasons:
(1) The individual utility descriptions in Sections 4, 5, and 6, and
Annexes A and C needed a set of common (although not universal)
actions on which they could anchor their descriptions of option
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
178 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
and operand syntax. Most of the standard utilities actually do
use these guidelines, and many of their historical
implementations use the _g_e_t_o_p_t() function for their parsing.
Therefore, it was simpler to cite the rules and merely identify
exceptions.
(2) Writers of portable applications need suggested guidelines if
the POSIX community is to avoid the chaos of historical UNIX
system command syntax.
It is recommended that all _f_u_t_u_r_e utilities and applications use these
guidelines to enhance ``user portability.'' The fact that some
historical utilities could not be changed (to avoid breaking existing
applications) should not deter this future goal.
The voluntary nature of the guidelines is highlighted by repeated uses of
the word _s_h_o_u_l_d throughout. This usage should not be misinterpreted to
imply that utilities that claim conformance in their Options subclauses
do not always conform.
Guideline 2 recommends the naming of utilities. In 3.9.1, it is further
stated that a command used in the shell command language cannot be named
with a trailing colon.
Guideline 3 was changed to allow alphanumeric characters (letters and
digits) from the character set to allow compatibility with historical
usage. Historical practice allows the use of digits wherever practical;
and there are no portability issues that would prohibit the use of
digits. In fact, from an internationalization viewpoint, digits (being
nonlanguage dependent) are preferable over letters (a ``-2'' is
intuitively self-explanatory to any user, while in the ``-f _f_i_l_e_n_a_m_e''
the letter f is a mnemonic aid only to speakers of Latin based languages
where ``filename'' happens to translate to a word that begins with f.
Since guideline 3 still retains the word ``single,'' multidigit options
are not allowed. Instances of historical utilities that used them have
been marked obsolescent in this standard, with the numbers being changed
from option names to option-arguments.
It is difficult to come up with a satisfactory solution to the problem of
namespace in option characters. When the POSIX.2 group desired to extend
the historical cc utility to accept C Standard {7} programs, it found
that all of the portable alphabet was already in use by various vendors.
Thus, it had to devise a new name, c89, rather than something like cc -X.
There were suggestions that implementors be restricted to providing
extensions through various means (such as using a plus-sign as the option
delimiter or using option characters outside the alphanumeric set) that
would reserve all of the remaining alphanumeric characters for future
POSIX standards. These approaches were resisted because they lacked the
historical style of UNIX. Furthermore, if a vendor-provided option
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.10 Utility Conventions 179
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
should become commonly used in the industry, it would be a candidate for
standardization. It would be desireable to standardize such a feature
using existing practice for the syntax (the semantics can be standardized
with any syntax). This would not be possible if the syntax was one
reserved for the vendor. However, since the standardization process may
lead to minor changes in the semantics, it may prove to be better for a
vendor to use a syntax that will not be affected by standardization. As
a compromise, the following statements are made by the developers of
POSIX.2:
- In future revisions to this standard, and in other POSIX standards,
every attempt will be made to develop new utilities and features
that conform to the Utility Syntax Guidelines.
- Future extensions and additions to POSIX standards will not use the
-W (capital W) option. This option is forever reserved to
implementors for extensions, in a manner reminiscent of the
option's use in historical versions of the cc utility. The other
alphanumeric characters are subject to standardization in the
future, based on historical usage.
Implementors should be cognizant of these intentions and aware that
future POSIX working groups will offer little sympathy to vendors with
extensions in conflict with future drafts. In the first version of
POSIX.2, vendors held a virtual veto power when conflicts arose with
their extensions; in the future, POSIX working groups may be less
concerned about preserving isolated extensions that conflict with these
statements of intent.
Guideline 8 includes the concept of comma-separated lists in a single
argument. It is up to the utility to parse such a list itself because
_g_e_t_o_p_t() just returns the single string. This situation was retained so
that certain historical utilities wouldn't violate the guidelines.
Applications preparing for international use should be aware of an
occasional problem with comma-separated lists: in some locales, the
comma is used as the radix character. Thus, if an application is
preparing operands for a utility that expects a comma-separated lists, it
should avoid generating noninteger values through one of the means that
is influenced by setting the LC_NUMERIC variable [such as awk, bc,
printf, or _p_r_i_n_t_f()].
Applications calling any utility with a first operand starting with "-"
should usually specify "--", as indicated by Guideline 10, to mark the
end of the options. This is true even if the Synopsis in this standard
does not specify any options; implementations may provide options as
extensions to this standard. The standard utilities that do not support
Guideline 10 indicate that fact in the Options subclause of the utility
description.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
180 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
Guideline 11 was modified to clarify that the order of different options
should not matter relative to one another. However, the order of
repeated options that also have option-arguments may be significant;
therefore, such options are required to be interpreted in the order that
they are specified. The make utility is an instance of a historical
utility that uses repeated options in which the order is significant.
Multiple files are specified by giving multiple instances of the -f
option, for example:
make -f common_header -f specific_rules target
Guideline 13 does not imply that all of the standard utilities
automatically accept the operand "-" to mean standard input or output,
nor does it specify the actions of the utility upon encountering multiple
"-" operands. It simply says that, by default, "-" operands shall not be
used for other purposes in the file reading/writing [but not _s_t_a_t()ing,
_u_n_l_i_n_k()ing, touch_i_n_g, etc.] utilities. All information concerning
actual treatment of the "-" operand is found in the individual utility
clauses.
An area of concern that was expressed during the balloting process was
that as implementations mature implementation-defined utilities and
implementation-defined utility options will result. The notion was
expressed that there needed to be a standard way, say an environment
variable or some such mechanism, to identify implementation-defined
utilities separately from standard utilities that may have the same name.
It was decided that there already exist several ways of dealing with this
situation and that it is outside of the scope of the standard to attempt
to standardize in the area of nonstandard items. A method that exists on
some historical implementations is the use of the so-called /local/bin or
/usr/local/bin directory to separate local or additional copies or
versions of utilities. Another method that is also used is to isolate
utilities into completely separate domains. Still another method to
ensure that the desired utility is being used is to request the utility
by its full pathname. There are, to be sure, many approaches to this
situation; the examples given above serve to illustrate that there is
more than one.
END_RATIONALE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.10 Utility Conventions 181
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
2.11 Utility Description Defaults
This clause describes all of the subclauses used within the utility
clauses in Section 4 and the other sections that describe standard
utilities. It describes:
(1) Intended usage of the subclause.
(2) Global defaults that affect all the standard utilities.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
2.11.0.1 Utility Description Defaults Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t
_a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
This clause is arranged with headings in the same order as all the
utility descriptions. It is a collection of related and unrelated
information concerning:
(1) The default actions of utilities.
(2) The meanings of notations used in the standard that are specific
to individual utility subclauses.
Although this material may seem out of place in Section 2, it is
important that this information appear before any of the utilities to be
described later. Unfortunately, since the utilities are split into
multiple major sections (chapters), this information could not be placed
into any one of those sections without confusing cross references.
END_RATIONALE
2.11.1 Synopsis
The Synopsis subclause summarizes the syntax of the calling sequence for
the utility, including options, option-arguments, and operands.
Standards for utility naming are described in 2.10.2; for describing the
utility's arguments in 2.10.1.
2.11.2 Description
The Description subclause describes the actions of the utility. If the
utility has a very complex set of subcommands or its own procedural
language, an Extended Description subclause is also provided. Most
explanations of optional functionality are omitted here, as they are
usually explained in the Options subclause.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
182 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
Some utilities in this standard are described in terms of equivalent
POSIX.1 {8} functionality. As explained in 1.1, a fully conforming
POSIX.1 {8} base is not a prerequisite for this standard. When specific
functions are cited, the underlying operating system shall provide
equivalent functionality and all side effects associated with successful
execution of the function. The treatment of errors and intermediate
results from the individual functions cited are generally not specified
by this standard. See the utility's Exit Status and Consequences of
Errors subclauses for all actions associated with errors encountered by
the utility.
2.11.3 Options
The Options subclause describes the utility options and option-arguments,
and how they modify the actions of the utility. Standard utilities that
have options either fully comply with the 2.10.2 or describe all
deviations. Apparent disagreements between functionality descriptions in
the Options and Description (or Extended Description) subclauses are
always resolved in favor of the Options subclause.
Each Options subclause that uses the phrase ``The ... utility shall
conform to the utility argument syntax guidelines ...'' refers only to
the use of the utility as specified by this standard; implementation
extensions should also conform to the guidelines, but may allow
exceptions for historical practice.
Unless otherwise stated in the utility description, when given an option
unrecognized by the implementation, or when a required option-argument is
not provided, standard utilities shall issue a diagnostic message to
standard error and exit with a nonzero exit status.
Default Behavior: When this subclause is listed as ``None,'' it means
that the implementation need not support any options. Standard utilities
that do not accept options, but that do accept operands, shall recognize
"--" as a first argument to be discarded.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
2.11.3.1 Options Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
Although it has not always been possible, the working group has tried to
avoid repeating information and therefore reduced the risk that the
duplicate explanations are somehow modified to be out of sync.
The requirement for recognizing -- is because portable applications need
a way to shield their operands from any arbitrary options that the
implementation may provide as an extension. For example, if the standard
utility foo is listed as taking no options, and the application needed to
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.11 Utility Description Defaults 183
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
give it a pathname with a leading hyphen, it could safely do it as:
foo -- -myfile
and avoid any problems with -m used as an extension.
END_RATIONALE
2.11.4 Operands
The Operands subclause describes the utility operands, and how they
affect the actions of the utility. Apparent disagreements between
functionality descriptions in the Operands and Description (or Extended
Description) subclauses are always resolved in favor of the Operands
subclause.
If an operand naming a file can be specified as -, which means to use the
standard input instead of a named file, this shall be explicitly stated
in this subclause. Unless otherwise stated, the use of multiple
instances of - to mean standard input in a single command produces
unspecified results.
Unless otherwise stated, the standard utilities that accept operands
shall process those operands in the order specified in the command line.
Default Behavior: When this subclause is listed as ``None,'' it means
that the implementation need not support any operands.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
2.11.4.1 Operands Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
This usage of - is never shown in the Synopsis. Similarly, this usage of
-- is never shown.
The requirement for processing operands in command line order is to avoid
a ``WeirdNIX'' utility that might choose to sort the input files
alphabetically, by size, or by directory order. Although this might be
acceptable for some utilities, in general the programmer has a right to
know exactly what order will be chosen.
Some of the standard utilities take multiple _f_i_l_e operands and act as if
they were processing the concatenation of those files. For example,
asa file1 file2 and cat file1 file2 | asa
have similar results when questions of file access, errors, and
performance are ignored. Other utilities, such as grep or wc, have
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
184 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
completely different results in these two cases. This latter type of
utility is always identified in its Description or Operands subclauses,
whereas the former is not. Although it might be possible to create a
general assertion about the former case, the following points must be
addressed:
- Access times for the files might be different in the operand case
versus the cat case.
- The utility may have error messages that are cognizant of the input
file name and this added value should not be suppressed. (As an
example, awk sets a variable with the file name at each file
boundary.)
END_RATIONALE
2.11.5 External Influences
The External Influences subclause describes all input data that is
specified by the invoker, data received from the environment, and other
files or databases that may be used by the utility. There are four
subclauses that contain all the substantive information about external
influences; because of this, this level of header is always left blank.
Certain of the standard utilities describe how they can invoke other
utilities or applications, such as by passing a command string to the
command interpreter. The external requirements of such invoked utilities
are not described in the subclause concerning the standard utility that
invokes them.
2.11.5.1 Standard Input
The Standard Input subclause describes the standard input of the utility.
This subclause is frequently merely a reference to the following
subclause, because many utilities treat standard input and input files in
the same manner. Unless otherwise stated, all restrictions described in
Input Files apply to this subclause as well.
Use of a terminal for standard input may cause any of the standard
utilities that read standard input to stop when used in the background.
For this reason, applications should not use interactive features in
scripts to be placed in the background.
The specified standard input format of the standard utilities shall not
depend on the existence or value of the environment variables defined in
this standard, except as provided by this standard.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.11 Utility Description Defaults 185
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
Default Behavior: When this subclause is listed as ``None,'' it means
that the standard input shall not be read when the utility is used as
described by this standard.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
2.11.5.1.1 Standard Input Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f
_P_1_0_0_3._2)
This subclause was globally renamed from Standard Input Format in
previous drafts to better reflect its role in describing the existence
and usage of the file, in addition to its format.
END_RATIONALE
2.11.5.2 Input Files
The Input Files subclause describes the files, other than the standard
input, used as input by the utility. It includes files named as operands
and option-arguments as well as other files that are referred to, such as
startup/initialization files, databases, etc. Commonly-used files are
generally described in one place and cross-referenced by other utilities.
Some of the standard utilities, such as filters, process input files a
line or a block at a time and have no restrictions on the maximum input
file size. Some utilities may have size limitations that are not as
obvious as file space or memory limitations. Such limitations should
reflect resource limitations of some sort, not arbitrary limits set by
implementors. Implementations shall define in the conformance
documentation those utilities that are limited by constraints other than
file system space, available memory, and other limits specifically cited
by this standard, and identify what the constraint is, and indicate a way
of estimating when the constraint would be reached. Similarly, some
utilities descend the directory tree (recursively). Implementations
shall also document any limits that they may have in descending the
directory tree that are beyond limits cited by this standard.
When a standard utility reads a seekable input file and terminates 1
without an error before it reaches end-of-file, the utility shall ensure 1
that the file offset in the open file description is properly positioned 1
just past the last byte processed by the utility. For files that are not 1
seekable, the state of the file offset in the open file description for 1
that file is unspecified. 1
When an input file is described as a _t_e_x_t _f_i_l_e, the utility produces
undefined results if given input that is not from a text file, unless
otherwise stated. Some utilities (e.g., make, read, sh, etc.) allow for
continued input lines using an escaped <newline> convention; unless
otherwise stated, the utility need not be able to accumulate more than
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
186 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
{LINE_MAX} bytes from a set of multiple, continued input lines. If a
utility using the escaped <newline> convention detects an end-of-file
condition immediately after an escaped <newline>, the results are
unspecified.
Record formats are described in a notation similar to that used by the C
language function, _p_r_i_n_t_f(). See 2.12 for a description of this
notation.
Default Behavior: When this subclause is listed as ``None,'' it means
that no input files are required to be supplied when the utility is used
as described by this standard.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
2.11.5.2.1 Input Files Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f
_P_1_0_0_3._2)
This subclause was globally renamed from Input File Formats in previous
drafts to better reflect its role in describing the existence and usage
of the files, in addition to their format.
The description of file offsets answers the question: Are the following 1
three commands equivalent? 1
tail -n +2 file 1
(sed -n 1q; cat) < file 1
cat file | (sed -n 1q; cat) 1
The answer is that a conforming application cannot assume they are 1
equivalent. The second command is equivalent to the first only when the 1
file is seekable. In the third command, if the file offset in the open 1
file description were not unspecified, sed would have to be implemented 1
so that it read from the pipe one byte at a time or it would have to 1
employ some method to seek backwards on the pipe. Such functionality is 1
not defined currently in POSIX.1 {8} and does not exist on all historical 1
systems. Other utilities, such as head, read, and sh, have similar 1
properties, so the restriction is described globally in this clause. A 1
future revision to this standard may require that the standard utilities 1
leave the file offset in a consistent state for pipes as well as regular 1
files. 1
The description of conformance documentation about file sizes follows
many changes of direction by the working group. Originally, there
appeared a limit, {ED_FILE_MAX}, that hoped to impose a minimum file size
on ed, which has been historically limited to relatively small files.
This received objections from various members who said that such a limit
merely invited sloppy programming; there should be no limits to a
``well-written'' ed. Thus, Draft 8 removed the limit and inserted
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.11 Utility Description Defaults 187
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
rationale that this meant ed would have to process files of virtually
unlimited size. (Surprisingly, no objections or comments were received
about that sentence.) However, in discussing the matter with
representatives of POSIX.3, it turned out that omitting the limit meant
that a corresponding test assertion would also be omitted and no test
suite could legitimately stress ed with large files. It quickly became
clear that restrictions applied to other utilities as well and a solution
was needed.
It is not possible for this standard to judge which utilities are in the
category with arbitrary file size limits; this would impose too much on
implementors. Therefore, the burden is placed on implementors to
publicly document any limitations and the resulting pressure in the
marketplace should keep most implementations adequate for most portable
applications. Typically, larger systems would have larger limits than
smaller systems, but since price typically follows function, the user can
select a machine that handles his/her problems reasonably given such
information. The working group considered adding a limit in 2.13.1 for
every file-oriented utility, but felt these limits would not actually be
used by real applications and would reduce consensus. This is
particularly true for utilities, such as possibly awk or yacc, that might
have rather complex limits not directly related to the actual file size.
The definition of _t_e_x_t _f_i_l_e (see 2.2.2.151) is strictly enforced for
input to the standard utilities; very few of them list exceptions to the
undefined results called for here. (Of course, ``undefined'' here does
not mean that existing implementations necessarily have to change to
start indicating error conditions. Conforming applications cannot rely
on implementations succeeding or failing when nontext files are used.)
The utilities that allow line continuation are generally those that
accept input languages, rather than pure data. It would be unusual for
an input line of this type to exceed {LINE_MAX} bytes and unreasonable to
require that the implementation allow unlimited accumulation of multiple
lines, each of which could reach {LINE_MAX}. Thus, for a portable
application the total of all the continued lines in a set cannot exceed
{LINE_MAX}.
The format description is intended to be sufficiently rigorous to allow
other applications to generate these input files. However, since
<blank>s can legitimately be included in some of the fields described by
the standard utilities, particularly in locales other than the POSIX
Locale, this intent is not always realized.
END_RATIONALE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
188 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
2.11.5.3 Environment Variables
The Environment Variables subclause lists what variables affect the
utility's execution.
The entire manner in which environment variables described in this
standard affect the behavior of each utility is described in the
Environment Variables subclause for that utility, in conjunction with the
global effects of the LANG and LC_ALL environment variables described in
2.6. The existence or value of environment variables described in this
standard shall not otherwise affect the specified behavior of the
standard utilities. Any effects of the existence or value of environment
variables not described by this standard upon the standard utilities are
unspecified.
For those standard utilities that use environment variables as a means
for selecting a utility to execute (such as CC in make), the string
provided to the utility shall be subjected to the path search described
for PATH in 2.6.
Default Behavior: When this subclause is listed as ``None,'' it means
that the behavior of the utility is not directly affected by environment
variables described by this standard when the utility is used as
described by this standard.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
2.11.5.3.1 Environment Variables Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a
_p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
The global default text about the PATH search is overkill in this version
of POSIX.2 (prior to the UPE) because only one of the standard utilities
specifies variables in this way--make's $(CC), $(LEX), etc. It is
described here mostly in anticipation of its heavier usage in POSIX.2a.
The description of PATH indicates separately that names including slashes
do not apply, so they do not apply here either.
END_RATIONALE
2.11.5.4 Asynchronous Events
The Asynchronous Events subclause lists how the utility reacts to such
events as signals and what signals are caught.
Default Behavior: When this subclause is listed as ``Default,'' or it
refers to ``the standard action for all other signals; see 2.11.5.4,'' it
means that the action taken as a result of the signal shall be one of the
following:
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.11 Utility Description Defaults 189
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
(1) The action is that inherited from the parent according to the
rules of inheritance of signal actions defined in POSIX.1 {8}
(see 2.9.1), or
(2) When no action has been taken to change the default, the default
action is that specified by POSIX.1 {8}, or
(3) The result of the utility's execution is as if default actions
had been taken.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
2.11.5.4.1 Asynchronous Events Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t
_o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
Because there is no language prohibiting it, a utility is permitted to
catch a signal, perform some additional processing (such as deleting
temporary files), restore the default signal action (or action inherited
from the parent process) and resignal itself.
END_RATIONALE
2.11.6 External Effects
The External Effects subclause describes the effects of the utility on
the operational environment, including the file system. There are three
subclauses that contain all the substantive information about external
effects; because of this, this level of header is usually left blank.
Certain of the standard utilities describe how they can invoke other
utilities or applications, such as by passing a command string to the
command interpreter. The external effects of such invoked utilities are
not described in the subclause concerning the standard utility that
invokes them.
2.11.6.1 Standard Output
The Standard Output subclause describes the standard output of the
utility. This subclause is frequently merely a reference to the
following subclause, Output Files, because many utilities treat standard
output and output files in the same manner.
Use of a terminal for standard output may cause any of the standard
utilities that write standard output to stop when used in the background.
For this reason, applications should not use interactive features in
scripts to be placed in the background.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
190 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
Record formats are described in a notation similar to that used by the C
language function, _p_r_i_n_t_f(). See 2.12 for a description of this
notation.
The specified standard output of the standard utilities shall not depend
on the existence or value of the environment variables defined in this
standard, except as provided by this standard.
Default Behavior: When this subclause is listed as ``None,'' it means
that the standard output shall not be written when the utility is used as
described by this standard.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
2.11.6.1.1 Standard Output Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f
_P_1_0_0_3._2)
This subclause was globally renamed from Standard Output Format in
previous drafts to better reflect its role in describing the existence
and usage of the file, in addition to its format.
The format description is intended to be sufficiently rigorous to allow
post-processing of output by other programs, particularly by an awk or
lex parser.
END_RATIONALE
2.11.6.2 Standard Error
The Standard Error subclause describes the standard error output of the
utility. Only those messages that are purposely sent by the utility are
described.
Use of a terminal for standard error may cause any of the standard
utilities that write standard error output to stop when used in the
background. For this reason, applications should not use interactive
features in scripts to be placed in the background.
The format of diagnostic messages for most utilities is unspecified, but
the language and cultural conventions of diagnostic and informative
messages whose format is unspecified by this standard should be affected
by the setting of LC_MESSAGES.
The specified standard error output of standard utilities shall not
depend on the existence or value of the environment variables defined in
this standard, except as provided by this standard.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.11 Utility Description Defaults 191
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
Default Behavior: When this subclause is listed as ``Used only for
diagnostic messages,'' it means that, unless otherwise stated, the
diagnostic messages shall be sent to the standard error only when the
exit status is nonzero and the utility is used as described by this
standard.
When this subclause is listed as ``None,'' it means that the standard
error shall not be used when the utility is used as described in this
standard.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
2.11.6.2.1 Standard Error Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f
_P_1_0_0_3._2)
This subclause was globally renamed from Standard Error Format in
previous drafts to better reflect its role in describing the existence
and usage of the file, in addition to its format.
This subclause does not describe error messages that refer to incorrect
operation of the utility. Consider a utility that processes program
source code as its input. This subclause is used to describe messages
produced by a correctly operating utility that encounters an error in the
program source code on which it is processing. However, a message
indicating that the utility had insufficient memory in which to operate
would not be described.
Some compilers have traditionally produced warning messages without
returning a nonzero exit status; these are specifically noted in their
subclauses. Other utilities are expected to remain absolutely quiet on
the standard error if they want to return zero, unless the implementation
provides some sort of extension to increase the verbosity or debugging
level.
The format descriptions are intended to be sufficiently rigorous to allow
post-processing of output by other programs.
END_RATIONALE
2.11.6.3 Output Files
The Output Files subclause describes the files created or modified by the
utility. Temporary or system files that are created for internal usage
by this utility or other parts of the implementation (spool, log, audit
files, etc.) are not described in this, or any, subclause. The
utilities creating such files and the names of such files are
unspecified. If applications are written to use temporary or
intermediate files, they should use the TMPDIR environment variable, if
it is set and represents an accessible directory, to select the location 1
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
192 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
of temporary files. 1
Implementations shall ensure that temporary files, when used by the
standard utilities, are named so that different utilities or multiple
instances of the same utility can operate simultaneously without regard
to their working directories, or any other process characteristic other
than process ID. There are two exceptions to this requirement:
(1) Resources for temporary files other than the namespace (for
example, disk space, available directory entries, or number of
processes allowed) are not guaranteed.
(2) Certain standard utilities generate output files that are
intended as input for other utilities, (for example, lex
generates lex.yy.c) and these cannot have unique names. These
cases are explicitly identified in the descriptions of the
respective utilities.
Any temporary files created by the implementation shall be removed by the
implementation upon a utility's successful exit, exit because of errors,
or before termination by any of the SIGHUP, SIGINT, or SIGTERM signals,
unless specified otherwise by the utility description.
Record formats are described in a notation similar to that used by the C
language function, _p_r_i_n_t_f(). See 2.12 for a description of this
notation.
Default Behavior: When this subclause is listed as ``None,'' it means
that no files are created or modified as a consequence of direct action
on the part of the utility when the utility is used as described by this
standard. However, the utility may create or modify system files, such
as log files, that are outside of the utility's normal execution
environment.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
2.11.6.3.1 Output Files Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f
_P_1_0_0_3._2)
This subclause was globally renamed from Output File Formats in previous
drafts to better reflect its role in describing the existence and usage
of the files, in addition to their format.
The format description is intended to be sufficiently rigorous to allow
post-processing of output by other programs, particularly by an awk or
lex parser.
Receipt of the SIGQUIT signal should generally cause termination (unless
in some debugging mode) that would bypass any attempted recovery actions.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.11 Utility Description Defaults 193
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
END_RATIONALE
2.11.7 Extended Description
The Extended Description subclause provides a place for describing the
actions of very complicated utilities, such as text editors or language
processors, which typically have elaborate command languages.
Default Behavior: When this subclause is listed as ``None,'' no further
description is necessary.
2.11.8 Exit Status
The Exit Status subclause describes the values the utility shall return
to the calling program, or shell, and the conditions that cause these
values to be returned. Usually, utilities return zero for successful
completion and values greater than zero for various error conditions. If
specific numeric values are listed in this subclause, conforming
implementations shall use those values for the errors described. In some
cases, status values are listed more loosely, such as ``>0.'' A Strictly
Conforming POSIX.2 Application shall not rely on any specific value in
the range shown and shall be prepared to receive any value in the range.
Unspecified error conditions may be represented by specific values not
listed in the standard.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
2.11.8.1 Exit Status Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f
_P_1_0_0_3._2)
Note the additional discussion of exit status values in 3.8.2. It 1
describes requirements for returning exit values > 125. 1
A utility may list zero as a successful return, 1 as a failure for a
specific reason, and >1 as ``an error occurred.'' In this case,
unspecified conditions may cause a 2 or 3, or other value, to be
returned. A Strictly Conforming POSIX.2 Application should be written so
that it tests for successful exit status values (zero in this case),
rather than relying upon the single specific error value listed in the
standard. In that way, it will have maximum portability, even on
implementations with extensions.
The working group is aware that the general nonenumeration of errors
makes it difficult to write test suites that test the _i_n_c_o_r_r_e_c_t operation
of utilities. There are some historical implementations that have
expended effort to provide detailed status messages and a helpful
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
194 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
environment to bypass or explain errors, such as prompting, retrying, or
ignoring unimportant syntax errors; other implementations have not.
Since there is no realistic way to mandate system behavior in cases of
undefined application actions or system problems--in a manner acceptable
to all cultures and environments--attention has been limited to the
correct operation of utilities by the conforming application.
Furthermore, the portable application does not need detailed information
concerning errors that it caused through incorrect usage or that it
cannot correct anyway. The high degree of competition in the emerging
POSIX marketplace should ensure that users requiring friendly, resilient
environments will be able to purchase such without detailed specification
in this standard.
There is no description of defaults for this subclause because all of the
standard utilities specify something (or explicitly state
``Unspecified'') for Exit Status.
END_RATIONALE
2.11.9 Consequences of Errors
The Consequences of Errors subclause describes the effects on the
environment, file systems, process state, etc., when error conditions
occur. It does not describe error messages produced or exit status
values used.
The many reasons for failure of a utility are generally not specified by
the utility descriptions. Utilities may terminate prematurely if they
encounter: invalid usage of options, arguments, or environment
variables; invalid usage of the complex syntaxes expressed in Extended
Description subclauses; difficulties accessing, creating, reading, or
writing files; or, difficulties associated with the privileges of the
process.
The following shall apply to each utility, unless otherwise stated:
- If the requested action cannot be performed on an operand
representing a file, directory, user, process, etc., the utility
shall issue a diagnostic message to standard error and continue
processing the next operand in sequence, but the final exit status
shall be returned as nonzero.
- If the requested action characterized by an option or option-
argument cannot be performed, the utility shall issue a diagnostic
message to standard error and the exit status returned shall be
nonzero.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.11 Utility Description Defaults 195
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
- When an unrecoverable error condition is encountered, the utility
shall exit with a nonzero exit status.
- A diagnostic message shall be written to standard error whenever an
error condition occurs.
Default Behavior: When this subclause is listed as ``Default,'' it means
that any changes to the environment are unspecified.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
2.11.9.1 Consequences of Errors Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t
_o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
When a utility encounters an error condition several actions are
possible, depending on the severity of the error and the state of the
utility. Included in the possible actions of various utilities are:
deletion of temporary or intermediate work files; deletion of incomplete
files; validity checking of the file system or directory.
In Draft 9, most of the Consequences of Errors subclauses were changed to
``Default.'' This is due to the more elaborate description of the
default case now carried in this subclause and the fact that most of the
standard utilities actually use that default.
END_RATIONALE
BEGIN_RATIONALE
2.11.10 Rationale
This subclause provides historical perspective and justification of
working group actions concerning the utility.
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s_,__U_s_a_g_e
This subclause provides examples and usage of the utility. In some cases
certain characters are interpreted as special characters to the shell.
In the rest of the standard, these characters are shown without escape
characters or quoting (see 3.2). In all examples, however, quoting has
been used, showing how sample commands (utility names combined with
arguments) could be passed correctly to a shell (see sh in 4.56) or as a
string to the _s_y_s_t_e_m() function.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
196 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
This subclause provides historical perspective for decisions that were
made.
_U_n_r_e_s_o_l_v_e_d__O_b_j_e_c_t_i_o_n_s
These subclauses were removed from Draft 10. The Unresolved Objections
are maintained in a separate list and do not meet ISO editing
requirements for an informative annex.
2.11.10.1 Rationale Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
The Rationale subclauses will be moved to Annex E in the final POSIX.2.
Some of the subheadings may be collapsed in that document; in these
drafts the working group has not always been very rigorous about what is
a description of usage versus a history of decisions made, for example.
The final rationale will de-emphasize the chronological aspects of
working group decisions.
END_RATIONALE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.11 Utility Description Defaults 197
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
2.12 File Format Notation
The Standard Input, Standard Output, Standard Error, Input Files, and
Output Files subclauses of the utility descriptions, when provided, use a
syntax to describe the data organization within the files, when that
organization is not otherwise obvious. The syntax is similar to that
used by the C language _p_r_i_n_t_f() function, as described in this clause.
When used in Standard Input or Input Files subclauses of the utility
descriptions, this syntax describes the format that could have been used
to write the text to be read, not a format that could be used by the C
language _s_c_a_n_f() function to read the input file.
The description of an individual record is as follows:
"<_f_o_r_m_a_t>", [ <_a_r_g_1>, <_a_r_g_2>, ..., <_a_r_g_n> ]
The _f_o_r_m_a_t is a character string that contains three types of objects
defined below:
_c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r_s Characters that are not _e_s_c_a_p_e _s_e_q_u_e_n_c_e_s or _c_o_n_v_e_r_s_i_o_n
_s_p_e_c_i_f_i_c_a_t_i_o_n_s, as described below, shall be copied to the
output.
_e_s_c_a_p_e _s_e_q_u_e_n_c_e_s
Represent nongraphic characters.
_c_o_n_v_e_r_s_i_o_n _s_p_e_c_i_f_i_c_a_t_i_o_n_s
Specifies the output format of each argument. (See
below.)
The following characters have the following special meaning in the format
string:
" " (An empty character position.) One or more <blank>
characters.
W Exactly one <space> character.
The escape-sequences in Table 2-15 depict the associated action on
display devices capable of the action.
Each conversion specification shall be introduced by the percent-sign
character (%). After the character %, the following shall appear in
sequence:
_f_l_a_g_s Zero or more _f_l_a_g_s, in any order, that modify the meaning
of the conversion specification.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
198 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
Table 2-15 - Escape Sequences
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Escape Represents
Sequence Character Terminal Action
_________________________________________________________________________
\\ backslash None.
\a <alert> Attempts to alert the user through
audible or visible notification.
\b <backspace> Moves the printing position to one
column before the current position,
unless the current position is the
start of a line.
\f <form-feed> Moves the printing position to the
initial printing position of the next
logical page.
\n <newline> Moves the printing position to the
start of the next line.
\r <carriage-return> Moves the printing position to the
start of the current line.
\t <tab> Moves the printing position to the
next tab position on the current
line. If there are no more tab
positions left on the line, the
behavior is undefined.
\v <vertical tab> Moves the printing position to the
start of the next vertical tab
position. If there are no more
vertical tab positions left on the
page, the behavior is undefined.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_f_i_e_l_d _w_i_d_t_h An optional string of decimal digits to specify a minimum
_f_i_e_l_d _w_i_d_t_h. For an output field, if the converted value
has fewer bytes than the field width, it shall be padded
on the left [or right, if the left-adjustment flag (-),
described below, has been given] to the field width.
_p_r_e_c_i_s_i_o_n Gives the minimum number of digits to appear for the d, o,
i, u, x, or X conversions (the field shall be padded with
leading zeros), the number of digits to appear after the
radix character for the e and f conversions, the maximum
number of significant digits for the g conversion; or the
maximum number of bytes to be written from a string in s
conversion. The precision shall take the form of a period
(.) followed by a decimal digit string; a null digit
string shall be treated as zero.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.12 File Format Notation 199
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
_c_o_n_v_e_r_s_i_o_n _c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r_s
A conversion character (see below) that indicates the type
of conversion to be applied.
The _f_l_a_g characters and their meanings are:
- The result of the conversion shall be left-justified
within the field.
+ The result of a signed conversion always shall begin with
a sign (+ or -).
<space> If the first character of a signed conversion is not a
sign, a <space> shall be prefixed to the result. This
means that if the <space> and + flags both appear, the
<space> flag shall be ignored.
# The value is to be converted to an ``alternate form.''
For c, d, i, u, and s conversions, the behavior is
undefined. For o conversion, it shall increase the
precision to force the first digit of the result to be a
zero. For x or X conversion, a nonzero result shall have
0x or 0X prefixed to it, respectively. For e, E, f, g and
G conversions, the result shall always contain a radix
character, even if no digits follow the radix character.
For g and G conversions, trailing zeroes shall not be
removed from the result as they usually are.
0 For d, i, o, u, x, X, e, E, f, g, and G conversions,
leading zeroes (following any indication of sign or base)
shall be used to pad to the field width; no space padding
shall be performed. If the 0 and - flags both appear, the
0 flag shall be ignored. For d, i, o, u, x, and X
conversions, if a precision is specified, the 0 flag shall
be ignored. For other conversions, the behavior is
undefined.
Each conversion character shall result in fetching zero or more
arguments. The results are undefined if there are insufficient arguments
for the format. If the format is exhausted while arguments remain, the
excess arguments shall be ignored.
The _c_o_n_v_e_r_s_i_o_n _c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r_s and their meanings are:
d,i,o,u,x,X The integer argument shall be written as signed decimal (d
or i), unsigned octal (o), unsigned decimal (u), or
unsigned hexadecimal notation (x and X). The d and i
specifiers shall convert to signed decimal in the style
[-]_d_d_d_d. The x conversion shall use the numbers and
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
200 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
letters 0123456789abcdef and the X conversion shall use
the numbers and letters 0123456789ABCDEF. The _p_r_e_c_i_s_i_o_n
component of the argument shall specify the minimum number
of digits to appear. If the value being converted can be
represented in fewer digits than the specified minimum, it
shall be expanded with leading zeroes. The default
precision shall be 1. The result of converting a zero
value with a precision of 0 shall be no characters. If
both the field width and precision are omitted, the
implementation may precede and/or follow numeric arguments
of types d, i, and u with <blank>s; arguments of type o
(octal) may be preceded with leading zeroes.
f The floating point number argument shall be written in
decimal notation in the style "[-]_d_d_d._d_d_d", where the
number of digits after the radix character (shown here as
a decimal point) shall be equal to the _p_r_e_c_i_s_i_o_n
specification. The LC_NUMERIC locale category shall
determine the radix character to use in this format. If
the _p_r_e_c_i_s_i_o_n is omitted from the argument, six digits
shall be written after the radix character; if the
_p_r_e_c_i_s_i_o_n is explicitly 0, no radix character shall
appear.
e,E The floating point number argument shall be written in the
style "[-]_d._d_d_d_e+__d_d" (the symbol +_ indicates either a plus
or minus sign), where there is one digit before the radix
character (shown here as a decimal point) and the number
of digits after it is equal to the precision. The
LC_NUMERIC locale category shall determine the radix
character to use in this format. When the precision is
missing, six digits shall be written after the radix
character; if the precision is 0, no radix character shall
appear. The E conversion character shall produce a number
with E instead of e introducing the exponent. The
exponent always shall contain at least two digits.
However, if the value to be written requires an exponent
greater than two digits, additional exponent digits shall
be written as necessary.
g,G The floating point number argument shall be written in
style f or e (or in style E in the case of a G conversion
character), with the precision specifying the number of
significant digits. The style used depends on the value
converted: style e shall be used only if the exponent
resulting from the conversion is less than -4 or greater
than or equal to the precision. Trailing zeroes shall be
removed from the result. A radix character shall appear
only if it is followed by a digit.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.12 File Format Notation 201
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
c The integer argument shall be converted to an _u_n_s_i_g_n_e_d
_c_h_a_r and the resulting byte shall be written.
s The argument shall be taken to be a string and bytes from
the string shall be written until the end of the string or
the number of bytes indicated by the _p_r_e_c_i_s_i_o_n
specification of the argument is reached. If the
precision is omitted from the argument, it shall be taken
to be infinite, so all bytes up to the end of the string
shall be written.
% Write a % character; no argument shall be converted.
In no case does a nonexistent or insufficient _f_i_e_l_d _w_i_d_t_h cause
truncation of a field; if the result of a conversion is wider than the
field width, the field shall be simply expanded to contain the conversion
result.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
2.12.1 File Format Notation Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f
_P_1_0_0_3._2)
This clause was originally derived from the description of _p_r_i_n_t_f() in
the _S_V_I_D, but it has been updated following the publication of the
C Standard {7}. It is not identical to the C Standard's {7} _p_r_i_n_t_f(), as
it deals with integers as being essentially one type, disregarding
possible internal differences between _i_n_t, _s_h_o_r_t, and _l_o_n_g. It has also
had some of the internal C language dependencies removed (such as the
requirement for null-terminated strings).
This standard provides a rigorous description of the format of utility
input and output files. It is the intention of this standard that these
descriptions be adequate sources of information so that portable
applications can use other utilities such as lex or awk to reliably parse
the output of these utilities as their input in, say a pipeline.
The notation for spaces allows some flexibility for application output.
Note that an empty character position in _f_o_r_m_a_t represents one or more
<blank> characters on the output (not _w_h_i_t_e _s_p_a_c_e, which can include
<newline>s). Therefore, another utility that reads that output as its
input must be prepared to parse the data using _s_c_a_n_f(), awk, etc. The W
character is used when exactly one <space> is output.
The treatment of integers and spaces is different from the real _p_r_i_n_t_f(),
in that they can be surrounded with <blank>_s. This was done so that,
given a format such as:
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
202 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
"%d\n", <_f_o_o>
the implementation could use a real _p_r_i_n_t_f() such as
printf("%6d\n", foo);
and still conform. It would have been possible for the standard to use
"%6d\n", but it would have been difficult to pick a number that would
have pleased everyone. This notation is thus somewhat like _s_c_a_n_f() in
addition to _p_r_i_n_t_f().
The _p_r_i_n_t_f() function was chosen as a model as most of the working group
was familiar with it and it was thought that many of the readers would be
as well.
One difference from the C function _p_r_i_n_t_f() is that the l and h
conversion characters are not used. As expressed by this standard, there
is no differentiation between decimal values for _i_n_ts versus _l_o_n_gs versus
_s_h_o_r_ts. The specifications %d or %i should be interpreted as an
arbitrary length sequence of digits. Also, no distinction is made
between single precision and double precision numbers (_f_l_o_a_t/_d_o_u_b_l_e in
C). These are simply referred to as floating point numbers.
Many of the output descriptions in this standard use the term _l_i_n_e, such
as:
"%s", <_i_n_p_u_t _l_i_n_e>
Since the definition of _l_i_n_e includes the trailing <newline> character
already, there is no need to include a "\n" in the format; a double
<newline> would otherwise result.
In the language at the end of the clause:
``In no case does a nonexistent or insufficient _f_i_e_l_d _w_i_d_t_h
cause truncation of a field; ...''
the term ``field width'' should not be confused with the term
``precision'' used in the description of %s.
Examples:
To represent the output of a program that prints a date and time in the
form Sunday, July 3, 10:02, where <_w_e_e_k_d_a_y> and <_m_o_n_t_h> are strings:
"%s,W%sW%d,W%d:%.2d\n", <_w_e_e_k_d_a_y>, <_m_o_n_t_h>, <_d_a_y>, <_h_o_u_r>,
<_m_i_n>
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.12 File Format Notation 203
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
To show J written to 5 decimal places:
"piW=W%.5f\n", <_v_a_l_u_e _o_f J>
To show an input file format consisting of five colon-separated fields:
"%s:%s:%s:%s:%s\n", <_a_r_g_1>, <_a_r_g_2>, <_a_r_g_3>, <_a_r_g_4>, <_a_r_g_5>
END_RATIONALE
2.13 Configuration Values
2.13.1 Symbolic Limits
This clause lists magnitude limitations imposed by a specific
implementation. The braces notation, {LIMIT}, is used in this standard
to indicate these values, but the braces are not part of the name. The
values specified in Table 2-16 represent the lowest values conforming
implementations shall provide; and consequently, the largest values on
which an application can rely without further enquiries, as described
below. These values shall be accessible to applications via the getconf
utility (see 4.26) and through the interfaces described in 7.8.2, [such
as _s_y_s_c_o_n_f() in the C binding]. The literal names shown in the table
apply only to the getconf utility; the high-level-language binding shall
describe the exact form of each name to be used by the interfaces in that
binding.
Implementations may provide more liberal, or less restrictive, values
than shown in Table 2-16. These possibly more liberal values are
accessible using the symbols in Table 2-17.
The functions in 7.8.2 [such as _s_y_s_c_o_n_f() in the C binding] or the
getconf utility shall return the value of each symbol on each specific
implementation. The value so retrieved shall be the largest, or most
liberal, value that shall be available throughout the session lifetime,
as determined at session creation. The literal names shown in the table
apply only to the getconf utility; the high-level-language binding shall
describe the exact form of each name to be used by the interfaces in that
binding.
All numerical limits defined by POSIX.1 {8}, such as {PATH_MAX}, also
apply to this standard. (See POSIX.1 {8} 2.8.) All the utilities
defined by this standard are implicitly limited by these values, unless
otherwise noted in the utility descriptions.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
204 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
Table 2-16 - Utility Limit Minimum Values
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Name Description Value
____________________________________________________________________
{POSIX2_BC_BASE_MAX} The maximum _o_b_a_s_e value 99
allowed by the bc utility.
{POSIX2_BC_DIM_MAX} The maximum number of elements 2048
permitted in an array by the
bc utility.
{POSIX2_BC_SCALE_MAX} The maximum _s_c_a_l_e value 99
allowed by the bc utility.
{POSIX2_BC_STRING_MAX} The maximum length of a string 1000
constant accepted by the bc
utility.
{POSIX2_COLL_WEIGHTS_MAX} The maximum number of weights 2
that can be assigned to an
entry of the LC_COLLATE order
keyword in the locale
definition file; see
2.5.2.2.3.
{POSIX2_EXPR_NEST_MAX} The maximum number of 32
expressions that can be nested
within parentheses by the expr
utility.
{POSIX2_LINE_MAX} Unless otherwise noted, the 2048
maximum length, in bytes, of a
utility's input line (either
standard input or another
file), when the utility is
described as processing text
files. The length includes
room for the trailing
<newline>.
{POSIX2_RE_DUP_MAX} The maximum number of repeated 255
occurrences of a regular
expression permitted when
using the interval notation
\{_m,_n\}; see 2.8.3.3.
{POSIX2_VERSION} This value indicates the 199??? 11
version of the utilities in 1
this standard that are 1
provided by the 1
implementation. It will 1
change with each published 1
version of this standard. 1
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.13 Configuration Values 205
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
Table 2-17 - Symbolic Utility Limits
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Minimum
Name Description Value
____________________________________________________________________
{BC_BASE_MAX} The maximum _o_b_a_s_e value {POSIX2_BC_BASE_MAX}
allowed by the bc
utility.
{BC_DIM_MAX} The maximum number of {POSIX2_BC_DIM_MAX}
elements permitted in
an array by the bc
utility.
{BC_SCALE_MAX} The maximum _s_c_a_l_e value {POSIX2_BC_SCALE_MAX}
allowed by the bc
utility.
{BC_STRING_MAX} The maximum length of a {POSIX2_BC_STRING_MAX}
string constant
accepted by the bc
utility.
{COLL_WEIGHTS_MAX} The maximum number of {POSIX2_COLL_WEIGHTS_MAX}
weights that can be
assigned to an entry of
the LC_COLLATE order
keyword in the locale
definition file; see
2.5.2.2.3.
{EXPR_NEST_MAX} The maximum number of {POSIX2_EXPR_NEST_MAX}
expressions that can be
nested within
parentheses by the expr
utility.
{LINE_MAX} Unless otherwise noted, {POSIX2_LINE_MAX}
the maximum length, in
bytes, of a utility's
input line (either
standard input or
another file), when the
utility is described as
processing text files.
The length includes
room for the trailing
<newline>.
The maximum number of
repeated occurrences of
a regular expression
permitted when using
the interval notation
\{_m,_n\}; see 2.8.3.3.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
206 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
{RE_DUP_MAX} {POSIX2_RE_DUP_MAX}
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
It is not guaranteed that the application can in fact push a value to the
implementation's specified limit in any given case, or at all, as a lack
of virtual memory or other resources may prevent this. The limit value
indicates only that the implementation does not specifically impose any
arbitrary, more restrictive limit.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
2.13.1.1 Symbolic Limits Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f
_P_1_0_0_3._2)
This clause grew out of an idea that originated in POSIX.1 {8}, in the
form of _s_y_s_c_o_n_f() and _p_a_t_h_c_o_n_f(). (In fact, the same person wrote the
original text for both standards.) The idea is that a Strictly
Conforming POSIX.2 Application can be written to use the most restrictive
values that a minimal system can provide, but it shouldn't have to. The
values shown in Table 2-17 represent compromises so that some vendors can
use historically-limited versions of UNIX system utilities. They are the
highest values that Strictly Conforming POSIX.2 Applications or
Conforming POSIX.2 Applications can assume, given no other information.
However, by using getconf or _s_y_s_c_o_n_f(), the elegant application can
tailor itself to the more liberal values on some of the specific
instances of specific implementations.
There is no explicitly-stated requirement that an implementation provide
finite limits for any of these numeric values; the implementation is free
to provide essentially unbounded capabilities (where it makes sense),
stopping only at reasonable points such as {ULONG_MAX} (from the
C Standard {7} via POSIX.1 {8}). Therefore, applications desiring to
tailor themselves to the values on a particular implementation need to be
ready for possibly huge values; it may not be a good idea to blindly
allocate a buffer for an input line based on the value of {LINE_MAX}, for
instance. However, unlike POSIX.1 {8}, there is no set of limits in this
standard that return a special indication meaning ``unbounded.'' The
implementation should always return an actual number, even if the number
is very large.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.13 Configuration Values 207
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
The statement
``It is not guaranteed that the application ...
is an indication that many of these limits are designed to ensure that
implementors design their utilities without arbitrary constraints related
to unimaginative programming. There are certainly conditions under which
combinations of options can cause failures that would not render an
implementation nonconforming. For example, {EXPR_NEST_MAX} and {ARG_MAX}
could collide when expressions are large; combinations of {BC_SCALE_MAX}
and {BC_DIM_MAX} could exceed virtual memory.
In POSIX.2, the notion of a limit being guaranteed for the process
lifetime, as it is in POSIX.1 {8}, is not as useful to a shell script.
The getconf utility is probably a process itself, so the guarantee would
be valueless. Therefore, POSIX.2 requires the guarantee to be for the
session lifetime. This will mean that many vendors will either return
very conservative values or possibly implement getconf as a built-in.
It may seem confusing to have limits that apply only to a single utility
grouped into one global clause. However, the alternative, which would be
to disperse them out into their utility description clauses, would cause
great difficulty when _s_y_s_c_o_n_f() and getconf were described. Therefore,
the working group chose the global approach.
Each language binding could provide symbol names that are slightly
different than are shown here. For example, the C binding prefixes the
symbols with a leading underscore.
The following comments describe selection criteria for the symbols and
their values.
{ARG_MAX}
This is defined by POSIX.1 {8}. Unfortunately, it is very
difficult for a portable application to deal with this value, as
it does not know how much of its argument space is being
consumed by the user's environment variables.
{BC_BASE_MAX}
{BC_DIM_MAX}
{BC_SCALE_MAX}
These were originally one value, {BC_SCALE_MAX}, but it was
unreasonable to link all three concepts into one limit.
{CHILD_MAX}
This is defined by POSIX.1 {8}.
{CUT_FIELD_MAX}
This value was removed from an earlier draft. It represented
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
208 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
the maximum length of the _l_i_s_t argument to the cut -c or -f
options. Since the length is now unspecified, the utility
should have to deal with arbitrarily long lists, as long as
{ARG_MAX} is not exceeded.
{CUT_LINE_MAX}
This value was removed from an earlier draft. Historical cuts
have had input line limits of 1024; this removal therefore
mandates that a conforming cut shall process files with lines of 1
unlimited length. 1
{DEPTH_MAX}
This directory-traversing depth limit (which at one time applied
to rm and find) was removed from an earlier draft for two major
reasons:
(1) It could be a security problem if utilities searching for
files could not descend below a published depth; this
would be a semi-reliable means of hiding files from the
administrator.
(2) There is no reason a reasonable implementation should have
to limit itself in this way.
{ED_FILE_MAX}
This value was removed from an earlier draft. Historical eds
have had very small file limits; since {ED_FILE_MAX} is no
longer specified, implementations have to document the limits as
described in 2.11. It is recommended that implementations set
much more reasonable file size limits as they modify ed to deal
with other features required by POSIX.2.
{ED_LINE_MAX}
This value was removed from an earlier draft. Historical eds
have had small input line limits; this removal therefore
mandates that a conforming ed shall process files with lines of
length {LINE_MAX}.
{COLL_WEIGHTS_MAX}
The weights assigned to order can be considered as ``passes''
through the collation algorithm.
{EXPR_NEST_MAX}
The value for expression nesting was borrowed from the
C Standard {7}.
{FIND_DEPTH_MAX}
This was removed from an earlier draft in favor of a common
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.13 Configuration Values 209
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
value, {DEPTH_MAX}.
{FIND_FILESYS_MAX}
This was removed from an earlier draft. It indicated the limit
of the number of file systems that find could traverse in its
search. It was dropped because this standard does not really
acknowledge the historical nature of separate file systems.
{FIND_NEWER_MAX}
This value, which allowed find to limit the number of -newer
operands it processed, was deleted from an earlier draft. It
was felt to be a vestige of a particular implementation with an
incorrect programming algorithm that should not limit
applications.
{JOIN_LINE_MAX}
This value was removed from an earlier draft. Historical joins
have had input line limits of 1024; this removal therefore
mandates that a conforming join shall process files with lines
of length {LINE_MAX}.
{LINE_MAX}
This is a global limit that affects all utilities, unless
otherwise noted. The {MAX_CANON} value from POSIX.1 {8} may
further limit input lines from terminals. The {LINE_MAX} value
was the subject of much debate and is a compromise between those
who wished unlimited lines and those who understood that many
historical utilities were written with fixed buffers.
Frequently, utility writers selected the UNIX system constant
BUFSIZ to allocate these buffers; therefore, some utilities were
limited to 512 bytes for I/O lines, while others achieved 4096
or greater.
It should be noted that {LINE_MAX} applies only to input line
length; there is no requirement in the standard that limits the
length of output lines. Utilities such as awk, sed, and paste
could theoretically construct lines longer than any of the input
lines they received, depending on the options used or the
instructions from the application. They are not required to
truncate their output to {LINE_MAX}. It is the responsibility
of the application to deal with this. If the output of one of
those utilities is to be piped into another of the standard
utilities, line lengths restrictions will have to be considered;
the fold utility, among others, could be used to ensure that
only reasonable line lengths reach utilities or applications.
{LINK_MAX}
This is defined by POSIX.1 {8}.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
210 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
{LP_LINE_MAX}
This value was removed from an earlier draft. Since so little
is being required for the details of the lp utility, it made
little sense to specify how long its output lines are. Thus,
implementations of lp will be expected to deal with lines up to
{LINE_MAX}, but whether those lines print sensibly on every
device is unspecified.
{MAX_CANON}
This is defined by POSIX.1 {8}.
{MAX_INPUT}
This is defined by POSIX.1 {8}.
{NAME_MAX}
This is defined by POSIX.1 {8}.
{NGROUPS_MAX}
This is defined by POSIX.1 {8}.
{OPEN_MAX}
This is defined by POSIX.1 {8}.
{PATH_MAX}
This is defined by POSIX.1 {8}.
{PIPE_BUF}
This is defined by POSIX.1 {8}.
{RM_DEPTH_MAX}
This was removed from an earlier draft in favor of a common
value, {DEPTH_MAX}.
{RE_DUP_MAX}
The value selected is consistent with historical practice.
{SED_PATTERN_MAX}
This symbolic value, the size of the sed pattern space, was
replaced by a specific value in the sed description. It is
unlikely that any real application would ever need to access
this value symbolically.
{SORT_LINE_MAX}
This was removed from an earlier draft. Now that cut and fold
can handle unlimited-length input lines, a special long input
line limit for sort is not needed.
There are different limits associated with command lines and input to
utilities, depending on the method of invocation. In the case of a C
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.13 Configuration Values 211
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
program _e_x_e_c-ing a utility, {ARG_MAX} is the underlying limit. In the
case of the shell reading a script and _e_x_e_c-ing a utility, {LINE_MAX}
limits the length of lines the shell is required to process and {ARG_MAX}
will still be a limit. If a user is entering a command on a terminal to
the shell, requesting that it invoke the utility, {MAX_INPUT} may
restrict the length of the line that can be given to the shell to a value
below {LINE_MAX}.
END_RATIONALE
2.13.2 Symbolic Constants for Portability Specifications
Table 2-18 - Optional Facility Configuration Values
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Name Description
_________________________________________________________________________
{POSIX2_C_BIND} The C language development facilities in
Annex A support the C Language Bindings
Option (see Annex B).
{POSIX2_C_DEV} The system supports the C Language
Development Utilities Option (see
Annex A).
{POSIX2_FORT_DEV} The system supports the FORTRAN
Development Utilities Option (see
Annex C).
{POSIX2_FORT_RUN} The system supports the FORTRAN Runtime
Utilities Option (see Annex C).
{POSIX2_LOCALEDEF} The system supports the creation of
locales as described in 4.35.
{POSIX2_SW_DEV} The system supports the Software
Development Utilities Option (see Section
6).
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Table 2-18 lists symbols that can be used by the application to determine
which optional facilities are present on the implementation. The
functions defined in 7.8.2 [such as _s_y_s_c_o_n_f()] or the getconf utility can
be used to retrieve the value of each symbol on each specific
implementation. The literal names shown in the table apply only to the
getconf utility; the high-level-language binding shall describe the exact
form of each name to be used by the interfaces in that binding.
Each of these symbols shall be considered valid names by the
implementation. Each shall be defined on the system with a value of 1 if
the corresponding option is supported; otherwise, the symbol shall be
undefined.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
212 2 Terminology and General Requirements
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
BEGIN_RATIONALE
2.13.2.1 Symbolic Constants for Portability Specifications Rationale.
(_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
When an option is supported, getconf returns a value of 1. For example,
when C development is supported:
if [ "$(getconf POSIX2_C_DEV)" -eq 1 ]; then
echo C supported
fi
The _s_y_s_c_o_n_f() function in the C binding would return 1.
The following comments describe selection criteria for the symbols and
their values.
{POSIX2_C_BIND}
{POSIX2_C_DEV}
{POSIX2_FORT_DEV}
{POSIX2_SW_DEV}
These were renamed from _POSIX_* in Draft 9 after it was pointed
out that each of the POSIX standards should keep generally in
its own namespace.
It is possible for some (usually privileged) operations to
remove utilities that support these options, or otherwise render
these options unsupported. The header files, the _s_y_s_c_o_n_f()
function, or the getconf utility will not necessarily detect
such actions, in which case they should not be considered as
rendering the implementation nonconforming. A test suite should
not attempt tests like:
rm /usr/bin/c89
getconf POSIX2_C_DEV
{_POSIX_LOCALEDEF}
This symbol was introduced to allow implementations to restrict
supported locales to only those supplied by the implementation.
END_RATIONALE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
2.13 Configuration Values 213
P1003.2/D11.2
Section 3: Shell Command Language
The shell is a command language interpreter. This section describes the
syntax of that command language as it is used by the sh utility and the
functions in 7.1 [such as _s_y_s_t_e_m() and _p_o_p_e_n() in the C binding].
The shell operates according to the following general overview of
operations. The specific details are included in the cited clauses and
subclauses of this section. The shell:
(1) Reads its input from a file (see sh in 4.56), from the -c
option, or from one of the functions in 7.1. If the first line
of a file of shell commands starts with the characters #!, the
results are unspecified.
(2) Breaks the input into tokens: words and operators. (See 3.3.)
(3) Parses the input into simple (3.9.1) and compound (3.9.4)
commands.
(4) Performs various expansions (separately) on different parts of
each command, resulting in a list of pathnames and fields to be
treated as a command and arguments (3.6).
(5) Performs redirection (3.7) and removes redirection operators and
their operands from the parameter list.
(6) Executes a function (3.9.5), built-in (3.14), executable file,
or script, giving the name of the command (or, in the case of a 1
function within a script, the name of the script) as the 1
``zero'th'' argument and the remaining words and fields as
parameters (3.9.1.1).
(7) Optionally waits for the command to complete and collects the
exit status (3.8.2).
BEGIN_RATIONALE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
3 Shell Command Language 215
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
3.0.1 Shell Command Language Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f
_P_1_0_0_3._2)
The System V shell was selected as the starting point for this standard.
The BSD C-shell was excluded from consideration, for the following
reasons:
(1) Most historically portable shell scripts assume the Version 7
``Bourne'' shell, from which the System V shell is derived.
(2) The majority of tutorial materials on shell programming assume
the System V shell.
Despite the selection of the System V shell, the developers of the
standard did not limit the possibilities for a shell command language
that was upward-compatible.
The only programmatic interfaces to the shell language are through the
functions in 7.1 and the sh utility. Most implementations provide an
interface to, and processing mode for, the shell that is suitable for
direct user interaction. The behavior of this interactive mode is not
defined by this standard; however, places where historically an
interactive shell behaves differently from the behavior described here
are noted.
(1) Aliases are not included in the base POSIX.2 because they
duplicate functionality already available to applications with
functions. In early drafts, the search order of simple command
lookup was ``aliases, built-ins, functions, file system,'' and
therefore an alias was necessary to create a user-defined
command having the same name as a built-in. To retain this
capability, the search order has changed to ``special built-ins,
functions, built-ins, file system,'' and a built-in, called
command, has been added, which disables the looking up of
functions. Aliases are a part of the POSIX.2a UPE because they
are widely used by human users, as differentiated from
applications.
(2) All references to job control and related commands have been
omitted from the base POSIX.2. POSIX.2 describes the
noninteractive operation of the shell; job control is outside
the scope of this standard until the UPE revision is developed.
Apparently it is not widely known that traditionally, even in a
job control environment, the commands executed during the
execution of a shell script are not placed into separate process
groups. If they were, one could not stop the execution of the
shell script from the interactive shell, for example. This
standard does not require or prohibit job control; it simply
does not mention it.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
216 3 Shell Command Language
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
(3) The conditional command (double bracket [[ ]]) was removed from
an earlier draft. Objections were lodged that the real problem
is misuse of the test command ([), and putting it into the shell
is the wrong way to fix the problem. Instead, proper
documentation and a new shell reserved word (!) are sufficient.
Tests that require multiple test operations can be done at the
shell level using individual invocations of the test command and
shell logicals, rather than the error prone -o flag of test.
(4) Exportable functions were removed from an earlier draft. See
the rationale in 3.9.5.1.
The construct #! is reserved for implementations wishing to provide that
extension. If it were not reserved, the standard would disallow it by
forcing it to be a comment. As it stands, a conforming application shall
not use #! as the first line of a shell script.
END_RATIONALE
3.1 Shell Definitions
The following terms are used in Section 3. Because they are specific to
the shell, they do not appear in 2.2.2.
3.1.1 control operator: A token that performs a control function.
It is one of the following symbols:
& ) <newline>
&& ; |
( ;; ||
The end-of-input indicator used internally by the shell is also
considered a control operator. See 3.3.
On some systems, the symbol (( is a control operator; its use produces 1
unspecified results.
3.1.2 expand: When not qualified, the act of applying all the
expansions described in 3.6.
3.1.3 field: A unit of text that is the result of parameter expansion
(3.6.2), arithmetic expansion (3.6.4), command substitution (3.6.3), or
field splitting (3.6.5).
During command processing (see 3.9.1), the resulting fields are used as
the command name and its arguments.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
3.1 Shell Definitions 217
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
3.1.4 interactive shell: A processing mode of the shell that is
suitable for direct user interaction.
The behavior in this mode is not defined by this standard.
NOTE: The preceding sentence is expected to change following the
eventual approval of the UPE supplement.
3.1.5 name: A word consisting solely of underscores, digits, and
alphabetics from the portable character set (see 2.4).
The first character of a name shall not be a digit.
3.1.6 operator: Either a control operator or a redirection operator.
3.1.7 parameter: An entity that stores values.
There are three types of parameters: variables (named parameters),
positional parameters, and special parameters. Parameter expansion is
accomplished by introducing a parameter with the $ character. See 3.5.
3.1.8 positional parameter: A parameter denoted by a single digit or
one or more digits in curly braces.
See 3.5.1.
3.1.9 redirection: A method of associating files with the input/output
of commands.
See 3.7.
3.1.10 redirection operator: A token that performs a redirection
function.
It is one of the following symbols:
< > >| << >> <& >& <<- <>
3.1.11 special parameter: A parameter named by a single character from
the following list:
* @ # ? ! - $ 0
See 3.5.2.
3.1.12 subshell: A shell execution environment, distinguished from the
main or current shell execution environment by the attributes described
in 3.12.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
218 3 Shell Command Language
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
3.1.13 token: A sequence of characters that the shell considers as a
single unit when reading input, according to the rules in 3.3.
A token is either an operator or a word.
3.1.14 variable: A named parameter. See 3.5.
3.1.15 variable assignment [assignment]: A word consisting of the
following parts
_v_a_r_n_a_m_e=_v_a_l_u_e
When used in a context where assignment is defined to occur (see 3.9.1)
and at no other time, the _v_a_l_u_e (representing a word or field) shall be
assigned as the value of the variable denoted by _v_a_r_n_a_m_e. The _v_a_r_n_a_m_e and
_v_a_l_u_e parts meet the requirements for a name and a word, respectively,
except that they are delimited by the embedded unquoted equals-sign in
addition to the delimiting described in 3.3. In all cases, the variable
shall be created if it did not already exist. If _v_a_l_u_e is not specified,
the variable shall be given a null value.
An alternative form of variable assignment:
_s_y_m_b_o_l=_v_a_l_u_e
(where _s_y_m_b_o_l is a valid word delimited by an equals-sign, but not a
valid name) produces unspecified results.
3.1.16 word: A token other than an operator.
In some cases a word is also a portion of a word token: in the various
forms of parameter expansion (3.6.2), such as ${_n_a_m_e-_w_o_r_d}, and variable
assignment, such as _n_a_m_e=_w_o_r_d, the word is the portion of the token
depicted by _w_o_r_d. The concept of a word is no longer applicable following
word expansions--only fields remain; see 3.6.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
3.1.17 Shell Definitions Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f
_P_1_0_0_3._2)
The _w_o_r_d=_w_o_r_d form of variable assignment was included, producing
unspecified results, to allow the KornShell _n_a_m_e[_e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n]=_v_a_l_u_e syntax
to conform.
The (( symbol is a control operator in the KornShell, used for an 1
alternative syntax of an arithmetic expression command. A strictly
conforming POSIX.2 application cannot use (( as a single token [with the
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
3.1 Shell Definitions 219
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
obvious exception of the $(( form described in POSIX.2]. The decision to
require this is based solely on the pragmatic knowledge that there are
many more historical shell scripts using the KornShell syntax than there
might be using nested subshells, such as
((foo)) or ((foo);(bar))
The latter example should not be misinterpreted by the shell as
arithmetic because attempts to balance the parentheses pairs would
indicate that they are subshells. Thus, in most cases, while a few
scripts will no longer be strictly portable, the chances of breaking
existing scripts is even smaller.
There are no explicit limits in this standard on the sizes of names, 1
words, lines, or other objects. However, other implicit limits do apply: 1
shell script lines produced by many of the standard utilities cannot 1
exceed {LINE_MAX} and the sum of exported variables comes under the 1
{ARG_MAX} limit. Historical shells dynamically allocate memory for names 1
and words and parse incoming lines a byte at a time. Lines cannot have 1
an arbitrary {LINE_MAX} limit because of historical practice such as 1
makefiles, where make removes the <newline>s associated with the commands 1
for a target and presents the shell with one very long line. The text in 1
2.11.5.2 does allow a shell to run out of memory, but it cannot have
arbitrary programming limits.
END_RATIONALE
3.2 Quoting
Quoting is used to remove the special meaning of certain characters or
words to the shell. Quoting can be used to preserve the literal meaning
of the special characters in the next paragraph; prevent reserved words
from being recognized as such; and prevent parameter expansion and
command substitution within here-document processing (see 3.7.4).
The following characters shall be quoted if they are to represent
themselves:
| & ; < > ( ) $ ` \ " '
<space> <tab> <newline>
and the following may need to be quoted under certain circumstances.
That is, these characters may be special depending on conditions
described elsewhere in the standard:
* ? [ # ~ = %
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
220 3 Shell Command Language
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
The various quoting mechanisms are the escape character, single-quotes,
and double-quotes. The here-document represents another form of quoting;
see 3.7.4.
3.2.1 Escape Character (Backslash)
A backslash that is not quoted shall preserve the literal value of the
following character, with the exception of a <newline>. If a <newline>
follows the backslash, the shell shall interpret this as line
continuation. The backslash and <newline> shall be removed before
splitting the input into tokens.
3.2.2 Single-Quotes
Enclosing characters in single-quotes (' ') shall preserve the literal
value of each character within the single-quotes. A single-quote cannot
occur within single-quotes.
3.2.3 Double-Quotes
Enclosing characters in double-quotes (" ") shall preserve the literal
value of all characters within the double-quotes, with the exception of
the characters dollar-sign, backquote, and backslash, as follows:
$ The dollar-sign shall retain its special meaning introducing
parameter expansion (see 3.6.2), a form of command substitution
(see 3.6.3), and arithmetic expansion (see 3.6.4).
The input characters within the quoted string that are also
enclosed between $( and the matching ) shall not be affected by
the double-quotes, but rather shall define that command whose
output replaces the $(...) when the word is expanded. The
tokenizing rules in 3.3 shall be applied recursively to find the
matching ).
Within the string of characters from an enclosed ${ to the
matching }, an even number of unescaped double-quotes or
single-quotes, if any, shall occur. A preceding backslash
character shall be used to escape a literal { or }. The rule in
3.6.2 shall be used to determine the matching }.
` The backquote shall retain its special meaning introducing the
other form of command substitution (see 3.6.3). The portion of
the quoted string from the initial backquote and the characters
up to the next backquote that is not preceded by a backslash,
having escape characters removed, defines that command whose
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
3.2 Quoting 221
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
output replaces `...` when the word is expanded. Either of the
following cases produces undefined results:
- A single- or double-quoted string that begins, but does not
end, within the `...` sequence.
- A `...` sequence that begins, but does not end, within the
same double-quoted string.
\ The backslash shall retain its special meaning as an escape
character (see 3.2.1) only when followed by one of the
characters:
$ ` " \ <newline>
A double-quote shall be preceded by a backslash to be included within
double-quotes. The parameter @ has special meaning inside double-quotes
and is described in 3.5.2.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
3.2.4 Quotes Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
A backslash cannot be used to escape a single-quote in a single-quoted
string. An embedded quote can be created by writing, for example,
'a'\''b', which yields a'b. (See 3.6.5 for a better understanding of how
portions of words are either split into fields or remain concatenated.)
A single token can be made up of concatenated partial strings containing
all three kinds of quoting/escaping, thus permitting any combination of
characters.
The escaped <newline> used for line continuation is removed entirely from
the input and is not replaced by any white space. Therefore, it cannot
serve as a token separator.
In double-quoting, if a backslash is immediately followed by a character
that would be interpreted as having a special meaning, the backslash is
deleted and the subsequent character is taken literally. If a backslash
does not precede a character that would have a special meaning, it is
left in place unmodified and the character immediately following it is
also left unmodified. Thus, for example:
"\$" => $
"\a" => \a
It would be desirable to include the statement ``The characters from an
enclosed ${ to the matching } shall not be affected by the double-
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
222 3 Shell Command Language
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
quotes,'' similar to the one for $( ). However, historical practice in
the System V shell prevents this. The requirement that double-quotes be
matched inside ${...} within double-quotes and the rule for finding the
matching } in 3.6.2 eliminate several subtle inconsistencies in expansion
for historical shells in rare cases; for example,
"${foo-bar"}
yields bar when foo is not defined, and is an invalid substitution when 1
foo is defined, in many historical shells. The differences in processing
the "${...}" form have led to inconsistencies between the historical
System V, BSD, and KornShells, and the text in POSIX.2 is an attempt to
converge them without breaking many applications. A consequence of the
new rule is that single-quotes cannot be used to quote the } within
"${...}"; for example
unset bar
foo="${bar-'}'}"
is invalid because the "${...}" substitution contains an unpaired 1
unescaped single-quote. The backslash can be used to escape the } in 1
this example to achieve the desired result:
unset bar
foo="${bar-\}}"
The only alternative to this compromise between shells would be to make
the behavior unspecified whenever the literal characters ', {, }, and "
appear within ${...}. To write a portable script that uses these values,
a user would have to assign variables, say,
squote=\' dquote=\" lbrace='{' rbrace='}'
${foo-$squote$rbrace$squote}
rather than
${foo-"'}'"}
Some systems have allowed the end of the word to terminate the backquoted
command substitution, such as in
"`echo hello"
This usage is undefined in POSIX.2, where the matching backquote is
required. The other undefined usage can be illustrated by the example:
sh -c '` echo "foo`'
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
3.2 Quoting 223
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
The description of the recursive actions involving command substitution
can be illustrated with an example. Upon recognizing the introduction of
command substitution, the shell must parse input (in a new context),
gathering the ``source'' for the command substitution until an unbalanced
) or ` is located. For example, in the following
echo "$(date; echo "
one" )"
the double-quote following the echo does not terminate the first double-
quote; it is part of the command substitution ``script.'' Similarly, in
echo "$(echo *)"
the asterisk is not quoted since it is inside command substitution;
however,
echo "$(echo "*")"
is quoted (and represents the asterisk character itself).
END_RATIONALE
3.3 Token Recognition
The shell reads its input in terms of lines from a file, from a terminal
in the case of an interactive shell, or from a string in the case of
sh -c or _s_y_s_t_e_m(). The input lines can be of unlimited length. These 1
lines are parsed using two major modes: ordinary token recognition and 1
processing of here-documents.
When an io_here token has been recognized by the grammar (see 3.10), one
or more of the immediately subsequent lines form the body of one or more
here-documents and shall be parsed according to the rules of 3.7.4.
When it is not processing an io_here, the shell shall break its input 1
into tokens by applying the first applicable rule below to the next
character in its input. The token shall be from the current position in
the input until a token is delimited according to one of the rules below;
the characters forming the token are exactly those in the input,
including any quoting characters. If it is indicated that a token is
delimited, and no characters have been included in a token, processing
shall continue until an actual token is delimited.
(1) If the end of input is recognized, the current token shall be
delimited. If there is no current token, the end-of-input
indicator shall be returned as the token.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
224 3 Shell Command Language
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
(2) If the previous character was used as part of an operator and
the current character is not quoted and can be used with the
current characters to form an operator, it shall be used as part
of that (operator) token.
(3) If the previous character was used as part of an operator and
the current character cannot be used with the current characters
to form an operator, the operator containing the previous
character shall be delimited.
(4) If the current character is backslash, single-quote, or double-
quote (\, ', or ") and it is not quoted, it shall affect quoting
for subsequent character(s) up to the end of the quoted text.
The rules for quoting are as described in 3.2. During token
recognition no substitutions shall be actually performed, and
the result token shall contain exactly the characters that
appear in the input (except for <newline> joining), unmodified,
including any embedded or enclosing quotes or substitution
operators, between the quote mark and the end of the quoted
text. The token shall not be delimited by the end of the quoted
field.
(5) If the current character is an unquoted $ or `, the shell shall
identify the start of any candidates for parameter expansion
(3.6.2), command substitution (3.6.3), or arithmetic expansion
(3.6.4) from their introductory unquoted character sequences: $
or ${, $( or `, and $((, respectively. The shell shall read
sufficient input to determine the end of the unit to be expanded
(as explained in the cited subclauses). While processing the
characters, if instances of expansions or quoting are found
nested within the substitution, the shell shall recursively
process them in the manner specified for the construct that is
found. The characters found from the beginning of the
substitution to its end, allowing for any recursion necessary to
recognize embedded constructs, shall be included unmodified in
the result token, including any embedded or enclosing
substitution operators or quotes. The token shall not be
delimited by the end of the substitution.
(6) If the current character is not quoted and can be used as the
first character of a new operator, the current token (if any)
shall be delimited. The current character shall be used as the
beginning of the next (operator) token.
(7) If the current character is an unquoted <newline>, the current
token shall be delimited.
(8) If the current character is an unquoted <blank>, any token
containing the previous character is delimited and the current
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
3.3 Token Recognition 225
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
character is discarded.
(9) If the previous character was part of a word, the current
character is appended to that word.
(10) If the current character is a #, it and all subsequent
characters up to, but excluding, the next <newline> are
discarded as a comment. The <newline> that ends the line is not
considered part of the comment.
(11) The current character is used as the start of a new word.
Once a token is delimited, it shall be categorized as required by the
grammar in 3.10.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
3.3.1 Token Recognition Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f
_P_1_0_0_3._2)
The (3) rule about combining characters to form operators is not meant to 1
preclude systems from extending the shell language when characters are 1
combined in otherwise invalid ways. Portable applications cannot use 1
invalid combinations and test suites should not penalize systems that 1
take advantage of this fact. For example, the unquoted combination |& is 1
not valid in a POSIX.2 script, but has a specific KornShell meaning. 1
The (10) rule about # as the current character is the first in the
sequence in which a new token is being assembled. The # starts a comment
only when it is at the beginning of a token. This rule is also written
to indicate that the search for the end-of-comment does not consider
escaped <newline> specially, so that a comment cannot be continued to the
next line.
END_RATIONALE
3.4 Reserved Words
Reserved words are words that have special meaning to the shell. (See
3.9.) The following words shall be recognized as reserved words:
! elif fi in while
case else for then {4)
do esac if until }
done
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
226 3 Shell Command Language
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
This recognition shall occur only when none of the characters are quoted
and when the word is used as:
(1) The first word of a command
(2) The first word following one of the reserved words other than
case, for, or in
(3) The third word in a case or for command (only in is valid in
this case)
See the grammar in 3.10.
The following words may be recognized as reserved words on some systems
(when none of the characters are quoted), causing unspecified results:
function select [[ ]] 2
Words that are the concatenation of a name and a colon (:) are reserved;
their use produces unspecified results.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
3.4.1 Reserved Words Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f
_P_1_0_0_3._2)
All reserved words are recognized syntactically as such in the contexts
described. However, it is useful to point out that in is the only
meaningful reserved word after a case or for; similarly, in is not
meaningful as the first word of a simple command.
Reserved words are recognized only when they are delimited (i.e., meet
the definition of _w_o_r_d; see 3.1.16), whereas operators are themselves
delimiters. For instance, ( and ) are control operators, so that no
<space> is needed in (list). However, { and } are reserved words in
{ list;}, so that in this case the leading <space> and semicolon are
required.
__________
4) In some historical systems, the curly braces are treated as control
operators. To assist in future standardization activities, portable
applications should avoid using unquoted braces to represent the
characters themselves. It is possible that a future version of
POSIX.2 may require this, although probably not for the often-used
find {} construct.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
3.4 Reserved Words 227
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
The list of unspecified reserved words is from the KornShell, so portable
applications cannot use them in places a reserved word would be
recognized. This list contained time in earlier drafts, but it was 2
removed when the time utility was selected for the UPE. 2
There was a strong argument for promoting braces to operators (instead of
reserved words), so they would be syntactically equivalent to subshell
operators. Concerns about compatibility outweighed the advantages of
this approach. Nevertheless, portable applications should consider
quoting { and } when they represent themselves.
The restriction on ending a name with a colon is to allow future
implementations that support named labels for flow control. See the
rationale for break (3.14.1.1).
END_RATIONALE
3.5 Parameters and Variables
A parameter can be denoted by a name, a number, or one of the special
characters listed in 3.5.2. A variable is a parameter denoted by a name.
A parameter is set if it has an assigned value (null is a valid value).
Once a variable is set, it can only be unset by using the unset special
built-in command.
3.5.1 Positional Parameters
A positional parameter is a parameter denoted by the decimal value
represented by one or more digits, other than the single digit 0. When a
positional parameter with more than one digit is specified, the
application shall enclose the digits in braces (see 3.6.2). Positional
parameters are initially assigned when the shell is invoked (see sh in
4.56), temporarily replaced when a shell function is invoked (see 3.9.5),
and can be reassigned with the set special built-in command.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
3.5.1.1 Positional Parameters Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t
_o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
The digits denoting the positional parameters are always interpreted as a
decimal value, even if there is a leading zero.
END_RATIONALE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
228 3 Shell Command Language
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
3.5.2 Special Parameters
Listed below are the special parameters and the values to which they
shall expand. Only the values of the special parameters are listed; see
3.6 for a detailed summary of all the stages involved in expanding words.
* Expands to the positional parameters, starting from one. When
the expansion occurs within a double-quoted string (see 3.2.3),
it expands to a single field with the value of each parameter
separated by the first character of the IFS variable, or by a
<space> if IFS is unset.
@ Expands to the positional parameters, starting from one. When
the expansion occurs within double-quotes, each positional
parameter expands as a separate field, with the provision that
the expansion of the first parameter is still joined with the
beginning part of the original word (assuming that the expanded
parameter was embedded within a word), and the expansion of the
last parameter is still joined with the last part of the
original word. If there are no positional parameters, the 1
expansion of @ shall generate zero fields, even when @ is 1
double-quoted. 1
# Expands to the decimal number of positional parameters.
? Expands to the decimal exit status of the most recent pipeline
(see 3.9.2).
- (Hyphen) Expands to the current option flags (the single-letter
option names concatenated into a string) as specified on
invocation, by the set special built-in command, or implicitly
by the shell.
$ Expands to the decimal process ID of the invoked shell. In a
subshell (see 3.12), $ shall expand to the same value as that of
the current shell.
! Expands to the decimal process ID of the most recent background
command (see 3.9.3) executed from the current shell. For a 1
pipeline, the process ID is that of the last command in the
pipeline.
0 (Zero.) Expands to the name of the shell or shell script. See
sh (4.56) for a detailed description of how this name is
derived.
See the description of the IFS variable in 3.5.3.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
3.5 Parameters and Variables 229
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
BEGIN_RATIONALE
3.5.2.1 Special Parameters Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f
_P_1_0_0_3._2)
Most historical implementations implement subshells by forking; thus, the
special parameter $ does not necessarily represent the process ID of the
shell process executing the commands since the subshell execution
environment preserves the value of $.
If a subshell were to execute a background command, the value of its 1
parent's $! would not change. For example: 1
( 1
date & 1
echo $! 1
) 1
echo $! 1
would echo two different values for $!. 1
The descriptions of parameters * and @ assume the reader is familiar with
the field splitting discussion in 3.6.5 and understands that portions of
the word will remain concatenated unless there is some reason to split
them into separate fields. Some examples of the * and @ properties,
including the concatenation aspects:
set "abc" "def ghi" "jkl"
echo $* => "abc" "def" "ghi" "jkl"
echo "$*" => "abc def ghi jkl"
echo $@ => "abc" "def" "ghi" "jkl"
_b_u_t
echo "$@" => "abc" "def ghi" "jkl"
echo "xx$@yy" => "xxabc" "def ghi" "jklyy"
echo "$@$@" => "abc" "def ghi" "jklabc" "def ghi" "jkl"
In the preceding examples, the double-quote characters that appear after
the => do not appear in the output and are used only to illustrate word
boundaries.
Historical versions of the Bourne shell have used <space> as a separator
between the expanded members of "$*". The KornShell has used the first
character in IFS, which is <space> by default. If IFS is set to a null 1
string, this is not equivalent to unsetting it; its first character will 1
not exist, so the parameter values are concatenated. For example: 1
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
230 3 Shell Command Language
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
$ IFS='' 1
$ set foo bar bam 1
$ echo "$@" 1
foo bar bam 1
$ echo "$*" 1
foobarbam 1
$ unset IFS 1
$ echo "$*" 1
foo bar bam 1
The $- can be used to save and restore set options:
Save=$(echo $- | sed 's/[ics]//g') 1
...
set +aCefnuvx 2
set -$Save
The three options are removed using sed in the example because they may 1
appear in the value of $- (from the sh command line), but are not valid 1
options to set. 1
The command name (parameter 0) is not counted in the number given by #
because it is a special parameter, not a positional parameter.
END_RATIONALE
3.5.3 Variables
Variables shall be initialized from the environment (as defined by
POSIX.1 {8}) and can be given new values with variable assignment
commands. If a variable is initialized from the environment, it shall be
marked for export immediately; see 3.14.8. New variables can be defined
and initialized with variable assignments, with the read or getopts
utilities, with the _n_a_m_e parameter in a for loop (see 3.9.4.2), with the
${_n_a_m_e=_w_o_r_d} expansion, or with other mechanisms provided as
implementation extensions. The following variables shall affect the
execution of the shell:
HOME This variable shall be interpreted as the pathname
of the user's home directory. The contents of HOME
are used in Tilde Expansion (see 3.6.1).
IFS _I_n_p_u_t _f_i_e_l_d _s_e_p_a_r_a_t_o_r_s: a string treated as a list
of characters that is used for field splitting and
to split lines into fields with the read command.
If IFS is not set, the shell shall behave as if the
value of IFS were the <space>, <tab>, and <newline>
characters. (See 3.6.5.)
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
3.5 Parameters and Variables 231
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
LANG This variable shall provide a default value for the
LC_* variables, as described in 2.6.
LC_ALL This variable shall interact with the LANG and LC_*
variables as described in 2.6.
LC_COLLATE This variable shall determine the behavior of range
expressions, equivalence classes, and
multicharacter collating elements within pattern
matching.
LC_CTYPE This variable shall determine the interpretation of
sequences of bytes of text data as characters
(e.g., single- versus multibyte characters), which
characters are defined as letters (character class
alpha), and the behavior of character classes
within pattern matching.
LC_MESSAGES This variable shall determine the language in which
messages should be written.
PATH This variable represents a string formatted as
described in 2.6, used to effect command
interpretation. See 3.9.1.1. 1
BEGIN_RATIONALE
3.5.3.1 Variables Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
A description of PWD (which is automatically set by the KornShell
whenever the current working directory changes) was omitted because its
functionality is easily reproduced using $(pwd).
See the discussion of IFS in 3.6.5.1.
Other common environment variables used by historical shells are not
specified by this standard, but they should be reserved for the
historical uses. For interactive use, other shell variables are expected
to be introduced by the UPE (and this rationale will be updated
accordingly): ENV, FCEDIT, HISTFILE, HISTSIZE, LINENO, PPID, PS1, PS2,
PS4.
Tilde expansion for components of the PATH in an assignment such as:
PATH=~hlj/bin:~dwc/bin:$PATH 1
is a feature of some historical shells and is allowed by the wording of 1
3.6.1. Note that the tildes are expanded during the assignment to PATH, 1
not when PATH is accessed during command search. 1
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
232 3 Shell Command Language
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
END_RATIONALE 1
3.6 Word Expansions
This clause describes the various expansions that are performed on words.
Not all expansions are performed on every word, as explained in the
following subclauses.
Tilde expansions, parameter expansions, command substitutions, arithmetic
expansions, and quote removals that occur within a single word expand to
a single field. It is only field splitting or pathname expansion that
can create multiple fields from a single word. The single exception to
this rule is the expansion of the special parameter @ within double-
quotes, as is described in 3.5.2.
The order of word expansion shall be as follows:
(1) Tilde Expansion (see 3.6.1), Parameter Expansion (see 3.6.2), 1
Command Substitution (see 3.6.3), and Arithmetic Expansion (see
3.6.4) shall be performed, beginning to end. [See item (5) in
3.3.]
(2) Field Splitting (see 3.6.5) shall be performed on fields
generated by step (1) unless IFS is null.
(3) Pathname Expansion (see 3.6.6) shall be performed, unless set -f
is in effect.
(4) Quote Removal (see 3.6.7) shall always be performed last.
The expansions described in this clause shall occur in the same shell
environment as that in which the command is executed.
If the complete expansion appropriate for a word results in an empty
field, that empty field shall be deleted from the list of fields that
form the completely expanded command, unless the original word contained 1
single-quote or double-quote characters. 1
The $ character is used to introduce parameter expansion, command
substitution, or arithmetic evaluation. If an unquoted $ is followed by
a character that is either not numeric, the name of one of the special
parameters (see 3.5.2), a valid first character of a variable name, a
left curly brace ({), or a left parenthesis, the result is unspecified.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
3.6 Word Expansions 233
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
3.6.0.1 Word Expansions Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f
_P_1_0_0_3._2)
IFS is used for performing field splitting on the results of parameter
and command substitution; it is not used for splitting all fields.
Previous versions of the shell used it for splitting all fields during
field splitting, but this has severe problems because the shell can no
longer parse its own script. There are also important security
implications caused by this behavior. All useful applications of IFS use
it for parsing input of the read utility and for splitting the results of
parameter and command substitution. New versions of the shell have fixed
this bug, and POSIX.2 requires the corrected behavior.
The rule concerning expansion to a single field requires that if foo=abc
and bar=def, that
"$foo""$bar"
expands to the single field
abcdef
The rule concerning empty fields can be illustrated by:
$ unset foo
$ set $foo bar '' xyz "$foo" abc
$ for i
> do
> echo "-$i-"
> done
-bar-
--
-xyz-
--
-abc-
Step (1) indicates that Tilde Expansion, Parameter Expansion, Command 1
Substitution, and Arithmetic Expansion are all processed simultaneously
as they are scanned. For example, the following is valid arithmetic:
x=1
echo $(( $(echo 3)+$x ))
An earlier draft stated that Tilde Expansion preceded the other steps, 1
but this is not the case in known historical implementations; if it were, 1
and a referenced home directory contained a $ character, expansions would 1
result within the directory name. 1
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
234 3 Shell Command Language
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
END_RATIONALE 1
3.6.1 Tilde Expansion
A _t_i_l_d_e-_p_r_e_f_i_x consists of an unquoted tilde character at the beginning
of a word, followed by all of the characters preceding the first unquoted 2
slash in the word, or all the characters in the word if there is no 2
slash. In an assignment (see 3.1.15), multiple tilde prefixes can be 2
used: at the beginning of the word (i.e., following the equals-sign of 2
the assignment) and/or following any unquoted colon. A tilde prefix in 2
an assignment is terminated by the first unquoted colon or slash. If 2
none of the characters in the tilde-prefix are quoted, the characters in 1
the tilde-prefix following the tilde shall be treated as a possible login 1
name from the user database (see POSIX.1 {8} Section 9). A portable 2
login name cannot contain characters outside the set given in the 2
description of the LOGNAME environment variable in POSIX.1 {8}. If the 2
login name is null (i.e., the tilde-prefix contains only the tilde), the
tilde-prefix shall be replaced by the value of the variable HOME. If
HOME is unset, the results are unspecified. Otherwise, the tilde-prefix
shall be replaced by a pathname of the home directory associated with the
login name obtained using the equivalent of the POSIX.1 {8} _g_e_t_p_w_n_a_m() 1
function. If the system does not recognize the login name, the results 1
are undefined.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
3.6.1.1 Tilde Expansion Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f
_P_1_0_0_3._2)
2
The text about quoting of the word indicates that \~hlj/, ~h\lj/, 2
~"hlj"/, ~hlj\/, and ~hlj/ are not equivalent: only the last will cause 2
tilde expansion. 2
Tilde expansion generally occurs only at the beginning of words, but 2
POSIX.2 has adopted an exception based on historical practice in the 2
KornShell: 2
PATH=/posix/bin:~dgk/bin 2
is eligible for tilde expansion because tilde follows a colon and none of 2
the relevant characters is quoted. Consideration was given to 2
prohibiting this behavior because any of the following are reasonable 2
substitutes: 2
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
3.6 Word Expansions 235
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
PATH=$(printf %s: rms/bin bfox/bin ...) 2
PATH=$(printf %s ~karels/bi~n : bostic/bin) 2
for Dir in maart~/bin srb/bin ~... 2
do ~ ~ 2
PATH=${PATH:+$PATH:}$Dir 2
done 2
(In the first command, any number of directory names are concatenated and 2
separated with colons, but it may be undesirable to end the variable with 2
a colon because this is an obsolescent means to include dot at the end of 2
the PATH. In the second, explicit colons are used for each directory. 2
In all cases, the shell performs tilde expansion on each directory 2
because all are separate words to the shell.) 2
The exception was included to avoid breaking numerous KornShell scripts 2
and interactive users and despite the fact that variable assignments in 2
scripts derived from other systems will have to use quoting in some cases 2
to allow literal tildes in strings. (This latter problem should be 2
relatively rare because only tildes preceding known login names in 2
unquoted strings are affected.) 2
Note that expressions in operands such as 2
make -k mumble LIBDIR= chet/lib 2
~
do not qualify as shell variable assignments and tilde expansion is not 2
performed (unless the command does so itself, which make does not). 2
In an earlier draft, tilde expansion occurred following any unquoted 2
equals-sign or colon, but this was removed because of its complexity and 2
to avoid breaking commands such as: 2
rcp hostname: marc/.profile . 2
~
A suggestion was made that the special sequence ``$ '' should be allowed 2
to force tilde expansion anywhere. Since this is n~ot historical 2
practice, it has been left for future implementations to evaluate. (The 2
description in 3.2 requires that a dollar-sign be quoted to represent 2
itself, so the $ combination is already unspecified.) 2
~
The results of giving tilde with an unknown login name are undefined
because the KornShell + and - constructs make use of this condition,
but in general it is a~n error~to give an incorrect login name with tilde.
The results of having HOME unset are unspecified because some historical
shells treat this as an error.
END_RATIONALE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
236 3 Shell Command Language
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
3.6.2 Parameter Expansion
The format for parameter expansion is as follows:
${_e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n}
where _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n consists of all characters until the matching }. Any } 2
escaped by a backslash or within a quoted string, and characters in 2
embedded arithmetic expansions, command substitutions, and variable 2
expansions, shall not be examined in determining the matching }.
The simplest form for parameter expansion is:
${_p_a_r_a_m_e_t_e_r}
The value, if any, of _p_a_r_a_m_e_t_e_r shall be substituted.
The parameter name or symbol can be enclosed in braces, which are
optional except for positional parameters with more than one digit or
when _p_a_r_a_m_e_t_e_r is followed by a character that could be interpreted as
part of the name. The matching closing brace shall be determined by
counting brace levels, skipping over enclosed quoted strings and command
substitutions.
If the parameter name or symbol is not enclosed in braces, the expansion
shall use the longest valid name (see 3.1.5), whether or not the symbol
represented by that name exists. If a parameter expansion occurs inside
double-quotes:
- Pathname expansion shall not be performed on the results of the
expansion.
- Field splitting shall not be performed on the results of the
expansion, with the exception of @; see 3.5.2.
In addition, a parameter expansion can be modified by using one of the
following formats. In each case that a value of _w_o_r_d is needed (based on
the state of _p_a_r_a_m_e_t_e_r, as described below), _w_o_r_d shall be subjected to
tilde expansion, parameter expansion, command substitution, and
arithmetic expansion. If _w_o_r_d is not needed, it shall not be expanded.
The } character that delimits the following parameter expansion 1
modifications shall be determined as described previously in this 1
subclause and in 3.2.3. (For example, ${foo-bar}xyz} would result in the 1
expansion of foo followed by the string xyz} if foo is set, else the
string barxyz}).
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
3.6 Word Expansions 237
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
${_p_a_r_a_m_e_t_e_r:-_w_o_r_d} Use Default Values. If _p_a_r_a_m_e_t_e_r is unset or
null, the expansion of _w_o_r_d shall be
substituted; otherwise, the value of
_p_a_r_a_m_e_t_e_r shall be substituted.
${_p_a_r_a_m_e_t_e_r:=_w_o_r_d} Assign Default Values. If _p_a_r_a_m_e_t_e_r is unset
or null, the expansion of _w_o_r_d shall be
assigned to _p_a_r_a_m_e_t_e_r. In all cases, the
final value of _p_a_r_a_m_e_t_e_r shall be
substituted. Only variables, not positional
parameters or special parameters, can be
assigned in this way.
${_p_a_r_a_m_e_t_e_r:?[_w_o_r_d]} Indicate Error if Null or Unset. If
_p_a_r_a_m_e_t_e_r is unset or null, the expansion of
_w_o_r_d (or a message indicating it is unset if
_w_o_r_d is omitted) shall be written to standard
error and the shell shall exit with a nonzero
exit status. Otherwise, the value of
_p_a_r_a_m_e_t_e_r shall be substituted. An
interactive shell need not exit.
${_p_a_r_a_m_e_t_e_r:+_w_o_r_d} Use Alternate Value. If _p_a_r_a_m_e_t_e_r is unset
or null, null shall be substituted;
otherwise, the expansion of _w_o_r_d shall be
substituted.
In the parameter expansions shown previously, use of the colon in the
format results in a test for a parameter that is unset or null; omission
of the colon results in a test for a parameter that is only unset.
${#_p_a_r_a_m_e_t_e_r} String Length. The length in characters of
the value of _p_a_r_a_m_e_t_e_r. If _p_a_r_a_m_e_t_e_r is * or
@, the result of the expansion is
unspecified.
The following four varieties of parameter expansion provide for substring
processing. In each case, pattern matching notation (see 3.13), rather
than regular expression notation, shall be used to evaluate the patterns.
If _p_a_r_a_m_e_t_e_r is * or @, the result of the expansion is unspecified.
Enclosing the full parameter expansion string in double-quotes shall not 1
cause the following four varieties of pattern characters to be quoted, 1
whereas quoting characters within the braces shall have this effect.
${_p_a_r_a_m_e_t_e_r%_w_o_r_d} Remove Smallest Suffix Pattern. The _w_o_r_d
shall be expanded to produce a pattern. The
parameter expansion then shall result in
_p_a_r_a_m_e_t_e_r, with the smallest portion of the
suffix matched by the _p_a_t_t_e_r_n deleted.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
238 3 Shell Command Language
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
${_p_a_r_a_m_e_t_e_r%%_w_o_r_d} Remove Largest Suffix Pattern. The _w_o_r_d
shall be expanded to produce a pattern. The
parameter expansion then shall result in
_p_a_r_a_m_e_t_e_r, with the largest portion of the
suffix matched by the _p_a_t_t_e_r_n deleted.
${_p_a_r_a_m_e_t_e_r#_w_o_r_d} Remove Smallest Prefix Pattern. The _w_o_r_d
shall be expanded to produce a pattern. The
parameter expansion then shall result in
_p_a_r_a_m_e_t_e_r, with the smallest portion of the
prefix matched by the _p_a_t_t_e_r_n deleted.
${_p_a_r_a_m_e_t_e_r##_w_o_r_d} Remove Largest Prefix Pattern. The _w_o_r_d
shall be expanded to produce a pattern. The
parameter expansion then shall result in
_p_a_r_a_m_e_t_e_r, with the largest portion of the
prefix matched by the _p_a_t_t_e_r_n deleted.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
3.6.2.1 Parameter Expansion Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f
_P_1_0_0_3._2)
When the shell is scanning its input to determine the boundaries of a
name, it is not bound by its knowledge of what names are already defined.
For example, if F is a defined shell variable, the command "echo $Fred"
does not echo the value of $F followed by red; it selects the longest
possible valid name, Fred, which in this case might be unset.
The rule for finding the closing } in ${...} is the one used in the
KornShell and is upward compatible with the Bourne shell, which does not
determine the closing } until the word is expanded. The advantage of
this is that incomplete expansions, such as
${foo
can be determined during tokenization, rather than during expansion.
The four expansions with the optional colon have been hard to understand
from the historical documentation. The following table summarizes the
effect of the colon:
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
3.6 Word Expansions 239
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
_pppp_aaaa_rrrr_aaaa_mmmm_eeee_tttt_eeee_rrrr _pppp_aaaa_rrrr_aaaa_mmmm_eeee_tttt_eeee_rrrr _pppp_aaaa_rrrr_aaaa_mmmm_eeee_tttt_eeee_rrrr
set and not null set but null unset
________________ ____________ __________
${_p_a_r_a_m_e_t_e_r:-_w_o_r_d} substitute substitute substitute
_p_a_r_a_m_e_t_e_r _w_o_r_d _w_o_r_d
${_p_a_r_a_m_e_t_e_r-_w_o_r_d} substitute substitute substitute
_p_a_r_a_m_e_t_e_r null _w_o_r_d
${_p_a_r_a_m_e_t_e_r:=_w_o_r_d} substitute assign assign
_p_a_r_a_m_e_t_e_r _w_o_r_d _w_o_r_d
${_p_a_r_a_m_e_t_e_r=_w_o_r_d} substitute substitute assign
_p_a_r_a_m_e_t_e_r _p_a_r_a_m_e_t_e_r _w_o_r_d
${_p_a_r_a_m_e_t_e_r:?_w_o_r_d} substitute error, error,
_p_a_r_a_m_e_t_e_r exit exit
${_p_a_r_a_m_e_t_e_r?_w_o_r_d} substitute substitute error,
_p_a_r_a_m_e_t_e_r null exit
${_p_a_r_a_m_e_t_e_r:+_w_o_r_d} substitute substitute substitute
_w_o_r_d null null 1
${_p_a_r_a_m_e_t_e_r+_w_o_r_d} substitute substitute substitute
_w_o_r_d _w_o_r_d null 1
In all cases shown with ``substitute,'' the expression is replaced with
the value shown. In all cases shown with ``assign,'' _p_a_r_a_m_e_t_e_r is
assigned that value, which also replaces the expression.
The string length and substring capabilities were included because of the
demonstrated need for them, based on their usage in other shells, such as
C-shell and KornShell.
Historical versions of the KornShell have not performed tilde expansion
on the word part of parameter expansion; however, it is more consistent
to do so.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
240 3 Shell Command Language
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s
${_p_a_r_a_m_e_t_e_r:-_w_o_r_d}
In this example, ls is executed only if x is null or
unset. [The $(ls) command substitution notation is
explained in 3.6.3.]
${x:-$(ls)}
${_p_a_r_a_m_e_t_e_r:=_w_o_r_d}
unset X
echo ${X:=abc}
abc
${_p_a_r_a_m_e_t_e_r:?_w_o_r_d}
unset posix
echo ${posix:?}
sh: posix: parameter null or not set
${_p_a_r_a_m_e_t_e_r:+_w_o_r_d}
set a b c
echo ${3:+posix}
posix
${#_p_a_r_a_m_e_t_e_r}
HOME=/usr/posix
echo ${#HOME}
10
${_p_a_r_a_m_e_t_e_r%_w_o_r_d}
x=file.c
echo ${x%.c}.o
file.o
${_p_a_r_a_m_e_t_e_r%%_w_o_r_d}
x=posix/src/std
echo ${x%%/*}
posix
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
3.6 Word Expansions 241
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
${_p_a_r_a_m_e_t_e_r#_w_o_r_d}
x=$HOME/src/cmd
echo ${x#$HOME}
/src/cmd
${_p_a_r_a_m_e_t_e_r##_w_o_r_d}
x=/one/two/three
echo ${x##*/}
three
The double-quoting of patterns is different depending on where the
double-quotes are placed:
"${x#*}" The asterisk is a pattern character.
${x#"*"} The literal asterisk is quoted and not special.
END_RATIONALE
3.6.3 Command Substitution
Command substitution allows the output of a command to be substituted in
place of the command name itself. Command substitution shall occur when
the command is enclosed as follows:
$(_c_o_m_m_a_n_d)
or (``backquoted'' version):
`_c_o_m_m_a_n_d`
The shell shall expand the command substitution by executing _c_o_m_m_a_n_d in a
subshell environment (see 3.12) and replacing the command substitution
[the text of _c_o_m_m_a_n_d plus the enclosing $( ) or backquotes] with the
standard output of the command, removing sequences of one or more
<newline>s at the end of the substitution. (Embedded <newline>s before
the end of the output shall not be removed; however, during field
splitting, they may be translated into <space>s, depending on the value
of IFS and quoting that is in effect.)
Within the backquoted style of command substitution, backslash shall
retain its literal meaning, except when followed by
$ ` \
(dollar-sign, backquote, backslash). The search for the matching 2
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
242 3 Shell Command Language
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
backquote shall be satisfied by the first backquote found without a 2
preceding backslash; during this search, if a nonescaped backquote is 2
encountered within a shell comment, a here-document, an embedded command 2
substitution of the $(_c_o_m_m_a_n_d) form, or a quoted string, undefined 2
results occur. A single- or double-quoted string that begins, but does
not end, within the `...` sequence produces undefined results.
With the $(_c_o_m_m_a_n_d) form, all characters following the open parenthesis
to the matching closing parenthesis constitute the _c_o_m_m_a_n_d. Any valid 2
shell script can be used for _c_o_m_m_a_n_d, except: 2
- A script consisting solely of redirections produces unspecified 2
results. 2
- See the restriction on single subshells described below. 2
The results of command substitution shall not be processed for further 1
tilde expansion, parameter expansion, command substitution, or arithmetic 1
expansion. If a command substitution occurs inside double-quotes, field
splitting and pathname expansion shall not be performed on the results of
the substitution.
Command substitution can be nested. To specify nesting within the
backquoted version, the application shall precede the inner backquotes
with backslashes; for example,
\`_c_o_m_m_a_n_d\`
If the command substitution consists of a single subshell, such as
$( (_c_o_m_m_a_n_d) )
a conforming application shall separate the $( and ( into two tokens
(i.e., separate them with white space).
BEGIN_RATIONALE
3.6.3.1 Command Substitution Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f
_P_1_0_0_3._2)
The new $( ) form of command substitution was adopted from the KornShell
to solve a problem of inconsistent behavior when using backquotes. For
example:
_____C_o_m_m_a_n_d_______ O_u_t_p_u_t_
echo '\$x' \$x
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
3.6 Word Expansions 243
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
echo `echo '\$x'` $x
echo $(echo '\$x') \$x
Additionally, the backquoted syntax has historical restrictions on the 2
contents of the embedded command. While the new $( ) form can process 2
any kind of valid embedded script, the backquoted cannot handle some 2
valid scripts that include backquotes. For example, these otherwise 2
valid embedded scripts do not work in the left column, but do work on the 2
right: 2
echo ` echo $( 2
cat <<\eof cat <<\eof 2
a here-doc with ` a here-doc with ) 2
eof eof 2
` ) 2
echo ` echo $( 2
echo abc # a comment with ` echo abc # a comment with ) 2
` ) 2
echo ` echo $( 2
echo '`' echo ')' 2
` ) 2
Some historical KornShell implementations did not process the first two 2
examples correctly, but the author has agreed to make the appropriate 2
modifications to do so. The KornShell will also be modified so that the 2
following works: 2
echo $( 2
case word in 2
[Ff]oo) echo found foo ;; 2
esac 2
) 2
Because of these inconsistent behaviors, the backquoted variety of
command substitution is not recommended for new applications that nest
command substitutions or attempt to embed complex scripts. Because of 2
its widespread historical use, particularly by interactive users,
however, the backquotes were retained in POSIX.2 without being declared
obsolescent.
The KornShell feature:
If _c_o_m_m_a_n_d is of the form <_w_o_r_d, _w_o_r_d is expanded to generate a
pathname, and the value of the command substitution is the contents
of this file with any trailing <newline>_s deleted.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
244 3 Shell Command Language
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
was omitted from this standard because $(cat word) is an appropriate
substitute. However, to prevent breaking numerous scripts relying on 2
this feature, it is unspecified to have a script within $( ) that has 2
only redirections. 2
The requirement to separate $( and ( when a single subshell is command-
substituted is to avoid any ambiguities with Arithmetic Expansion. See
3.6.4.1.
END_RATIONALE
3.6.4 Arithmetic Expansion
Arithmetic expansion provides a mechanism for evaluating an arithmetic
expression and substituting its value. The format for arithmetic
expansion shall be as follows:
$((_e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n))
The expression shall be treated as if it were in double-quotes, except
that a double-quote inside the expression is not treated specially. The
shell shall expand all tokens in the expression for parameter expansion,
command substitution, and quote removal.
Next, the shell shall treat this as an arithmetic expression and
substitute the value of the expression. The arithmetic expression shall
be processed according to the rules given in 2.9.2.1, with the following
exceptions:
(1) Only integer arithmetic is required.
(2) The sizeof() operator and the prefix and postfix ++ and --
operators are not required.
(3) Selection, Iteration, and Jump Statements are not supported.
As an extension, the shell may recognize arithmetic expressions beyond
those listed. If the expression is invalid, the expansion fails and the
shell shall write a message to standard error indicating the failure.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
3.6 Word Expansions 245
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
3.6.4.1 Arithmetic Expansion Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f
_P_1_0_0_3._2)
Numerous ballots were received objecting to the inclusion of the (( ))
form of KornShell arithmetic in previous drafts. The developers of the
standard concluded that there is a strong desire for some kind of
arithmetic evaluator to replace expr, and that tying it in with $ makes
it fit in nicely with the standard shell language, and provides access to
arithmetic evaluation in places where accessing a utility would be
inconvenient or clumsy.
Following long debate by interested members of the balloting group, the
syntax and semantics for arithmetic were changed. The language is
essentially a pure arithmetic evaluator of constants and operators
(excluding assignment) and represents a simple subset of the previous
arithmetic language [which was derived from the KornShell's (( ))
construct]. The syntax was changed from that of a command denoted by
((_e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n)), to an expansion denoted by $((_e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n)). The new form
is a dollar expansion ($), which evaluates the expression and substitutes
the resulting value. Objections to the previous style of arithmetic
included that it was too complicated, did not fit in well with the
shell's use of variables, and the syntax conflicted with subshells. The
justification for the new syntax is that the shell is traditionally a
macro language, and if a new feature is to be added, it should be done by
extending the capabilities presented by the current model of the shell,
rather than by inventing a new one outside the model: adding a new
dollar expansion was perceived to be the most intuitive and least
destructive way to add such a new capability.
In Drafts 9 and 10, a form $[_e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n] was used. It was functionally
equivalent to the $(( )) of the current text, but objections were lodged
that the 1988 KornShell had already implemented $(( )) and there was no
compelling reason to invent yet another syntax. Furthermore, the $[]
syntax had a minor incompatibility involving the patterns in case
statements.
The portion of the C Standard {7} arithmetic operations selected
corresponds to the operations historically supported in the KornShell.
A simple example using arithmetic expansion:
# repeat a command 100 times
x=100
while [ $x -gt 0 ]
do
_c_o_m_m_a_n_d
x=$(($x-1))
done
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
246 3 Shell Command Language
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
It was concluded that the test command ([) was sufficient for the
majority of relational arithmetic tests, and that tests involving
complicated relational expressions within the shell are rare, yet could
still be accommodated by testing the value of $(()) itself. For example:
# a complicated relational expression
while [ $(( (($x + $y)/($a * $b)) < ($foo*$bar) )) -ne 0 ]
or better yet, the rare script that has many complex relational
expressions could define a function like this:
val() {
return $((!$1))
}
and complicated tests would be less intimidating:
while val $(( (($x + $y)/($a * $b)) < ($foo*$bar) ))
do
# some calculations
done
Another suggestion was to modify true and false to take an optional
argument, and true would exit true only if the argument is nonzero, and
false would exit false only if the argument is nonzero. The suggestion
was not favorably received by the balloting group (those contacted were
negative about it, all others were silent in their latest ballots).
while true $(($x > 5 && $y <= 25))
There is a minor portability concern with the new syntax. The example
$((2+2)) could have been intended to mean a command substitution of a
utility named 2+2 in a subshell. The developers of POSIX.2 consider this
to be obscure and isolated to some KornShell scripts [because $( )
command substitution existed previously only in the KornShell]. The text
on Command Substitution has been changed to require that the $( and ( be
separate tokens if this usage is needed.
An example such as
echo $((echo hi);(echo there))
should not be misinterpreted by the shell as arithmetic because attempts
to balance the parentheses pairs would indicate that they are subshells. 1
However, as indicated by 3.1.1, a conforming application must separate 1
two adjacent parentheses with white space to indicate nested subshells. 1
END_RATIONALE 1
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
3.6 Word Expansions 247
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
3.6.5 Field Splitting
After parameter expansion (3.6.2), command substitution (3.6.3), and
arithmetic expansion (3.6.4) the shell shall scan the results of
expansions and substitutions that did not occur in double-quotes for
field splitting and multiple fields can result.
The shell shall treat each character of the IFS as a delimiter and use
the delimiters to split the results of parameter expansion and command
substitution into fields.
(1) If the value of IFS is <space>, <tab>, and <newline>, or if it
is unset, any sequence of <space>, <tab>, or <newline>
characters at the beginning or end of the input shall be ignored
and any sequence of those characters within the input shall
delimit a field. (For example, the input
<newline><space><tab>foo<tab><tab>bar<space>
yields two fields, foo and bar).
(2) If the value of IFS is null, no field splitting shall be
performed.
(3) Otherwise, the following rules shall be applied in sequence. 1
The term ``IFS white space'' is used to mean any sequence (zero 1
or more instances) of white-space characters that are in the IFS 1
value (e.g., if IFS contains <space><comma><tab>, any sequence 1
of <space> and <tab> characters is considered IFS white space). 1
(a) IFS white space shall be ignored at the beginning and end 1
of the input. 1
(b) Each occurrence in the input of an IFS character that is 1
not IFS white space, along with any adjacent IFS white 1
space, shall delimit a field, as described previously. 1
(c) Nonzero-length IFS white space shall delimit a field. 1
BEGIN_RATIONALE
3.6.5.1 Field Splitting Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f
_P_1_0_0_3._2)
The operation of field splitting using IFS as described in earlier drafts
was based on the way the KornShell splits words, but is incompatible with
other common versions of the shell. However, each has merit, and so a
decision was made to allow both. If the IFS variable is unset, or is
<space><tab><newline>, the operation is equivalent to the way the
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
248 3 Shell Command Language
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
System V shell splits words. Using characters outside the
<space><tab><newline> set yields the KornShell behavior, where each of
the non-<space><tab><newline> characters is significant. This behavior,
which affords the most flexibility, was taken from the way the original
awk handled field splitting.
The (3) rule can be summarized as a pseudo ERE: 1
(s*ns*|s+) 1
where s is an IFS white-space character and n is a character in the IFS 1
that is not white space. Any string matching that ERE delimits a field, 1
except that the s+ form does not delimit fields at the beginning or the 1
end of a line. For example, if IFS is <space><comma>, the string 1
<space><space>red<space><space>,<space>white<space>blue 1
yields the three colors as the delimited fields. 1
END_RATIONALE 1
3.6.6 Pathname Expansion
After field splitting, if set -f is not in effect, each field in the
resulting command line shall be expanded using the algorithm described in
3.13, qualified by the rules in 3.13.3.
3.6.7 Quote Removal
The quote characters
\ ' "
(backslash, single-quote, double-quote) that were present in the original
word shall be removed unless they have themselves been quoted.
3.7 Redirection
Redirection is used to open and close files for the current shell
execution environment (see 3.12) or for any command. _R_e_d_i_r_e_c_t_i_o_n
_o_p_e_r_a_t_o_r_s can be used with numbers representing file descriptors (see the
definition in POSIX.1 {8}) as described below. See also 2.9.1. The
relationship between these file descriptors and access to them in a
programming language is specified in the language binding for that
language to this standard.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
3.7 Redirection 249
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
The overall format used for redirection is:
[_n]_r_e_d_i_r-_o_p _w_o_r_d
The number _n is an optional decimal number designating the file
descriptor number; it shall be delimited from any preceding text and
immediately precede the redirection operator _r_e_d_i_r-_o_p. If _n is quoted,
the number shall not be recognized as part of the redirection expression.
(For example, echo \2>a writes the character 2 into file a). If any part
of _r_e_d_i_r-_o_p is quoted, no redirection expression shall be recognized.
(For example, echo 2\>a writes the characters 2>a to standard output.)
The optional number, redirection operator, and _w_o_r_d shall not appear in
the arguments provided to the command to be executed (if any).
In this standard, open files are represented by decimal numbers starting
with zero. It is implementation defined what the largest value can be;
however, all implementations shall support at least 0 through 9 for use
by the application. These numbers are called _f_i_l_e _d_e_s_c_r_i_p_t_o_r_s. The
values 0, 1, and 2 have special meaning and conventional uses and are
implied by certain redirection operations; they are referred to as
_s_t_a_n_d_a_r_d _i_n_p_u_t, _s_t_a_n_d_a_r_d _o_u_t_p_u_t, and _s_t_a_n_d_a_r_d _e_r_r_o_r, respectively.
Programs usually take their input from standard input, and write output
on standard output. Error messages are usually written to standard
error. The redirection operators can be preceded by one or more digits
(with no intervening <blank>s allowed) to designate the file descriptor
number.
If the redirection operator is << or <<-, the word that follows the
redirection operator shall be subjected to quote removal; it is
unspecified whether any of the other expansions occur. For the other
redirection operators, the word that follows the redirection operator
shall be subjected to tilde expansion, parameter expansion, command
substitution, arithmetic expansion, and quote removal. Pathname
expansion shall not be performed on the word by a noninteractive shell;
an interactive shell may perform it, but shall do so only when the
expansion would result in one word.
If more than one redirection operator is specified with a command, the
order of evaluation is from beginning to end.
In the following description of redirections, references are made to
opening and creating files. These references shall conform to the
requirements in 2.9.1.4. A failure to open or create a file shall cause
the redirection to fail.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
250 3 Shell Command Language
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
3.7.1 Redirecting Input
Input redirection shall cause the file whose name results from the
expansion of _w_o_r_d to be opened for reading on the designated file
descriptor, or standard input if the file descriptor is not specified.
The general format for redirecting input is:
[_n]<_w_o_r_d
where the optional _n represents the file descriptor number. If the
number is omitted, the redirection shall refer to standard input (file
descriptor 0).
3.7.2 Redirecting Output
The two general formats for redirecting output are:
[_n]>_w_o_r_d
[_n]>|_w_o_r_d
where the optional _n represents the file descriptor number. If the
number is omitted, the redirection shall refer to standard output (file
descriptor 1).
Output redirection using the > format shall fail if the _n_o_c_l_o_b_b_e_r option 1
is set (see the description of set -C in 3.14.11) and the file named by 1
the expansion of _w_o_r_d exists and is a regular file. Otherwise, 1
redirection using the > or >| formats shall cause the file whose name 1
results from the expansion of _w_o_r_d to be created and opened for ouput on
the designated file descriptor, or standard output if none is specified.
If the file does not exist, it shall be created; otherwise, it shall be
truncated to be an empty file after being opened.
3.7.3 Appending Redirected Output
Appended output redirection shall cause the file whose name results from
the expansion of word to be opened for output on the designated file
descriptor. The file is opened as if the POSIX.1 {8} _o_p_e_n() function was
called with the O_APPEND flag. If the file does not exist, it shall be
created.
The general format for appending redirected output is as follows:
[_n]>>_w_o_r_d
where the optional _n represents the file descriptor number.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
3.7 Redirection 251
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
3.7.4 Here-Document
The redirection operators << and <<- both allow redirection of lines
contained in a shell input file, known as a _h_e_r_e-_d_o_c_u_m_e_n_t, to the
standard input of a command.
The here-document shall be treated as a single word that begins after the
next <newline> and continues until there is a line containing only the
delimiter, with no trailing <blank>_s. Then the next here-document
starts, if there is one. The format is as follows:
[_n]<<_w_o_r_d
_h_e_r_e-_d_o_c_u_m_e_n_t
_d_e_l_i_m_i_t_e_r
If any character in _w_o_r_d is quoted, the delimiter shall be formed by
performing quote removal on _w_o_r_d, and the here-document lines shall not
be expanded. Otherwise, the delimiter shall be the _w_o_r_d itself.
If no characters in _w_o_r_d are quoted, all lines of the here-document shall
be expanded for parameter expansion, command substitution, and arithmetic
expansion. In this case, the backslash in the input shall behave as the
backslash inside double-quotes (see 3.2.3). However, the double-quote
character (") shall not be treated specially within a here-document,
except when the double-quote appears within $( ), ` `, or ${ }. 1
If the redirection symbol is <<-, all leading <tab> characters shall be
stripped from input lines and the line containing the trailing delimiter.
If more than one << or <<- operator is specified on a line, the here-
document associated with the first operator shall be supplied first by
the application and shall be read first by the shell.
3.7.5 Duplicating an Input File Descriptor
The redirection operator
[_n]<&_w_o_r_d
is used to duplicate one input file descriptor from another, or to close
one. If _w_o_r_d evaluates to one or more digits, the file descriptor
denoted by _n, or standard input if _n is not specified, shall be made to
be a copy of the file descriptor denoted by _w_o_r_d; if the digits in _w_o_r_d
do not represent a file descriptor already open for input, a redirection 1
error shall result (see 3.8.1). If _w_o_r_d evaluates to -, file descriptor 1
_n, or standard input if _n is not specified, shall be closed. If _w_o_r_d
evaluates to something else, the behavior is unspecified.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
252 3 Shell Command Language
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
3.7.6 Duplicating an Output File Descriptor
The redirection operator
[_n]>&_w_o_r_d
is used to duplicate one output file descriptor from another, or to close
one. If _w_o_r_d evaluates to one or more digits, the file descriptor
denoted by _n, or standard output if _n is not specified, shall be made to
be a copy of the file descriptor denoted by _w_o_r_d; if the digits in _w_o_r_d
do not represent a file descriptor already open for output, a redirection 1
error shall result (see 3.8.1). If _w_o_r_d evaluates to -, file descriptor 1
_n, or standard output if _n is not specified, shall be closed. If _w_o_r_d
evaluates to something else, the behavior is unspecified.
3.7.7 Open File Descriptors for Reading and Writing.
The redirection operator
[_n]<>_w_o_r_d
shall cause the file whose name is the expansion of _w_o_r_d to be opened for
both reading and writing on the file descriptor denoted by _n, or standard
input if _n is not specified. If the file does not exist, it shall be
created.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
3.7.8 Redirection Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
In the C binding for POSIX.1 {8}, file descriptors are integers in the
range 0 - ({OPEN_MAX}-1). The file descriptors discussed in Redirection
are that same set of small integers.
As POSIX.2 is being finalized, it is not known how file descriptors will
be represented in the language-independent description of POSIX.1 {8}.
The current consensus appears to be that they will remain as small
integers, but it is still possible that they will be defined as an opaque
type. If they remain as integers, then the current POSIX.2 wording is
acceptable. If they become an opaque type, then the C binding to
POSIX.1 {8} will have to define the mapping from the binding's small
integers to the opaque type, and the Redirection clause in POSIX.2 will
have to be modified to specify that same mapping.
Having multidigit file descriptor numbers for I/O redirection can cause
some obscure compatibility problems. Specifically, scripts that depend
on an example command:
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
3.7 Redirection 253
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
echo 22>/dev/null
echoing "2" are somewhat broken to begin with. However, the file
descriptor number still must be delimited from the preceding text. For
example,
cat file2>foo
will write the contents of file2, not the contents of file.
The >| format of output redirection was adopted from the KornShell.
Along with the _n_o_c_l_o_b_b_e_r option, set -C, it provides a safety feature to
prevent inadvertent overwriting of existing files. (See the rationale
with the pathchk utility for why this step was taken.) The restriction
on regular files is historical practice.
The System V shell and the KornShell have differed historically on
pathname expansion of _w_o_r_d; the former never performed it, the latter
only when the result was a single field (file). As a compromise, it was
decided that the KornShell functionality was useful, but only as a
shorthand device for interactive users. No reasonable shell script would
be written with a command such as:
cat foo > a*
Thus, shell scripts are prohibited from doing it, while interactive users
can select the shell with which they are most comfortable.
The construct 2>&1 is often used to redirect standard error to the same
file as standard output. Since the redirections take place beginning to
end, the order of redirections is significant. For example:
ls > foo 2>&1
directs both standard output and standard error to file foo. However
ls 2>&1 > foo
only directs standard output to file foo because standard error was
duplicated as standard output before standard output was directed to file
foo.
The <> operator is a feature first documented in the KornShell, but it
has been silently present in both System V and BSD shells. It could be
useful in writing an application that worked with several terminals, and
occasionally wanted to start up a shell. That shell would in turn be
unable to run applications that run from an ordinary controlling terminal 1
unless it could make use of <> redirection. The specific example is a 1
historical version of the pager more, which reads from standard error to
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
254 3 Shell Command Language
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
get its commands, so standard input and standard output are both
available for their usual usage. There is no way of saying the following
in the shell without <>:
cat food | more - >/dev/tty03 2<>/dev/tty03
Another example of <> is one that opens /dev/tty on file descriptor 3 for
reading and writing:
exec 3<> /dev/tty
An example of creating a lock file for a critical code region:
set -C
until 2> /dev/null > lockfile
do sleep 30
done
set +C
_p_e_r_f_o_r_m _c_r_i_t_i_c_a_l _f_u_n_c_t_i_o_n
rm lockfile
Since /dev/null is not a regular file, no error is generated by
redirecting to it in _n_o_c_l_o_b_b_e_r mode.
The case of a missing delimiter at the end of a here-document is not
specified. This is considered an error in the script (one that sometimes
can be difficult to diagnose), although some systems have treated end-
of-file as an implicit delimiter.
Tilde expansion is not performed on a here-document because the data is 1
treated as if it were enclosed in double-quotes. 1
END_RATIONALE 1
3.8 Exit Status and Errors
3.8.1 Consequences of Shell Errors
For a noninteractive shell, an error condition encountered by a special
built-in (see 3.14) or other type of utility shall cause the shell to
write a diagnostic message to standard error and exit as shown in the
following table:
S_p_e_c_i_a_l__B_u_i_l_t_-_i_n_ O_t_h_e_r__U_t_i_l_i_t_i_e_s_
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
3.8 Exit Status and Errors 255
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
Shell language syntax error shall exit shall exit
Utility syntax error (option shall exit shall not exit
or operand error)
Redirection error shall exit shall not exit
Variable assignment error shall exit shall not exit
Expansion error shall exit shall exit
Command not found n/a may exit
dot script not found shall exit n/a
An ``expansion error'' is one that occurs when the shell expansions
defined in 3.6 are carried out (e.g., ${x!y}, because ! is not a valid
operator); an implementation may treat these as syntax errors if it is
able to detect them during tokenization, rather than during expansion.
If any of the errors shown as ``shall (may) exit'' occur in a subshell,
the subshell shall (may) exit with a nonzero status, but the script
containing the subshell shall not exit because of the error.
In all of the cases shown in the table, an interactive shell shall write
a diagnostic message to standard error without exiting.
3.8.2 Exit Status for Commands
Each command has an exit status that can influence the behavior of other
shell commands. The exit status of commands that are not utilities are
documented in this subclause. The exit status of the standard utilities
are documented in their respective clauses.
If a command is not found by the shell, the exit status shall be 127. If 1
the command name is found, but it is not an executable utility, the exit 1
status shall be 126. See 3.9.1.1. Applications that invoke utilities 1
without using the shell should use these exit status values to report 1
similar errors. 1
If a command fails during word expansion or redirection, its exit status
shall be greater than zero.
Internally, for purposes of deciding if a command exits with a nonzero
exit status, the shell shall recognize the entire status value retrieved
for the command by the equivalent of the POSIX.1 {8} _w_a_i_t() function
WEXITSTATUS macro. When reporting the exit status with the special
parameter ?, the shell shall report the full eight bits of exit status
available. The exit status of a command that terminated because it
received a signal shall be reported as greater than 128.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
256 3 Shell Command Language
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
3.8.3 Exit Status and Errors Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f
_P_1_0_0_3._2)
There is a historical difference in sh and ksh noninteractive error
behavior. When a command named in a script is not found, some
implementations of sh exit immediately, but ksh continues with the next
command. Thus, POSIX.2 says that the shell ``may'' exit in this case.
This puts a small burden on the programmer, who will have to test for
successful completion following a command if it is important that the
next command not be executed if the previous was not found. If it is
important for the command to have been found, it was probably also
important for it to complete successfully. The test for successful
completion would not need to change.
Historically, shells have returned an exit status of 128+_n, where _n
represents the signal number. Since signal numbers are not standardized,
there is no portable way to determine which signal caused the
termination. Also, it is possible for a command to exit with a status in
the same range of numbers that the shell would use to report that the
command was terminated by a signal. Implementations are encouraged to 1
chose exit values greater than 256 to indicate programs that terminated 1
by a signal so that the exit status cannot be confused with an exit 1
status generated by a normal termination. 1
Historical shells make the distinction between ``utility not found'' and 1
``utility found but cannot execute'' in their error messages. By 1
specifying two seldomly used exit status values for these cases, 127 and 1
126 respectively, this gives an application the opportunity to make use 1
of this distinction without having to parse an error message that would 1
probably change from locale to locale. The POSIX.2 command, env, nohup, 1
and xargs utilities also have been specified to use this convention. 1
When a command fails during word expansion or redirection, most
historical implementations exit with a status of 1. However, there was
some sentiment that this value should probably be much higher, so that an
application could distinguish this case from the more normal exit status
values. Thus, the language ``greater than zero'' was selected to allow
either method to be implemented.
END_RATIONALE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
3.8 Exit Status and Errors 257
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
3.9 Shell Commands
This clause describes the basic structure of shell commands. The
following command descriptions each describe a format of the command that
is only used to aid the reader in recognizing the command type, and does
not formally represent the syntax. Each description discusses the
semantics of the command; for a formal description of the command
language, consult the grammar in 3.10.
A _c_o_m_m_a_n_d is one of the following:
- _s_i_m_p_l_e _c_o_m_m_a_n_d (see 3.9.1)
- _p_i_p_e_l_i_n_e (see 3.9.2)
- _l_i_s_t or _c_o_m_p_o_u_n_d-_l_i_s_t (see 3.9.3)
- _c_o_m_p_o_u_n_d _c_o_m_m_a_n_d (see 3.9.4)
- _f_u_n_c_t_i_o_n _d_e_f_i_n_i_t_i_o_n (see 3.9.5).
Unless otherwise stated, the exit status of a command is that of the last
simple command executed by the command. There is no limit on the size of
any shell command other than that imposed by the underlying system
(memory constraints, {ARG_MAX}, etc.).
BEGIN_RATIONALE
3.9.0.1 Shell Commands Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f
_P_1_0_0_3._2)
A description of an ``empty command'' was removed from an earlier draft 1
because it is only relevant in the cases of sh -c "", system(""), or an 1
empty shell-script file (such as the implementation of true on some 1
historical systems). Since it is no longer mentioned in POSIX.2, it 1
falls into the silently unspecified category of behavior where 1
implementations can continue to operate as they have historically, but 1
conforming applications will not construct empty commands. (However, 1
note that sh does explicitly state an exit status for an empty string or 1
file.) In an interactive session or a script with other commands, extra
<newline>s or semicolons, such as
$ false
$
$ echo $?
1
would not qualify as the empty command described here because they would
be consumed by other parts of the grammar.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
258 3 Shell Command Language
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
END_RATIONALE
3.9.1 Simple Commands
A _s_i_m_p_l_e _c_o_m_m_a_n_d is a sequence of optional variable assignments and
redirections, in any sequence, optionally followed by words and
redirections, terminated by a control operator.
When a given simple command is required to be executed (i.e., when any 1
conditional construct such as an AND-OR list or a case statement has not 1
bypassed the simple command), the following expansions, assignments, and 1
redirections shall all be performed from the beginning of the command
text to the end.
(1) The words that are recognized as variable assignments or
redirections according to 3.10.2 are saved for processing in
steps (3) and (4).
(2) The words that are not variable assignments or redirections
shall be expanded. If any fields remain following their
expansion, the first field shall be considered the command name,
and remaining fields shall be the arguments for the command.
(3) Redirections shall be performed as described in 3.7.
(4) Each variable assignment shall be expanded for tilde expansion,
parameter expansion, command substitution, arithmetic expansion,
and quote removal prior to assigning the value.
In the preceding list, the order of steps (3) and (4) may be reversed for
the processing of special built-in utilities. See 3.14.
If no command name results, variable assignments shall affect the current
execution environment. Otherwise, the variable assignments shall be
exported for the execution environment of the command and shall not
affect the current execution environment (except for special built-ins).
If any of the variable assignments attempt to assign a value to a read-
only variable, a variable assignment error shall occur. See 3.8.1 for
the consequences of these errors.
If there is no command name, any redirections shall be performed in a
subshell environment; it is unspecified whether this subshell environment
is the same one as that used for a command substitution within the
command. [To affect the current execution environment, see exec
(3.14.6)]. If any of the redirections performed in the current shell
execution environment fail, the command shall immediately fail with an
exit status greater than zero, and the shell shall write an error message
indicating the failure. See 3.8.1 for the consequences of these failures
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
3.9 Shell Commands 259
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
on interactive and noninteractive shells.
If there is a command name, execution shall continue as described in
3.9.1.1. If there is no command name, but the command contained a
command substitution, the command shall complete with the exit status of
the last command substitution performed. Otherwise, the command shall
complete with a zero exit status.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
3.9.1.0.1 Simple Commands Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f
_P_1_0_0_3._2)
The enumerated list is used only when the command is actually going to be 1
executed. For example, in: 1
true || $foo * 1
no expansions are performed. 1
The following example illustrates both how a variable assignment without
a command name affects the current execution environment, and how an
assignment with a command name only affects the execution environment of
the command.
$ x=red
$ echo $x
red
$ export x
$ sh -c 'echo $x'
red
$ x=blue sh -c 'echo $x'
blue
$ echo $x
red
This next example illustrates that redirections without a command name
are still performed.
$ ls foo
ls: foo: no such file or directory
$ > foo
$ ls foo
foo
Historical practice is for a command without a command name, but that
includes a command substitution, to have an exit status of the last
command substitution that the shell performed and some historical scripts
rely on this. For example:
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
260 3 Shell Command Language
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
if x=$(_c_o_m_m_a_n_d)
then ...
fi
An example of redirections without a command name being performed in a
subshell shows that the here-document does not disrupt the standard input
of the while loop:
IFS=:
while read a b
do echo $a
<<-eof
Hello
eof
done </etc/passwd
Some examples of commands without command names in AND/OR lists:
> foo || {
echo "error: foo cannot be created" >&2 1
exit 1 1
}
# set saved if /vmunix.save exists
test -f /vmunix.save && saved=1
Command substitution and redirections without command names both occur in
subshells, but they are not the same ones. For example, in: 1
exec 3> file
var=$(echo foo >&3) 3>&1
it is unspecified whether foo will be echoed to the file or to standard
output.
END_RATIONALE
3.9.1.1 Command Search and Execution
If a simple command results in a command name and an optional list of
arguments, the following actions shall be performed.
(1) If the command name does not contain any slashes, the first
successful step in the following sequence shall occur:
(a) If the command name matches the name of a special built-in
utility, that special built-in utility shall be invoked.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
3.9 Shell Commands 261
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
(b) If the command name matches the name of a function known
to this shell, the function shall be invoked as described
in 3.9.5. [If the implementation has provided a standard
utility in the form of a function, it shall not be
recognized at this point. It shall be invoked in
conjunction with the path search in step (1)(d).]
(c) If the command name matches the name of a utility listed
in Table 2-2 (see 2.3), that utility shall be invoked.
(d) Otherwise, the command shall be searched for using the
PATH environment variable as described in 2.6:
[1] If the search is successful:
[a] If the system has implemented the utility as a
regular built-in or as a shell function, it
shall be invoked at this point in the path
search.
[b] Otherwise, the shell shall execute the utility 1
in a separate utility environment (see 3.12) 1
with actions equivalent to calling the 1
POSIX.1 {8} _e_x_e_c_v_e() function with the _p_a_t_h
argument set to the pathname resulting from
the search, _a_r_g_0 set to the command name, and
the remaining arguments set to the operands,
if any.
If the _e_x_e_c_v_e() function fails due to an error
equivalent to the POSIX.1 {8} error [ENOEXEC],
the shell shall execute a command equivalent
to having a shell invoked with the command
name as its first operand, along with any
remaining arguments passed along. If the
executable file is not a text file, the shell
may bypass this command execution, write an
error message, and return an exit status of 1
126. 1
Once a utility has been searched for and found
(either as a result of this specific search or as
part of an unspecified shell startup activity), an
implementation may remember its location and need
not search for the utility again unless the PATH
variable has been the subject of an assignment. If
the remembered location fails for a subsequent
invocation, the shell shall repeat the search to
find the new location for the utility, if any.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
262 3 Shell Command Language
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
[2] If the search is unsuccessful, the command shall
fail with an exit status of 127 and the shell shall
write an error message.
(2) If the command name does contain slashes, the shell shall
execute the utility in a separate utility environment with 1
actions equivalent to calling the POSIX.1 {8} _e_x_e_c_v_e() function 1
with the _p_a_t_h and _a_r_g_0 arguments set to the command name, and
the remaining arguments set to the operands, if any.
If the _e_x_e_c_v_e() function fails due to an error equivalent to the
POSIX.1 {8} error [ENOEXEC], the shell shall execute a command
equivalent to having a shell invoked with the command name as
its first operand, along with any remaining arguments passed
along. If the executable file is not a text file, the shell may
bypass this command execution, write an error message, and
return an exit status of 126. 1
BEGIN_RATIONALE
3.9.1.1.1 Command Search and Execution Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t
_a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
This description requires that the shell can execute shell scripts
directly, even if the underlying system does not support the common #!
interpreter convention. That is, if file foo contains shell commands and
is executable, the following will execute foo:
./foo
The command search shown here does not match all historical
implementations. A more typical sequence has been:
- Any built-in, special or regular.
- Functions.
- Path search for executable files.
But there are problems with this sequence. Since the programmer has no
idea in advance which utilities might have been built into the shell, a
function cannot be used to portably override a utility of the same name.
(For example, a function named cd cannot be written for many historical
systems.) Furthermore, the PATH variable is partially ineffective in
this case and only a pathname with a slash can be used to ensure a
specific executable file is invoked.
The sequence selected for POSIX.2 acknowledges that special built-ins
cannot be overridden, but gives the programmer full control over which
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
3.9 Shell Commands 263
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
versions of other utilities are executed. It provides a means of
suppressing function lookup (via the command utility; see 4.12) for the
user's own functions and ensures that any regular built-ins or functions
provided by the implementation are under the control of the path search.
The mechanisms for associating built-ins or functions with executable
files in the path are not specified by POSIX.2, but the wording requires
that if either is implemented, the application will not be able to
distinguish a function or built-in from an executable (other than in
terms of performance, presumably). The implementation must ensure that
all effects specified by POSIX.2 resulting from the invocation of the
regular built-in or function (interaction with the environment,
variables, traps, etc.) are identical to those resulting from the
invocation of an executable file.
Example: Consider three versions of the ls utility:
- The application includes a shell function named ls.
- The user writes her own utility named ls and puts it in /hsa/bin.
- The example implementation provides ls as a regular shell built-in
that will be invoked (either by the shell or directly by _e_x_e_c) when
the path search reaches the directory /posix/bin.
If PATH=/posix/bin, various invocations yield different versions of ls:
Invocation Version of ls
_______________________________________________ __________________
ls (from within application script) (1) function
command ls (from within application script) (3) built-in
ls (from within makefile called by application) (3) built-in
system("ls") (3) built-in
PATH="/hsa/bin:$PATH" ls (2) user's version
After the _e_x_e_c_v_e() failure described, the shell normally executes the
file as a shell script. Some implementations, however, attempt to detect
whether the file is actually a script and not an executable from some
other architecture. The method used by the KornShell is allowed by the
text that indicates nontext files may be bypassed.
END_RATIONALE
3.9.2 Pipelines
A _p_i_p_e_l_i_n_e is a sequence of one or more commands separated by the control
operator |. The standard output of all but the last command shall be
connected to the standard input of the next command.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
264 3 Shell Command Language
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
The format for a pipeline is:
[!] _c_o_m_m_a_n_d_1 [ | _c_o_m_m_a_n_d_2 ...]
The standard output of _c_o_m_m_a_n_d_1 shall be connected to the standard input
of _c_o_m_m_a_n_d_2. The standard input, standard output, or both of a command
shall be considered to be assigned by the pipeline before any redirection
specified by redirection operators that are part of the command (see
3.7).
If the pipeline is not in the background (see 3.9.3.1), the shell shall
wait for the last command specified in the pipeline to complete, and may
also wait for all commands to complete.
_E_x_i_t__S_t_a_t_u_s
If the reserved word ! does not precede the pipeline, the exit status
shall be the exit status of the last command specified in the pipeline.
Otherwise, the exit status is the logical NOT of the exit status of the
last command. That is, if the last command returns zero, the exit status
shall be 1; if the last command returns greater than zero, the exit
status is zero.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
3.9.2.1 Pipelines Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
Because pipeline assignment of standard input or standard output or both
takes place before redirection, it can be modified by redirection. For
example:
$ command1 2>&1 | command2
sends both the standard output and standard error of command1 to the
standard input of command2.
The reserved word ! was added to allow more flexible testing using AND
and OR lists.
It was suggested that it would be better to return a nonzero value if any
command in the pipeline terminates with nonzero status (perhaps the
bitwise OR of all return values). However, the choice of the last-
specified command semantics are historical practice and would cause
application breakage if changed. An example of historical (and POSIX.2)
behavior:
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
3.9 Shell Commands 265
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
$ sleep 5 | (exit 4)
$ echo $?
4
$ (exit 4) | sleep 5 1
$ echo $? 1
0 1
END_RATIONALE
3.9.3 Lists
An _A_N_D-_O_R-_l_i_s_t is a sequence of one or more pipelines separated by the
operators
&& ||
A _l_i_s_t is a sequence of one or more AND-OR-lists separated by the
operators
; &
and optionally terminated by
; & <newline>
The operators && and || shall have equal precedence and shall be
evaluated from beginning to end.
A ; or <newline> terminator shall cause the preceding AND-OR-list to be
executed sequentially; an & shall cause asynchronous execution of the
preceding AND-OR-list.
The term _c_o_m_p_o_u_n_d-_l_i_s_t is derived from the grammar in 3.10; it is
equivalent to a sequence of _l_i_s_t_s, separated by <newline>s, that can be
preceded or followed by an arbitrary number of <newline>s.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
3.9.3.0.1 Lists Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
The equal precedence of && and || is historical practice. The developers
of the standard evaluated the model used more frequently in high level
programming languages, such as C, to allow the shell logical operators to
be used for complex expressions in an unambiguous way, but could not in
the end allow existing scripts to break in the subtle way unequal
precedence might cause. Some arguments were posed concerning the { } or
( ) groupings that are required historically. There are some
disadvantages to these groupings:
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
266 3 Shell Command Language
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
- The ( ) can be expensive, as they spawn other processes on some
systems. This performance concern is primarily an implementation
issue.
- The { } braces are not operators (they are reserved words) and
require a trailing space after each {, and a semicolon before each
}. Most programmers (and certainly interactive users) have avoided
braces as grouping constructs because of the irritating syntax
required. Braces were not changed to operators because that would
generate compatibility issues even greater than the precedence
question; braces appear outside the context of a keyword in many
shell scripts.
An example reiterates the precedence of the lists as they associate from 1
beginning to end. Both of the following commands write solely bar to 1
standard output: 1
false && echo foo || echo bar 1
true || echo foo && echo bar 1
The following is an example that illustrates <newline>s in compound-
lists:
while
# a couple of newlines
# a list
date && who || ls; cat file
# a couple of newlines
# another list
wc file > output & true
do
# 2 lists
ls
cat file
done
END_RATIONALE
3.9.3.1 Asynchronous Lists
If a command is terminated by the control operator ampersand (&), the
shell shall execute the command asynchronously in a subshell. This means
that the shell shall not wait for the command to finish before executing
the next command.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
3.9 Shell Commands 267
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
The format for running a command in background is:
_c_o_m_m_a_n_d_1 & [_c_o_m_m_a_n_d_2 & ...]
The standard input for an asynchronous list, before any explicit
redirections are performed, shall be considered to be assigned to a file
that has the same properties as /dev/null. If it is an interactive
shell, this need not happen. In all cases, explicit redirection of
standard input shall override this activity.
When an element of an asynchronous list (the portion of the list ended by 1
an ampersand, such as _c_o_m_m_a_n_d_1, above) is started by the shell, the 1
process ID of the last command in the asynchronous list element shall 1
become known in the current shell execution environment; see 3.12. This
process ID shall remain known until:
- The command terminates and the application waits for the process
ID, or
- Another asynchronous list is invoked before $! (corresponding to 1
the previous asynchronous list) is expanded in the current 1
execution environment. 1
The implementation need not retain more than the {CHILD_MAX} most recent 1
entries in its list of known process IDs in the current shell execution 1
environment. 1
_E_x_i_t__S_t_a_t_u_s
The exit status of an asynchronous list shall be zero.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
3.9.3.1.1 Asynchronous Lists Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f
_P_1_0_0_3._2)
The grammar treats a construct such as 1
foo & bar & bam & 1
as one ``asynchronous list,'' but since the status of each element is 1
tracked by the shell, the term ``element of an asynchronous list'' was 1
introduced to identify just one of the foo, bar, bam portions of the 1
overall list. 1
Unless the implementation has an internal limit, such as {CHILD_MAX}, on 1
the retained process IDs, it would require unbounded memory for the 1
following example: 1
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
268 3 Shell Command Language
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
while true 1
do foo & echo $! 1
done 1
The treatment of the signals SIGINT and SIGQUIT with asynchronous lists
is described in 3.11.
Since the connection of the input to the equivalent of /dev/null is
considered to occur before redirections, the following script would
produce no output:
exec < /etc/passwd
cat <&0 &
wait
END_RATIONALE
3.9.3.2 Sequential Lists
Commands that are separated by a semicolon (;) shall be executed
sequentially.
The format for executing commands sequentially is:
_c_o_m_m_a_n_d_1 [; _c_o_m_m_a_n_d_2] ...
Each command shall be expanded and executed in the order specified.
_E_x_i_t__S_t_a_t_u_s
The exit status of a sequential list shall be the exit status of the last
command in the list.
3.9.3.3 AND Lists
The control operator && shall denote an AND list. The format is:
_c_o_m_m_a_n_d_1 [ && _c_o_m_m_a_n_d_2] ...
First _c_o_m_m_a_n_d_1 is executed. If its exit status is zero, _c_o_m_m_a_n_d_2 is
executed, and so on until a command has a nonzero exit status or there
are no more commands left to execute. The commands shall be expanded
only if they are executed.
_E_x_i_t__S_t_a_t_u_s
The exit status of an AND list shall be the exit status of the last
command that is executed in the list.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
3.9 Shell Commands 269
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
3.9.3.4 OR Lists
The control operator || shall denote an OR List. The format is:
_c_o_m_m_a_n_d_1 [ || _c_o_m_m_a_n_d_2] ...
First, _c_o_m_m_a_n_d_1 is executed. If its exit status is nonzero, _c_o_m_m_a_n_d_2 is
executed, and so on until a command has a zero exit status or there are
no more commands left to execute.
_E_x_i_t__S_t_a_t_u_s
The exit status of an OR list shall be the exit status of the last
command that is executed in the list.
3.9.4 Compound Commands
The shell has several programming constructs that are _c_o_m_p_o_u_n_d _c_o_m_m_a_n_d_s,
which provide control flow for commands. Each of these compound commands
has a reserved word or control operator at the beginning, and a
corresponding terminator reserved word or operator at the end. In
addition, each can be followed by redirections on the same line as the
terminator. Each redirection shall apply to all the commands within the
compound command that do not explicitly override that redirection.
3.9.4.1 Grouping Commands
The format for grouping commands is as follows:
(_c_o_m_p_o_u_n_d-_l_i_s_t) Execute _c_o_m_p_o_u_n_d-_l_i_s_t in a subshell environment;
see 3.12. Variable assignments and built-in
commands that affect the environment shall not
remain in effect after the list finishes.
{ _c_o_m_p_o_u_n_d-_l_i_s_t;} Execute _c_o_m_p_o_u_n_d-_l_i_s_t in the current process
environment.
_E_x_i_t__S_t_a_t_u_s
The exit status of a grouping command shall be the exit status of _l_i_s_t.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
270 3 Shell Command Language
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
3.9.4.1.1 Grouping Commands Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f
_P_1_0_0_3._2)
The semicolon shown in { _c_o_m_p_o_u_n_d-_l_i_s_t;} is an example of a control
operator delimiting the } reserved word. Other delimiters are possible,
as shown in 3.10; <newline> is frequently used.
A proposal was made to use the <do-done> construct in all cases where
command grouping performed in the current process environment is
performed, identifying it as a construct for the grouping commands, as
well as for shell functions. This was not included because the shell
already has a grouping construct for this purpose ({ }), and changing it
would have been counter-productive.
END_RATIONALE
3.9.4.2 for Loop
The for loop shall execute a sequence of commands for each member in a
list of _i_t_e_m_s. The for loop requires that the _r_e_s_e_r_v_e_d _w_o_r_d_s do and done
be used to delimit the sequence of commands.
The format for the for loop is as follows.
for _n_a_m_e [ in _w_o_r_d ... ]
do
_c_o_m_p_o_u_n_d-_l_i_s_t
done
First, the list of words following in shall be expanded to generate a
list of items. Then, the variable _n_a_m_e shall be set to each item, in
turn, and the _c_o_m_p_o_u_n_d-_l_i_s_t executed each time. If no items result from
the expansion, the _c_o_m_p_o_u_n_d-_l_i_s_t shall not be executed. Omitting
in _w_o_r_d ...
is equivalent to
in "$@"
_E_x_i_t__S_t_a_t_u_s
The exit status of a for command shall be the exit status of the last
command that executes. If there are no items, the exit status shall be
zero.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
3.9 Shell Commands 271
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
3.9.4.2.1 for Loop Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
The format is shown with generous usage of <newline>s. See the grammar
in 3.10 for a precise description of where <newline>s and semicolons can
be interchanged.
Some historical implementations support { and } as substitutes for do and
done. The working group chose to omit them, even as an obsolescent
feature. (Note that these substitutes were only for the for command; the
while and until commands could not use them historically, because they 1
are followed by compound-lists that may contain {...} grouping commands 1
themselves 1
The reserved word pair do ... done was selected rather than do ... od
(which would have matched the spirit of if ... fi and case ... esac)
because od is a commonly-used utility name and this would have been an
unacceptable choice.
END_RATIONALE
3.9.4.3 case Conditional Construct
The conditional construct case shall execute the _c_o_m_p_o_u_n_d-_l_i_s_t
corresponding to the first one of several _p_a_t_t_e_r_n_s (see 3.13) that is
matched by the string resulting from the tilde expansion, parameter
expansion, command substitution, and arithmetic expansion and quote
removal of the given word. The reserved word in shall denote the
beginning of the patterns to be matched. Multiple patterns with the same
_c_o_m_p_o_u_n_d-_l_i_s_t are delimited by the | symbol. The control operator )
terminates a list of patterns corresponding to a given action. The
_c_o_m_p_o_u_n_d-_l_i_s_t for each list of patterns is terminated with ;;. The case
construct terminates with the reserved word esac (case reversed).
The format for the case construct is as follows.
case _w_o_r_d in
[(]_p_a_t_t_e_r_n_1) _c_o_m_p_o_u_n_d-_l_i_s_t;; 2
[(]_p_a_t_t_e_r_n_2|_p_a_t_t_e_r_n_3)_c_o_m_p_o_u_n_d-_l_i_s_t;; 2
...
esac
The ;; is optional for the last _c_o_m_p_o_u_n_d-_l_i_s_t.
Each pattern in a pattern list shall be expanded and compared against the
expansion of _w_o_r_d. After the first match, no more patterns shall be
expanded, and the _c_o_m_p_o_u_n_d-_l_i_s_t shall be executed. The order of
expansion and comparing of patterns in a multiple pattern list is
unspecified.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
272 3 Shell Command Language
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
_E_x_i_t__S_t_a_t_u_s
The exit status of case is zero if no patterns are matched. Otherwise,
the exit status shall be the exit status of the last command executed in
the _c_o_m_p_o_u_n_d-_l_i_s_t.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
3.9.4.3.1 case Conditional Construct Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a
_p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
An optional open-parenthesis before _p_a_t_t_e_r_n was added to allow numerous 2
historical KornShell scripts to conform. At one time, using the leading 2
parenthesis was required if the case statement were to be embedded within 2
a $( ) command substitution; this is no longer the case with the POSIX 2
shell. Nevertheless, many existing scripts use the open-parenthesis, if 2
only because it makes matching-parenthesis searching easier in vi and 2
other editors. This is a relatively simple implementation change that is 2
fully upward compatible for all scripts. 2
Consideration was given to requiring break inside the _c_o_m_p_o_u_n_d-_l_i_s_t to
prevent falling through to the next pattern action list. This was
rejected as being nonexisting practice. An interesting undocumented
feature of the KornShell is that using ;& instead of ;; as a terminator
causes the exact opposite behavior--the flow of control continues with
the next _c_o_m_p_o_u_n_d-_l_i_s_t.
The pattern "*", given as the last pattern in a case construct, is
equivalent to the default case in a C-language switch statement
The grammar shows that reserved words can be used as patterns, even if
one is the first word on a line. Obviously, the reserved word esac
cannot be used in this manner.
END_RATIONALE
3.9.4.4 if Conditional Construct
The if command shall execute a _c_o_m_p_o_u_n_d-_l_i_s_t and use its exit status to
determine whether to execute another _c_o_m_p_o_u_n_d-_l_i_s_t.
The format for the if construct is as follows.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
3.9 Shell Commands 273
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
if _c_o_m_p_o_u_n_d-_l_i_s_t
_t_h_e_n
_c_o_m_p_o_u_n_d-_l_i_s_t
[elif _c_o_m_p_o_u_n_d-_l_i_s_t
_t_h_e_n
_c_o_m_p_o_u_n_d-_l_i_s_t] ...
[else
_c_o_m_p_o_u_n_d-_l_i_s_t]
fi
The if _c_o_m_p_o_u_n_d-_l_i_s_t is executed; if its exit status is zero, the then
_c_o_m_p_o_u_n_d-_l_i_s_t is executed and the command shall complete. Otherwise,
each elif _c_o_m_p_o_u_n_d-_l_i_s_t is executed, in turn, and if its exit status is
zero, the then _c_o_m_p_o_u_n_d-_l_i_s_t is executed and the command shall complete.
Otherwise, the else _c_o_m_p_o_u_n_d-_l_i_s_t is executed.
_E_x_i_t__S_t_a_t_u_s
The exit status of the if command shall be the exit status of the then or
else _c_o_m_p_o_u_n_d-_l_i_s_t that was executed, or zero, if none was executed.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
3.9.4.4.1 if Conditional Construct Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a
_p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
The precise format for the command syntax is described in 3.10.
END_RATIONALE
3.9.4.5 while Loop
The while loop continuously shall execute one _c_o_m_p_o_u_n_d-_l_i_s_t as long as
another _c_o_m_p_o_u_n_d-_l_i_s_t has a zero exit status.
The format of the while loop is as follows
while _c_o_m_p_o_u_n_d-_l_i_s_t-_1
_d_o
_c_o_m_p_o_u_n_d-_l_i_s_t-_2
_d_o_n_e
The _c_o_m_p_o_u_n_d-_l_i_s_t-_1 shall be executed, and if it has a nonzero exit
status, the while command shall complete. Otherwise, the _c_o_m_p_o_u_n_d-_l_i_s_t-_2
shall be executed, and the process shall repeat.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
274 3 Shell Command Language
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
_E_x_i_t__S_t_a_t_u_s
The exit status of the while loop shall be the exit status of the last
_c_o_m_p_o_u_n_d-_l_i_s_t-_2 executed, or zero if none was executed.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
3.9.4.5.1 while Loop Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f
_P_1_0_0_3._2)
The precise format for the command syntax is described in 3.10.
END_RATIONALE
3.9.4.6 until Loop
The until loop continuously shall execute one _c_o_m_p_o_u_n_d-_l_i_s_t as long as
another _c_o_m_p_o_u_n_d-_l_i_s_t has a nonzero exit status.
The format of the until loop is as follows
until _c_o_m_p_o_u_n_d-_l_i_s_t-_1
_d_o
_c_o_m_p_o_u_n_d-_l_i_s_t-_2
_d_o_n_e
The _c_o_m_p_o_u_n_d-_l_i_s_t-_1 shall be executed, and if it has a zero exit status,
the until command shall complete. Otherwise, the _c_o_m_p_o_u_n_d-_l_i_s_t-_2 shall
be executed, and the process shall repeat.
_E_x_i_t__S_t_a_t_u_s
The exit status of the until loop shall be the exit status of the last
_c_o_m_p_o_u_n_d-_l_i_s_t-_2 executed, or zero if none was executed.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
3.9.4.6.1 until Loop Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f
_P_1_0_0_3._2)
The precise format for the command syntax is described in 3.10.
END_RATIONALE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
3.9 Shell Commands 275
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
3.9.5 Function Definition Command
A function is a user-defined name that is used as a simple command to
call a compound command with new positional parameters. A function is
defined with a _f_u_n_c_t_i_o_n _d_e_f_i_n_i_t_i_o_n _c_o_m_m_a_n_d.
The format of a function definition command is as follows:
_f_n_a_m_e() _c_o_m_p_o_u_n_d-_c_o_m_m_a_n_d [_i_o-_r_e_d_i_r_e_c_t ...]
The function is named _f_n_a_m_e; it shall be a name (see 3.1.5). An 1
implementation may allow other characters in a function name as an 1
extension. The implementation shall maintain separate namespaces for 1
functions and variables.
The argument _c_o_m_p_o_u_n_d-_c_o_m_m_a_n_d represents a compound command, as described
in 3.9.4.
When the function is declared, none of the expansions in 3.6 shall be
performed on the text in _c_o_m_p_o_u_n_d-_c_o_m_m_a_n_d or _i_o-_r_e_d_i_r_e_c_t; all expansions
shall be performed as normal each time the function is called.
Similarly, the optional _i_o-_r_e_d_i_r_e_c_t redirections and any variable
assignments within _c_o_m_p_o_u_n_d-_c_o_m_m_a_n_d shall be performed during the
execution of the function itself, not the function definition. See 3.8.1
for the consequences of failures of these operations on interactive and
noninteractive shells.
When a function is executed, it shall have the syntax-error and
variable-assignment properties described for special built-in utilities,
in the enumerated list at the beginning of 3.14.
The _c_o_m_p_o_u_n_d-_c_o_m_m_a_n_d shall be executed whenever the function name is
specified as the name of a simple command (see 3.9.1.1). The operands to
the command temporarily shall become the positional parameters during the
execution of the _c_o_m_p_o_u_n_d-_c_o_m_m_a_n_d; the special parameter # shall also be
changed to reflect the number of operands. The special parameter 0 shall
be unchanged. When the function completes, the values of the positional
parameters and the special parameter # shall be restored to the values
they had before the function was executed. If the special built-in
return is executed in the _c_o_m_p_o_u_n_d-_c_o_m_m_a_n_d, the function shall complete
and execution shall resume with the next command after the function call.
_E_x_i_t__S_t_a_t_u_s
The exit status of a function definition shall be zero if the function
was declared successfully; otherwise, it shall be greater than zero. The
exit status of a function invocation shall be the exit status of the last
command executed by the function.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
276 3 Shell Command Language
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
BEGIN_RATIONALE
3.9.5.1 Function Definition Command Rationale (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a
_p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
The description of functions in Draft 8 was based on the notion that
functions should behave like miniature shell scripts; that is, except for
sharing variables, most elements of an execution environment should
behave as if it were a new execution environment, and changes to these
should be local to the function. For example, traps and options should
be reset on entry to the function, and any changes to them don't affect
the traps or options of the caller. There were numerous objections to
this basic idea, and the opponents asserted that functions were intended
to be a convenient mechanism for grouping commonly executed commands that
were to be executed in the current execution environment, similar to the
execution of the dot special built-in.
Opponents also pointed out that the functions described in Draft 8 did
not scope everything a new shell script would anyway, such as the current
working directory, or umask, but instead picked a few select properties.
The basic argument was that if one wanted scoping of the execution
environment, the mechanism already exists: put the commands in a new
shell script and call it. All traditional shells that implemented
functions, other than the KornShell, have implemented functions that
operate in the current execution environment. Because of this, Draft 9
removed any local scoping of traps or options. Local variables within a
function were considered and included in Draft 9 (controlled by the
special built-in local), but were removed because they do not fit the
simple model developed for the scoping of functions and there was some
opposition to adding yet another new special built-in from outside
existing practice. Implementations should reserve the identifier local
(as well as typeset, as used in the KornShell) in case this local
variable mechanism is adopted in a future version of POSIX.2.
A separate issue from the execution environment of a function is the
availability of that function to child shells. A few objectors,
including the author of the original Version 7 UNIX system shell,
maintained that just as a variable can be shared with child shells by
exporting it, so should a function--and so this capability has been added
to the standard. In previous drafts, the export command therefore had a
-f flag for exporting functions. Functions that were exported were to be
put into the environment as _n_a_m_e()=_v_a_l_u_e pairs, and upon invocation, the
shell would scan the environment for these, and automatically define
these functions. This facility received a lot of balloting opposition
and was removed from Draft 11. Some of the arguments against exportable
functions were:
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
3.9 Shell Commands 277
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
- There was little existing practice. The Ninth Edition shell
provided them, but there was controversy over how well it worked.
- There are numerous security problems associated with functions
appearing in a script's environment and overriding standard
utilities or the application's own utilities.
- There was controversy over requiring make to import functions,
where it has historically used an _e_x_e_c function for many of its
command line executions.
- Functions can be big and the environment is of a limited size.
(The counter-argument was that functions are no different than
variables in terms of size: there can be big ones, and there can be
small ones--and just as one does not export huge variables, one
does not export huge functions. However, this insight might be
lost on the average shell-function writer, who typically writes
much larger functions than variables.)
As far as can be determined, the functions in POSIX.2 match those in
System V. The KornShell has two methods of defining functions:
function _f_n_a_m_e { _c_o_m_p_o_u_n_d-_l_i_s_t }
and
_f_n_a_m_e() { _c_o_m_p_o_u_n_d-_l_i_s_t }
The latter uses the same definition as POSIX.2, but differs in semantics,
as described previously. A future edition of the KornShell is planned to
align the latter syntax with POSIX and keep the former as-is.
The name space for functions is limited to that of a _n_a_m_e because of 1
historical practice. Complications in defining the syntactic rules for 1
the function definition command and in dealing with known extensions such 1
as the KornShell's @() prevented the name space from being widened to a 1
_w_o_r_d, as requested by some balloters. Using functions to support 1
synonyms such as the C-shell's !! and % is thus disallowed to portable 1
applications, but acceptable as an extension. For interactive users, the 1
aliasing facilities in the UPE should be adequate for this purpose. It 1
is recognized that the name space for utilities in the file system is 1
wider than that currently supported for functions, if the portable 1
filename character set guidelines are ignored, but it did not seem useful 1
to mandate extensions in systems for so little benefit to portable 1
applications. 1
The () in the function definition command consists of two operators.
Therefore, intermixing <blank>_s with the _f_n_a_m_e, (, and ) is allowed, but
unnecessary.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
278 3 Shell Command Language
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
An example of how a function definition can be used wherever a simple
command is allowed:
# If variable i is equal to "yes",
# define function foo to be ls -l
#
[ X$i = Xyes ] && foo() {
ls -l
}
END_RATIONALE
3.10 Shell Grammar
The following grammar describes the Shell Command Language. Any
discrepancies found between this grammar and the preceding description
shall be resolved in favor of this clause.
3.10.1 Shell Grammar Lexical Conventions
The input language to the shell must be first recognized at the character
level. The resulting tokens shall be classified by their immediate
context according to the following rules (applied in order). These rules
are used to determine what a ``token'' that is subject to parsing at the
token level is. The rules for token recognition in 3.3 shall apply.
(1) A <newline> shall be returned as the token identifier NEWLINE.
(2) If the token is an operator, the token identifier for that
operator shall result.
(3) If the string consists solely of digits and the delimiter
character is one of < or >, the token identifier IO_NUMBER shall
be returned.
(4) Otherwise, the token identifier TOKEN shall result.
Further distinction on TOKEN is context-dependent. It may be that the
same TOKEN yields WORD, a NAME, an ASSIGNMENT, or one of the reserved
words below, dependent upon the context. Some of the productions in the
grammar below are annotated with a rule number from the following list.
When a TOKEN is seen where one of those annotated productions could be
used to reduce the symbol, the applicable rule shall be applied to
convert the token identifier type of the TOKEN to a token identifier
acceptable at that point in the grammar. The reduction shall then
proceed based upon the token identifier type yielded by the rule applied.
When more than one rule applies, the highest numbered rule shall apply
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
3.10 Shell Grammar 279
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
(which in turn may refer to another rule). [Note that except in rule
(7), the presence of an = in the token has no effect.]
The WORD tokens shall have the word expansion rules applied to them
immediately before the associated command is executed, not at the time
the command is parsed.
3.10.2 Shell Grammar Rules
(1) [Command Name]
When the TOKEN is exactly a reserved word, the token identifier
for that reserved word shall result. Otherwise, the token WORD
shall be returned. Also, if the parser is in any state where 1
only a reserved word could be the next correct token, proceed as 1
above. 1
NOTE: Because at this point quote marks are retained in the
token, quoted strings cannot be recognized as reserved words.
This rule also implies that reserved words will not be
recognized except in certain positions in the input, such as
after a <newline> or semicolon; the grammar presumes that if the
reserved word is intended, it will be properly delimited by the
user, and does not attempt to reflect that requirement directly.
Also note that line joining is done before tokenization, as
described in 3.2.1, so escaped newlines are already removed at
this point.
NOTE: Rule (1) is not directly referenced in the grammar, but 1
is referred to by other rules, or applies globally. 1
(2) [Redirection to/from filename]
The expansions specified in 3.7 shall occur. As specified
there, exactly one field can result (or the result is 1
unspecified), and there are additional requirements on pathname
expansion.
(3) [Redirection from here-document]
Quote removal [3.7.4]. shall be applied to the word to 1
determine the delimiter that will be used to find the end of the 1
here-document that begins after the next <newline>. 1
(4) [Case statement termination]
When the TOKEN is exactly the reserved word Esac, the token
identifier for Esac shall result. Otherwise, the token WORD
shall be returned.
(5) [NAME in for]
When the TOKEN meets the requirements for a name [3.1.5], the
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
280 3 Shell Command Language
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
token identifier NAME shall result. Otherwise, the token WORD
shall be returned.
(6) [Third word of for and case]
When the TOKEN is exactly the reserved word In, the token
identifier for In shall result. Otherwise, the token WORD shall
be returned.
(7) [Assignment preceding command name] 1
(a) [When the first word]
If the TOKEN does not contain the character =, rule (1)
shall be applied. Otherwise, apply (7)(b).
(b) [Not the first word]
If the TOKEN contains the equals-sign character:
- If it begins with =, the token WORD shall be returned.
- If all the characters preceding = form a valid name
[3.1.5], the token ASSIGNMENT_WORD shall be returned.
(Quoted characters cannot participate in forming a
valid name.)
- Otherwise, it is unspecified whether it is
ASSIGNMENT_WORD or WORD that is returned.
Assignment to the NAME shall occur as specified in 3.9.1.
(8) [NAME in function]
When the TOKEN is exactly a reserved word, the token identifier
for that reserved word shall result. Otherwise, when the TOKEN
meets the requirements for a name [3.1.5], the token identifier
NAME shall result. Otherwise, rule (7) shall apply.
(9) [Body of function]
Word expansion and assignment shall never occur, even when
required by the rules above, when this rule is being parsed.
Each TOKEN that might either be expanded or have assignment
applied to it shall instead be returned as a single WORD
consisting only of characters that are exactly the token
described in 3.3.
/* -------------------------------------------------------
The grammar symbols
------------------------------------------------------- */
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
3.10 Shell Grammar 281
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
%token WORD
%token ASSIGNMENT_WORD
%token NAME
%token NEWLINE
%token IO_NUMBER
/* The following are the operators mentioned above. */
%token AND_IF OR_IF DSEMI
/* '&&' '||' ';;' */
%token DLESS DGREAT LESSAND GREATAND LESSGREAT DLESSDASH
/* '<<' '>>' '<&' '>&' '<>' '<<-' */
%token CLOBBER
/* '>|' */
/* The following are the reserved words */
%token If Then Else Elif Fi Do Done
/* 'if' 'then' 'else' 'elif' 'fi' 'do' 'done' */
%token Case Esac While Until For
/* 'case' 'esac' 'while' 'until' 'for' */
/* These are reserved words, not operator tokens, and are
recognized when reserved words are recognized. */
%token Lbrace Rbrace Bang
/* '{' '}' '!' */
%token In
/* 'in' */
/* -------------------------------------------------------
The Grammar
------------------------------------------------------- */
%start complete_command
%%
complete_command : list separator
| list 1
;
list : list separator_op and_or
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
282 3 Shell Command Language
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
| and_or
;
and_or : pipeline
| and_or AND_IF linebreak pipeline
| and_or OR_IF linebreak pipeline
;
pipeline : pipe_sequence
| Bang pipe_sequence
;
pipe_sequence : command
| pipe_sequence '|' linebreak command
;
command : simple_command
| compound_command
| compound_command redirect_list
| function_definition
;
compound_command : brace_group
| subshell
| for_clause
| case_clause
| if_clause
| while_clause
| until_clause
;
subshell : '(' compound_list ')'
;
compound_list : term
| newline_list term
| term separator
| newline_list term separator
;
term : term separator and_or
| and_or
;
for_clause : For name do_group
| For name In wordlist sequential_sep do_group
;
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
3.10 Shell Grammar 283
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
name : NAME /* Apply rule (5) */ 2
;
in : In /* Apply rule (6) */
;
wordlist : wordlist WORD
| WORD
;
case_clause : Case WORD In linebreak case_list Esac
| Case WORD In linebreak Esac
;
case_list : case_list case_item
| case_item
;
case_item : pattern ')' linebreak DSEMI linebreak
| pattern ')' compound_list DSEMI linebreak
| '(' pattern ')' linebreak DSEMI linebreak 2
| '(' pattern ')' compound_list DSEMI linebreak 2
;
pattern : WORD /* Apply rule (4) */
| pattern '|' WORD /* Do not apply rule (4) */ 1
;
if_clause : If compound_list Then compound_list else_part Fi
| If compound_list Then compound_list Fi
;
else_part : Elif compound_list Then else_part
| Else compound_list
;
while_clause : While compound_list do_group
;
until_clause : Until compound_list do_group
;
function_definition : fname '(' ')' linebreak function_body
;
function_body : compound_command /* Apply rule (9) */
| compound_command redirect_list /* Apply rule (9) */
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
284 3 Shell Command Language
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
;
fname : NAME /* Apply rule (8) */ 2
;
brace_group : Lbrace compound_list Rbrace
;
do_group : Do compound_list Done
;
simple_command : cmd_prefix cmd_word cmd_suffix
| cmd_prefix cmd_word
| cmd_prefix
| cmd_name cmd_suffix
| cmd_name
;
cmd_name : WORD /* Apply rule (7)(a) */
;
cmd_word : WORD /* Apply rule (7)(b) */
;
cmd_prefix : io_redirect
| cmd_prefix io_redirect
| ASSIGNMENT_WORD
| cmd_prefix ASSIGNMENT_WORD
;
cmd_suffix : io_redirect
| cmd_suffix io_redirect
| WORD
| cmd_suffix WORD
;
redirect_list : io_redirect
| redirect_list io_redirect
;
io_redirect : io_file
| IO_NUMBER io_file
| io_here
| IO_NUMBER io_here
;
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
3.10 Shell Grammar 285
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
io_file : '<' filename
| LESSAND filename
| '>' filename
| GREATAND filename
| DGREAT filename
| LESSGREAT filename
| CLOBBER filename
;
filename : WORD /* Apply rule (2) */
;
io_here : DLESS here_end
| DLESSDASH here_end
;
here_end : WORD /* Apply rule (3) */
;
newline_list : NEWLINE
| newline_list NEWLINE
;
linebreak : newline_list
| /* empty */
;
separator_op : '&'
| ';'
;
separator : separator_op linebreak
| newline_list
;
sequential_sep : ';' linebreak
| newline_list
;
BEGIN_RATIONALE
3.10.3 Shell Grammar Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f
_P_1_0_0_3._2)
There are several subtle aspects of this grammar where conventional usage
implies rules about the grammar that in fact are not true.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
286 3 Shell Command Language
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
For compound_list, only the forms that end in a separator allow a
reserved word to be recognized, so usually only a separator can be used 1
where a compound list precedes a reserved word (such as Then, Else, Do,
and Rbrace. Explicitly requiring a separator would disallow such valid
(if rare) statements as:
if (false) then (echo x) else (echo y) fi
See the NOTE under special grammar rule (1).
Concerning the third sentence of rule (1) (``Also, if the parser ...''): 1
- This sentence applies rather narrowly: when a compound list is 1
terminated by some clear delimiter (such as the closing fi of an 1
inner if_clause) then it would apply; where the compound list might 1
continue (as in after a ;), rule (7a) [and consequently the first 1
sentence of rule (1)] would apply. In many instances the two 1
conditions are identical, but this part of rule (1) does not give 1
license to treating a WORD as a reserved words unless it is in a 1
place where a reserved word must appear. 1
- The statement is equivalent to requiring that when the LR(1) 2
lookahead set contains exactly a reserved word, it must be 2
recognized if it is present. (Here ``LR(1)'' refers to the 2
theoretical concepts, not to any real parser generator.) 2
For example, in the construct below, and when the parser is at the 2
point marked with ^, the only next legal token is then (this 2
follows directly from the grammar rules). 2
if if....fi then .... fi 2
^ 2
At that point, the then must be recognized as a reserved word. 2
(Depending on the actual parser generator actually used, ``extra'' 2
reserved words may be in some lookahead sets. It does not really 2
matter if they are recognized, or even if any possible reserved 2
word is recognized in that state, because if it is recognized and 2
is not in the (theoretical) LR(1) lookahead set, an error will 2
ultimately be detected. In the example above, if some other 2
reserved word (e.g., while) is also recognized, an error will occur 2
later. 2
This is approximately equivalent to saying that reserved words are 2
recognized after other reserved words (because it is after a 2
reserved word that this condition will occur), but avoids the 2
``except for...'' list that would be required for case, for, etc. 2
(Reserved words are of course recognized anywhere a simple_command 2
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
3.10 Shell Grammar 287
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
can appear, as well. Other rules take care of the special cases of 2
nonrecognition, such as rule (4) for case statements.) 2
Note that the body of here-documents are handled by Token Recognition
(see 3.3) and do not appear in the grammar directly. (However, the
here-document I/O redirection operator is handled as part of the
grammar.)
The start symbol of the grammar (complete_command) represents either
input from the command line or a shell script. It is repeatedly applied
by the interpreter to its input, and represents a single ``chunk'' of
that input as seen by the interpreter. 1
The processing of here-documents is handled as part of token recognition
(see 3.3) rather than as part of the grammar.
END_RATIONALE
3.11 Signals and Error Handling
When a command is in an asynchronous list, the shell shall prevent
SIGQUIT and SIGINT signals from the keyboard from interrupting the
command. Otherwise, signals shall have the values inherited by the shell
from its parent (see also 3.14.13).
When a signal for which a trap has been set is received while the shell 1
is waiting for the completion of a utility executing a foreground 1
command, the trap associated with that signal shall not be executed until 1
after the foreground command has completed. When the shell is waiting, 1
by means of the wait utility, for asynchronous commands to complete, the 1
reception of a signal for which a trap has been set shall cause the wait 1
utility to return immediately with an exit status >128, immediately after 1
which the trap associated with that signal shall be taken. 1
If multiple signals are pending for the shell for which there are
associated trap actions (see 3.14.13), the order of execution of trap
actions is unspecified.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
288 3 Shell Command Language
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
3.12 Shell Execution Environment
A shell execution environment consists of the following:
- Open files inherited upon invocation of the shell, plus open files
controlled by exec.
- Working Directory as set by cd (see 4.5).
- File Creation Mask set by umask (see 4.67).
- Current traps set by trap (see 3.14.13).
- Shell parameters that are set by variable assignment (see set in
3.14.11) or from the POSIX.1 {8} environment inherited by the shell
when it begins (see export in 3.14.8).
- Shell functions (see 3.9.5.)
- Options turned on at invocation or by set.
- Process IDs of the last commands in asynchronous lists known to 1
this shell environment; see 3.9.3.1. 1
Utilities other than the special built-ins (see 3.14) shall be invoked in
a separate environment that consists of the following. The initial value
of these objects shall be the same as that for the parent shell, except
as noted below.
- Open files inherited on invocation of the shell, open files
controlled by the exec special built-in (see 3.14.6), plus any
modifications and additions specified by any redirections to the
utility.
- Current working directory.
- File creation mask.
- If the utility is a shell script, traps caught by the shell shall
be set to the default values and traps ignored by the shell shall
be set to be ignored by the utility. If the utility is not a shell
script, the trap actions (default or ignore) shall be mapped into
the appropriate signal handling actions for the utility.
- Variables with the export attribute, along with those explicitly
exported for the duration of the command, shall be passed to the
utility as POSIX.1 {8} environment variables.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
3.12 Shell Execution Environment 289
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
The environment of the shell process shall not be changed by the utility
unless explicitly specified by the utility description (for example, cd
and umask).
A subshell environment shall be created as a duplicate of the shell
environment, except that signal traps set by that shell environment shall 1
be set to the default values. Changes made to the subshell environment 1
shall not affect the shell environment. Command substitution, commands
that are grouped with parentheses, and asynchronous lists shall be
executed in a subshell environment. Additionally, each command of a
multicommand pipeline is in a subshell environment; as an extension,
however, any or all commands in a pipeline may be executed in the current
environment. All other commands shall be executed in the current shell
environment.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
3.12.0.1 Shell Execution Environment Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a
_p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
Some systems have implemented the last stage of a pipeline in the current
environment so that commands such as
_c_o_m_m_a_n_d | read foo
set variable foo in the current environment. It was decided to allow
this extension, but not require it; therefore, a shell programmer should
consider a pipeline to be in a subshell environment, but not depend on
it.
The previous description of execution environment failed to mention that
each command in a multiple command pipeline could be in a subshell
execution environment. For compatibility with some existing shells, the
wording was phrased to allow an implementation to place any or all
commands of a pipeline in the current environment. However, this means
that a POSIX application must assume each command is in a subshell
environment, but not depend on it.
The wording about shell scripts is meant to convey the fact that
describing ``trap actions'' can only be understood in the context of the
shell command language. Outside this context, such as in a C-language
program, signals are the operative condition, not traps.
END_RATIONALE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
290 3 Shell Command Language
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
3.13 Pattern Matching Notation
The pattern matching notation described in this clause is used to specify
patterns for matching strings in the shell. Historically, pattern
matching notation is related to, but slightly different from, the regular
expression notation described in 2.8. For this reason, the description
of the rules for this pattern matching notation are based on the
description of regular expression notation.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
3.13.0.1 Pattern Matching Notation Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a
_p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
Pattern matching is a simpler concept and has a simpler syntax than
regular expressions, as the former is generally used for the manipulation
of file names, which are relatively simple collections of characters,
while the latter is generally used to manipulate arbitrary text strings
of potentially greater complexity. However, some of the basic concepts
are the same, so this clause points liberally to the detailed
descriptions in 2.8.
END_RATIONALE
3.13.1 Patterns Matching a Single Character
The following _p_a_t_t_e_r_n_s _m_a_t_c_h_i_n_g _a _s_i_n_g_l_e-_c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r match a single
character: _o_r_d_i_n_a_r_y _c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r_s, _s_p_e_c_i_a_l _p_a_t_t_e_r_n _c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r_s, and _p_a_t_t_e_r_n
_b_r_a_c_k_e_t _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n_s. The pattern bracket expression also shall match a
single collating element.
An ordinary character is a pattern that shall match itself. It can be
any character in the supported character set except for NUL, those 1
special shell characters in 3.2 that require quoting, and the following 1
three special pattern characters. Matching shall be based on the bit 1
pattern used for encoding the character, not on the graphic 1
representation of the character. If any character (ordinary, shell 1
special, or pattern special) is quoted, that pattern shall match the 1
character itself. The shell special characters always require quoting. 1
When unquoted and outside a bracket expression, the following three 1
characters shall have special meaning in the specification of patterns: 1
? A question-mark is a pattern that shall match any character.
* An asterisk is a pattern that shall match multiple characters,
as described in 3.13.2.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
3.13 Pattern Matching Notation 291
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
[ The open bracket shall introduce a pattern bracket expression.
The description of basic regular expression bracket expressions in
2.8.3.2 also shall apply to the pattern bracket expression, except that
the exclamation-mark character (!) shall replace the circumflex character
(^) in its role in a _n_o_n_m_a_t_c_h_i_n_g _l_i_s_t in the regular expression notation.
A bracket expression starting with an unquoted circumflex character
produces unspecified results.
When pattern matching is used where shell quote removal is not performed 1
[such as in the argument to the find -name primary when find is being 1
called using an _e_x_e_c function, or in the _p_a_t_t_e_r_n argument to the 1
_f_n_m_a_t_c_h() function], special characters can be escaped to remove their 1
special meaning by preceding them with a <backslash>. This escaping 1
<backslash> shall be discarded. The sequence \\ shall represent one 1
literal backslash. All of the requirements and effects of quoting on 1
ordinary, shell special, and special pattern characters shall apply to 1
escaping in this context. 1
BEGIN_RATIONALE 1
3.13.1.1 Patterns Matching a Single Character Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e
_i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
Both ``quoting'' and ``escaping'' are described here because pattern 1
matching must work in three separate circumstances: 1
- Calling directly upon the shell, such as in pathname expansion or 1
in a case statement. All of the following will match the string or 1
file abc: abc, "abc", a"b"c, a\bc, a[b]c, a["b"]c, a[\b]c, a?c, 1
a*c. The following will not: "a?c", a\*c, a\[b]c, a["\b"]c. 1
- Calling a utility or function without going through a shell, as 1
described for find and _f_n_m_a_t_c_h(). 1
- Calling utilities such as find or pax through the shell command 1
line. (Although find and pax are the only instances of this in the 1
standard utilities, describing it globally here is useful for 1
future utilities that may use pattern matching internally.) In 1
this case, shell quote removal is performed before the utility sees 1
the argument. For example, in 1
find /bin -name "e\c[\h]o" -print 1
after quote removal, the backslashes are presented to find and it 1
treats them as escape characters. Both precede ordinary 1
characters, so the c and h represent themselves and echo would be 1
found on many historical systems (that have it in /bin). To find a 1
filename that contained shell special characters or pattern 1
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
292 3 Shell Command Language
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
characters, both quoting and escaping are required, such as 1
pax -r ... "*a\(\?" 1
to extract a filename ending with ``a(?''. 1
Conforming applications are required to quote or escape the shell special 1
characters (called ``metacharacters'' in some historical documentation). 1
If used without this protection, syntax errors can result or 1
implementation extensions can be triggered. For example, the KornShell 1
supports a series of extensions based on parentheses in patterns. 1
The restriction on circumflex in a bracket expression is to allow
implementations that support pattern matching using circumflex as the
negation character in addition to the exclamation-mark. 1
END_RATIONALE 1
3.13.2 Patterns Matching Multiple Characters
The following rules are used to construct _p_a_t_t_e_r_n_s _m_a_t_c_h_i_n_g _m_u_l_t_i_p_l_e
_c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r_s from _p_a_t_t_e_r_n_s _m_a_t_c_h_i_n_g _a _s_i_n_g_l_e _c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r:
(1) The asterisk (*) is a pattern that shall match any string,
including the null string.
(2) The concatenation of _p_a_t_t_e_r_n_s _m_a_t_c_h_i_n_g _a _s_i_n_g_l_e _c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r is a
valid pattern that shall match the concatenation of the single
characters or collating elements matched by each of the
concatenated patterns.
(3) The concatenation of one or more _p_a_t_t_e_r_n_s _m_a_t_c_h_i_n_g _a _s_i_n_g_l_e
_c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r with one or more asterisks is a valid pattern. In
such patterns, each asterisk shall match a string of zero or
more characters, matching the greatest possible number of
characters that still allows the remainder of the pattern to
match the string.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
3.13.2.1 Patterns Matching Multiple Characters Rationale. (_T_h_i_s
_s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
Since each asterisk matches ``zero or more'' occurrences, the patterns
a*b and a**b have identical functionality.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
3.13 Pattern Matching Notation 293
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s:
a[bc] matches the strings ab and ac.
a*d matches the strings ad, abd, and abcd, but not the string
abc.
a*d* matches the strings ad, abcd, abcdef, aaaad, and adddd;
*a*d matches the strings ad, abcd, efabcd, aaaad, and adddd.
END_RATIONALE
3.13.3 Patterns Used for Filename Expansion
The rules described so far in 3.13.1 and 3.13.2 are qualified by the
following rules that apply when pattern matching notation is used for
filename expansion.
(1) The slash character in a pathname shall be explicitly matched by
using one or more slashes in the pattern; it cannot be matched
by the asterisk or question-mark special characters or by a
bracket expression. Slashes in the pattern are identified
before bracket expressions; thus, a slash cannot be included in
a pattern bracket expression used for filename expansion.
(2) If a filename begins with a period (.), the period shall be
explicitly matched by using a period as the first character of
the pattern or immediately following a slash character. The
leading period shall not be matched by:
- The asterisk or question-mark special characters, or
- A bracket expression containing a nonmatching list (such as
[!a]), a range expression (such as [%-0]), or a character
class expression (such as [[:punct:]]).
It is unspecified whether an explicit period in a bracket
expression matching list (such as [.abc]) can match a leading
period in a filename.
(3) Specified patterns are matched against existing filenames and
pathnames, as appropriate. Each component that contains a 2
pattern character requires read permission in the directory 2
containing that component. Any component that does not contain 2
a pattern character requires search permission. For example, 2
given the pattern 2
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
294 3 Shell Command Language
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
/foo/bar/x*/bam 2
search permission is needed for directory /foo, search and read 2
permissions are needed for directory bar, and search permission 2
is needed for each x* directory. If the pattern matches any 2
existing filenames or pathnames, the pattern shall be replaced
with those filenames and pathnames, sorted according to the
collating sequence in effect in the current locale. If the
pattern contains an invalid bracket expression or does not match
any existing filenames or pathnames, the pattern string shall be
left unchanged.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
3.13.3.1 Patterns Used for File Name Expansion Rationale. (_T_h_i_s
_s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
The caveat about a slash within a bracket expression is derived from
historical practice. The pattern a[b/c]d will not match such pathnames
as abd or a/d. It will only match a pathname of literally a[b/c]d.
Filenames beginning with a period historically have been specially
protected from view on UNIX systems. A proposal to allow an explicit
period in a bracket expression to match a leading period was considered;
it is allowed as an implementation extension, but a conforming
application cannot make use of it. If this extension becomes popular in
the future, it will be considered for a future version of POSIX.2.
Historical systems have varied in their permissions requirements. To 2
match f*/bar has required read permissions on the f* directories in the 2
System V shell, but this standard, the C-shell, and KornShell require 2
only search permissions. 2
END_RATIONALE 2
3.14 Special Built-in Utilities
The following _s_p_e_c_i_a_l _b_u_i_l_t-_i_n utilities shall be supported in the shell
command language. The output of each command, if any, shall be written
to standard output, subject to the normal redirection and piping possible
with all commands.
The term _b_u_i_l_t-_i_n implies that the shell can execute the utility directly
and does not need to search for it. An implementation can choose to make
any utility a built-in; however, the special built-in utilities described
here differ from regular built-in utilities in two respects:
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
3.14 Special Built-in Utilities 295
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
(1) A syntax error in a special built-in utility may cause a shell
executing that utility to abort, while a syntax error in a
regular built-in utility shall not cause a shell executing that
utility to abort. (See 3.8.1 for the consequences of errors on
interactive and noninteractive shells.) If a special built-in
utility encountering a syntax error does not abort the shell,
its exit value shall be nonzero.
(2) Variable assignments specified with special built-in utilities
shall remain in effect after the built-in completes; this shall 1
not be the case with a regular built-in or other utility. 1
As described in 2.3, the special built-in utilities in this clause need
not be provided in a manner accessible via the POSIX.1 {8} _e_x_e_c family of
functions.
Some of the special built-ins are described as conforming to the utility
argument syntax guidelines in 2.10.2. For those that are not, the
requirement in 2.11.3 that "--" be recognized as a first argument to be
discarded does not apply and a conforming application shall not use that
argument.
3.14.1 break - Exit from for, while, or until loop
break [_n]
Exit from the smallest enclosing for, while, or until loop, if any; or
from the _nth enclosing loop if _n is specified. The value of _n is an 1
unsigned decimal integer _> 1. The default is equivalent to _n=1. If _n is
greater than the number of enclosing loops, the last enclosing loop shall
be exited from. Execution continues with the command immediately
following the loop.
_E_x_i_t__S_t_a_t_u_s
0 Successful completion. 2
>0 The _n value was not an unsigned decimal integer _> 1. 2
BEGIN_RATIONALE
3.14.1.1 break Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
Example:
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
296 3 Shell Command Language
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
for i in *
do
if test -d "$i"
then break
fi
done
Consideration was given to expanding the syntax of the break and continue
to refer to a label associated with the appropriate loop, as a preferable
alternative to the [_n] method. This new method was proposed late in the
development of the standard and adequate consensus could not be formed to
include it. However, POSIX.2 does reserve the namespace of command names
ending with a colon. It is anticipated that a future implementation
could take advantage of this and provide something like:
outofloop: for i in a b c d e 1
do
for j in 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
do
if test -r "${i}${j}"
then break outofloop
fi
done
done
and that this might be standardized after implementation experience is
achieved.
END_RATIONALE
3.14.2 colon - Null utility
: [_a_r_g_u_m_e_n_t ...]
This utility shall only expand command _a_r_g_u_m_e_n_ts.
_E_x_i_t__S_t_a_t_u_s
Zero.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
3.14 Special Built-in Utilities 297
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
3.14.2.1 colon Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
The colon (:), or null utility, is used when a command is needed, as in
the then condition of an if command, but nothing is to be done by the
command.
Example:
: ${X=abc}
if false
then :
else echo $X
fi
abc
As with any of the special built-ins, the null utility can also have
variable assignments and redirections associated with it, such as:
x=y : > z
which sets variable x to the value y (so that it persists after the null
utility ``completes'') and creates or truncates file z.
END_RATIONALE
3.14.3 continue - Continue for, while, or until loop
continue [_n]
The continue utility shall return to the top of the smallest enclosing
for, while, or until, loop, or to the top of the _nth enclosing loop, if _n
is specified. This involves repeating the condition list of a while or
until loop or performing the next assignment of a for loop, and
reexecuting the loop if appropriate.
The value of _n is a decimal integer _> 1. The default is equivalent to
_n=1. If _n is greater than the number of enclosing loops, the last
enclosing loop is used.
_E_x_i_t__S_t_a_t_u_s
0 Successful completion. 2
>0 The _n value was not an unsigned decimal integer _> 1. 2
BEGIN_RATIONALE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
298 3 Shell Command Language
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
3.14.3.1 continue Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
Example:
for i in *
do
if test -d "$i"
then continue
fi
done
END_RATIONALE
3.14.4 dot - Execute commands in current environment
. _f_i_l_e
The shell shall execute commands from the _f_i_l_e in the current
environment.
If _f_i_l_e does not contain a slash, the shell shall use the search path
specified by PATH to find the directory containing _f_i_l_e. Unlike normal
command search, however, the file searched for by the dot utility need
not be executable. If no readable file is found, a noninteractive shell
shall abort; an interactive shell shall write a diagnostic message to
standard error, but this condition shall not be considered a syntax
error.
_E_x_i_t__S_t_a_t_u_s
Returns the value of the last command executed, or a zero exit status if
no command is executed.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
3.14.4.1 dot Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
Some older implementations searched the current directory for the _f_i_l_e,
even if the value of PATH disallowed it. This behavior was omitted from
POSIX.2 due to concerns about introducing the susceptibility to trojan
horses that the user might be trying to avoid by leaving dot out of PATH.
The KornShell version of dot takes optional arguments that are set to the 1
positional parameters. This is a valid extension that allows a dot 1
script to behave identically to a function.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
3.14 Special Built-in Utilities 299
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
Example:
cat foobar
foo=hello bar=world
. foobar
echo $foo $bar
hello world
END_RATIONALE
3.14.5 eval - Construct command by concatenating arguments
eval [_a_r_g_u_m_e_n_t ...]
The eval utility shall construct a command by concatenating _a_r_g_u_m_e_n_ts
together, separating each with a <space>. The constructed command shall
be read and executed by the shell.
_E_x_i_t__S_t_a_t_u_s
If there are no _a_r_g_u_m_e_n_ts, or only null arguments, eval shall return a
zero exit status; otherwise, it shall return the exit status of the
command defined by the string of concatenated _a_r_g_u_m_e_n_ts separated by
spaces.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
3.14.5.1 eval Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
Example:
foo=10 x=foo
y='$'$x
echo $y
$foo
eval y='$'$x
echo $y
10
END_RATIONALE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
300 3 Shell Command Language
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
3.14.6 exec - Execute commands and open, close, and/or copy file
descriptors
exec [_c_o_m_m_a_n_d [_a_r_g_u_m_e_n_t ...]]
The exec utility opens, closes, and/or copies file descriptors as
specified by any redirections as part of the command.
If exec is specified without _c_o_m_m_a_n_d or _a_r_g_u_m_e_n_t_s, and any file
descriptors with numbers > 2 are opened with associated redirection
statements, it is unspecified whether those file descriptors remain open
when the shell invokes another utility.
If exec is specified with _c_o_m_m_a_n_d, it shall replace the shell with
_c_o_m_m_a_n_d without creating a new process. If _a_r_g_u_m_e_n_ts are specified, they
are arguments to _c_o_m_m_a_n_d. Redirection shall affect the current shell
execution environment.
_E_x_i_t__S_t_a_t_u_s
If _c_o_m_m_a_n_d is specified, exec shall not return to the shell; rather, the 2
exit status of the process shall be the exit status of the program 2
implementing _c_o_m_m_a_n_d, which overlaid the shell. If _c_o_m_m_a_n_d is not found, 2
the exit status shall be 127. If _c_o_m_m_a_n_d is found, but it is not an 1
executable utility, the exit status shall be 126. If a redirection error 1
occurs (see 3.8.1), the shell shall exit with a value in the range 1-125. 1
Otherwise, exec shall return a zero exit status.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
3.14.6.1 exec Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
Most historical implementations are not conformant in that
foo=bar exec cmd
does not pass foo to cmd.
Earlier drafts stated that ``If specified without _c_o_m_m_a_n_d or _a_r_g_u_m_e_n_t,
the shell sets to close-on-exec file numbers greater than 2 that are
opened in this way, so that they will be closed when the shell invokes
another program.'' This was based on the behavior of one version of the
KornShell and was made unspecified when it was realized that some
existing scripts relied on the more generally historical behavior
(leaving all file descriptors open). Furthermore, since the application
should have no cognizance of whether a new shell is simply _f_o_r_k()ed,
rather than _e_x_e_c()ed, it could not consistently rely on the automatic
closing behavior anyway. Scripts concerned that child shells could
misuse open file descriptors can always close them explicitly, as shown
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
3.14 Special Built-in Utilities 301
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
in one of the following examples.
Examples:
Open readfile as file descriptor 3 for reading:
exec 3< readfile
Open writefile as file descriptor 4 for writing:
exec 4> writefile
Make unit 5 a copy of unit 0:
exec 5<&0
Close file unit 3:
exec 3<&-
Cat the file maggie by replacing the current shell with the cat utility:
exec cat maggie
END_RATIONALE
3.14.7 exit - Cause the shell to exit
exit [_n]
The exit utility shall cause the shell to exit with the exit status
specified by the unsigned decimal integer _n. If _n is specified, but its 1
value is not between 0 and 255 inclusively, the exit status is undefined. 1
A trap on EXIT shall be executed before the shell terminates, except when
the exit utility is invoked in that trap itself, in which case the shell
shall exit immediately.
_E_x_i_t__S_t_a_t_u_s
The exit status shall be _n, if specified. Otherwise, the value shall be
the exit value of the last command executed, or zero if no command was
executed. When exit is executed in a trap action (see 3.14.13), the
``last command'' is considered to be the command that executed
immediately preceding the trap action.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
302 3 Shell Command Language
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
3.14.7.1 exit Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
As explained in other clauses, certain exit status values have been 1
reserved for special uses and should be used by applications only for 1
those purposes: 1
126 A file to be executed was found, but it was not an executable 1
utility. 1
127 A utility to be executed was not found. 1
>128 A command was interrupted by a signal. 1
Examples:
Exit with a _t_r_u_e value:
exit 0
Exit with a _f_a_l_s_e value:
exit 1
END_RATIONALE
3.14.8 export - Set export attribute for variables
export _n_a_m_e[=_w_o_r_d]...
export -p
The shell shall give the export attribute to the variables corresponding
to the specified _n_a_m_es, which shall cause them to be in the environment
of subsequently executed commands.
When -p is specified, export shall write to the standard output the names
and values of all exported variables, in the following format: 1
"export %s=%s\n", <_n_a_m_e>, <_v_a_l_u_e>
The shell shall format the output, including the proper use of quoting,
so that it is suitable for re-input to the shell as commands that achieve
the same exporting results.
The export special built-in shall conform to the utility argument syntax
guidelines described in 2.10.2.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
3.14 Special Built-in Utilities 303
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
_E_x_i_t__S_t_a_t_u_s
Zero.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
3.14.8.1 export Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
When no arguments are given, the results are unspecified. Some
historical shells use the no-argument case as the functional equivalent
of what is required here with -p. This feature was left unspecified
because it is not existing practice in all shells and some scripts may
rely on the now-unspecified results on their implementations. Attempts
to specify the -p output as the default case were unsuccessful in
achieving consensus. The -p option was added to allow portable access to
the values that can be saved and then later restored using, for instance,
a dot script.
Examples:
Export PWD and HOME variables:
export PWD HOME
Set and export the PATH variable:
export PATH=/local/bin:$PATH
Save and restore all exported variables:
export -p > _t_e_m_p-_f_i_l_e
unset _a _l_o_t _o_f _v_a_r_i_a_b_l_e_s
... _p_r_o_c_e_s_s_i_n_g
. _t_e_m_p-_f_i_l_e
END_RATIONALE
3.14.9 readonly - Set read-only attribute for variables 1
readonly _n_a_m_e[=_w_o_r_d]...
readonly -p
The variables whose _n_a_m_es are specified shall be given the readonly
attribute. The values of variables with the read-only attribute cannot
be changed by subsequent assignment, nor can those variables be unset by
the unset utility.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
304 3 Shell Command Language
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
When -p is specified, readonly shall write to the standard output the
names and values of all read-only variables, in the following format: 1
"readonly %s=%s\n", <_n_a_m_e>, <_v_a_l_u_e>
The shell shall format the output, including the proper use of quoting,
so that it is suitable for re-input to the shell as commands that achieve
the same attribute-setting results.
The readonly special built-in shall conform to the utility argument
syntax guidelines described in 2.10.2.
_E_x_i_t__S_t_a_t_u_s
Zero.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
3.14.9.1 readonly Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
Example:
readonly HOME PWD
Some versions of the shell exist that preserve the read-only attribute
across separate invocations. POSIX.2 allows this behavior, but does not
require it.
See the rationale for export (3.14.8.1) for a description of the no-
argument and -p output cases.
In a previous draft, read-only functions were considered, but they were
omitted as not being existing practice or particularly useful.
Furthermore, functions must not be readonly across invocations to
preclude _s_p_o_o_f_i_n_g (spoofing is the term for the practice of creating a
program that acts like a well-known utility with the intent of subverting
the user's real intent) of administrative or security-relevant (or
-conscious) shell scripts.
END_RATIONALE
3.14.10 return - Return from a function
return [_n]
The return utility shall cause the shell to stop executing the current
function or dot script (see 3.14.4). If the shell is not currently
executing a function or dot script, the results are unspecified.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
3.14 Special Built-in Utilities 305
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
_E_x_i_t__S_t_a_t_u_s
The value of the special parameter ? shall be set to _n, an unsigned
decimal integer, or to the exit status of the last command executed if _n
is not specified. If the value of _n is greater than 255, the results are
undefined. When return is executed in a trap action (see 3.14.13), the
``last command'' is considered to be the command that executed
immediately preceding the trap action.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
3.14.10.1 return Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
The behavior of return when not in a function or dot script differs
between the System V shell and the KornShell. In the System V shell this
is an error, whereas in the KornShell, the effect is the same as exit.
The results of returning a number greater than 255 are undefined because
of differing practices in the various historical implementations. Some
shells AND out all but the low order 8 bits; others allow larger values,
but not of unlimited size.
See the discussion of appropriate exit status values in 3.14.7.1. 1
END_RATIONALE 1
3.14.11 set - Set/unset options and positional parameters
set [-aCefnuvx] [_a_r_g_u_m_e_n_t ...]
set [+aCefnuvx] [_a_r_g_u_m_e_n_t ...]
set -- [_a_r_g_u_m_e_n_t ...]
_O_b_s_o_l_e_s_c_e_n_t _v_e_r_s_i_o_n:
set - [_a_r_g_u_m_e_n_t ...]
If no options or _a_r_g_u_m_e_n_ts are specified, set shall write the names and
values of all shell variables in the collation sequence of the current
locale. Each _n_a_m_e shall start on a separate line, using the format:
"%s=%s\n", <_n_a_m_e>, <_v_a_l_u_e>
The _v_a_l_u_e string shall be written with appropriate quoting so that it is
suitable for re-input to the shell, (re)setting, as far as possible, the 1
variables that are currently set. Readonly variables cannot be reset. 1
See the description of shell quoting in 3.2.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
306 3 Shell Command Language
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
When options are specified, they shall set or unset attributes of the
shell, as described below. When _a_r_g_u_m_e_n_ts are specified, they shall
cause positional parameters to be set or unset, as described below.
Setting/unsetting attributes and positional parameters are not
necessarily related actions, but they can be combined in a single
invocation of set.
The set utility shall conform to the utility argument syntax guidelines
described in 2.10.2, except that options can be specified with either a
leading hyphen (meaning enable the option) or plus-sign (meaning disable
it).
The implementation shall support the options in the following list in
both their hyphen and plus-sign forms. These options can also be
specified as options to sh; see 4.56.
-a When this option is on, the export attribute shall be set
for each variable to which an assignment is performed.
(See 3.1.15.) If the assignment precedes a utility name
in a command, the export attributes shall not persist in 1
the current execution environment after the utility 1
completes, with the exception that preceding one of the 1
special built-in utilities shall cause the export
attribute to persist after the built-in has completed. If
the assignment does not precede a utility name in the
command, or if the assignment is a result of the operation
of the getopts or read utilities (see 4.27 and 4.52), the
export attribute shall persist until the variable is
unset.
-C (Uppercase C.) Prevent existing files from being
overwritten by the shell's > redirection operator (see
3.7.2); the >| redirection operator shall override this
``noclobber'' option for an individual file.
-e When this option is on, if a simple command fails for any 1
of the reasons listed in 3.8.1 or returns an exit status 1
value >0, and is not part of the compound list following a 1
while, until, or if keyword, and is not a part of an AND 1
or OR list, and is not a pipeline preceded by the !
reserved word, then the shell immediately shall exit.
-f The shell shall disable pathname expansion.
-n The shell shall read commands but not execute them; this
can be used to check for shell script syntax errors. An
interactive shell may ignore this option.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
3.14 Special Built-in Utilities 307
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
-u The shell shall write a message to standard error when it
tries to expand a variable that is not set and immediately
exit. An interactive shell shall not exit.
-v The shell shall write its input to standard error as it is
read.
-x The shell shall write to standard error a trace for each
command after it expands the command and before it
executes it.
The default for all these options is off (unset) unless the shell was
invoked with them on (see sh in 4.56). All the positional parameters
shall be unset before any new values are assigned.
The remaining arguments shall be assigned in order to the positional
parameters. The special parameter # shall be set to reflect the number
of positional parameters.
The special argument "--" immediately following the set command name can
be used to delimit the arguments if the first argument begins with + or
-, or to prevent inadvertent listing of all shell variables when there
are no arguments. The command set -- without _a_r_g_u_m_e_n_ts shall unset all
positional parameters and set the special parameter # to zero.
In the obsolescent version, the set command name followed by - with no
other arguments shall turn off the -v and -x options without changing the
positional parameters. The set command name followed by - with other
arguments shall turn off the -v and -x options and assign the arguments
to the positional parameters in order.
_E_x_i_t__S_t_a_t_u_s
Zero.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
3.14.11.1 set Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
The set -- form is listed specifically in the Synopsis even though this
usage is implied by the utility syntax guidelines. The explanation of
this feature removes any ambiguity about whether the set -- form might be
misinterpreted as being equivalent to set without any options or
arguments. The functionality of this form has been adopted from the
KornShell. In System V, set -- only unsets parameters if there is at
least one argument; the only way to unset all parameters is to use shift.
Using the KornShell version should not affect System V scripts because
there should be no reason to deliberately issue it without arguments; if
it were issued as, say:
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
308 3 Shell Command Language
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
set -- "$@" 1
and there were in fact no arguments resulting from $@, unsetting the 1
parameters would be a no-op anyway.
The set + form in earlier drafts was omitted as being an unnecessary
duplication of set alone and not widespread historical practice.
The noclobber option was changed to -C from the set -o noclobber option
in previous drafts. The set -o is used in the KornShell to accept word-
length option names, duplicating many of the single-letter names. The
noclobber option was changed to a single letter so that the historical $-
paradigm would not be broken; see 3.5.2.
The following set flags were intentionally omitted with the following
rationale:
-h This flag is related to command name hashing, which is not
required for an implementation. It is primarily a performance
issue, which is outside the scope of this standard.
-k The -k flag was originally added by Bourne to make it easier for
users of prerelease versions of the shell. In early versions of
the Bourne shell the construct set name=value, had to be used to
assign values to shell variables. The problem with -k is that
the behavior affects parsing, virtually precluding writing any
compilers. To explain the behavior of -k, it is necessary to
describe the parsing algorithm, which is implementation defined.
For example,
set -k; echo name=value
and
set -k
echo name=value
behave differently. The interaction with functions is even more
complex. What is more, the -k flag is never needed, since the
command line could have been reordered.
-t The -t flag is hard to specify and almost never used. The only
known use could be done with here-documents. Moreover, the
behavior with ksh and sh differ. The man page says that it
exits after reading and executing one command. What is one
command? If the input is date;date, sh executes both date
commands, ksh does only the first.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
3.14 Special Built-in Utilities 309
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
Consideration was given to rewriting set to simplify its confusing
syntax. A specific suggestion was that the unset utility should be used
to unset options instead of using the non-_g_e_t_o_p_t()-able +_o_p_t_i_o_n syntax.
However, the conclusion was reached that people were satisfied with the
existing practice of using +_o_p_t_i_o_n and there was no compelling reason to
modify such widespread existing practice.
Examples:
Write out all variables and their values:
set
Set $1, $2, and $3 and set $# to 3:
set c a b
Turn on the -x and -v options:
set -xv
Unset all positional parameters:
set --
Set $1 to the value of x, even if x begins with - or +:
set -- "$x"
Set the positional parameters to the expansion of x, even if x expands
with a leading - or +:
set -- $x
END_RATIONALE
3.14.12 shift - Shift positional parameters
shift [_n]
The positional parameters shall be shifted. Positional parameter 1 shall
be assigned the value of parameter (1+_n), parameter 2 shall be assigned
the value of parameter (2+_n), and so forth. The parameters represented
by the numbers $# down to $#-_n+1 shall be unset, and the parameter #
shall be updated to reflect the new number of positional parameters.
The value _n shall be an unsigned decimal integer less than or equal to
the value of the special parameter #. If _n is not given, it shall be
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
310 3 Shell Command Language
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
assumed to be 1. If _n is 0, the positional and special parameters shall
not be changed.
_E_x_i_t__S_t_a_t_u_s
The exit status shall be >0 if _n>$#; otherwise, it shall be zero.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
3.14.12.1 shift Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
Example:
set a b c d e
shift 2
echo $*
c d e
END_RATIONALE
3.14.13 trap - Trap signals
trap [_a_c_t_i_o_n _c_o_n_d_i_t_i_o_n ...]
If _a_c_t_i_o_n is -, the shell shall reset each _c_o_n_d_i_t_i_o_n to the default
value. If _a_c_t_i_o_n is null (''), the shell shall ignore each of the
specified _c_o_n_d_i_t_i_o_ns if they arise. Otherwise, the argument _a_c_t_i_o_n shall
be read and executed by the shell when one of the corresponding
conditions arises. The action of the trap shall override a previous
action (either default action or one explicitly set). The value of $?
after the trap action completes shall be the value it had before the trap
was invoked.
The condition can be EXIT, 0 (equivalent to EXIT), or a signal specified
using a symbolic name, without the SIG prefix, as listed in Required 1
Signals and Job Control Signals (Table 3-1 and Table 3-2 in POSIX.1 {8}).
(For example: HUP, INT, QUIT, TERM). Setting a trap for SIGKILL or
SIGSTOP produces undefined results.
The environment in which the shell executes a trap on EXIT shall be
identical to the environment immediately after the last command executed
before the trap on EXIT was taken.
Each time the trap is invoked, the _a_c_t_i_o_n argument shall be processed in
a manner equivalent to:
eval "$action"
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
3.14 Special Built-in Utilities 311
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
Signals that were ignored on entry to a noninteractive shell cannot be
trapped or reset, although no error need be reported when attempting to
do so. An interactive shell may reset or catch signals ignored on entry.
Traps shall remain in place for a given shell until explicitly changed
with another trap command.
The trap command with no arguments shall write to standard output a list
of commands associated with each condition. The format is:
"trap -- %s %s ...\n", <_a_c_t_i_o_n>, <_c_o_n_d_i_t_i_o_n> ... 1
The shell shall format the output, including the proper use of quoting,
so that it is suitable for re-input to the shell as commands that achieve
the same trapping results.
An implementation may allow numeric signal numbers for the conditions as
an extension, if and only if the following map of signal numbers to names
is true:
Signal Signal Signal Signal
Number Name Number Name
______ _______ ______ _______
1 SIGHUP 9 SIGKILL
2 SIGINT 14 SIGALRM
3 SIGQUIT 15 SIGTERM
6 SIGABRT
Otherwise, it shall be an error for the application to use numeric signal
numbers.
The trap special built-in shall conform to the utility argument syntax
guidelines described in 2.10.2.
_E_x_i_t__S_t_a_t_u_s
If the trap name or number is invalid, a nonzero exit status shall be
returned; otherwise, zero shall be returned. For both interactive and
noninteractive shells, invalid signal names or numbers shall not be
considered a syntax error and shall not cause the shell to abort.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
3.14.13.1 trap Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
Implementations may permit lowercase signal names as an extension. 1
Implementations may also accept the names with the SIG prefix; no known 1
historical shell does so. The trap and kill utilities in POSIX.2 are now 1
consistent in their omission of the SIG prefix for signal names. Some 1
kill implementations do not allow the prefix and kill -l lists the 1
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
312 3 Shell Command Language
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
signals without prefixes. 1
As stated previously, when a subshell is entered, traps are set to the 1
default actions. This does not imply that the trap command cannot be 1
used within the subshell to set new traps. 1
Trapping SIGKILL or SIGSTOP is accepted by some historical
implementations, but it does not work. Portable POSIX.2 applications
cannot try it.
The output format is not historical practice. Since the output of
historical traps is not portable (because numeric signal values are not
portable) and had to change to become so, an opportunity was taken to
format the output in a way that a shell script could use to save and then
later reuse a trap if it wanted. For example:
save_traps=$(trap)
...
eval "$save_traps"
The KornShell uses an ERR trap that is triggered whenever set -e would
cause an exit. This is allowable as an extension, but was not mandated,
as other shells have not used it.
The text about the environment for the EXIT trap invalidates the behavior
of some historical versions of interactive shells which, e.g., close the
standard input before executing a trap on 0. For example, in some
historical interactive shell sessions the following trap on 0 would
always print --:
trap 'read foo; echo "-$foo-"' 0
Examples:
Write out a list of all traps and actions:
trap
Set a trap so the logout utility in the HOME directory will execute when
the shell terminates:
trap '$HOME/logout' EXIT
_o_r
trap '$HOME/logout' 0
Unset traps on INT, QUIT, TERM, and EXIT:
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
3.14 Special Built-in Utilities 313
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
trap - INT QUIT TERM EXIT
END_RATIONALE
3.14.14 unset - Unset values and attributes of variables and functions
unset [-fv] _n_a_m_e ... 1
Each variable or function specified by _n_a_m_e shall be unset.
If -v is specified, _n_a_m_e refers to a variable name and the shell shall 1
unset it and remove it from the environment. Read-only variables cannot 1
be unset. 1
If -f is specified, _n_a_m_e refers to a function and the shell shall unset 1
the function definition. 1
If neither -f nor -v is specified, _n_a_m_e refers to a variable; if a 1
variable by that name does not exist, it is unspecified whether a 1
function by that name, if any, shall be unset. 1
Unsetting a variable or function that was not previously set shall not be
considered an error and shall not cause the shell to abort. 1
The unset special built-in shall conform to the utility argument syntax
guidelines described in 2.10.2.
_E_x_i_t__S_t_a_t_u_s
0 All _n_a_m_es were successfully unset.
>0 At least one _n_a_m_e could not be unset.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
3.14.14.1 unset Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
Note that
VARIABLE=
is not equivalent to an unset of VARIABLE; in the example, VARIABLE is
set to "". Also, the ``variables'' that can be unset should not be
misinterpreted to include the special parameters (see 3.5.2).
Consideration was given to omitting the -f option in favor of an
unfunction utility, but decided to retain existing practice.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
314 3 Shell Command Language
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
The -v option was introduced because System V historically used one name 1
space for both variables and functions. When unset is used without 1
options, System V historically unset either a function or a variable and 1
there was no confusion about which one was intended. A portable POSIX.2 1
application can use unset without an option to unset a variable, but not 1
a function; the -f option must be used. 1
Examples:
Unset the VISUAL variable:
unset -v VISUAL 1
Unset the functions foo and bar:
unset -f foo bar
END_RATIONALE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
3.14 Special Built-in Utilities 315
P1003.2/D11.2
Section 4: Execution Environment Utilities
The Execution Environment Utilities are the utilities that shall be
implemented in all conforming POSIX.2 systems.
4.1 awk - Pattern scanning and processing language
4.1.1 Synopsis
awk [-F _E_R_E] [-v _a_s_s_i_g_n_m_e_n_t] ... _p_r_o_g_r_a_m [_a_r_g_u_m_e_n_t ...]
awk [-F _E_R_E] -f _p_r_o_g_f_i_l_e ... [-v _a_s_s_i_g_n_m_e_n_t] ... [_a_r_g_u_m_e_n_t ...]
4.1.2 Description
The awk utility shall execute programs written in the _a_w_k programming
language, which is specialized for textual data manipulation. An awk
program is a sequence of patterns and corresponding actions. When input
is read that matches a pattern, the action associated with that pattern
shall be carried out.
Input shall be interpreted as a sequence of records. By default, a
record is a line, but this can be changed by using the RS built-in
variable. Each record of input shall be matched in turn against each
pattern in the program. For each pattern matched, the associated action
shall be executed.
The awk utility shall interpret each input record as a sequence of fields
where, by default, a field is a string of non-<blank> characters. This
default white space field delimiter can be changed by using the FS
built-in variable or the -F _E_R_E. The awk utility shall denote the first
field in a record $1, the second $2, and so forth. The symbol $0 shall
refer to the entire record; setting any other field shall cause the
reevaluation of $0. Assigning to $0 shall reset the values of all other 1
fields and the NF built-in variable. 1
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.1 awk - Pattern scanning and processing language 317
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.1.3 Options
The awk utility shall conform to the utility argument syntax guidelines
described in 2.10.2.
The following options shall be supported by the implementation:
-F _E_R_E Define the input field separator to be the extended
regular expression _E_R_E, before any input is read (see
4.1.7.4).
-f _p_r_o_g_f_i_l_e Specifies the pathname of the file _p_r_o_g_f_i_l_e containing an
awk program. If multiple instances of this option are
specified, the concatenation of the files specified as
_p_r_o_g_f_i_l_e in the order specified shall be the awk program.
The awk program can alternatively be specified in the
command line as a single argument.
-v _a_s_s_i_g_n_m_e_n_t
The _a_s_s_i_g_n_m_e_n_t argument shall be in the same form as an
_a_s_s_i_g_n_m_e_n_t operand. The specified variable assignment
shall occur prior to executing the awk program, including
the actions associated with BEGIN patterns (if any).
Multiple occurrences of this option can be specified.
4.1.4 Operands
The following operands shall be supported by the implementation:
_p_r_o_g_r_a_m If no -f option is specified, the first operand to awk
shall be the text of the awk program. The application
shall supply the _p_r_o_g_r_a_m operand as a single argument to
awk. If the text does not end in a <newline> character,
awk shall interpret the text as if it did.
_a_r_g_u_m_e_n_t Either of the following two types of _a_r_g_u_m_e_n_ts can be
intermixed:
_f_i_l_e A pathname of a file that contains the input to
be read, which is matched against the set of
patterns in the program. If no _f_i_l_e operands are
specified, or if a _f_i_l_e operand is -, the
standard input shall be used.
_a_s_s_i_g_n_m_e_n_t
An operand that begins with an underscore or
alphabetic character from the portable character
set (see Table 2-3 in 2.4), followed by a
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
318 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
sequence of underscores, digits, and alphabetics
from the portable character set, followed by the
= character shall specify a variable assignment
rather than a pathname. The characters before
the = shall represent the name of an awk
variable; if that name is an awk reserved word
(see 4.1.7.7) the behavior is undefined. The
characters following the equals-sign shall be
interpreted as if they appeared in the awk
program preceded and followed by a double-quote
(") character, as a STRING token (see 4.1.7.7),
except that if the last character is an unescaped
backslash, it shall be interpreted as a literal
backslash rather than as the first character of
the sequence ``\"''. The variable shall be
assigned the value of that STRING token. If that
value is considered a _n_u_m_e_r_i_c _s_t_r_i_n_g (see
4.1.7.2), the variable shall also be assigned its
numeric value. Each such variable assignment
shall occur just prior to the processing of the
following _f_i_l_e, if any. Thus, an assignment
before the first _f_i_l_e argument shall be executed
after the BEGIN actions (if any), while an
assignment after the last _f_i_l_e argument shall
occur before the END actions (if any). If there
are no _f_i_l_e arguments, assignments shall be
executed before processing the standard input.
4.1.5 External Influences
4.1.5.1 Standard Input
The standard input shall be used only if no _f_i_l_e operands are specified,
or if a _f_i_l_e operand is -. See Input Files.
4.1.5.2 Input Files
Input files to the awk program from any of the following sources: 1
- Any _f_i_l_e operands or their equivalents, achieved by modifying the 1
awk variables ARGV and ARGC 1
- Standard input in the absence of any _f_i_l_e operands 1
- Arguments to the getline function 1
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.1 awk - Pattern scanning and processing language 319
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
shall be text files. Whether the variable RS is set to a value other 1
than <newline> or not, for these files, the implementation shall support 1
records terminated with the specified separator up to {LINE_MAX} bytes 1
and may support longer records. 1
If -f _p_r_o_g_f_i_l_e is specified, the file(s) named by _p_r_o_g_f_i_l_e shall be text
file(s) containing an awk program.
4.1.5.3 Environment Variables
The following environment variables shall affect the execution of awk:
LANG This variable shall determine the locale to use for
the locale categories when both LC_ALL and the
corresponding environment variable (beginning with
LC_) do not specify a locale. See 2.6.
LC_ALL This variable shall determine the locale to be used
to override any values for locale categories
specified by the settings of LANG or any
environment variables beginning with LC_.
LC_CTYPE This variable shall determine the locale for the
interpretation of sequences of bytes of text data
as characters (e.g., single- versus multibyte
characters in arguments and input files), the
behavior of character classes within regular
expressions, the identification of characters as
letters, and the mapping of upper- and lowercase
characters for the toupper and tolower functions.
LC_COLLATE This variable shall determine the locale for the
behavior of ranges, equivalence classes, and
multicharacter collating elements within regular
expressions and in comparisons of string values.
LC_MESSAGES This variable shall determine the language in which
messages should be written.
LC_NUMERIC This variable shall determine the radix character
used when interpreting numeric input, performing
conversions between numeric and string values, and
formatting numeric output.
PATH This variable shall define the search path when
looking for commands executed by system(_e_x_p_r), or
input and output pipes. See 2.6.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
320 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
In addition, all environment variables shall be visible via the awk
variable ENVIRON.
4.1.5.4 Asynchronous Events
Default.
4.1.6 External Effects
4.1.6.1 Standard Output
The nature of the output files depends on the awk program.
4.1.6.2 Standard Error
Used only for diagnostic messages.
4.1.6.3 Output Files
The nature of the output files depends on the awk program.
4.1.7 Extended Description
4.1.7.1 Overall Program Structure
An awk program is composed of pairs of the form:
_p_a_t_t_e_r_n { _a_c_t_i_o_n }
Either the pattern or the action (including the enclosing brace
characters) can be omitted.
A missing pattern shall match any record of input, and a missing action
shall be equivalent to an action that writes the matched record of input
to standard output.
Execution of the awk program shall start by first executing the actions
associated with all BEGIN patterns in the order they occur in the
program. Then each _f_i_l_e operand (or standard input if no files were
specified) shall be processed in turn by reading data from the file until
a record separator is seen (<newline> by default), splitting the current 1
record into fields using the current value of FS according to the rules 1
in 4.1.7.4, evaluating each pattern in the program in the order of 1
occurrence, and executing the action associated with each pattern that
matches the current record. The action for a matching pattern shall be
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.1 awk - Pattern scanning and processing language 321
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
executed before evaluating subsequent patterns. Last, the actions
associated with all END patterns shall be executed in the order they
occur in the program.
4.1.7.2 Expressions
Table 4-1 - awk Expressions in Decreasing Precedence
___________________________________________________________________________
Semantic Type of
Syntax Name Definition Result Assoc
___________________________________________________________________________
(____e__x__p__r_)_______G_r_o_u_p_i_n_g_________________C__S_t_a_n_d_a_r_d__{_7_}_t_y_p_e__o_f____e__x__p__r______n_/_a___
$_e_x_p_r Field reference 4.1.7.2 string n/a
___________________________________________________________________________
++ _l_v_a_l_u_e Pre-increment C Standard {7}numeric n/a
-- _l_v_a_l_u_e Pre-decrement C Standard {7}numeric n/a
_l_v_a_l_u_e ++ Post-increment C Standard {7}numeric n/a
__l__v__a__l__u__e_-_-______P_o_s_t_-_d_e_c_r_e_m_e_n_t___________C__S_t_a_n_d_a_r_d__{_7_}_n_u_m_e_r_i_c____________n_/_a___
_e_x_p_r ^ _e_x_p_r Exponentiation 4.1.7.2 numeric right
___________________________________________________________________________
! _e_x_p_r Logical not C Standard {7}numeric n/a
+ _e_x_p_r Unary plus C Standard {7}numeric n/a
-____e__x__p__r________U_n_a_r_y__m_i_n_u_s______________C__S_t_a_n_d_a_r_d__{_7_}_n_u_m_e_r_i_c____________n_/_a___
_e_x_p_r * _e_x_p_r Multiplication C Standard {7}numeric left
_e_x_p_r / _e_x_p_r Division C Standard {7}numeric left
_|e_x_p_r % _e_x_p_r M|odulus 4|.1.7.2 n|umeric l|eft |
_|______________|________________________|______________|__________________|____|
_|e_x_p_r + _e_x_p_r A|ddition C| Standard {7}n|umeric l|eft |
_|_e__x__p__r_-____e__x__p__r___S|_u_b_t_r_a_c_t_i_o_n______________C|__S_t_a_n_d_a_r_d__{_7_}_n|_u_m_e_r_i_c____________l|_e_f_t__|
_|e_x_p_r _e_x_p_r S|tring concatenation 4|.1.7.2 s|tring l|eft |
_|______________|________________________|______________|__________________|____|
_|e_x_p_r < _e_x_p_r L|ess than 4|.1.7.2 n|umeric n|one |
_|e_x_p_r <= _e_x_p_r L|ess than or equal to 4|.1.7.2 n|umeric n|one |
_|e_x_p_r != _e_x_p_r N|ot equal to 4|.1.7.2 n|umeric n|one |
_|e_x_p_r == _e_x_p_r E|qual to 4|.1.7.2 n|umeric n|one |
_|e_x_p_r > _e_x_p_r G|reater than 4|.1.7.2 n|umeric n|one |
_|_e__x__p__r_>_=____e__x__p__r__G|_r_e_a_t_e_r__t_h_a_n__o_r__e_q_u_a_l__t_o_4|_._1_._7_._2________n|_u_m_e_r_i_c____________n|_o_n_e__|
_|e_x_p_r _e_x_p_r E|RE match 4|.1.7.4 n|umeric n|one |
_|e_x_p_r ~! _e_x_p_r E|RE nonmatch 4|.1.7.4 n|umeric n|one |
_|_____~_________|________________________|______________|__________________|____|
_|e_x_p_r in array A|rray membership 4|.1.7.2 n|umeric l|eft |
(| _i_n_d_e_x ) in M|ultidimension array 4|.1.7.2 n|umeric l|eft |
_|_____a__r__r__a__y______|___m_e_m_b_e_r_s_h_i_p____________|______________|__________________|____|
_|e_x_p_r && _e_x_p_r L|ogical AND C| Standard {7}n|umeric l|eft 1|
_|______________|________________________|______________|__________________|____1|
_|_e__x__p__r_|_|____e__x__p__r__L|_o_g_i_c_a_l__O_R_______________C|__S_t_a_n_d_a_r_d__{_7_}_n|_u_m_e_r_i_c____________l|_e_f_t__1|1
_|e_x_p_r_1 ? _e_x_p_r_2 C|onditional expression C| Standard {7}t|ype of selected r|ight1|
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
| C|opyright c 1991 IEEE. A|ll rights rese|rved. | |
| This is an| unapproved IEEE Standar|ds Draft, subj|ect to change. | |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
3|22 | | 4 Execution E|nvironment Utiliti|es |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
P|art 2: SHELL A|ND UTILITIES | | P1003.2/D11|.2 |
| | | | | |
| : _e_x_p_r_3 | | | _e_x_p_r_2 or _e_x_p_r_3| |
_|______________|________________________|______________|__________________|____|
_|l_v_a_l_u_e ^= _e_x_p_rE|xponentiation 4|.1.7.2 n|umeric r|ight|
| a|ssignment | | | |
_|l_v_a_l_u_e %= _e_x_p_rM|odulus assignment 4|.1.7.2 n|umeric r|ight|
_|l_v_a_l_u_e *= _e_x_p_rM|ultiplication C| Standard {7}n|umeric r|ight|
| a|ssignment | | | |
_|l_v_a_l_u_e /= _e_x_p_rD|ivision assignment C| Standard {7}n|umeric r|ight|
_|l_v_a_l_u_e += _e_x_p_rA|ddition assignment C| Standard {7}n|umeric r|ight|
_|l_v_a_l_u_e -= _e_x_p_rS|ubtraction assignment C| Standard {7}n|umeric r|ight|
_|_l__v__a__l__u__e_=____e__x__p__r_A|_s_s_i_g_n_m_e_n_t_______________C|__S_t_a_n_d_a_r_d__{_7_}_t|_y_p_e__o_f____e__x__p__r______r|_i_g_h_t_|
Expressions describe computations used in _p_a_t_t_e_r_n_s and _a_c_t_i_o_n_s. In
Table 4-1, valid expression operations are given in groups from highest
precedence first to lowest precedence last, with equal-precedence
operators grouped between horizontal lines. In expression evaluation,
higher precedence operators shall be evaluated before lower precedence
operators. In this table _e_x_p_r, _e_x_p_r_1, _e_x_p_r_2, and _e_x_p_r_3 represent any
expression, while _l_v_a_l_u_e represents any entity that can be assigned to
(i.e., on the left side of an assignment operator). The precise syntax
of expressions is given in the grammar in 4.1.7.7.
Each expression shall have either a string value, a numeric value, or
both. Except as stated for specific contexts, the value of an expression
shall be implicitly converted to the type needed for the context in which
it is used. A string value shall be converted to a numeric value by the
equivalent of the following calls to functions defined by the
C Standard {7}:
setlocale(LC_NUMERIC, "");
_n_u_m_e_r_i_c__v_a_l_u_e = _a_t_o_f(_s_t_r_i_n_g__v_a_l_u_e);
A numeric value that is exactly equal to the value of an integer (see
2.9.2.1) shall be converted to a string by the equivalent of a call to
the sprintf function (see 4.1.7.6.2) with the string "%d" as the _f_m_t
argument and the numeric value being converted as the first and only _e_x_p_r
argument. Any other numeric value shall be converted to a string by the
equivalent of a call to the sprintf function with the value of the
variable CONVFMT as the _f_m_t argument and the numeric value being
converted as the first and only _e_x_p_r argument. The result of the 1
conversion is unspecified if the value of CONVFMT is not a floating-point 1
format specification. This standard specifies no explicit conversions 1
between numbers and strings. An application can force an expression to
be treated as a number by adding zero to it, or can force it to be
treated as a string by concatenating the null string ("") to it.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.1 awk - Pattern scanning and processing language 323
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
A string value shall be considered to be a _n_u_m_e_r_i_c _s_t_r_i_n_g in the
following case:
(1) Any leading and trailing <blank>_s shall be ignored.
(2) If the first unignored character is a + or -, it shall be
ignored.
(3) If the remaining unignored characters would be lexically
recognized as a NUMBER token (as described by the lexical
conventions in 4.1.7.7), the string shall be considered a
_n_u_m_e_r_i_c _s_t_r_i_n_g.
If a - character is ignored in the above steps, the numeric value of the
_n_u_m_e_r_i_c _s_t_r_i_n_g shall be the negation of the numeric value of the
recognized NUMBER token. Otherwise the numeric value of the _n_u_m_e_r_i_c
_s_t_r_i_n_g shall be the numeric value of the recognized NUMBER token.
Whether or not a string is a _n_u_m_e_r_i_c _s_t_r_i_n_g shall be relevant only in
contexts where that term is used in this clause.
When an expression is used in a Boolean context (the first subexpression
of a conditional expression, an expression operated on by logical NOT,
logical AND, or logical OR, the second expression of a for statement, the
expression of an if statement, or the expression of a while statement),
if it has a numeric value, a value of zero shall be treated as false and
any other value shall be treated as true. Otherwise, a string value of
the null string shall be treated as false and any other value shall be
treated as true.
All arithmetic shall follow the semantics of floating point arithmetic as
specified by the C Standard {7}; see 2.9.2.
The value of the expression
_e_x_p_r_1 ^ _e_x_p_r_2
shall be equivalent to the value returned by the C Standard {7} function
call
_p_o_w(_e_x_p_r_1, _e_x_p_r_2)
The expression
_l_v_a_l_u_e ^= _e_x_p_r
shall be equivalent to the C Standard {7} expression
_l_v_a_l_u_e = _p_o_w(_l_v_a_l_u_e, _e_x_p_r)
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
324 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
except that _l_v_a_l_u_e shall be evaluated only once. The value of the
expression
_e_x_p_r_1 % _e_x_p_r_2
shall be equivalent to the value returned by the C Standard {7} function
call
_f_m_o_d(_e_x_p_r_1, _e_x_p_r_2)
The expression
_l_v_a_l_u_e %= _e_x_p_r
shall be equivalent to the C Standard {7} expression
_l_v_a_l_u_e = _f_m_o_d(_l_v_a_l_u_e, _e_x_p_r)
except that _l_v_a_l_u_e shall be evaluated only once.
Variables and fields shall be set by the assignment statement:
_l_v_a_l_u_e = _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n
and the type of _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n shall determine the resulting variable type.
The assignment includes the arithmetic assignments (+=, -=, *=, /=, %=,
^=, ++, --) all of which produce a numeric result. The left-hand side of
an assignment and the target of increment and decrement operators can be
one of a variable, an array with index, or a field selector.
The awk language shall supply arrays that are used for storing numbers or
strings. Arrays need not be declared. They shall initially be empty,
and their sizes shall change dynamically. The subscripts, or element
identifiers, are strings, providing a type of associative array
capability. An array name followed by a subscript within square brackets
can be used as an _l_v_a_l_u_e and thus as an expression, as described in the
grammar (see 4.1.7.7). Unsubscripted array names can be used in only the
following contexts:
- A parameter in a function definition or function call.
- The NAME token following any use of the keyword in as specified in
the grammar (see 4.1.7.7). If the name used in this context is not
an array name, the behavior is undefined.
A valid array _i_n_d_e_x shall consist of one or more comma-separated
expressions, similar to the way in which multidimensional arrays are
indexed in some programming languages. Because awk arrays are really one
dimensional, such a comma-separated list shall be converted to a single
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.1 awk - Pattern scanning and processing language 325
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
string by concatenating the string values of the separate expressions,
each separated from the other by the value of the SUBSEP variable. Thus,
the following two index operations shall be equivalent:
_v_a_r[_e_x_p_r_1, _e_x_p_r_2, ..., _e_x_p_r_n]
_v_a_r[_e_x_p_r_1 _S_U_B_S_E_P _e_x_p_r_2 _S_U_B_S_E_P ... SUBSEP _e_x_p_r_n]
A multidimensioned _i_n_d_e_x used with the in operator shall be
parenthesized. The in operator, which tests for the existence of a
particular array element, shall not cause that element to exist. Any
other reference to a nonexistent array element shall automatically create
it.
Comparisons (with the <, <=, !=, ==, >, and >= operators) shall be made
numerically if both operands are numeric or if one is numeric and the
other has a string value that is a numeric string. Otherwise, operands 1
shall be converted to strings as required and a string comparison shall 1
be made using the locale-specific collation sequence. The value of the
comparison expression shall be 1 if the relation is true, or 0 if the
relation is false.
4.1.7.3 Variables and Special Variables
Variables can be used in an awk program by referencing them. With the
exception of function parameters (see 4.1.7.6.2), they are not explicitly
declared. Uninitialized scalar variables and array elements have both a
numeric value of zero and a string value of the empty string.
Field variables shall be designated by a $ followed by a number or
numerical expression. The effect of the field number _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n
evaluating to anything other than a nonnegative integer is unspecified;
uninitialized variables or string values need not be converted to numeric
values in this context. New field variables can be created by assigning
a value to them. References to nonexistent fields (i.e., fields after
$NF), shall produce the null string. However, assigning to a nonexistent
field [e.g., $(NF+_2) = 5] shall increase the value of NF, create any
intervening fields with the null string as their values, and cause the
value of $0 to be recomputed, with the fields being separated by the
value of OFS. Each field variable shall have a string value when
created. If the string, with any occurrence of the decimal-point
character from the current locale changed to a <period>, would be
considered a _n_u_m_e_r_i_c _s_t_r_i_n_g (see 4.1.7.2), the field variable shall also
have the numeric value of the _n_u_m_e_r_i_c _s_t_r_i_n_g.
The implementation shall support the following other special variables
that are set by awk:
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
326 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
ARGC The number of elements in the ARGV array.
ARGV An array of command line arguments, excluding options and
the _p_r_o_g_r_a_m argument, numbered from zero to ARGC-_1.
The arguments in ARGV can be modified or added to; ARGC
can be altered. As each input file ends, awk shall treat
the next nonnull element of ARGV, up through the current
value of ARGC-_1, as the name of the next input file.
Thus, setting an element of ARGV to null means that it
shall not be treated as an input file. The name '-' shall
indicate the standard input. If an argument matches the
format of an _a_s_s_i_g_n_m_e_n_t operand, this argument shall be
treated as an assignment rather than a _f_i_l_e argument.
CONVFMT The printf format for converting numbers to strings
(except for output statements, where OFMT is used); "%.6g"
by default.
ENVIRON The variable ENVIRON is an array representing the value of
the environment, as described in POSIX.1 {8} 2.7. The
indices of the array shall be strings consisting of the
names of the environment variables, and the value of each
array element shall be a string consisting of the value of
that variable. If the value of an environment variable is
considered a _n_u_m_e_r_i_c _s_t_r_i_n_g (see 4.1.7.2), the array
element shall also have its numeric value.
In all cases where the behavior of awk is affected by
environment variables [including the environment of any
command(s) that awk executes via the system function or
via pipeline redirections with the print statement, the
printf statement, or the getline function], the
environment used shall be the environment at the time awk
began executing; it is implementation defined whether any 1
modification of ENVIRON affects this environment. 1
FILENAME A pathname of the current input file. Inside a BEGIN
action the value is undefined. Inside an END action the
value is the name of the last input file processed.
FNR The ordinal number of the current record in the current
file. Inside a BEGIN action the value is zero. Inside an
END action the value is the number of the last record
processed in the last file processed.
FS Input field separator regular expression; <space> by
default.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.1 awk - Pattern scanning and processing language 327
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
NF The number of fields in the current record. Inside a
BEGIN action, the use of NF is undefined unless a getline
function without a _v_a_r argument is executed previously.
Inside an END action, NF shall retain the value it had for
the last record read, unless a subsequent, redirected,
getline function without a _v_a_r argument is performed prior
to entering the END action.
NR The ordinal number of the current record from the start of
input. Inside a BEGIN action the value is zero. Inside
an END action the value is the number of the last record
processed.
OFMT The printf format for converting numbers to strings in
output statements (see 4.1.7.6.1); "%.6g" by default. The 2
result of the conversion is unspecified if the value of 2
OFMT is not a floating-point format specification. 2
OFS The print statement output field separation; <space> by
default.
ORS The print statement output record separator; <newline> by
default.
RLENGTH The length of the string matched by the match function.
RS The first character of the string value of RS is the input
record separator; <newline> by default. If RS contains
more than one character, the results are unspecified. If
RS is null, then records are separated by sequences of one
or more blank lines, leading or trailing blank lines do
not result in empty records at the beginning or end of the
input, and <newline> is always a field separator, no
matter what the value of FS is.
RSTART The starting position of the string matched by the match
function, numbering from 1. This is always equivalent to
the return value of the match function.
SUBSEP The subscript separator string for multidimensional
arrays; the default value is implementation defined.
4.1.7.4 Regular Expressions
The awk utility shall make use of the extended regular expression
notation (see 2.8.4) except that it shall allow the use of C-language
conventions for escaping special characters within the EREs, as specified
in Table 2-15 and Table 4-2; these escape sequences shall be recognized 1
both inside and outside bracket expressions. Note that records need not 1
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
328 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
be separated by <newline>s and string constants can contain <newline>s, 1
so even the \n sequence is valid in awk EREs. Using a slash character 1
within the regular expression requires the escaping shown in Table 4-2. 1
A regular expression can be matched against a specific field or string by
using one of the two regular expression matching operators, and ! .
These operators shall interpret their right-hand operand as ~a regul~ar
expression and their left-hand operand as a string. If the regular
expression matches the string, the expression shall evaluate to a value
of 1, and the ! expression shall e~valuate to a value of 0. (The regular
expression matc~hing operation is as defined in 2.8.1.2, where a match
occurs on any part of the string unless the regular expression is limited
with the circumflex or dollar-sign special characters.) If the regular
expression does not match the string, the expression shall evaluate to
a value of 0, and the ! expression shall ~evaluate to a value of 1. If
the right-hand operand ~is any expression other than the lexical token
ERE, the string value of the expression shall be interpreted as an
extended regular expression, including the escape conventions described
above. Note that these same escape conventions also shall be applied in
the determining the value of a string literal (the lexical token STRING),
and thus shall be applied a second time when a string literal is used in
this context.
When an ERE token appears as an expression in any context other than as
the right-hand of the or ! operator or as one of the built-in function
arguments described be~low, t~he value of the resulting expression shall be
the equivalent of
$0 /_e_r_e/
~
The _E_R_E argument to the gsub, match, sub functions, and the _f_s argument
to the split function (see 4.1.7.6.2) shall be interpreted as extended
regular expressions. These can be either ERE tokens or arbitrary
expressions, and shall be interpreted in the same manner as the right-
hand side of the or ! operator.
~ ~
An extended regular expression can be used to separate fields by using
the -F _E_R_E option or by assigning a string containing the expression to
the built-in variable FS. The default value of the FS variable shall be
a single <space> character. The following describes FS behavior:
(1) If FS is a single character:
(a) If FS is <space>, skip leading and trailing <blank>_s;
fields shall be delimited by sets of one or more <blank>_s.
(b) Otherwise, if FS is any other character _c, fields shall be
delimited by each single occurrence of _c.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.1 awk - Pattern scanning and processing language 329
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
(2) Otherwise, the string value of FS shall be considered to be an
extended regular expression. Each occurrence of a sequence
matching the extended regular expression shall delimit fields.
Except in the gsub, match, split, and sub built-in functions, regular
expression matching shall be based on input records; i.e., record
separator characters (the first character of the value of the variable
RS, <newline> by default) cannot be embedded in the expression, and no
expression shall match the record separator character. If the record
separator is not <newline>, <newline> characters embedded in the
expression can be matched. In those four built-in functions, regular
expression matching shall be based on text strings; i.e., any character
(including <newline> and the record separator) can be embedded in the
pattern and an appropriate pattern shall match any character. However,
in all awk regular expression matching, the use of one or more NUL
characters in the pattern, input record, or text string produces
undefined results.
4.1.7.5 Patterns
A _p_a_t_t_e_r_n is any valid _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n, a range specified by two expressions
separated by comma, or one of the two special patterns BEGIN or END.
4.1.7.5.1 Special Patterns
The awk utility shall recognize two special patterns, BEGIN and END.
Each BEGIN pattern shall be matched once and its associated action
executed before the first record of input is read [except possibly by use
of the getline function (see 4.1.7.6.2) in a prior BEGIN action] and
before command line assignment is done. Each END pattern shall be
matched once and its associated action executed after the last record of
input has been read. These two patterns shall have associated actions.
BEGIN and END shall not combine with other patterns. Multiple BEGIN and
END patterns shall be allowed. The actions associated with the BEGIN
patterns shall be executed in the order specified in the program, as are
the END actions. An END pattern can precede a BEGIN pattern in a
program.
If an awk program consists of only actions with the pattern BEGIN, and
the BEGIN action contains no getline function, awk shall exit without
reading its input when the last statement in the last BEGIN action is
executed. If an awk program consists of only actions with the pattern
END or only actions with the patterns BEGIN and END, the input shall be
read before the statements in the END action(s) are executed.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
330 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
4.1.7.5.2 Expression Patterns
An expression pattern shall be evaluated as if it were an expression in a 1
Boolean context. If the result is true, the pattern shall be considered 1
to match, and the associated action (if any) shall be executed. If the 1
result is false, the action shall not be executed. 1
4.1.7.5.3 Pattern Ranges
A pattern range consists of two expressions separated by a comma; in this
case, the action shall be performed for all records between a match of
the first expression and the following match of the second expression,
inclusive. At this point, the pattern range can be repeated starting at
input records subsequent to the end of the matched range.
4.1.7.6 Actions
An action is a sequence of statements as shown in the grammar in 4.1.7.7.
Any single statement can be replaced by a statement list enclosed in
braces. The statements in a statement list shall be separated by
<newline>s or semicolons, and shall be executed sequentially in the order
that they appear.
The _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n acting as the conditional in an if statement shall be
evaluated and if it is nonzero or nonnull, the following _s_t_a_t_e_m_e_n_t shall
be executed; otherwise, if else is present, the statement following the
else shall be executed.
The if, while, do ... while, for, break, and continue statements are
based on the C Standard {7} (see 2.9.2), except that the Boolean
expressions shall be treated as described in 4.1.7.2, and except in the
case of
for (_v_a_r_i_a_b_l_e _i_n _a_r_r_a_y)
which shall iterate, assigning each _i_n_d_e_x of _a_r_r_a_y to _v_a_r_i_a_b_l_e in an
unspecified order. The results of adding new elements to _a_r_r_a_y within
such a for loop are undefined. If a break or continue statement occurs
outside of a loop, the behavior is undefined.
The delete statement shall remove an individual array element. Thus, the
following code shall delete an entire array:
for (index in array)
delete array[index]
The next statement shall cause all further processing of the current
input record to be abandoned. The behavior is undefined if a next
statement appears or is invoked in a BEGIN or END action.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.1 awk - Pattern scanning and processing language 331
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
The exit statement shall invoke all END actions in the order in which
they occur in the program source and then terminate the program without
reading further input. An exit statement inside an END action shall
terminate the program without further execution of END actions. If an
expression is specified in an exit statement, its numeric value shall be
the exit status of awk, unless subsequent errors are encountered or a
subsequent exit statement with an expression is executed.
4.1.7.6.1 Output Statements
Both print and printf statements shall write to standard output by
default. The output shall be written to the location specified by
_o_u_t_p_u_t__r_e_d_i_r_e_c_t_i_o_n if one is supplied, as follows:
> _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n
>> _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n
| _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n
In all cases, the _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n shall be evaluated to produce a string that
is used as a full pathname to write into (for > or >>) or as a command to
be executed (for |). Using the first two forms, if the file of that name
is not currently open, it shall be opened, creating it if necessary, and
using the first form, truncating the file. The output then shall be
appended to the file. As long as the file remains open, subsequent calls
in which _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n evaluates to the same string value simply shall
append output to the file. The file remains open until the close
function (see 4.1.7.6.2). is called with an expression that evaluates to
the same string value.
The third form shall write output onto a stream piped to the input of a
command. The stream shall be created if no stream is currently open with
the value of _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n as its command name. The stream created shall be
equivalent to one created by a call to the _p_o_p_e_n() function (see B.3.2)
with the value of _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n as the _c_o_m_m_a_n_d argument and a value of "w"
as the _m_o_d_e argument. As long as the stream remains open, subsequent
calls in which _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n evaluates to the same string value shall write
output to the existing stream. The stream shall remain open until the
close function (see 4.1.7.6.2) is called with an expression that
evaluates to the same string value. At that time, the stream shall be
closed as if by a call to the _p_c_l_o_s_e() function (see B.3.2).
As described in detail by the grammar in 4.1.7.7, these output statements
shall take a comma-separated list of _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_ns referred in the grammar
by the nonterminal symbols expr_list, print_expr_list, or
print_expr_list_opt. This list is referred to here as the _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n
_l_i_s_t, and each member is referred to as an _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n _a_r_g_u_m_e_n_t.
The print statement shall write the value of each expression argument
onto the indicated output stream separated by the current output field
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
332 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
separator (see variable OFS above), and terminated by the output record
separator (see variable ORS above). All expression arguments shall be
taken as strings, being converted if necessary; this conversion shall be 1
as described in 4.1.7.2, with the exception that the printf format in 1
OFMT shall be used instead of the value in CONVFMT. An empty expression 1
list shall stand for the whole input record ($0).
The printf statement shall produce output based on a notation similar to
the File Format Notation used to describe file formats in this standard
(see 2.12). Output shall be produced as specified with the first
expression argument as the string <_f_o_r_m_a_t> and subsequent expression
arguments as the strings <_a_r_g_1> through <_a_r_g_n>, with the following
exceptions:
(1) The _f_o_r_m_a_t shall be an actual character string rather than a
graphical representation. Therefore, it cannot contain empty
character positions. The <space> character in the _f_o_r_m_a_t
string, in any context other than a _f_l_a_g of a conversion
specification, shall be treated as an ordinary character that is
copied to the output.
(2) If the character set contains a W character and that character
appears in the _f_o_r_m_a_t string, it shall be treated as an ordinary
character that is copied to the output.
(3) The _e_s_c_a_p_e _s_e_q_u_e_n_c_e_s beginning with a backslash character shall
be treated as sequences of ordinary characters that are copied
to the output. (Note that these same sequences shall be
interpreted lexically by awk when they appear in literal
strings, but they shall not be treated specially by the printf
statement).
(4) A _f_i_e_l_d _w_i_d_t_h or _p_r_e_c_i_s_i_o_n can be specified as the * character
instead of a digit string. In this case the next argument from
the expression list shall be fetched and its numeric value taken
as the field width or precision.
(5) The implementation shall not precede or follow output from the d
or u conversion specifications with <blank>_s not specified by
the _f_o_r_m_a_t string.
(6) The implementation shall not precede output from the o
conversion specification with leading zeroes not specified by
the _f_o_r_m_a_t string.
(7) For the c conversion specification: if the argument has a
numeric value, the character whose encoding is that value shall
be output. If the value is zero or is not the encoding of any
character in the character set, the behavior is undefined. If
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.1 awk - Pattern scanning and processing language 333
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
the argument does not have a numeric value, the first character
of the string value shall be output; if the string does not
contain any characters the behavior is undefined.
(8) For each conversion specification that consumes an argument, the
next expression argument shall be evaluated. With the exception
of the c conversion, the value shall be converted (according to
the rules specified in 4.1.7.2) to the appropriate type for the
conversion specification.
(9) If there are insufficient expression arguments to satisfy all
the conversion specifications in the _f_o_r_m_a_t string, the behavior
is undefined.
(10) If any character sequence in the _f_o_r_m_a_t string begins with a %
character, but does not form a valid conversion specification,
the behavior is unspecified.
Both print and printf can output at least {LINE_MAX} bytes.
4.1.7.6.2 Functions
The awk language has a variety of built-in functions: arithmetic, string,
input/output, and general.
4.1.7.6.2.1 _A_r_i_t_h_m_e_t_i_c__F_u_n_c_t_i_o_n_s
The arithmetic functions, except for int, shall be based on the
C Standard {7}; see 2.9.2. The behavior is undefined in cases where the
C Standard {7} specifies that an error be returned or that the behavior
is undefined.
atan2(_y,_x) Return arctangent of _y/_x.
cos(_x) _R_e_t_u_r_n _c_o_s_i_n_e _o_f _x, _w_h_e_r_e _x _i_s _i_n _r_a_d_i_a_n_s.
_s_i_n(_x) _R_e_t_u_r_n _s_i_n_e _o_f _x, _w_h_e_r_e _x _i_s _i_n _r_a_d_i_a_n_s.
_e_x_p(_x) _R_e_t_u_r_n _t_h_e _e_x_p_o_n_e_n_t_i_a_l _f_u_n_c_t_i_o_n _o_f _x.
_l_o_g(_x) _R_e_t_u_r_n _t_h_e _n_a_t_u_r_a_l _l_o_g_a_r_i_t_h_m _o_f _x.
_s_q_r_t(_x) _R_e_t_u_r_n _t_h_e _s_q_u_a_r_e _r_o_o_t _o_f _x.
_i_n_t(_x) _T_r_u_n_c_a_t_e _i_t_s _a_r_g_u_m_e_n_t _t_o _a_n _i_n_t_e_g_e_r. _I_t _s_h_a_l_l _b_e
_t_r_u_n_c_a_t_e_d _t_o_w_a_r_d _0 _w_h_e_n _x > 0.
rand() _R_e_t_u_r_n _a _r_a_n_d_o_m _n_u_m_b_e_r _n, _s_u_c_h _t_h_a_t _0 _< _n < _1.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
334 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
_s_r_a_n_d([expr]) Set the seed value for rand to _e_x_p_r or use the time
of day if _e_x_p_r is omitted. The previous seed value
shall be returned.
4.1.7.6.2.2 _S_t_r_i_n_g__F_u_n_c_t_i_o_n_s
The string functions are:
gsub(_e_r_e, _r_e_p_l[,_i_n])
Behave like sub (see below), except that it shall
replace all occurrences of the regular expression
(like the ed utility global substitute) in $0 or in
the _i_n argument, when specified.
index(_s, _t) Return the position, in characters, numbering from
1, in string _s where string _t first occurs, or zero
if it does not occur at all.
length([_s]) Return the length, in characters, of its argument
taken as a string, or of the whole record, $0, if
there is no argument.
match(_s, _e_r_e) Return the position, in characters, numbering from
1, in string _s where the extended regular
expression _E_R_E occurs, or zero if it does not occur
at all. RSTART shall be set to the starting
position (which is the same as the returned value),
zero if no match is found; RLENGTH shall be set to
the length of the matched string, -1 if no match is
found.
split(_s, _a[,_f_s]) Split the string _s into array elements _a[1], _a[2],
... , _a[_n], and returns _n. The separation shall be
done with the extended regular expression _f_s or
with the field separator FS if _f_s is not given.
Each array element shall have a string value when
created. If the string assigned to any array
element, with any occurrence of the decimal-point
character from the current locale changed to a
<period>, would be considered a _n_u_m_e_r_i_c _s_t_r_i_n_g (see
4.1.7.2), the array element shall also have the
numeric value of the _n_u_m_e_r_i_c _s_t_r_i_n_g. The effect of
a null string as the value of _f_s is unspecified.
sprintf(_f_m_t, _e_x_p_r, _e_x_p_r, ...)
Format the expressions according to the printf
format given by _f_m_t and return the resulting
string.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.1 awk - Pattern scanning and processing language 335
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
sub(_e_r_e, _r_e_p_l[,_i_n])
Substitute the string _r_e_p_l in place of the first
instance of the extended regular expression _E_R_E in
string _i_n and return the number of substitutions.
An ampersand (&) appearing in the string _r_e_p_l shall
be replaced by the string from _i_n that matches the
regular expression. An ampersand preceded by a
backslash within _r_e_p_l shall be interpreted as a
literal ampersand character. If _i_n is specified
and it is not an _l_v_a_l_u_e (see 4.1.7.2), the behavior
is undefined. If _i_n is omitted, awk shall
substitute in the current record ($0).
substr(_s, _m[,_n])
Return the at most _n-character substring of _s that
begins at position _m, numbering from 1. If _n is
missing, the length of the substring shall be
limited by the length of the string _s.
tolower(_s) Return a string based on the string _s. Each
character in _s that is an uppercase letter
specified to have a tolower mapping by the LC_CTYPE
category of the current locale shall be replaced in
the returned string by the lowercase letter
specified by the mapping. Other characters in _s
shall be unchanged in the returned string.
toupper(_s) Return a string based on the string _s. Each
character in _s that is a lowercase letter specified
to have a toupper mapping by the LC_CTYPE category
of the current locale shall be replaced in the
returned string by the uppercase letter specified
by the mapping. Other characters in _s shall be
unchanged in the returned string.
All of the preceding functions that take _E_R_E as a parameter expect a
pattern or a string valued expression that is a regular expression as
defined in 4.1.7.4.
4.1.7.6.2.3 _I_n_p_u_t_/_O_u_t_p_u_t__a_n_d__G_e_n_e_r_a_l__F_u_n_c_t_i_o_n_s
The input/output and general functions are:
close(_e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n) Close the file or pipe opened by a print or printf
statement or a call to getline with the same
string-valued _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n. The limit on the number
of open _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n arguments is implementation
defined. If the close was successful, the function
shall return zero; otherwise, it shall return
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
336 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
nonzero.
_e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n | _g_e_t_l_i_n_e [_v_a_r]
Read a record of input from a stream piped from the
output of a command. The stream shall be created
if no stream is currently open with the value of
_e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n as its command name. The stream created
shall be equivalent to one created by a call to the
_p_o_p_e_n() function with the value of _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n as
the _c_o_m_m_a_n_d argument and a value of "r" as the _m_o_d_e
argument. As long as the stream remains open,
subsequent calls in which _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n evaluates to
the same string value shall read subsequent records
from the file. The stream shall remain open until
the close function is called with an expression
that evaluates to the same string value. At that
time, the stream shall be closed as if by a call to
the _p_c_l_o_s_e() function. If _v_a_r is missing, $0 and
NF shall be set; otherwise, _v_a_r shall be set.
getline Set $0 to the next input record from the current
input file. This form of getline shall set the NF,
NR, and FNR variables.
getline _v_a_r Set variable _v_a_r to the next input record from the
current input file. This form of getline shall set
the FNR and NR variables.
getline [_v_a_r] < _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n
Read the next record of input from a named file.
The _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n shall be evaluated to produce a
string that is used as a full pathname. If the
file of that name is not currently open, it shall
be opened. As long as the stream remains open,
subsequent calls in which _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n evaluates to
the same string value shall read subsequent records
from the file. The file shall remain open until
the close function is called with an expression
that evaluates to the same string value. If _v_a_r is
missing, $0 and NF shall be set; otherwise, _v_a_r
shall be set.
system(_e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n)
Execute the command given by _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n in a manner
equivalent to the _s_y_s_t_e_m() function [see B.3.1] and
return the exit status of the command.
All forms of getline shall return 1 for successful input, zero for end of
file, and -1 for an error.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.1 awk - Pattern scanning and processing language 337
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.1.7.6.2.4 _U_s_e_r_-_D_e_f_i_n_e_d__F_u_n_c_t_i_o_n_s
The awk language also shall provide user-defined functions. Such
functions can be defined as:
_f_u_n_c_t_i_o_n _n_a_m_e(_a_r_g_s,...) { _s_t_a_t_e_m_e_n_t_s }
A function can be referred to anywhere in an awk program; in particular,
its use can precede its definition. The scope of a function shall be
global.
Function arguments can be either scalars or arrays; the behavior is
undefined if an array name is passed as an argument that the function
uses as a scalar, or if a scalar expression is passed as an argument that
the function uses as an array. Function arguments shall be passed by
value if scalar and by reference if array name. Argument names shall be
local to the function; all other variable names shall be global. The
same name shall not be used as both an argument name and as the name of a
function or a special awk variable. The same name shall not be used both
as a variable name with global scope and as the name of a function. The
same name shall not be used within the same scope both as a scalar
variable and as an array.
The number of parameters in the function definition need not match the
number of parameters in the function call. Excess formal parameters can
be used as local variables. If fewer arguments are supplied in a 1
function call than are in the function definition, the extra parameters 1
that are used in the function body as scalars shall be initialized with a 1
string value of the null string and a numeric value of zero, and the 1
extra parameters that are used in the function body as arrays shall be 1
initialized as empty arrays. If more arguments are supplied in a 1
function call than are in the function definition, the behavior is
undefined.
When invoking a function, no white space can be placed between the
function name and the opening parenthesis. The implementation shall 1
permit function calls to be nested, and for recursive calls to be made 1
upon functions. Upon return from any nested or recursive function call,
the values of all of the calling function's parameters shall be
unchanged, except for array parameters passed by reference. The return
statement can be used to return a value. If a return statement appears
outside of a function definition, the behavior is undefined.
In the function definition, <newline>s shall be optional before the
opening brace and after the closing brace. Function definitions can
appear anywhere in the program where a _p_a_t_t_e_r_n-_a_c_t_i_o_n pair is allowed.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
338 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
_4._1._7._7 awk _G_r_a_m_m_a_r
The grammar in this subclause and the lexical conventions in the
following subclause shall together describe the syntax for awk programs.
The general conventions for this style of grammar are described in 2.1.2.
A valid program can be represented as the nonterminal symbol _p_r_o_g_r_a_m in
the grammar. Any discrepancies found between this grammar and other
descriptions in this clause shall be resolved in favor of this grammar.
%token NAME NUMBER STRING ERE NEWLINE
%token FUNC_NAME /* name followed by '(' without white space */
/* Keywords */
%token Begin End
/* 'BEGIN' 'END' */
%token Break Continue Delete Do Else
/* 'break' 'continue' 'delete' 'do' 'else' */
%token Exit For Function If In
/* 'exit' 'for' 'function' 'if' 'in' */
%token Next Print Printf Return While
/* 'next' 'print' 'printf' 'return' 'while' */
/* Reserved function names */
%token BUILTIN_FUNC_NAME /* one token for the following:
* atan2 cos sin exp log sqrt int rand srand
* gsub index length match split sprintf sub substr
* tolower toupper close system
*/
%token GETLINE /* Syntactically different from other built-ins */
/* Two-character tokens */
%token ADD_ASSIGN SUB_ASSIGN MUL_ASSIGN DIV_ASSIGN MOD_ASSIGN POW_ASSIGN
/* '+=' '-=' '*=' '/=' '%=' '^=' */
%token OR AND NO_MATCH EQ LE GE NE INCR DECR APPEND
/* '||' '&&' '! ' '==' '<=' '>=' '!=' '++' '--' '>>' */
~
/* One-character tokens */
%token '{' '}' '(' ')' '[' ']' ',' ';'
%token '+' '-' '*' '%' '^' '!' '>' '<' '|' '?' ':' ' ' '$' '='
~
%start program
%%
program:
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.1 awk - Pattern scanning and processing language 339
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
item_list
| actionless_item_list
;
item_list:
newline_opt
| actionless_item_list item terminator
| item_list item terminator
| item_list action terminator
;
actionless_item_list:
item_list pattern terminator
| actionless_item_list pattern terminator
;
item:
pattern action
| Function NAME '(' param_list_opt ')' newline_opt action
| Function FUNC_NAME '(' param_list_opt ')' newline_opt action
;
param_list_opt:
/* empty */
| param_list
;
param_list:
NAME
| param_list ',' NAME
;
pattern:
Begin
| End
| expr
| expr ',' newline_opt expr
;
action:
'{' newline_opt '}'
| '{' newline_opt terminated_statement_list '}'
| '{' newline_opt unterminated_statement_list '}'
;
terminator:
';'
| NEWLINE
| terminator NEWLINE ';' 2
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
340 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
;
terminated_statement_list:
terminated_statement
| terminated_statement_list terminated_statement
;
unterminated_statement_list:
unterminated_statement
| terminated_statement_list unterminated_statement
;
terminated_statement:
action newline_opt
| If '(' expr ')' newline_opt terminated_statement
Else newline_opt terminated_statement
| While '(' expr ')' newline_opt terminated_statement
| For '(' simple_statement_opt ';' expr_opt ';' simple_statement_opt ')'
newline_opt terminated_statement
| For '(' NAME In NAME ')' newline_opt terminated_statement
| ';' newline_opt
| terminatable_statement NEWLINE newline_opt
| terminatable_statement ';' newline_opt
;
unterminated_statement:
terminatable_statement
| If '(' expr ')' newline_opt unterminated_statement
| If '(' expr ')' newline_opt terminated_statement
Else newline_opt unterminated_statement
| While '(' expr ')' newline_opt unterminated_statement
| For '(' simple_statement_opt ';' expr_opt ';' simple_statement_opt ')'
newline_opt unterminated_statement
| For '(' NAME In NAME ')' newline_opt unterminated_statement
;
terminatable_statement:
simple_statement
| Break
| Continue
| Next
| Exit expr_opt
| Return expr_opt
| Do newline_opt terminated_statement While '(' expr ')'
;
simple_statement_opt:
/* empty */
| simple_statement
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.1 awk - Pattern scanning and processing language 341
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
;
simple_statement:
Delete NAME '[' expr_list ']'
| expr
| print_statement
;
print_statement:
simple_print_statement
| simple_print_statement output_redirection
;
simple_print_statement:
Print print_expr_list_opt
| Print '(' multiple_expr_list ')'
| Printf print_expr_list
| Printf '(' multiple_expr_list ')'
;
output_redirection:
'>' expr
| APPEND expr
| '|' expr
;
expr_list_opt:
/* empty */
| expr_list
;
expr_list:
expr
| multiple_expr_list
;
multiple_expr_list:
expr ',' newline_opt expr
| multiple_expr_list ',' newline_opt expr
;
expr_opt:
/* empty */
| expr
;
expr:
unary_expr
| non_unary_expr
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
342 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
;
unary_expr:
'+' expr
| '-' expr
| unary_expr '^' expr
| unary_expr '*' expr
| unary_expr '/' expr
| unary_expr '%' expr
| unary_expr '+' expr
| unary_expr '-' expr
| unary_expr non_unary_expr
| unary_expr '<' expr
| unary_expr LE expr
| unary_expr NE expr
| unary_expr EQ expr
| unary_expr '>' expr
| unary_expr GE expr
| unary_expr ' ' expr
| unary_expr N~O_MATCH expr
| unary_expr In NAME
| unary_expr AND newline_opt expr
| unary_expr OR newline_opt expr
| unary_expr '?' expr ':' expr
| unary_input_function
;
non_unary_expr:
'(' expr ')'
| '!' expr
| non_unary_expr '^' expr
| non_unary_expr '*' expr
| non_unary_expr '/' expr
| non_unary_expr '%' expr
| non_unary_expr '+' expr
| non_unary_expr '-' expr
| non_unary_expr non_unary_expr
| non_unary_expr '<' expr
| non_unary_expr LE expr
| non_unary_expr NE expr
| non_unary_expr EQ expr
| non_unary_expr '>' expr
| non_unary_expr GE expr
| non_unary_expr ' ' expr
| non_unary_expr N~O_MATCH expr
| non_unary_expr In NAME
| '(' multiple_expr_list ')' In NAME
| non_unary_expr AND newline_opt expr
| non_unary_expr OR newline_opt expr
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.1 awk - Pattern scanning and processing language 343
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
| non_unary_expr '?' expr ':' expr
| NUMBER
| STRING
| lvalue
| ERE
| lvalue INCR
| lvalue DECR
| INCR lvalue
| DECR lvalue
| lvalue POW_ASSIGN expr
| lvalue MOD_ASSIGN expr
| lvalue MUL_ASSIGN expr
| lvalue DIV_ASSIGN expr
| lvalue ADD_ASSIGN expr
| lvalue SUB_ASSIGN expr
| lvalue '=' expr
| FUNC_NAME '(' expr_list_opt ')' /* no white space allowed */
| BUILTIN_FUNC_NAME '(' expr_list_opt ')'
| BUILTIN_FUNC_NAME
| non_unary_input_function
;
print_expr_list_opt:
/* empty */
| print_expr_list
;
print_expr_list:
print_expr
| print_expr_list ',' newline_opt print_expr
;
print_expr:
unary_print_expr
| non_unary_print_expr
;
unary_print_expr:
'+' print_expr
| '-' print_expr
| unary_print_expr '^' print_expr
| unary_print_expr '*' print_expr
| unary_print_expr '/' print_expr
| unary_print_expr '%' print_expr
| unary_print_expr '+' print_expr
| unary_print_expr '-' print_expr
| unary_print_expr non_unary_print_expr
| unary_print_expr ' ' print_expr
| unary_print_expr N~O_MATCH print_expr
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
344 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
| unary_print_expr In NAME
| unary_print_expr AND newline_opt print_expr
| unary_print_expr OR newline_opt print_expr
| unary_print_expr '?' print_expr ':' print_expr
;
non_unary_print_expr:
'(' expr ')'
| '!' print_expr
| non_unary_print_expr '^' print_expr
| non_unary_print_expr '*' print_expr
| non_unary_print_expr '/' print_expr
| non_unary_print_expr '%' print_expr
| non_unary_print_expr '+' print_expr
| non_unary_print_expr '-' print_expr
| non_unary_print_expr non_unary_print_expr
| non_unary_print_expr ' ' print_expr
| non_unary_print_expr N~O_MATCH print_expr
| non_unary_print_expr In NAME
| '(' multiple_expr_list ')' In NAME
| non_unary_print_expr AND newline_opt print_expr
| non_unary_print_expr OR newline_opt print_expr
| non_unary_print_expr '?' print_expr ':' print_expr
| NUMBER
| STRING
| lvalue
| ERE
| lvalue INCR
| lvalue DECR
| INCR lvalue
| DECR lvalue
| lvalue POW_ASSIGN print_expr
| lvalue MOD_ASSIGN print_expr
| lvalue MUL_ASSIGN print_expr
| lvalue DIV_ASSIGN print_expr
| lvalue ADD_ASSIGN print_expr
| lvalue SUB_ASSIGN print_expr
| lvalue '=' print_expr
| FUNC_NAME '(' expr_list_opt ')' /* no white space allowed */
| BUILTIN_FUNC_NAME '(' expr_list_opt ')'
| BUILTIN_FUNC_NAME
;
lvalue:
NAME
| NAME '[' expr_list ']'
| '$' expr
;
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.1 awk - Pattern scanning and processing language 345
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
non_unary_input_function:
simple_get
| simple_get '<' expr
| non_unary_expr '|' simple_get
;
unary_input_function:
unary_expr '|' simple_get
;
simple_get:
GETLINE
| GETLINE lvalue
;
newline_opt:
/* empty */
| newline_opt NEWLINE
;
This grammar has several ambiguities that shall be resolved as follows:
- Operator precedence and associativity shall be as described in
Table 4-1.
- In case of ambiguity, an else shall be associated with the most
immediately preceding if that would satisfy the grammar.
4.1.7.8 awk Lexical Conventions
The lexical conventions for awk programs, with respect to the preceding
grammar, shall be as follows:
(1) Except as noted, awk shall recognize the longest possible token
or delimiter beginning at a given point.
(2) A comment shall consist of any characters beginning with the
number sign character and terminated by, but excluding the next
occurrence of, a <newline> character. Comments shall have no
effect, except to delimit lexical tokens.
(3) The character <newline> shall be recognized as the token
NEWLINE.
(4) A backslash character immediately followed by a <newline> 1
character shall have no effect. 1
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
346 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
(5) The token STRING shall represent a string constant. A string
constant shall begin with the character ". Within a string
constant, a backslash character shall be considered to begin an
escape sequence as specified in Table 2-15 (see 2.12). In
addition, the escape sequences in Table 4-2 shall be recognized.
A <newline> character shall not occur within a string constant.
A string constant shall be terminated by the first unescaped
occurrence of the character " after the one that begins the
string constant. The value of the string shall be the sequence
of all unescaped characters and values of escape sequences
between, but not including, the two delimiting " characters.
Table 4-2 - awk Escape Sequences
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Escape
Sequence Description Meaning
_____________________________________________________________
\" <backslash> <quotation-mark>
<quotation-mark> character
\/ <backslash> <slash> <slash> character
\_d_d_d <backslash> followed The character whose 111
by the longest encoding is represented 11
sequence of one, two, by the one-, two-, or 11
or three octal-digit three-digit octal 11
characters (01234567). integer. If the size of 11
If all of the digits a byte on the system is 11
are 0, (i.e., greater than nine bits, 11
representation of the the valid escape sequence 11
NUL character), the used to represent a byte 11
behavior is undefined. is implementation 11
defined. Multibyte 1
characters require 1
multiple, concatenated 1
escape sequences of this 1
type, including the 1
leading \ for each byte. 1
\_c <backslash> followed Undefined
by any character not
described in this
table or in Table 2-15
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.1 awk - Pattern scanning and processing language 347
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
(6) The token ERE represents an extended regular expression
constant. An ERE constant shall begin with the slash character.
Within an ERE constant, a <backslash> character shall be
considered to begin an escape sequence as specified in Table 2-
15 (see 2.12). In addition, the escape sequences in Table 4-2 1
shall be recognized. A <newline> character shall not occur
within an ERE constant. An ERE constant shall be terminated by
the first unescaped occurrence of the slash character after the
one that begins the string constant. The extended regular
expression represented by the ERE constant shall be the sequence
of all unescaped characters and values of escape sequences
between, but not including, the two delimiting slash characters.
(7) A <blank> shall have no effect, except to delimit lexical tokens
or within STRING or ERE tokens.
(8) The token NUMBER shall represent a numeric constant. Its form
and numeric value shall be equivalent to the either of the
tokens floating-constant or integer-constant as specified by the
C Standard {7}, with the following exceptions:
(a) An integer constant cannot begin with 0x or include the
hexadecimal digits a, b, c, d, e, f, A, B, C, D, E, or F.
(b) The value of an integer constant beginning with 0 shall be
taken in decimal rather than octal.
(c) An integer constant cannot include a suffix (u, U, l, or
L).
(d) A floating constant cannot include a suffix (f, F, l, or
L).
If the value is too large or too small to be representable (see
2.9.2.1), the behavior is undefined.
(9) A sequence of underscores, digits, and alphabetics from the
portable character set (see 2.4), beginning with an underscore
or alphabetic, shall be considered a word.
(10) The following words are keywords that shall be recognized as
individual tokens; the name of the token is the same as the
keyword:
BEGIN delete for in printf
END do function next return
break else getline print while
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
348 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
continue exit if
(11) The following words are names of built-in functions and shall be
recognized as the token BUILTIN_FUNC_NAME:
atan2 index match sprintf substr
close int rand sqrt system
cos length sin srand tolower
exp log split sub toupper
gsub
The above-listed keywords and names of built-in functions are
considered reserved words.
(12) The token NAME shall consist of a word that is not a keyword or
a name of a built-in function and is not followed immediately
(without any delimiters) by the ( character.
(13) The token FUNC_NAME shall consist of a word that is not a
keyword or a name of a built-in function, followed immediately
(without any delimiters) by the ( character. The ( character
shall not be included as part of the token.
(14) The following two-character sequences shall be recognized as the
named tokens:
Token Name Sequence Token Name Sequence
__________ ________ __________ ________
ADD_ASSIGN += NO_MATCH !~
SUB_ASSIGN -= EQ ==
MUL_ASSIGN *= LE <=
DIV_ASSIGN /= GE >=
MOD_ASSIGN %= NE !=
POW_ASSIGN ^= INCR ++
OR || DECR --
AND && APPEND >>
(15) The following single characters shall be recognized as tokens
whose names are the character:
<newline> { } ( ) [ ] , ; + - * % ^ ! > < | ? : ~ $ =
There is a lexical ambiguity between the token ERE and the tokens / and
DIV_ASSIGN. When an input sequence begins with a slash character in any
syntactic context where the token / or DIV_ASSIGN could appear as the
next token in a valid program, the longer of those two tokens that can be
recognized shall be recognized. In any other syntactic context where the
token ERE could appear as the next token in a valid program, the token
ERE shall be recognized.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.1 awk - Pattern scanning and processing language 349
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.1.8 Exit Status
The awk utility shall exit with one of the following values:
0 All input files were processed successfully.
>0 An error occurred.
The exit status can be altered within the program by using an exit
expression.
4.1.9 Consequences of Errors
If any _f_i_l_e operand is specified and the named file cannot be accessed,
awk shall write a diagnostic message to standard error and terminate
without any further action.
If the program specified by either the _p_r_o_g_r_a_m operand or the _p_r_o_g_f_i_l_e
operand(s) is not a valid awk program (as specified in 4.1.7), the
behavior is undefined.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
4.1.10 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s_,__U_s_a_g_e
The awk program specified in the command line is most easily specified
within single-quotes (e.g., '_p_r_o_g_r_a_m') for applications using sh, because
awk programs commonly contain characters that are special to the shell,
including double-quotes. In the cases where an awk program contains
single-quote characters, it is usually easiest to specify most of the
program as strings within single-quotes concatenated by the shell with
quoted single-quote characters. For example,
awk '/'\''/ { print "quote:", $0 }'
prints all lines from the standard input containing a single-quote
character, prefixed with quote:.
The following are examples of simple awk programs:
(1) Write to the standard output all input lines for which field 3
is greater than 5.
$3 > 5
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
350 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
(2) Write every tenth line.
(NR % 10) == 0
(3) Write any line with a substring matching the regular expression.
/(G|D)(2[0-9][[:alpha:]]*)/
(4) Write any line in which the second field matches the regular
expression and the fourth field does not.
$2 /xyz/ && $4 ! /xyz/
~ ~
(5) Write any line in which the second field contains a backslash.
$2 /\\/
~
(6) Write any line in which the second field contains a backslash.
Note that backslash escapes are interpreted twice, once in
lexical processing of the string and once in processing the
regular expression.
$2 "\\\\"
~
(7) Write the second to the last and the last field in each line.
Separate the fields by a colon.
{OFS=":";print $(NF-1), $NF}
(8) Write the line number and number of fields in each line. The
three strings representing the line number, the colon and the
number of fields are concatenated and that string is written to
standard output.
{print NR ":" NF}
(9) Write lines longer than 72 characters.
{length($0) > 72}
(10) Write first two fields in opposite order separated by the OFS:
{ print $2, $1 }
(11) Same, with input fields separated by comma and/or <space>_s and
<tab>_s:
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.1 awk - Pattern scanning and processing language 351
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
BEGIN { FS = ",[ \t]*|[ \t]+" }
{ print $2, $1 }
(12) Add up first column, print sum and average.
{s += $1 }
END {print "sum is ", s, " average is", s/NR}
(13) Write fields in reverse order, one per line (many lines out for
each line in):
{ for (i = NF; i > 0; --i) print $i }
(14) Write all lines between occurrences of the strings start and
stop:
/start/, /stop/
(15) Write all lines whose first field is different from the previous
one:
$1 != prev { print; prev = $1 }
(16) Simulate echo:
BEGIN {
for (i = 1; i < ARGC; ++i)
printf "%s%s", ARGV[i], i==ARGC-1?"\n":""
}
(17) Write the path prefixes contained in the PATH environment
variable, one per line:
BEGIN {
n = split (ENVIRON["PATH"], path, ":")
for (i = 1; i <= n; ++i)
print path[i]
}
(18) If there is a file named ``input'' containing page headers of
the form:
Page #
and a file named ``program'' that contains:
/Page/{ $2 = n++; }
{ print }
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
352 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
then the command line:
awk -f program n=5 input
will print the file ``input,'' filling in page numbers starting
at 5.
The index, length, match, and substr should not be confused with similar
functions in the C Standard {7}; the awk versions deal with characters,
while the C Standard {7} deals with bytes.
To forestall any possible confusion, where strings are used as the name 1
of a file or pipeline, the strings must be textually identical. The 1
terminology ``same string value'' implies that ``equivalent strings,'' 1
even those that differ only by <space>s, represent different files. 1
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
This description is based on the new awk, ``nawk,'' (see _T_h_e _A_W_K
_P_r_o_g_r_a_m_m_i_n_g _L_a_n_g_u_a_g_e {B21}), which introduced a number of new features to
the historical awk:
(1) New keywords: delete, do, function, return
(2) New built-in functions: atan2, cos, sin, rand, srand, gsub,
sub, match, close, system
(3) New predefined variables: FNR, ARGC, ARGV, RSTART, RLENGTH,
SUBSEP
(4) New expression operators: ?:, ^
(5) The FS variable and the third argument to split are now treated
as extended regular expressions.
(6) The operator precedence has changed to more closely match C.
Two examples of code that operate differently are:
while ( n /= 10 > 1) ...
if (!"wk" /bwk/) ...
~
Several features have been added based on newer implementations of awk:
(1) Multiple instances of -f _p_r_o_g_f_i_l_e are permitted.
(2) New option: -v _a_s_s_i_g_n_m_e_n_t
(3) New predefined variable: ENVIRON
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.1 awk - Pattern scanning and processing language 353
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
(4) New built-in functions: toupper, tolower
(5) More formatting capabilities added to printf to match the
C Standard {7}.
Regular expressions have been extended somewhat from traditional
implementations to make them a pure superset of Extended Regular
Expressions as defined by this standard (see 2.8.4). The main extensions
are internationalization features and interval expressions. Traditional
implementations of awk have long supported <backslash> escape sequences
as an extension to regular expressions, and this extension has been
retained despite inconsistency with other utilities. The number of
escape sequences recognized in both regular expressions and strings has
varied (generally increasing with time) among implementations. The set
specified by the standard includes most sequences known to be supported
by popular implementations and by the C Standard {7}. One sequence that
is not supported is hexadecimal value escapes beginning with "\x". This
would allow values expressed in more than 9 bits to be used within awk as
in the C Standard {7}. However, because this syntax has a
nondeterministic length, it does not permit the subsequent character to
be a hexadecimal digit. This limitation can be worked around in the
C language by the use of lexical string concatenation. In the awk
language, concatenation could also be a solution for strings, but not for
regular expressions (either lexical ERE tokens or strings used
dynamically as regular expressions). Because of this limitation, the
feature has not been added to POSIX.2.
When a string variable is used in a context where an ERE normally appears 1
(where the lexical token ERE is used in the grammar) the string does not 1
contain the literal slashes. 1
Some versions of awk allow the form:
func _n_a_m_e(_a_r_g_s,...) { _s_t_a_t_e_m_e_n_t_s }
This has been deprecated by the language's authors, who have asked that
it not be included in the standard.
Traditional implementations of awk produce an error if a next statement
is executed in a BEGIN action, and cause awk to terminate if a next
statement is executed in an END action. This behavior has not been
documented, and it was not believed that it was necessary to standardize
it.
The specification of conversions between string and numeric values is
much more detailed than in the documentation of traditional
implementations or in _T_h_e _A_W_K _P_r_o_g_r_a_m_m_i_n_g _L_a_n_g_u_a_g_e {B21}. Although most
of the behavior is designed to be intuitive, the details are necessary to
ensure compatible behavior from different implementations. This is
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
354 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
especially important in relational expressions, since the types of the
operands determine whether a string or numeric comparison is performed.
From the perspective of an application writer, it is usually sufficient
to expect intuitive behavior and to force conversions (by adding zero or
concatenating a null string) when the type of an expression does not
obviously match what is needed. The intent has been to specify existing
practice in almost all cases. The one exception is that, in traditional
implementations, variables and constants maintain both string and numeric
values after their original value is converted by any use. This means
that referencing a variable or constant can have unexpected side effects.
For example, with traditional implementations the following program:
{
a = "+2"
b = 2
if (NR % 2)
c = a + b
if (a == b)
print "numeric comparison"
else
print "string comparison"
}
would perform a numeric comparison (and output numeric comparison) for
each odd-numbered line, but perform a string comparison (and output
string comparison) for each even-numbered line. POSIX.2 ensures that 1
comparisons will be numeric if necessary. With traditional 1
implementations, the following program:
BEGIN {
OFMT = "%e"
print 3.14
OFMT = "%f"
print 3.14
}
would output 3.140000e+00 twice, because in the second print statement
the constant 3.14 would have a string value from the previous conversion.
The standard requires that the output of the second print statement be
3.140000. The behavior of traditional implementations was seen as too
unintuitive and unpredictable.
However, a further modification was made in Draft 11. It was pointed out
that with the Draft 10 rules, the following script would print nothing:
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.1 awk - Pattern scanning and processing language 355
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
BEGIN {
y[1.5] = 1
OFMT = "%e"
print y[1.5]
}
Therefore, a new variable, CONVFMT, was introduced. The OFMT variable is
now restricted to affecting output conversions of numbers to strings and
CONVFMT is used for internal conversions, such as comparisons or array
indexing. The default value is the same as that for OFMT, so unless a
program changes CONVFMT (which no historical program would do), it will
receive the historical behavior associated with internal string
conversions.
The POSIX awk lexical and syntactic conventions are specified more
formally than in other sources. Again the intent has been to specify
existing practice. One convention that may not be obvious from the
formal grammar as in other verbal descriptions is where <newline>_s are
acceptable. There are several obvious placements such as terminating a
statement, and a backslash can be used to escape <newline>_s between any
lexical tokens. In addition, <newline>_s without backslashes can follow a
comma, an open brace, logical AND operator (&&), _l_o_g_i_c_a_l _O_R _o_p_e_r_a_t_o_r
(||), the do keyword, the else keyword, and the closing parenthesis of an
if, for, or while statement. For example:
{ print $1,
$2 }
The requirement that awk add a trailing <newline> to the _p_r_o_g_r_a_m argument
text is to simplify the grammar, making it match a text file in form.
There is no way for an application or test suite to determine whether a
literal <newline> is added or whether awk simply acts as if it did.
Because the concatenation operation is represented by adjacent
expressions rather than an explicit operator, it is often necessary to
use parentheses to enforce the proper evaluation precedence.
The overall awk syntax has always been based on the C language, with a
few features from the shell command language and other sources. Because
of this, it is not completely compatible with any other language, which
has caused confusion for some users. It is not the intent of this
standard to address such issues. The standard has made a few relatively
minor changes toward making the language more compatible with the
C language as specified by the C Standard {7}; most of these changes are
based on similar changes in recent implementations, as described above.
There remain several C language conventions that are not in _a_w_k. One of
the notable ones is the comma operator, which is commonly used to specify
multiple expressions in the C language for statement. Also, there are
various places where awk is more restrictive than the C language
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
356 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
regarding the type of expression that can be used in a given context.
These limitations are due to the different features that the awk language
does provide.
This standard requires several changes from traditional implementations
in order to support internationalization. Probably the most subtle of
these is the use of the decimal-point character, defined by the
LC_NUMERIC category of the locale, in representations of floating point
numbers. This locale-specific character is used in recognizing numeric
input, in converting between strings and numeric values, and in
formatting output. However, regardless of locale, the period character
(the decimal-point character of the POSIX Locale) is the decimal-point
character recognized in processing awk programs (including assignments in
command-line arguments). This is essentially the same convention as the
one used in the C Standard {7}. The difference is that the C language
includes the _s_e_t_l_o_c_a_l_e() function, which permits an application to modify
its locale. Because of this capability, a C application begins executing
with its locale set to the C locale, and only executes in the
environment-specified locale after an explicit call to _s_e_t_l_o_c_a_l_e().
However, adding such an elaborate new feature to the awk language was
seen as inappropriate for POSIX.2. It is possible to explicitly execute
an awk program in any desired locale by setting the environment in the
shell.
The behavior in the case of invalid awk programs (including lexical,
syntactic, and semantic errors) is undefined because it was considered
overly limiting on implementations to specify. In most cases such errors
can be expected to produce a diagnostic and a nonzero exit status.
However, some implementations may choose to extend the language in ways
that make use of certain invalid constructs. Other invalid constructs
might be deemed worthy of a warning but otherwise cause some reasonable
behavior. Still other constructs may be very difficult to detect in some
implementations. Also, different implementations might detect a given
error during an initial parsing of the program (before reading any input
files) while others might detect it when executing the program after
reading some input. Implementors should be aware that diagnosing errors
as early as possible and producing useful diagnostics can ease debugging
of applications, and thus make an implementation more usable.
The unspecified behavior from using multicharacter RS values is to allow
possible future extensions based on regular expressions used for record
separators. Historical implementations take the first character of the
string and ignore the others.
The undefined behavior resulting from NULs in regular expressions allows
future extensions for the GNU gawk program to process binary data.
Unspecified behavior when split(string,array,<null>) is used is to allow
a proposed future extension that would split up a string into an array of
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.1 awk - Pattern scanning and processing language 357
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
individual characters.
END_RATIONALE
4.2 basename - Return nondirectory portion of pathname
4.2.1 Synopsis
basename _s_t_r_i_n_g [_s_u_f_f_i_x]
4.2.2 Description
The _s_t_r_i_n_g operand shall be treated as a pathname, as defined in
2.2.2.102. The string _s_t_r_i_n_g shall be converted to the filename
corresponding to the last pathname component in _s_t_r_i_n_g and then the
suffix string _s_u_f_f_i_x, if present, shall be removed. This shall be done
by performing actions equivalent to the following steps in order:
(1) If _s_t_r_i_n_g is //, it is implementation defined whether steps (2)
through (5) are skipped or processed.
(2) If _s_t_r_i_n_g consists entirely of slash characters, _s_t_r_i_n_g shall be
set to a single slash character. In this case, skip steps (3)
through (5).
(3) If there are any trailing slash characters in _s_t_r_i_n_g, they shall
be removed.
(4) If there are any slash characters remaining in _s_t_r_i_n_g, the
prefix of _s_t_r_i_n_g up to and including the last slash character in
_s_t_r_i_n_g shall be removed.
(5) If the _s_u_f_f_i_x operand is present, is not identical to the
characters remaining in _s_t_r_i_n_g, and is identical to a suffix of
the characters remaining in _s_t_r_i_n_g, the suffix _s_u_f_f_i_x shall be
removed from _s_t_r_i_n_g. Otherwise, _s_t_r_i_n_g shall not be modified by
this step. It shall not be considered an error if _s_u_f_f_i_x is not
found in _s_t_r_i_n_g.
The resulting string shall be written to standard output.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
358 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
4.2.3 Options
None.
4.2.4 Operands
The following operands shall be supported by the implementation:
_s_t_r_i_n_g A string.
_s_u_f_f_i_x A string.
4.2.5 External Influences
4.2.5.1 Standard Input
None.
4.2.5.2 Input Files
None.
4.2.5.3 Environment Variables
The following environment variables shall affect the execution of
basename:
LANG This variable shall determine the locale to use for
the locale categories when both LC_ALL and the
corresponding environment variable (beginning with
LC_) do not specify a locale. See 2.6.
LC_ALL This variable shall determine the locale to be used
to override any values for locale categories
specified by the settings of LANG or any
environment variables beginning with LC_.
LC_CTYPE This variable shall determine the locale for the
interpretation of sequences of bytes of text data
as characters (e.g., single- versus multibyte
characters in arguments).
LC_MESSAGES This variable shall determine the language in which
messages should be written.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.2 basename - Return nondirectory portion of pathname 359
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.2.5.4 Asynchronous Events
Default.
4.2.6 External Effects
4.2.6.1 Standard Output
The basename utility shall write a line to the standard output in the
following format:
"%s\n", <_r_e_s_u_l_t_i_n_g _s_t_r_i_n_g>
4.2.6.2 Standard Error
Used only for diagnostic messages.
4.2.6.3 Output Files
None.
4.2.7 Extended Description
None.
4.2.8 Exit Status
The basename utility shall exit with one of the following values:
0 Successful completion.
>0 An error occurred.
4.2.9 Consequences of Errors
Default.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
360 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
4.2.10 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s_,__U_s_a_g_e
If the string _s_t_r_i_n_g is a valid pathname,
$(basename "string")
produces a filename that could be used to open the file named by _s_t_r_i_n_g
in the directory returned by
$(dirname "string")
If the string _s_t_r_i_n_g is not a valid pathname, the same algorithm is used,
but the result need not be a valid filename. The basename utility is not
expected to make any judgements about the validity of _s_t_r_i_n_g as a
pathname; it just follows the specified algorithm to produce a result
string.
The following shell script compiles /usr/src/cmd/cat.c and moves the
output to a file named cat in the current directory when invoked with the
argument /usr/src/cmd/cat or with the argument /usr/src/cmd/cat.c:
c89 $(dirname "$1")/$(basename "$1" .c).c
mv a.out $(basename "$1" .c)
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
The POSIX.1 {8} definition of pathname allows trailing slashes on a
pathname naming a directory. Some historical implementations have not
allowed trailing slashes and thus treated pathnames of this form in other
ways. Existing implementations also differ in their handling of _s_u_f_f_i_x
when _s_u_f_f_i_x matches the entire string left after removing the directory
part of _s_t_r_i_n_g.
The behaviors of basename and dirname in this standard have been
coordinated so that when _s_t_r_i_n_g is a valid pathname
$(basename "string")
would be a valid filename for the file in the directory
$(dirname "string")
This would not work for the versions of these utilities in earlier drafts
due to the way it specified handling of trailing slashes.
Since the definition of _p_a_t_h_n_a_m_e in 2.2.2.102 specifies implementation-
defined behavior for pathnames starting with two slash characters, Draft
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.2 basename - Return nondirectory portion of pathname 361
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
11 has been changed to specify similar implementation-defined behavior
for the basename and dirname utilities. On implementations where the
pathname // is always treated the same as the pathname /, the
functionality required by Draft 10 meets all of the Draft 11
requirements.
END_RATIONALE
4.3 bc - Arbitrary-precision arithmetic language
4.3.1 Synopsis
bc [-l] [_f_i_l_e ...]
4.3.2 Description
The bc utility shall implement an arbitrary precision calculator. It
shall take input from any files given, then read from the standard input.
If the standard input and standard output to bc are attached to a
terminal, the invocation of bc shall be considered to be _i_n_t_e_r_a_c_t_i_v_e,
causing behavioral constraints described in the following subclauses.
4.3.3 Options
The bc utility shall conform to the utility argument syntax guidelines
described in 2.10.2.
The following option shall be supported by the implementation:
-l (The letter ell.) Define the math functions and
initialize scale to 20, instead of the default zero. See
4.3.7.
4.3.4 Operands
The following operands shall be supported by the implementation:
_f_i_l_e A pathname of a text file containing bc program
statements. After all _f_i_l_es have been read, bc shall read
the standard input.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
362 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
4.3.5 External Influences
4.3.5.1 Standard Input
See Input Files.
4.3.5.2 Input Files
Input files shall be text files containing a sequence of comments,
statements, and function definitions that shall be executed as they are
read.
4.3.5.3 Environment Variables
The following environment variables shall affect the execution of bc:
LANG This variable shall determine the locale to use for
the locale categories when both LC_ALL and the
corresponding environment variable (beginning with
LC_) do not specify a locale. See 2.6.
LC_ALL This variable shall determine the locale to be used
to override any values for locale categories
specified by the settings of LANG or any
environment variables beginning with LC_.
LC_CTYPE This variable shall determine the locale for the
interpretation of sequences of bytes of text data
as characters (e.g., single- versus multibyte
characters in arguments and input files).
LC_MESSAGES This variable shall determine the language in which
messages should be written.
4.3.5.4 Asynchronous Events
Default.
4.3.6 External Effects
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.3 bc - Arbitrary-precision arithmetic language 363
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.3.6.1 Standard Output
The output of the bc utility shall be controlled by the program read, and
shall consist of zero or more lines containing the value of all executed 2
expressions without assignments. The radix and precision of the output 2
shall be controlled by the values of the obase and scale variables. See
4.3.7.
4.3.6.2 Standard Error
Used only for diagnostic messages.
4.3.6.3 Output Files
None.
4.3.7 Extended Description
4.3.7.1 bc Grammar
The grammar in this subclause and the lexical conventions in the
following subclause shall together describe the syntax for bc programs.
The general conventions for this style of grammar are described in 2.1.2.
A valid program can be represented as the nonterminal symbol program in
the grammar. Any discrepancies found between this grammar and other
descriptions in this subclause (4.3.7) shall be resolved in favor of this
grammar.
%token EOF NEWLINE STRING LETTER NUMBER
%token MUL_OP
/* '*', '/', '%' */
%token ASSIGN_OP
/* '=', '+=', '-=', '*=', '/=', '%=', '^=' */
%token REL_OP
/* '==', '<=', '>=', '!=', '<', '>' */
%token INCR_DECR
/* '++', '--' */
%token Define Break Quit Length
/* 'define', 'break', 'quit', 'length' */
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
364 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
%token Return For If While Sqrt
/* 'return', 'for', 'if', 'while', 'sqrt' */
%token Scale Ibase Obase Auto
/* 'scale', 'ibase', 'obase', 'auto' */
%start program
%%
program : EOF
| input_item program
;
input_item : semicolon_list NEWLINE
| function
;
semicolon_list : /* empty */
| statement
| semicolon_list ';' statement
| semicolon_list ';'
;
statement_list : /* empty */
| statement
| statement_list NEWLINE
| statement_list NEWLINE statement
| statement_list ';'
| statement_list ';' statement
;
statement : expression
| STRING
| Break
| Quit
| Return
| Return '(' return_expression ')'
| For '(' expression ';'
relational_expression ';'
expression ')' statement
| If '(' relational_expression ')' statement
| While '(' relational_expression ')' statement
| '{' statement_list '}'
;
function : Define LETTER '(' opt_parameter_list ')'
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.3 bc - Arbitrary-precision arithmetic language 365
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
'{' NEWLINE opt_auto_define_list
statement_list '}'
;
opt_parameter_list : /* empty */
| parameter_list
;
parameter_list : LETTER
| define_list ',' LETTER
;
opt_auto_define_list : /* empty */
| Auto define_list NEWLINE
| Auto define_list ';'
;
define_list : LETTER
| LETTER '[' ']'
| define_list ',' LETTER
| define_list ',' LETTER '[' ']'
;
opt_argument_list : /* empty */
| argument_list
;
argument_list : expression
| argument_list ',' expression
;
relational_expression : expression
| expression REL_OP expression
;
return_expression : /* empty */
| expression
;
expression : named_expression
| NUMBER
| '(' expression ')'
| LETTER '(' opt_argument_list ')'
| '-' expression
| expression '+' expression 1
| expression '-' expression 1
| expression MUL_OP expression
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
366 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
| expression '^' expression
| INCR_DECR named_expression
| named_expression INCR_DECR
| named_expression ASSIGN_OP expression
| Length '(' expression ')'
| Sqrt '(' expression ')'
| Scale '(' expression ')'
;
named_expression : LETTER
| LETTER '[' expression ']'
| Scale
| Ibase
| Obase
;
4.3.7.2 bc Lexical Conventions
The lexical conventions for bc programs, with respect to the preceding
grammar, shall be as follows:
(1) Except as noted, bc shall recognize the longest possible token
or delimiter beginning at a given point.
(2) A comment shall consist of any characters beginning with the two
adjacent characters /* and terminated by the next occurrence of
the two adjacent characters */. Comments shall have no effect
except to delimit lexical tokens.
(3) The character <newline> shall be recognized as the token
NEWLINE.
(4) The token STRING shall represent a string constant; it shall
consist of any characters beginning with the double-quote
character (") and terminated by another occurrence of the
double-quote character. The value of the string shall be the
sequence of all characters between, but not including, the two
double-quote characters. All characters shall be taken
literally from the input, and there is no way to specify a
string containing a double-quote character. The length of the
value of each string shall be limited to {BC_STRING_MAX} bytes.
(5) A <blank> shall have no effect except as an ordinary character 1
if it appears within a STRING token, or to delimit a lexical 1
token other than STRING. 1
(6) The combination of a backslash character immediately followed by 2
a <newline> character shall delimit lexical tokens with the 2
following exceptions: 2
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.3 bc - Arbitrary-precision arithmetic language 367
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
- It shall be interpreted as a literal <newline> in STRING 2
tokens. 2
- It shall be ignored as part of a multiline NUMBER token. 2
(7) The token NUMBER shall represent a numeric constant. It shall
be recognized by the following grammar:
NUMBER : integer
| '.' integer
| integer '.'
| integer '.' integer
;
integer : digit
| integer digit
;
digit : 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7
| 8 | 9 | A | B | C | D | E | F
;
(8) The value of a NUMBER token shall be interpreted as a numeral in
the base specified by the value of the internal register ibase
(described below). Each of the digit characters shall have the
value from 0 to 15 in the order listed here, and the period
character shall represent the radix point. The behavior is
undefined if digits greater than or equal to the value of ibase
appear in the token. (However, note the exception for single-
digit values being assigned to ibase and obase themselves, in
4.3.7.3).
(9) The following keywords shall be recognized as tokens:
auto for length return sqrt
break ibase obase scale while
define if quit
(10) Any of the following characters occurring anywhere except within
a keyword shall be recognized as the token LETTER:
a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z
(11) The following single-character and two-character sequences shall
be recognized as the token ASSIGN_OP:
= += -= *= /= %= ^=
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
368 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
(12) If an = character, as the beginning of a token, is followed by a
- character with no intervening delimiter, the behavior is
undefined.
(13) The following single-characters shall be recognized as the token
MUL_OP:
* / %
(14) The following single-character and two-character sequences shall
be recognized as the token REL_OP:
== <= >= != < >
(15) The following two-character sequences shall be recognized as the
token INCR_DECR:
++ --
(16) The following single characters shall be recognized as tokens
whose names are the character:
<newline> ( ) , + - ; [ ] ^ { } 1
(17) The token EOF shall be returned when the end of input is
reached.
4.3.7.3 bc Operations
There are three kinds of identifiers: ordinary identifiers, array
identifiers, and function identifiers. All three types consist of single
lowercase letters. Array identifiers shall be followed by square
brackets ([ ]). An array subscript is required except in an argument or
auto list. Arrays are singly dimensioned and can contain up to
{BC_DIM_MAX} elements. Indexing begins at zero so an array is indexed
from 0 to {BC_DIM_MAX}-1. Subscripts shall be truncated to integers.
Function identifiers shall be followed by parentheses, possibly enclosing
arguments. The three types of identifiers do not conflict.
Table 4-3 summarizes the rules for precedence and associativity of all
operators. Operators on the same line shall have the same precedence;
rows are in order of decreasing precedence.
Each expression or named expression has a _s_c_a_l_e, which is the number of
decimal digits that shall be maintained as the fractional portion of the
expression.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.3 bc - Arbitrary-precision arithmetic language 369
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
Table 4-3 - bc Operators
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Operator Associativity
____________________________________________________________
++, -- not applicable
unary - not applicable
^ right to left
*, /, % left to right
+, binary - left to right
=, +=, -=, *=, /=, %=, ^= right to left
==, <=, >=, !=, <, > none
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_N_a_m_e_d _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n_s are places where values are stored. Named expressions
shall be valid on the left side of an assignment. The value of a named
expression shall be the value stored in the place named. Simple
identifiers and array elements shall be named expressions; they shall
have an initial value of zero and an initial scale of zero.
The internal registers scale, _i_b_a_s_e, and obase are all named expressions.
The scale of an expression consisting of the name of one of these
registers shall be zero; values assigned to any of these registers shall
be truncated to integers. The scale register shall contain a global
value used in computing the scale of expressions (as described below).
The value of the register scale shall be limited to 0 _< scale _<
{BC_SCALE_MAX} and shall have a default value of zero. The ibase and
obase registers are the input and output number radix, respectively. The
value of ibase shall be limited to
2 _< ibase _< 16
The value of obase shall be limited to
2 _< obase _< {BC_BASE_MAX}
When either ibase or obase is assigned a single digit value from the list
in 4.3.7.2, the value shall be assumed in hexadecimal. (For example,
ibase=A sets to base ten, regardless of the current ibase value.)
Otherwise, the behavior is undefined when digits greater than or equal to
the value of ibase appear in the input. Both ibase and obase shall have
initial values of 10.
Internal computations shall be conducted as if in decimal, regardless of 1
the input and output bases, to the specified number of decimal digits.
When an exact result is not achieved, (e.g., scale=0; 3.2/1) the result
shall be truncated.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
370 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
For all values of obase specified by this standard, numerical values
shall be output as follows:
(1) If the value is less than zero, a hyphen (-) character shall be
output.
(2) One of the following shall be output, depending on the numerical
value:
- If the absolute value of the numerical value is greater than
or equal to one, the integer portion of the value shall be
output as a series of digits appropriate to obase (as
described below). The most significant nonzero digit shall
be output next, followed by each successively less
significant digit.
- If the absolute value of the numerical value is less than one
but greater than zero and the scale of the numerical value is
greater than zero, it is unspecified whether the character 0
is output.
- If the numerical value is zero, the character 0 shall be
output.
(3) If the scale of the value is greater than zero, a period
character shall be output, followed by a series of digits
appropriate to obase (as described below) representing the most
significant portion of the fractional part of the value. If _s
represents the scale of the value being output, the number of
digits output shall be _s if obase is 10, less than or equal to _s
if obase is greater than 10, or greater than or equal to _s if
obase is less than 10. For obase values other than 10, this
should be the number of digits needed to represent a precision
of 10_s.
For obase values from 2 to 16, valid digits are the first obase of the
single characters
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E F
which represent the values zero through fifteen, respectively.
For bases greater than 16, each ``digit'' shall be written as a separate
multidigit decimal number. Each digit except the most significant
fractional digit shall be preceded a single <space> character. For bases
from 17 to 100, bc shall write two-digit decimal numbers; for bases from
101 to 999, three-digit decimal strings, and so on. For example, the
decimal number 1024 in base 25 would be written as:
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.3 bc - Arbitrary-precision arithmetic language 371
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
W01W15W24
in base 125, as:
W008W024
Very large numbers shall be split across lines with 70 characters per
line in the POSIX Locale; other locales may split at different character
boundaries. Lines that are continued shall end with a backslash (\).
A function call shall consist of a function name followed by parentheses
containing a comma-separated list of expressions, which are the function
arguments. A whole array passed as an argument shall be specified by the
array name followed by empty square brackets. All function arguments
shall be passed by value. As a result, changes made to the formal
parameters have no effect on the actual arguments. If the function
terminates by executing a return statement, the value of the function
shall be the value of the expression in the parentheses of the return
statement or shall be zero if no expression is provided or if there is no
return statement.
The result of sqrt(_e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n) _s_h_a_l_l _b_e _t_h_e _s_q_u_a_r_e _r_o_o_t _o_f _t_h_e
_e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n. _T_h_e _r_e_s_u_l_t _s_h_a_l_l _b_e _t_r_u_n_c_a_t_e_d _i_n _t_h_e _l_e_a_s_t _s_i_g_n_i_f_i_c_a_n_t
_d_e_c_i_m_a_l _p_l_a_c_e. _T_h_e _s_c_a_l_e _o_f _t_h_e _r_e_s_u_l_t _s_h_a_l_l _b_e _t_h_e _s_c_a_l_e _o_f _t_h_e
_e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n _o_r _t_h_e _v_a_l_u_e _o_f _s_c_a_l_e, whichever is larger.
The result of length(_e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n) _s_h_a_l_l _b_e _t_h_e _t_o_t_a_l _n_u_m_b_e_r _o_f _s_i_g_n_i_f_i_c_a_n_t
_d_e_c_i_m_a_l _d_i_g_i_t_s _i_n _t_h_e _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n. _T_h_e _s_c_a_l_e _o_f _t_h_e _r_e_s_u_l_t _s_h_a_l_l _b_e _z_e_r_o.
_T_h_e _r_e_s_u_l_t _o_f _s_c_a_l_e(_e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n) _s_h_a_l_l _b_e _t_h_e _s_c_a_l_e _o_f _t_h_e _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n.
_T_h_e _s_c_a_l_e _o_f _t_h_e _r_e_s_u_l_t _s_h_a_l_l _b_e _z_e_r_o.
_A _n_u_m_e_r_i_c _c_o_n_s_t_a_n_t _s_h_a_l_l _b_e _a_n _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n. _T_h_e _s_c_a_l_e _s_h_a_l_l _b_e _t_h_e _n_u_m_b_e_r
_o_f _d_i_g_i_t_s _t_h_a_t _f_o_l_l_o_w _t_h_e _r_a_d_i_x _p_o_i_n_t _i_n _t_h_e _i_n_p_u_t _r_e_p_r_e_s_e_n_t_i_n_g _t_h_e
_c_o_n_s_t_a_n_t, _o_r _z_e_r_o _i_f _n_o _r_a_d_i_x _p_o_i_n_t _a_p_p_e_a_r_s.
_T_h_e _s_e_q_u_e_n_c_e ( _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n ) _s_h_a_l_l _b_e _a_n _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n _w_i_t_h _t_h_e _s_a_m_e _v_a_l_u_e
_a_n_d _s_c_a_l_e _a_s _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n. The parentheses can be used to alter the normal
precedence.
The semantics of the unary and binary operators are as follows.
-_e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n
The result shall be the negative of the _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n. The
scale of the result shall be the scale of _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n.
The unary increment and decrement operators shall not modify the scale of
the named expression upon which they operate. The scale of the result
shall be the scale of that named expression.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
372 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
++_n_a_m_e_d-_e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n
The named expression shall be incremented by one. The result
shall be the value of the named expression after
incrementing.
--_n_a_m_e_d-_e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n
The named expression shall be decremented by one. The result
shall be the value of the named expression after
decrementing.
_n_a_m_e_d-_e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n++
The named expression shall be incremented by one. The result
shall be the value of the named expression before
incrementing.
_n_a_m_e_d-_e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n--
The named expression shall be decremented by one. The result
shall be the value of the named expression before
decrementing.
The exponentiation operator, circumflex (^), shall bind right to left.
_e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n^_e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n
The result shall be the first _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n raised to the power
of the second _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n. If the second expression is not an
integer, the behavior is undefined. If a is the scale of the
left expression and b is the absolute value of the right
expression, the scale of the result shall be:
if b >= 0 min(a * b, max(scale, a)) 2
if b < 0 scale 2
The multiplicative operators (*, /, %) shall bind left to right.
_e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n * _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n
The result shall be the product of the two expressions. If a
and b are the scales of the two expressions, then the scale
of the result shall be:
min(a+b,max(scale,a,b))
_e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n / _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n
The result shall be the quotient of the two expressions. The
scale of the result shall be the value of scale.
_e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n % _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n
_F_o_r _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n_s _a and _b, a % b shall be evaluated equivalent
to the steps:
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.3 bc - Arbitrary-precision arithmetic language 373
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
(1) Compute a/b to current scale.
(2) Use the result to compute
a - (a / b) * b
to scale
max(scale + scale(b), scale(a))
The scale of the result shall be
max(scale + scale(b), scale(a))
The additive operators (+, -) shall bind left to right.
_e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n + _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n
The result shall be the sum of the two expressions. The
scale of the result shall be the maximum of the scales of the
expressions.
_e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n - _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n
The result shall be the difference of the two expressions.
The scale of the result shall be the maximum of the scales of
the expressions.
The assignment operators (=, +=, -=, *=, /=, %=, ^=) shall bind right to
left.
_n_a_m_e_d-_e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n = _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n
This expression results in assigning the value of the
expression on the right to the named expression on the left.
The scale of both the named expression and the result shall
be the scale of _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n.
The compound assignments forms
_n_a_m_e_d-_e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n <_o_p_e_r_a_t_o_r>= _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n
shall be equivalent to:
_n_a_m_e_d-_e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n = _n_a_m_e_d-_e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n <_o_p_e_r_a_t_o_r> _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n
except that the _n_a_m_e_d-_e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n shall be evaluated only once.
Unlike all other operators, the relational operators (<, >, <=, >=, ==,
!=) shall be only valid as the object of an if, while, or inside a for
statement.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
374 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
_e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n_1 < _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n_2
The relation shall be true if the value of _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n_1 is
strictly less than the value of _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n_2.
_e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n_1 > _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n_2
The relation shall be true if the value of _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n_1 is
strictly greater than the value of _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n_2.
_e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n_1 <= _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n_2
The relation shall be true if the value of _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n_1 is
less than or equal to the value of _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n_2.
_e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n_1 >= _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n_2
The relation shall be true if the value of _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n_1 is
greater than or equal to the value of _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n_2.
_e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n_1 == _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n_2
The relation shall be true if the values of _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n_1 and
_e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n_2 are equal.
_e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n_1 != _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n_2
The relation shall be true if the values of _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n_1 and
_e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n_2 are unequal.
There are only two storage classes in bc, global and automatic (local).
Only identifiers that are to be local to a function need be declared with
the auto command. The arguments to a function shall be local to the
function. All other identifiers are assumed to be global and available
to all functions. All identifiers, global and local, have initial values
of zero. Identifiers declared as auto shall be allocated on entry to the
function and released on returning from the function. They therefore do
not retain values between function calls. Auto arrays shall be specified
by the array name followed by empty square brackets. On entry to a
function, the old values of the names that appear as parameters and as
automatic variables are pushed onto a stack. Until return is made from
the function, reference to these names refers only to the new values.
References to any of these names from other functions that are called
from this function also refer to the new value until one of those
functions uses the same name for a local variable.
When a statement is an expression, unless the main operator is an
assignment, execution of the statement shall write the value of the
expression followed by a <newline> character.
When a statement is a string, execution of the statement shall write the
value of the string.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.3 bc - Arbitrary-precision arithmetic language 375
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
Statements separated by semicolon or <newline> shall be executed
sequentially. In an interactive invocation of bc, each time a <newline>
character is read that satisfies the grammatical production
input_item : semicolon_list NEWLINE
the sequential list of statements making up the semicolon_list shall be
executed immediately and any output produced by that execution shall be
written without any delay due to buffering.
In an if statement [if (_r_e_l_a_t_i_o_n) _s_t_a_t_e_m_e_n_t] the _s_t_a_t_e_m_e_n_t shall be
executed if the relation is true.
The while statement [while (_r_e_l_a_t_i_o_n) _s_t_a_t_e_m_e_n_t] implements a loop in
which the _r_e_l_a_t_i_o_n is tested; each time the _r_e_l_a_t_i_o_n is true, the
_s_t_a_t_e_m_e_n_t shall be executed and the _r_e_l_a_t_i_o_n retested. When the _r_e_l_a_t_i_o_n
is false, execution shall resume after _s_t_a_t_e_m_e_n_t.
A for statement [for (_e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n; _r_e_l_a_t_i_o_n; _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n) _s_t_a_t_e_m_e_n_t] shall
be the same as:
_f_i_r_s_t-_e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n
while (_r_e_l_a_t_i_o_n) {
_s_t_a_t_e_m_e_n_t
_l_a_s_t-_e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n
}
All three expressions shall be present.
The break statement causes termination of a for or while statement.
The auto statement [auto _i_d_e_n_t_i_f_i_e_r[,_i_d_e_n_t_i_f_i_e_r] ...] _s_h_a_l_l _c_a_u_s_e _t_h_e
_v_a_l_u_e_s _o_f _t_h_e _i_d_e_n_t_i_f_i_e_r_s _t_o _b_e _p_u_s_h_e_d _d_o_w_n. _T_h_e _i_d_e_n_t_i_f_i_e_r_s _c_a_n _b_e
_o_r_d_i_n_a_r_y _i_d_e_n_t_i_f_i_e_r_s _o_r _a_r_r_a_y _i_d_e_n_t_i_f_i_e_r_s. _A_r_r_a_y _i_d_e_n_t_i_f_i_e_r_s _s_h_a_l_l _b_e
_s_p_e_c_i_f_i_e_d _b_y _f_o_l_l_o_w_i_n_g _t_h_e _a_r_r_a_y _n_a_m_e _b_y _e_m_p_t_y _s_q_u_a_r_e _b_r_a_c_k_e_t_s. _T_h_e _a_u_t_o
statement shall be the first statement in a function definition.
A define statement:
define _L_E_T_T_E_R ( _o_p_t__p_a_r_a_m_e_t_e_r__l_i_s_t ) {
_o_p_t__a_u_t_o__d_e_f_i_n_e__l_i_s_t
_s_t_a_t_e_m_e_n_t__l_i_s_t
}
defines a function named _L_E_T_T_E_R. If a function named _L_E_T_T_E_R was
previously defined, the define statement shall replace the previous
definition. The expression
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
376 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
_L_E_T_T_E_R ( _o_p_t__a_r_g_u_m_e_n_t__l_i_s_t )
shall invoke the function named _L_E_T_T_E_R. The behavior is undefined if the
number of arguments in the invocation does not match the number of
parameters in the definition. Functions shall be defined before they are
invoked. A function shall be considered to be defined within its own
body, so recursive calls shall be valid. The values of numeric constants
within a function shall be interpreted in the base specified by the value
of the ibase register when the function is invoked.
The return statements [return and return(_e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n)] shall cause
termination of a function, popping of its auto variables, and specifies
the result of the function. The first form shall be equivalent to
return(0). The value and scale of an invocation of the function shall be
the value and scale of the expression in parentheses.
The quit statement (quit) _s_h_a_l_l _s_t_o_p _e_x_e_c_u_t_i_o_n _o_f _a _b_c program at the
point where the statement occurs in the input, even if it occurs in a
function definition, or in an if, for, or while statement.
The following functions shall be defined when the -l option is specified:
s ( _E_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n ) Sine of argument in radians
c ( _E_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n ) _C_o_s_i_n_e _o_f _a_r_g_u_m_e_n_t _i_n _r_a_d_i_a_n_s
_a ( _E_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n ) _A_r_c_t_a_n_g_e_n_t _o_f _a_r_g_u_m_e_n_t
_l ( _E_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n ) _N_a_t_u_r_a_l _l_o_g_a_r_i_t_h_m _o_f _a_r_g_u_m_e_n_t
_e ( _E_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n ) _E_x_p_o_n_e_n_t_i_a_l _f_u_n_c_t_i_o_n _o_f _a_r_g_u_m_e_n_t
_j ( _E_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n , _E_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n )
_B_e_s_s_e_l _f_u_n_c_t_i_o_n _o_f _i_n_t_e_g_e_r _o_r_d_e_r
_T_h_e _s_c_a_l_e _o_f _a_n _i_n_v_o_c_a_t_i_o_n _o_f _e_a_c_h _o_f _t_h_e_s_e _f_u_n_c_t_i_o_n_s _s_h_a_l_l _b_e _t_h_e _v_a_l_u_e
_o_f _t_h_e _s_c_a_l_e register when the function is invoked. The behavior is
undefined if any of these functions is invoked with an argument outside
the domain of the mathematical function.
4.3.8 Exit Status
The bc utility shall exit with one of the following values:
0 All input files were processed successfully.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.3 bc - Arbitrary-precision arithmetic language 377
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
_u_n_s_p_e_c_i_f_i_e_d An error occurred.
4.3.9 Consequences of Errors
If any _f_i_l_e operand is specified and the named file cannot be accessed,
bc shall write a diagnostic message to standard error and terminate
without any further action.
In an interactive invocation of bc, the utility should print an error
message and recover following any error in the input. In a
noninteractive invocation of bc, invalid input causes undefined behavior.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
4.3.10 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s_,__U_s_a_g_e
This description is based on _B_C--_A_n _A_r_b_i_t_r_a_r_y _P_r_e_c_i_s_i_o_n _D_e_s_k-_C_a_l_c_u_l_a_t_o_r
_L_a_n_g_u_a_g_e by Lorinda Cherry and Robert Morris, in the BSD User Manual
{B28}.
Automatic variables in bc do not work in exactly the same way as in
either C or PL/1.
In the shell, the following assigns an approximation of the first ten
digits of J to the variable _x:
x=$(printf "%s\n" 'scale = 10; 104348/33215' | bc)
The following bc program prints the same approximation of J, with a
label, to standard output:
scale = 10
"pi equals "
104348 / 33215
The following defines a function to compute an approximate value of the
exponential function (note that such a function is predefined if the -l
option is specified):
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
378 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
scale = 20
define e(x){
auto a, b, c, i, s
a = 1
b = 1
s = 1
for (i = 1; 1 == 1; i++){
a = a*x
b = b*i
c = a/b
if (c == 0) {
return(s)
}
s = s+c
}
}
The following prints approximate values of the exponential function of
the first ten integers:
for (i = 1; i <= 10; ++i) {
e(i)
}
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
The bc utility is traditionally implemented as a front-end processor for
dc; dc was not selected to be part of the standard because bc was thought
to have a more intuitive programmatic interface. Current implementations
that implement bc using dc are expected to be compliant.
The Exit Status for error conditions been left unspecified for several
reasons:
(1) The bc utility is used in both interactive and noninteractive
situations. Different exit codes may be appropriate for the two
uses.
(2) It is unclear when a nonzero exit should be given; divide-by-
zero, undefined functions, and syntax errors are all
possibilities.
(3) It is not clear what utility the exit status has.
(4) In the 4.3BSD, System V, and Ninth Edition implementations, bc
works in conjunction with dc. dc is the parent, bc is the
child. This was done to cleanly terminate bc if dc aborted.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.3 bc - Arbitrary-precision arithmetic language 379
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
The decision to have bc exit upon encountering an inaccessible input file
is based on the belief that bc _f_i_l_e_1 _f_i_l_e_2 is used most often when at
least _f_i_l_e_1 contains data/function declarations/initializations. Having
bc continue with prerequisite files missing is probably not useful.
There is no implication in the Consequences of Errors subclause that bc
must check all its files for accessibility before opening any of them.
There was considerable debate on the appropriateness of the language
accepted by bc. Several members of the balloting group preferred to see
either a pure subset of the C language or some changes to make the
language more compatible with C. While the bc language has some obvious
similarities to C, it has never claimed to be compatible with any version
of C. An interpreter for a subset of C might be a very worthwhile
utility, and it could potentially make bc obsolete. However, no such
utility is known in existing practice, and it was not within the scope of
POSIX.2 to define such a language and utility. If and when they are
defined, it may be appropriate to include them in a future revision of
this standard. This left the following alternatives:
(1) Exclude any calculator language from the standard.
The consensus of the working group was that a simple
programmatic calculator language is very useful. Also, an
interactive version of such a calculator would be very important
for the POSIX.2a revision. The only arguments for excluding any
calculator were that it would become obsolete if and when a C-
compatible one emerged, or that the absence would encourage the
development of such a C-compatible one. These arguments did not
sufficiently address the needs of current application writers.
(2) Standardize the existing dc, possibly with minor modifications.
The consensus of the working group was that dc is a
fundamentally less usable language and that that would be far
too severe a penalty for avoiding the issue of being similar to
but incompatible with C.
(3) Standardize the existing bc, possibly with minor modifications.
This was the approach taken. Most of the proponents of changing
the language would not have been satisfied until most or all of
the incompatibilities with C were resolved. Since most of the
changes considered most desirable would break existing
applications and require significant modification to existing
implementations, almost no modifications were made. The one
significant modification that was made was the replacement of
the traditional bc's assignment operators =+ et al. with the
more modern += et al. The older versions are considered to be
fundamentally flawed because of the lexical ambiguity in uses
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
380 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
like
a=-1
In order to permit implementations to deal with backward
compatibility as they see fit, the behavior of this one
ambiguous construct was made undefined. (At least three
implementations have been known to support this change already,
so the degree of change involved should not be great.)
The % operator is the mathematical remainder operator when scale is zero.
The behavior of this operator for other values of scale is from
traditional implementations of bc, and has been maintained for the sake
of existing applications despite its nonintuitive nature.
The bc utility always uses the period (.) character to represent a radix
point, regardless of any decimal-point character specified as part of the
current locale. In languages like C or awk, the period character is used
in program source, so it can be portable and unambiguous, while the
locale-specific character is used in input and output. Because there is
no distinction between source and input in bc, this arrangement would not
be possible. Using the locale-specific character in bc's input would
introduce ambiguities into the language; consider the following example
in a locale with a comma as the decimal-point character:
define f(a,b) {
...
}
...
f(1,2,3)
Because of such ambiguities, the period character is used in input.
Having input follow different conventions from output would be confusing
in either pipeline usage or interactive usage, so period is also used in
output.
Traditional implementations permit setting ibase and obase to a broader
range of values. This includes values less than 2, which were not seen
as sufficiently useful to standardize. These implementations do not
interpret input properly for values of ibase outside greater than 16.
This is because numeric constants are recognized syntactically, rather
than lexically, as described in the standard. They are built from
lexical tokens of single hexadecimal digits and periods. Since <blank>s
between tokens are not visible at the syntactic level, it is not possible
to properly recognize the multidigit ``digits'' used in the higher bases.
The ability to recognize input in these bases was not considered useful
enough to require modifying these implementations. Note that the
recognition of numeric constants at the syntactic level is not a problem
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.3 bc - Arbitrary-precision arithmetic language 381
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
with conformance to the standard, as it does not impact the behavior of
portable applications (and correct bc programs). Traditional
implementations also accept input with all of the digits 0-9 and A-F
regardless of the value of ibase; since digits with value greater than or
equal to ibase are not really appropriate, the behavior when they appear
is undefined, except for the common case of
ibase=8;
/* Process in octal base */
...
ibase=A
/* Restore decimal base */
In some historical implementations, if the expression to be written is an
uninitialized array element, a leading <space> character and/or up to
four leading 0 characters may be output before the character zero. This
behavior is considered a bug; it is unlikely that any currently portable
application relies on
echo 'b[3]' | bc
returning 00000 rather than 0.
Exact calculation of the number of fractional digits to output for a
given value in a base other than 10 can be computationally expensive.
Traditional implementations use a faster approximation, and this is
permitted. Note that the requirements apply only to values of obase that
the standard requires implementations to support (in particular, not to
1, 0, or negative bases, if an implementation supports them as an
extension).
END_RATIONALE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
382 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
4.4 cat - Concatenate and print files
4.4.1 Synopsis
cat [-u] [_f_i_l_e ...]
4.4.2 Description
The cat utility reads files in sequence and writes their contents to the
standard output in the same sequence.
4.4.3 Options
The cat utility shall conform to the utility argument syntax guidelines
described in 2.10.2.
The following option shall be supported by the implementation:
-u Write bytes from the input file to the standard output
without delay as each is read.
4.4.4 Operands
The following operand shall be supported by the implementation:
_f_i_l_e A pathname of an input file. If no _f_i_l_e operands are
specified, the standard input is used. If a _f_i_l_e is -,
the cat utility shall read from the standard input at that
point in the sequence. The cat utility shall not close
and reopen standard input when it is referenced in this
way, but shall accept multiple occurrences of - as a _f_i_l_e
operand.
4.4.5 External Influences
4.4.5.1 Standard Input
The standard input is used only if no _f_i_l_e operands are specified, or if
a _f_i_l_e operand is -. See Input Files.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.4 cat - Concatenate and print files 383
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.4.5.2 Input Files
The input files can be any file type.
4.4.5.3 Environment Variables
The following environment variables shall affect the execution of cat:
LANG This variable shall determine the locale to use for
the locale categories when both LC_ALL and the
corresponding environment variable (beginning with
LC_) do not specify a locale. See 2.6.
LC_ALL This variable shall determine the locale to be used
to override any values for locale categories
specified by the settings of LANG or any
environment variables beginning with LC_.
LC_CTYPE This variable shall determine the locale for the
interpretation of sequences of bytes of text data
as characters (e.g., single- versus multibyte
characters in arguments).
LC_MESSAGES This variable shall determine the language in which
messages should be written.
4.4.5.4 Asynchronous Events
Default.
4.4.6 External Effects
4.4.6.1 Standard Output
The standard output shall contain the sequence of bytes read from the
input file(s). Nothing else shall be written to the standard output.
4.4.6.2 Standard Error
Used only for diagnostic messages.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
384 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
4.4.6.3 Output Files
None.
4.4.7 Extended Description
None.
4.4.8 Exit Status
The cat utility shall exit with one of the following values:
0 All input files were output successfully.
>0 An error occurred.
4.4.9 Consequences of Errors
Default.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
4.4.10 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s_,__U_s_a_g_e
Historical versions of the cat utility include the options -e, -t, and
-v, which permit the ends of lines, <tab>s, and invisible characters,
respectively, to be rendered visible in the output. The working group
omitted these options because they provide too fine a degree of control
over what is made visible, and similar output can be obtained using a
command such as:
sed -n -e 's/$/$/' -e l pathname
The -s option was omitted because it corresponds to different functions
in BSD and System V-based systems. The BSD -s option to squeeze blank
lines will be handled by more -s in the UPE. The System V -s option to
silence error messages can be accomplished by redirecting the standard
error. An alternative to cat-s is the following shell script using sed:
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.4 cat - Concatenate and print files 385
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
sed -n '
# Write non-empty lines.
/./ {
p
d
}
# Write a single empty line, then look for more empty lines.
/^$/ p
# Get next line, discard the held <newline> (empty line),
# and look for more empty lines.
:Empty
/^$/ {
N
s/.//
b Empty
}
# Write the non-empty line before going back to search
# for the first in a set of empty lines.
p
'
Note that the BSD documentation for cat uses the term ``blank line'' to
mean the same as the POSIX ``empty line''; a line consisting only of a
<newline>.
The BSD -n option is omitted because similar functionality can be
obtained from the -n option of the pr utility.
The -u option is included here for its value in prototyping nonblocking
reads from FIFOs. The intent is to support the following sequence:
mkfifo foo
cat -u foo > /dev/tty13 &
cat -u > foo
It is unspecified whether standard output is or is not buffered in the
default case. This is sometimes of interest when standard output is
associated with a terminal, since buffering may delay the output. The
presence of the -u option guarantees that unbuffered I/O is available.
It is implementation dependent whether the cat utility buffers output if
the -u option is not specified. Traditionally, the -u option is
implemented using the BSD _s_e_t_b_u_f_f_e_r() function, the System V _s_e_t_b_u_f()
function, or the C Standard {7} _s_e_t_v_b_u_f() function.
The following command
cat myfile
writes the contents of the file myfile to standard output.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
386 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
The following command
cat doc1 doc2 > doc.all
concatenates the files doc1 and doc2 and writes the result to doc.all.
Because of the shell language mechanism used to perform output
redirection, a command such as this:
cat doc doc.end > doc
causes the original data in doc to be lost.
Due to changes made to subclause 2.11.4 in Draft 11, the description of
the _f_i_l_e operand now states that - must be accepted multiple times, as in
historical practice. This allows the command:
cat start - middle - end > file
when standard input is a terminal, to get two arbitrary pieces of input
from the terminal with a single invocation of cat. Note, however, that
if standard input is a regular file, this would be equivalent to the
command:
cat start - middle /dev/null end > file
because the entire contents of the file would be consumed by cat the
first time - was used as a _f_i_l_e operand and an end-of-file condition
would be detected immediately when - was referenced the second time.
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
None.
END_RATIONALE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.4 cat - Concatenate and print files 387
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.5 cd - Change working directory
4.5.1 Synopsis
cd [_d_i_r_e_c_t_o_r_y]
4.5.2 Description
The cd utility shall change the working directory of the current shell
execution environment; see 3.12.
When invoked with no operands, and the HOME environment variable is set
to a nonempty value, the directory named in the HOME environment variable
shall become the new working directory. If HOME is empty or is
undefined, the default behavior is implementation defined.
4.5.3 Options
None.
4.5.4 Operands
The following operands shall be supported by the implementation:
_d_i_r_e_c_t_o_r_y An absolute or relative pathname of the directory that
becomes the new working directory. The interpretation of
a relative pathname by cd depends on the CDPATH
environment variable. If _d_i_r_e_c_t_o_r_y is -, the results are
implementation defined.
4.5.5 External Influences
4.5.5.1 Standard Input
None.
4.5.5.2 Input Files
None.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
388 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
4.5.5.3 Environment Variables
The following environment variables shall affect the execution of cd:
CDPATH A colon-separated list of pathnames that refer to
directories. If the _d_i_r_e_c_t_o_r_y operand does not
begin with a slash (/) character, and the first
component is not dot or dot-dot, cd shall search
for _d_i_r_e_c_t_o_r_y relative to each directory named in
the CDPATH variable, in the order listed. The new
working directory shall be set to the first
matching directory found. An empty string in place
of a directory pathname represents the current
directory. If CDPATH is not set, it shall be
treated as if it were an empty string.
HOME The name of the home directory, used when no
_d_i_r_e_c_t_o_r_y operand is specified.
LANG This variable shall determine the locale to use for
the locale categories when both LC_ALL and the
corresponding environment variable (beginning with
LC_) do not specify a locale. See 2.6.
LC_ALL This variable shall determine the locale to be used
to override any values for locale categories
specified by the settings of LANG or any
environment variables beginning with LC_.
LC_CTYPE This variable shall determine the locale for the
interpretation of sequences of bytes of text data
as characters (e.g., single- versus multibyte
characters in arguments).
LC_MESSAGES This variable shall determine the language in which
messages should be written.
4.5.5.4 Asynchronous Events
Default.
4.5.6 External Effects
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.5 cd - Change working directory 389
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.5.6.1 Standard Output
If a nonempty directory name from CDPATH is used, an absolute pathname of
the new working directory shall be written to the standard output as
follows:
"%s\n", <_n_e_w _d_i_r_e_c_t_o_r_y>
Otherwise, there shall be no output.
4.5.6.2 Standard Error
Used only for diagnostic messages.
4.5.6.3 Output Files
None.
4.5.7 Extended Description
None.
4.5.8 Exit Status
The cd utility shall exit with one of the following values:
0 The directory was successfully changed.
>0 An error occurred.
4.5.9 Consequences of Errors
The working directory remains unchanged.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
4.5.10 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s_,__U_s_a_g_e
_E_d_i_t_o_r'_s _N_o_t_e: _A _b_a_l_l_o_t_e_r _r_e_q_u_e_s_t_e_d _t_h_a_t _t_h_e _f_o_l_l_o_w_i_n_g _r_a_t_i_o_n_a_l_e _b_e 2
_h_i_g_h_l_i_g_h_t_e_d _i_n _t_h_e _D_1_1._2 _r_e_c_i_r_c_u_l_a_t_i_o_n. 2
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
390 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
Since cd affects the current shell execution environment, it is generally
provided as a shell regular built-in. If it is called in a subshell or 1
separate utility execution environment, such as one of the following: 1
(cd /tmp) 1
nohup cd 1
find . -exec cd {} \; 1
it will not affect the working directory of the caller's environment. 1
The use of the CDPATH was introduced in the System V shell. Its use is
analogous to the use of the PATH variable in the shell. Earlier systems
such as the BSD C-shell used a shell parameter cdpath for this purpose.
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
A common extension when HOME is undefined is to get the login directory
from the user database for the invoking user. This does not occur on
System V implementations.
Not included in this description are the features from the KornShell such
as setting OLDPWD, toggling current and previous directory (cd -), and
the two-operand form of cd (cd _o_l_d _n_e_w). This standard does not specify
the results of cd - or of calls with more than one operand. Since these
extensions are mostly used in interactive situations, they may be
considered for inclusion in POSIX.2a. The result of cd - and of using no
arguments with HOME unset or null have been made implementation defined
at the request of the POSIX.6 security working group.
The setting of the PWD variable was removed from earlier drafts, as it
can be replaced by $(pwd).
END_RATIONALE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.5 cd - Change working directory 391
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.6 chgrp - Change file group ownership
4.6.1 Synopsis
chgrp [-R] _g_r_o_u_p _f_i_l_e ...
4.6.2 Description
The chgrp utility shall set the group ID of the file named by each _f_i_l_e
operand to the group ID specified by the _g_r_o_u_p operand.
For each _f_i_l_e operand, it shall perform actions equivalent to the
POSIX.1 {8} _c_h_o_w_n() function, called with the following arguments:
(1) The _f_i_l_e operand shall be used as the _p_a_t_h argument.
(2) The user ID of the file shall be used as the _o_w_n_e_r argument.
(3) The specified _g_r_o_u_p _I_D shall be used as the _g_r_o_u_p argument.
4.6.3 Options
The chgrp utility shall conform to the utility argument syntax guidelines
described in 2.10.2.
The following option shall be supported by the implementation:
-R Recursively change file group IDs. For each _f_i_l_e operand
that names a directory, chgrp shall change the group of
the directory and all files in the file hierarchy below
it.
4.6.4 Operands
The following operands shall be supported by the implementation:
_g_r_o_u_p A group name from the group database or a numeric group
ID. Either specifies a group ID to be given to each file
named by one of the _f_i_l_e operands. If a numeric _g_r_o_u_p
operand exists in the group database as a group name, the
group ID number associated with that group name is used as
the group ID.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
392 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
_f_i_l_e A pathname of a file whose group ID is to be modified.
4.6.5 External Influences
4.6.5.1 Standard Input
None.
4.6.5.2 Input Files
None.
4.6.5.3 Environment Variables
The following environment variables shall affect the execution of chgrp:
LANG This variable shall determine the locale to use for
the locale categories when both LC_ALL and the
corresponding environment variable (beginning with
LC_) do not specify a locale. See 2.6.
LC_ALL This variable shall determine the locale to be used
to override any values for locale categories
specified by the settings of LANG or any
environment variables beginning with LC_.
LC_CTYPE This variable shall determine the locale for the
interpretation of sequences of bytes of text data
as characters (e.g., single- versus multibyte
characters in arguments).
LC_MESSAGES This variable shall determine the language in which
messages should be written.
4.6.5.4 Asynchronous Events
Default.
4.6.6 External Effects
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.6 chgrp - Change file group ownership 393
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.6.6.1 Standard Output
None.
4.6.6.2 Standard Error
Used only for diagnostic messages.
4.6.6.3 Output Files
None.
4.6.7 Extended Description
None.
4.6.8 Exit Status
The chgrp utility shall exit with one of the following values:
0 The utility executed successfully and all requested changes were
made.
>0 An error occurred.
4.6.9 Consequences of Errors
If, when invoked with the -R option, chgrp attempts but fails to change
the group ID of a particular file in a specified file hierarchy, it shall
continue to process the remaining files in the hierarchy. If chgrp
cannot read or search a directory within a hierarchy, it shall continue
to process the other parts of the hierarchy that are accessible.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
4.6.10 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s_,__U_s_a_g_e
The System V and BSD versions use different exit status codes. Some
implementations used the exit status as a count of the number of errors
that occurred; this practice is unworkable since it can overflow the
range of valid exit status value. The working group chose to mask these
by specifying only 0 and >0 as exit values.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
394 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
The functionality of chgrp is described substantially through references
to functions in POSIX.1 {8}. In this way, there is no duplication of
effort required for describing the interactions of permissions, multiple
groups, etc.
END_RATIONALE
4.7 chmod - Change file modes
4.7.1 Synopsis
chmod [-R] _m_o_d_e _f_i_l_e ...
4.7.2 Description
The chmod utility shall change any or all of the file mode bits of the
file named by each _f_i_l_e operand in the way specified by the _m_o_d_e operand.
It is implementation defined whether and how the chmod utility affects
any alternate or additional file access control mechanism (see _f_i_l_e
_a_c_c_e_s_s _p_e_r_m_i_s_s_i_o_n_s in 2.2.2.55) being used for the specified file.
Only a process whose effective user ID matches the user ID of the file,
or a process with the appropriate privileges, shall be permitted to
change the file mode bits of a file.
4.7.3 Options
The chmod utility shall conform to the utility argument syntax guidelines
described in 2.10.2.
The following option shall be supported by the implementation:
-R Recursively change file mode bits. For each _f_i_l_e operand
that names a directory, chmod shall change the file mode
bits of the directory and all files in the file hierarchy
below it.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.7 chmod - Change file modes 395
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.7.4 Operands
The following operands shall be supported by the implementation:
_m_o_d_e Represents the change to be made to the file mode bits of
each file named by one of the _f_i_l_e operands, as described
in 4.7.7.
_f_i_l_e A pathname of a file whose file mode bits are to be
modified.
4.7.5 External Influences
4.7.5.1 Standard Input
None.
4.7.5.2 Input Files
None.
4.7.5.3 Environment Variables
The following environment variables shall affect the execution of chmod:
LANG This variable shall determine the locale to use for
the locale categories when both LC_ALL and the
corresponding environment variable (beginning with
LC_) do not specify a locale. See 2.6.
LC_ALL This variable shall determine the locale to be used
to override any values for locale categories
specified by the settings of LANG or any
environment variables beginning with LC_.
LC_CTYPE This variable shall determine the locale for the
interpretation of sequences of bytes of text data
as characters (e.g., single- versus multibyte
characters in arguments).
LC_MESSAGES This variable shall determine the language in which
messages should be written.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
396 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
4.7.5.4 Asynchronous Events
Default.
4.7.6 External Effects
4.7.6.1 Standard Output
None.
4.7.6.2 Standard Error
Used only for diagnostic messages.
4.7.6.3 Output Files
None.
4.7.7 Extended Description
The _m_o_d_e operand shall be either a symbolic_mode expression or a
nonnegative octal integer. The symbolic_mode form is described by the
grammar in 4.7.7.1.
Each clause shall specify an operation to be performed on the current
file mode bits of each _f_i_l_e. The operations shall be performed on each
_f_i_l_e in the order in which the clauses are specified.
The _w_h_o symbols u, g, and o shall specify the _u_s_e_r, _g_r_o_u_p, and _o_t_h_e_r
parts of the file mode bits, respectively. A _w_h_o consisting of the
symbol a shall be equivalent to ugo.
The _p_e_r_m symbols r, w, and x represent the _r_e_a_d, _w_r_i_t_e, and
_e_x_e_c_u_t_e/_s_e_a_r_c_h portions of file mode bits, respectively. The _p_e_r_m symbol
s shall represent the _s_e_t-_u_s_e_r-_I_D-_o_n-_e_x_e_c_u_t_i_o_n (when who contains or
implies u) and _s_e_t-_g_r_o_u_p-_I_D-_o_n-_e_x_e_c_u_t_i_o_n (when who contains or implies g)
bits.
The perm symbol X shall represent the execute/search portion of the file
mode bits if the file is a directory or if the current (unmodified) file
mode bits have at least one of the execute bits (S_IXUSR, S_IXGRP, or
S_IXOTH) set. It shall be ignored if the file is not a directory and
none of the execute bits are set in the current file mode bits.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.7 chmod - Change file modes 397
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
The permcopy symbols u, g, and o shall represent the current permissions
associated with the user, group, and other parts of the file mode bits,
respectively. For the remainder of subclause 4.7.7 up to subclause
4.7.7.1, perm refers to the nonterminals perm and permcopy in the grammar
in 4.7.7.1.
If multiple actionlist_s are grouped with a single wholist in the grammar,
each actionlist shall be applied in the order specified with that
wholist. The op symbols shall represent the operation performed, as
follows:
+ If perm is not specified, the + operation shall not change the
file mode bits.
If who is not specified, the file mode bits represented by perm
for the owner, group, and other permissions, except for those
with corresponding bits in the file mode creation mask of the
invoking process, shall be set.
Otherwise, the file mode bits represented by the specified who
and perm values shall be set.
- If perm is not specified, the - operation shall not change the
file mode bits.
If who is not specified, the file mode bits represented by perm
for the owner, group, and other permissions, except for those
with corresponding bits in the file mode creation mask of the
invoking process, shall be cleared.
Otherwise, the file mode bits represented by the specified who
and perm values shall be cleared.
= Clear the file mode bits specified by the who value, or, if no
who value is specified, all of the file mode bits specified in
this standard.
If perm is not specified, the = operation shall make no further
modifications to the file mode bits.
If who is not specified, the file mode bits represented by perm
for the owner, group, and other permissions, except for those
with corresponding bits in the file mode creation mask of the
invoking process, shall be set.
Otherwise, the file mode bits represented by the specified who
and perm values shall be set.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
398 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
When using the symbolic mode form on a regular file, it is implementation
defined whether or not:
(1) Requests to set the set-user-ID-on-execution or set-group-ID-
on-execution bit when all execute bits are currently clear and
none are being set are ignored,
(2) Requests to clear all execute bits also clear the set-user-ID-
on-execution and set-group-ID-on-execution bits, or
(3) Requests to clear the set-user-ID-on-execution or set-group-ID-
on-execution bits when all execute bits are currently clear are
ignored. However, if the command ls -l file (see 4.39.6.1)
writes an s in the positions indicating that the set-user-ID-
on-execution or set-group-ID-on-execution, the commands chmod
u-s file or chmod g-s file, respectively, shall not be ignored.
When using the symbolic mode form on other file types, it is 2
implementation defined whether or not requests to set or clear the set- 2
user-ID-on-execution or set-group-ID-on-execution bits are honored. 2
If the who symbol o is used in conjunction with the perm symbol s with no
other who symbols being specified, the set-user-ID-on-execution and set-
group-ID-on-execution bits shall not be modified. It shall not be an
error to specify the who symbol o in conjunction with the perm symbol s.
For an octal integer _m_o_d_e operand, the file mode bits shall be set
absolutely. The octal number form of the _m_o_d_e operand is obsolescent.
For each bit set in the octal number, the corresponding file permission 2
bit shown in the following table shall be set; all other file permission 2
bits shall be cleared. For regular files, for each bit set in the octal 2
number corresponding to the set-user-ID-on-execution or the set-group- 2
ID-on-execution bits shown in the following table shall be set; if these 2
bits are not set in the octal number, they shall be cleared. For other 2
file types, it is implementation defined whether or not requests to set 2
or clear the set-user-ID-on-execution or set-group-ID-on-execution bits 2
are honored. 2
_______________________________________________________________________
_|O_c_t_a_l___M_o_d_e__b_i_t___|_O_c_t_a_l___M_o_d_e__b_i_t___|_O_c_t_a_l___M_o_d_e__b_i_t___|_O_c_t_a_l___M_o_d_e__b_i_t__|
|4000 S_ISUID | 0400 S_IRUSR | 0040 S_IRGRP | 0004 S_IROTH |
_|_________________|__________________|__________________|_________________|
_|2_0_0_0____S___I_S_G_I_D____|_0_2_0_0____S___I_W_U_S_R____|_0_0_2_0____S___I_W_G_R_P____|_0_0_0_2____S___I_W_O_T_H___|
| | 0100 S_IXUSR | 0010 S_IXGRP | 0001 S_IXOTH |
_|_________________|__________________|__________________|_________________|
When bits are set in the octal number other than those listed in the
table above, the behavior is unspecified.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.7 chmod - Change file modes 399
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.7.7.1 chmod Grammar
The grammar and lexical conventions in this subclause describe the syntax
for the symbolic_mode operand. The general conventions for this style of
grammar are described in 2.1.2. A valid symbolic_mode can be represented
as the nonterminal symbol symbolic_mode in the grammar. Any
discrepancies found between this grammar and descriptions in the rest of
this clause shall be resolved in favor of this grammar.
The lexical processing shall be based entirely on single characters.
Implementations need not allow <blank>s within the single argument being
processed.
%start symbolic_mode
%%
symbolic_mode : clause
| symbolic_mode ',' clause
;
clause : actionlist
| wholist actionlist
;
wholist : who
| wholist who
;
who : 'u'
| 'g'
| 'o'
| 'a'
;
actionlist : action
| actionlist action
;
action : op
| op permlist
| op permcopy
;
permcopy : 'u'
| 'g'
| 'o'
;
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
400 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
op : '+'
| '-'
| '='
;
permlist : perm
| perm permlist
;
perm : 'r'
| 'w'
| 'x'
| 'X'
| 's'
;
4.7.8 Exit Status
The chmod utility shall exit with one of the following values:
0 The utility executed successfully and all requested changes were
made.
>0 An error occurred.
4.7.9 Consequences of Errors
If, when invoked with the -R option, chmod attempts but fails to change
the mode of a particular file in a specified file hierarchy, it shall
continue to process the remaining files in the hierarchy, affecting the
final exit status. If chmod cannot read or search a directory within a
hierarchy, it shall continue to process the other parts of the hierarchy
that are accessible.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
4.7.10 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s_,__U_s_a_g_e
The functionality of chmod is described substantially through references
to concepts defined in POSIX.1 {8}. In this way, there is less
duplication of effort required for describing the interactions of
permissions, etc. However, the behavior of this utility is not described
in terms of the _c_h_m_o_d() function from POSIX.1 {8}, because that
specification requires certain side effects upon alternate file access
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.7 chmod - Change file modes 401
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
control mechanisms that might not be appropriate, depending on the
implementation.
Some historical implementations of the chmod utility change the mode of a
directory before the files in the directory when performing a recursive
(-R option) change; others change the directory mode after the files in
the directory. If an application tries to remove read or search
permission for a file hierarchy, the removal attempt will fail if the
directory is changed first; on the other hand, trying to re-enable
permissions to a restricted hierarchy will fail if directories are
changed last. Since neither method is clearly better and users do not
frequently try to make a hierarchy inaccessible to themselves, the
standard does not specify what happens in this case.
Note that although the association shown in the table between bits in the
octal number and the indicated file mode bits must be supported, this
does not require that a conforming implementation has to actually use
those octal values to implement the macros shown.
Historical System V implementations of chmod never use the process's
_u_m_a_s_k when changing modes. Version 7 and historical BSD systems do use
the mask when who is not specified, as described in this standard.
Applications should note the difference between:
chmod a-w file
which removes all write permissions, and:
chmod -- -w file
which removes write permissions that would be allowed if file was created
with the same _u_m_a_s_k. Note that _m_o_d_e operands -r, -w, -s, -x, or -X, or
anything beginning with a hyphen, must be preceded by -- to keep it from
being interpreted as an option.
It is difficult to express the grammar used by chmod in English, but the
following examples have been accepted by historical System V and BSD
systems and are, therefore, required to behave this way by POSIX.2 even
though some of them could be expressed more succinctly:
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
402 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
Mode Results
_____ __________________________________________
a+= Equivalent to a+,a=; clears all file mode
bits.
go+-w Equivalent to go+,go-w; clears group and
other write bits.
g=o-w Equivalent to g=o,g-w; sets group bit to
match other bits and then clears group
write bit.
g-r+w Equivalent to g-r,g+w; clears group read
bit and sets group write bit.
=g Sets owner bits to match group bits and
sets other bits to match group bits.
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
Implementations that support mandatory file and record locking as
specified by the /_u_s_r/_g_r_o_u_p _S_t_a_n_d_a_r_d {B29} historically used the
combination of set-group-ID bit set and group execute bit clear to
indicate mandatory locking. This condition is usually set or cleared
with the symbolic mode perm symbol l instead of the perm symbols s and x
so that mandatory locking mode is not changed without explicit indication
that that was what the user intended. Therefore, the details on how the
implementation treats these conditions must be defined in the
documentation. This standard does not require mandatory locking (nor
does POSIX.1 {8}), but does allow it as an extension. However, POSIX.2
does require that the ls and chmod utilities work consistently in this
area. If ls -l file says the set-group-ID bit is set, chmod g-s file
must clear it (assuming appropriate privileges exist to change modes).
The System V and BSD versions use different exit status codes. Some
implementations used the exit status as a count of the number of errors
that occurred; this practice is unworkable since it can overflow the
range of valid exit status values. This problem is avoided here by
specifying only 0 and >0 as exit values.
A ``sticky'' file mode bit, indicating that the text portion of an
executable object program file should be saved after the program is gone,
has meaning in some implementations, but was omitted here because its
purpose is implementation dependent and because it was omitted from
POSIX.1 {8}. On 4.3BSD-based implementations, the sticky bit is used in
conjunction with directory permissions to keep anyone from deleting a
file that they do not own from the directory. The perm symbol t is used
to represent the sticky bit in many existing implementations and should
not be used for other conflicting extensions.
POSIX.1 {8} indicates that implementation-defined restrictions may cause
the S_ISUID and S_ISGID bits to be ignored. POSIX.2 allows the chmod
utility to choose to modify these bits before calling POSIX.1 {8} _c_h_m_o_d()
(or some function providing equivalent capabilities) for nonregular
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.7 chmod - Change file modes 403
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
files. Among other things, this allows implementations that use the
set-user-ID and set-group-ID bits on directories to enable extended
features to handle these extensions in an intelligent manner. Portable
applications should never assume that they know how these bits will be
interpreted, except on regular files.
The grammar in Draft 9 did not allow several symbolic mode operands that
are correctly processed by historical implementations. (It only allowed
two clauses and one op per clause.) The grammar presented in Draft 10
matches historical implementations.
The X perm symbol was added, as provided in BSD-based systems, because it
provides commonly desired functionality when doing recursive (-R option)
modifications. Similar functionality is not provided by the find
utility. Historical BSD versions of chmod, however, only supported X
with op +; it has been extended here because it is also useful with op =.
(It has also been added for op - even though it duplicates x, in this
case, because it is intuitive and easier to explain.)
The grammar was extended with the permcopy nonterminal to allow
existing-practice forms of symbolic modes like o=u-g (i.e., set the
``other'' permissions to the permissions of ``owner'' minus the
permissions of ``group''.)
END_RATIONALE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
404 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
4.8 chown - Change file ownership
4.8.1 Synopsis
chown [-R] _o_w_n_e_r[:_g_r_o_u_p] _f_i_l_e ...
4.8.2 Description
The chown utility shall set the user ID of the file named by each _f_i_l_e
operand to the user ID specified by the _o_w_n_e_r operand.
For each _f_i_l_e operand, it shall perform actions equivalent to the
POSIX.1 {8} _c_h_o_w_n() function, called with the following arguments:
(1) The _f_i_l_e operand shall be used as the _p_a_t_h argument.
(2) The user ID indicated by the _o_w_n_e_r portion of the first operand
shall be used as the _o_w_n_e_r argument.
(3) If the _g_r_o_u_p portion of the first operand is given, the group ID
indicated by it shall be used as the _g_r_o_u_p argument; otherwise,
the group ID of the file shall be used as the _g_r_o_u_p argument.
4.8.3 Options
The chown utility shall conform to the utility argument syntax guidelines
described in 2.10.2.
The following option shall be supported by the implementation:
-R Recursively change file user IDs, and if the _g_r_o_u_p operand
is specified, group IDs. For each _f_i_l_e operand that names
a directory, chown changes the user and group ID of the
directory and all files in the file hierarchy below it.
4.8.4 Operands
The following operands shall be supported by the implementation:
_o_w_n_e_r[:_g_r_o_u_p]
A user ID and optional group ID to be assigned to file.
The _o_w_n_e_r portion of this operand shall be a user name
from the user database or a numeric user ID. Either
specifies a user ID to be given to each file named by one
of the _f_i_l_e operands. If a numeric _o_w_n_e_r operand exists
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.8 chown - Change file ownership 405
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
in the user database as a user name, the user ID number
associated with that user name is used as the user ID.
Similarly, if the _g_r_o_u_p portion of this operand is
present, it shall be a group name from the group database
or a numeric group ID. Either specifies a group ID to be
given to each file. If a numeric group operand exists in
the group database as a group name, the group ID number
associated with that group name shall be used as the group
ID.
_f_i_l_e A pathname of a file whose user ID is to be modified.
4.8.5 External Influences
4.8.5.1 Standard Input
None.
4.8.5.2 Input Files
None.
4.8.5.3 Environment Variables
The following environment variables shall affect the execution of chown:
LANG This variable shall determine the locale to use for
the locale categories when both LC_ALL and the
corresponding environment variable (beginning with
LC_) do not specify a locale. See 2.6.
LC_ALL This variable shall determine the locale to be used
to override any values for locale categories
specified by the settings of LANG or any
environment variables beginning with LC_.
LC_CTYPE This variable shall determine the locale for the
interpretation of sequences of bytes of text data
as characters (e.g., single- versus multibyte
characters in arguments).
LC_MESSAGES This variable shall determine the language in which
messages should be written.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
406 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
4.8.5.4 Asynchronous Events
Default.
4.8.6 External Effects
4.8.6.1 Standard Output
None.
4.8.6.2 Standard Error
Used only for diagnostic messages.
4.8.6.3 Output Files
None.
4.8.7 Extended Description
None.
4.8.8 Exit Status
The chown utility shall exit with one of the following values:
0 The utility executed successfully and all requested changes were
made.
>0 An error occurred.
4.8.9 Consequences of Errors
If, when invoked with the -R option, chown attempts but fails to change
the user ID and/or, if the _g_r_o_u_p operand is specified, group ID, of a
particular file in a specified file hierarchy, it shall continue to
process the remaining files in the hierarchy.
If chown cannot read or search a directory within a hierarchy, it shall
continue to process the other parts of the hierarchy that are accessible.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.8 chown - Change file ownership 407
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.8.10 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s_,__U_s_a_g_e
The System V and BSD versions use different exit status codes. Some
implementations used the exit status as a count of the number of errors
that occurred; this practice is unworkable since it can overflow the
range of valid exit status values. These are masked by specifying only 0
and >0 as exit values.
The functionality of chown is described substantially through references
to functions in POSIX.1 {8}. In this way, there is no duplication of
effort required for describing the interactions of permissions, multiple
groups, etc.
For implementations on which symbolic links are supported, actual use of
the _c_h_o_w_n() function to implement this utility might not be the
appropriate, depending on the implementation.
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
The 4.3BSD method of specifying both owner and group was included in this
standard because:
(1) There are cases where the desired end condition could not be
achieved using the chgrp and chown (that only changed the user
ID) utilities. [If the current owner is not a member of the
desired group and the desired owner is not a member of the
current group, the _c_h_o_w_n() function could fail unless both owner
and group are changed at the same time.]
(2) Even if they could be changed independently, in cases where both
are being changed, there is a 100 percent performance penalty
caused by being forced to invoke both utilities.
The BSD syntax _u_s_e_r[._g_r_o_u_p] was changed to _u_s_e_r[:_g_r_o_u_p] in POSIX.2
because the period is a valid character in login names (as specified by
POSIX.1 {8}, login names consist of characters in the portable filename
character set). The colon character was chosen as the replacement for
the period character because it would never be allowed as a character in
a user name or group name on traditional implementations.
The -R option is considered by some observers as an undesirable departure
from the traditional UNIX system tools approach; since a tool, find,
already exists to recurse over directories, there was felt to be no good
reason to require other tools to have to duplicate that functionality.
However, the -R option was deemed an important user convenience, is far
more efficient than forking a separate process for each element of the
directory hierarchy, and is in widespread historical use.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
408 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
END_RATIONALE
4.9 cksum - Write file checksums and sizes 2
4.9.1 Synopsis
cksum [_f_i_l_e ...]
4.9.2 Description
The cksum utility shall calculate and write to standard output a cyclic 2
redundancy check (CRC) for each input file, and also write to standard 2
output the number of octets in each file. The CRC used is based on the 2
polynomial used for CRC error checking in the networking standard ISO
8802-3 {B7}.
The CRC checksum shall be obtained in the following way:
The encoding is defined by the generating polynomial:
_G(_x) = _x32 + _x26 + _x23 + _x22 + _x16 + _x12 + _x11 + _x10 + _x8 + _x7 + _x5 +
_x4 + _x2 + _x + 1
Mathematically, the CRC value corresponding to a given file shall be
defined by the following procedure:
(1) The _n bits to be evaluated are considered to be the coefficients 2
of a mod 2 polynomial _M(_x) of degree _n-1. These _n bits are the 2
bits from the file, with the most significant bit being the most 2
significant bit of the first octet of the file and the last bit 2
being the least significant bit of the last octet, padded with 2
zero bits (if necessary) to achieve an integral number of 2
octets, followed by one or more octets representing the length 2
of the file as a binary value, least significant octet first. 2
The smallest number of octets capable of representing this 2
integer shall be used. 2
(2) _M(_x) is multiplied by _x32 (i.e., shifted left 32 bits) and
divided by _G(_x) using mod 2 division, producing a remainder _R(_x)
of degree _< 31. 2
(3) The coefficients of _R(_x) are considered to be a 32-bit sequence.
(4) The bit sequence is complemented and the result is the CRC. 2
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.9 cksum - Write file checksums and sizes 409
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.9.3 Options
None.
4.9.4 Operands
The following operand shall be supported by the implementation:
_f_i_l_e A pathname of a file to be checked. If no _f_i_l_e operands
are specified, the standard input is used.
4.9.5 External Influences
4.9.5.1 Standard Input
The standard input is used only if no _f_i_l_e operands are specified. See
Input Files.
4.9.5.2 Input Files
The input files can be any file type.
4.9.5.3 Environment Variables
The following environment variables shall affect the execution of cksum:
LANG This variable shall determine the locale to use for
the locale categories when both LC_ALL and the
corresponding environment variable (beginning with
LC_) do not specify a locale. See 2.6.
LC_ALL This variable shall determine the locale to be used
to override any values for locale categories
specified by the settings of LANG or any
environment variables beginning with LC_.
LC_CTYPE This variable shall determine the locale for the
interpretation of sequences of bytes of text data
as characters (e.g., single- versus multibyte
characters in arguments).
LC_MESSAGES This variable shall determine the language in which
messages should be written.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
410 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
4.9.5.4 Asynchronous Events
Default.
4.9.6 External Effects
4.9.6.1 Standard Output
For each file processed successfully, the cksum utility shall write in 2
the following format:
"%u %d %s\n", <_c_h_e_c_k_s_u_m>, <# _o_f _o_c_t_e_t_s>, <_p_a_t_h_n_a_m_e> 2
If no _f_i_l_e operand was specified, the pathname and its leading space
shall be omitted.
4.9.6.2 Standard Error
Used only for diagnostic messages.
4.9.6.3 Output Files
None.
4.9.7 Extended Description
None.
4.9.8 Exit Status
The cksum utility shall exit with one of the following values:
0 All files were processed successfully.
>0 An error occurred.
4.9.9 Consequences of Errors
Default.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.9 cksum - Write file checksums and sizes 411
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.9.10 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s_,__U_s_a_g_e
The cksum utility is typically used to quickly compare a suspect file
against a trusted version of the same. However, no claims are made by
POSIX.2 that this comparison is cryptographically secure; the historical
sum utility from which cksum was inspired has traditionally been used
mainly to ensure that files transmitted over noisy media arrive intact.
The chances of a damaged file producing the same CRC as the original are
astronomically small; deliberate deception is difficult, but probably not
impossible.
Although input files to cksum can be any type, the results need not be
what would be expected on character special device files or on file types
not described by POSIX.1 {8}. Since POSIX.2 does not specify the block
size used when doing input, checksums of character special files need not
process all of the data in those files.
The algorithm is expressed in terms of a bitstream divided into octets. 2
If a file is transmitted between two systems and undergoes any data 2
transformation (such as moving 8-bit characters into 9-bit bytes or 2
changing ``little Endian'' byte ordering to ``big Endian''), identical 2
CRC values cannot be expected. Implementations performing such 2
transformations may extend cksum to handle such situations. 2
The following C-language program can be used as a model to describe the
algorithm. It assumes that a char is one octet. It also assumes that 2
the entire file is available for one pass through the function. This was 2
done for simplicity in demonstrating the algorithm, rather than as an 2
implementation model. 2
static unsigned long crctab[] = { 2
0x0, 2
0x77073096, 0xee0e612c, 0x990951ba, 0x076dc419, 0x706af48f,
0xe963a535, 0x9e6495a3, 0x0edb8832, 0x79dcb8a4, 0xe0d5e91e,
0x97d2d988, 0x09b64c2b, 0x7eb17cbd, 0xe7b82d07, 0x90bf1d91,
0x1db71064, 0x6ab020f2, 0xf3b97148, 0x84be41de, 0x1adad47d,
0x6ddde4eb, 0xf4d4b551, 0x83d385c7, 0x136c9856, 0x646ba8c0,
0xfd62f97a, 0x8a65c9ec, 0x14015c4f, 0x63066cd9, 0xfa0f3d63,
0x8d080df5, 0x3b6e20c8, 0x4c69105e, 0xd56041e4, 0xa2677172,
0x3c03e4d1, 0x4b04d447, 0xd20d85fd, 0xa50ab56b, 0x35b5a8fa,
0x42b2986c, 0xdbbbc9d6, 0xacbcf940, 0x32d86ce3, 0x45df5c75,
0xdcd60dcf, 0xabd13d59, 0x26d930ac, 0x51de003a, 0xc8d75180,
0xbfd06116, 0x21b4f4b5, 0x56b3c423, 0xcfba9599, 0xb8bda50f,
0x2802b89e, 0x5f058808, 0xc60cd9b2, 0xb10be924, 0x2f6f7c87,
0x58684c11, 0xc1611dab, 0xb6662d3d, 0x76dc4190, 0x01db7106,
0x98d220bc, 0xefd5102a, 0x71b18589, 0x06b6b51f, 0x9fbfe4a5,
0xe8b8d433, 0x7807c9a2, 0x0f00f934, 0x9609a88e, 0xe10e9818,
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
412 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
0x7f6a0dbb, 0x086d3d2d, 0x91646c97, 0xe6635c01, 0x6b6b51f4,
0x1c6c6162, 0x856530d8, 0xf262004e, 0x6c0695ed, 0x1b01a57b,
0x8208f4c1, 0xf50fc457, 0x65b0d9c6, 0x12b7e950, 0x8bbeb8ea,
0xfcb9887c, 0x62dd1ddf, 0x15da2d49, 0x8cd37cf3, 0xfbd44c65,
0x4db26158, 0x3ab551ce, 0xa3bc0074, 0xd4bb30e2, 0x4adfa541,
0x3dd895d7, 0xa4d1c46d, 0xd3d6f4fb, 0x4369e96a, 0x346ed9fc,
0xad678846, 0xda60b8d0, 0x44042d73, 0x33031de5, 0xaa0a4c5f,
0xdd0d7cc9, 0x5005713c, 0x270241aa, 0xbe0b1010, 0xc90c2086,
0x5768b525, 0x206f85b3, 0xb966d409, 0xce61e49f, 0x5edef90e,
0x29d9c998, 0xb0d09822, 0xc7d7a8b4, 0x59b33d17, 0x2eb40d81,
0xb7bd5c3b, 0xc0ba6cad, 0xedb88320, 0x9abfb3b6, 0x03b6e20c,
0x74b1d29a, 0xead54739, 0x9dd277af, 0x04db2615, 0x73dc1683,
0xe3630b12, 0x94643b84, 0x0d6d6a3e, 0x7a6a5aa8, 0xe40ecf0b,
0x9309ff9d, 0x0a00ae27, 0x7d079eb1, 0xf00f9344, 0x8708a3d2,
0x1e01f268, 0x6906c2fe, 0xf762575d, 0x806567cb, 0x196c3671,
0x6e6b06e7, 0xfed41b76, 0x89d32be0, 0x10da7a5a, 0x67dd4acc,
0xf9b9df6f, 0x8ebeeff9, 0x17b7be43, 0x60b08ed5, 0xd6d6a3e8,
0xa1d1937e, 0x38d8c2c4, 0x4fdff252, 0xd1bb67f1, 0xa6bc5767,
0x3fb506dd, 0x48b2364b, 0xd80d2bda, 0xaf0a1b4c, 0x36034af6,
0x41047a60, 0xdf60efc3, 0xa867df55, 0x316e8eef, 0x4669be79,
0xcb61b38c, 0xbc66831a, 0x256fd2a0, 0x5268e236, 0xcc0c7795,
0xbb0b4703, 0x220216b9, 0x5505262f, 0xc5ba3bbe, 0xb2bd0b28,
0x2bb45a92, 0x5cb36a04, 0xc2d7ffa7, 0xb5d0cf31, 0x2cd99e8b,
0x5bdeae1d, 0x9b64c2b0, 0xec63f226, 0x756aa39c, 0x026d930a,
0x9c0906a9, 0xeb0e363f, 0x72076785, 0x05005713, 0x95bf4a82,
0xe2b87a14, 0x7bb12bae, 0x0cb61b38, 0x92d28e9b, 0xe5d5be0d,
0x7cdcefb7, 0x0bdbdf21, 0x86d3d2d4, 0xf1d4e242, 0x68ddb3f8,
0x1fda836e, 0x81be16cd, 0xf6b9265b, 0x6fb077e1, 0x18b74777,
0x88085ae6, 0xff0f6a70, 0x66063bca, 0x11010b5c, 0x8f659eff,
0xf862ae69, 0x616bffd3, 0x166ccf45, 0xa00ae278, 0xd70dd2ee,
0x4e048354, 0x3903b3c2, 0xa7672661, 0xd06016f7, 0x4969474d,
0x3e6e77db, 0xaed16a4a, 0xd9d65adc, 0x40df0b66, 0x37d83bf0,
0xa9bcae53, 0xdebb9ec5, 0x47b2cf7f, 0x30b5ffe9, 0xbdbdf21c,
0xcabac28a, 0x53b39330, 0x24b4a3a6, 0xbad03605, 0xcdd70693,
0x54de5729, 0x23d967bf, 0xb3667a2e, 0xc4614ab8, 0x5d681b02,
0x2a6f2b94, 0xb40bbe37, 0xc30c8ea1, 0x5a05df1b, 0x2d02ef8d
};
unsigned long memcrc(const unsigned char *b, size_t n) 2
{ 1
/* Input arguments: 1
* const char* b == byte sequence to checksum 1
* size_t n == length of sequence 1
*/ 1
register unsigned int i, c, s = 0; 2
for (i = n; i > 0; --i) { 2
c = (unsigned int)(*b++); 2
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.9 cksum - Write file checksums and sizes 413
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
s = (s << 8) ^ crctab[(s >> 24) ^ c]; 2
} 2
/* extend with the length of the string */ 2
while (n != 0) { 2
c = n & 0377; 2
n >>= 8; 2
s = (s << 8) ^ crctab[(s >> 24) ^ c]; 2
} 2
return s; 2
} ~
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
The historical practice of writing the number of ``blocks'' has been
removed in favor of writing the number of octets since the latter is not 2
only more useful, but historical implementations have not been consistent
in defining what a ``block'' meant. Octets are used instead of bytes
because bytes can differ in size between systems.
The algorithm used was selected to increase the robustness of the
utility's operation. Neither the System V nor BSD sum algorithm was
selected. Since each of these was different and each was the default
behavior on those systems, no realistic compromise was available if
either were selected--some set of historical applications would break.
Therefore, the name was changed to cksum. Although the historical sum
commands will probably continue to be provided for many years to come,
programs designed for portability across systems should use the new name.
The algorithm selected is based on that used by the Ethernet standard for
the Frame Check Sequence Field. The algorithm used does not match the
technical definition of a _c_h_e_c_k_s_u_m; the term is used for historical
reasons. The length of the file is included in the CRC calculation 2
because this parallels Ethernet's inclusion of a length field in its CRC, 2
but also because it guards against inadvertent collisions between files 2
that begin with different series of zero octets. The chance that two 2
different files will produce identical CRCs is much greater when their 2
lengths are not considered. Keeping the length and the checksum of the 2
file itself separate would yield a slightly more robust algorithm, but 2
historical usage has always been that a single number (the checksum as 2
printed) represents the signature of the file. It was decided that 2
historical usage was the more important consideration. 2
Earlier drafts contained modifications to the Ethernet algorithm that 2
involved extracting table values whenever an intermediate result became 2
zero. This was demonstrated to be less robust than the current method 2
and mathematically difficult to describe or justify. 2
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
414 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
_E_d_i_t_o_r'_s _N_o_t_e: _T_h_e _f_o_l_l_o_w_i_n_g _b_i_b_l_i_o_g_r_a_p_h_i_c _r_e_f_e_r_e_n_c_e_s _w_i_l_l _b_e _c_l_e_a_n_e_d _u_p
_b_e_f_o_r_e _t_h_e _s_t_a_n_d_a_r_d _i_s _c_o_m_p_l_e_t_e_d.
The calculation used is identical to that given in pseudo-code on page
1011 of _C_o_m_m_u_n_i_c_a_t_i_o_n_s _o_f _t_h_e _A_C_M, August, 1988 in the article
``Computation of Cyclic Redundancy Checks Via Table Lookup'' by Dilip V.
Sarwate. The pseudo-code rendition is:
X <- 0; Y <- 0;
for i <- m -1 step -1 until 0 do
begin
T <- X(1) ^ A[i]; 2
X(1) <- X(0); X(0) <- Y(1); Y(1) <- Y(0); Y(0) <- 0;
comment: f[T] and f'[T] denote the T-th words in the
table f and f' ;
X <- X ^ f[T]; Y <- Y ^ f'[T];
end
The pseudo-code is reproduced exactly as given; however, note that in
cksum'_s case, A[i] represents a byte of the file, the words X and Y are a 2
treated as a single 32-bit value, and the tables f and f' are a single
table containing 32-bit values.
The article also discusses generating the table(s).
Other sources consulted about CRC's:
``A Tutorial on CRC Computations,'' Ramabadran and Gaitonde, _I_E_E_E
_M_i_c_r_o, p. 62, August 1988;
_C_o_m_p_u_t_e_r _N_e_t_w_o_r_k_s, Andrew Tanenbaum, Prentice-Hall, Inc.
END_RATIONALE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.9 cksum - Write file checksums and sizes 415
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.10 cmp - Compare two files
4.10.1 Synopsis
cmp [ -l | -s ] _f_i_l_e_1 _f_i_l_e_2
4.10.2 Description
The cmp utility shall compare two files. The cmp utility shall write no
output if the files are the same. Under default options, if they differ,
it shall write to standard output the byte and line number at which the
first difference occurred. Bytes and lines shall be numbered beginning
with 1.
4.10.3 Options
The cmp utility shall conform to the utility argument syntax guidelines
described in 2.10.2.
The following options shall be supported by the implementation:
-l (Lowercase ell.) Write the byte number (decimal) and the
differing bytes (octal) for each difference.
-s Write nothing for differing files; return exit status
only.
4.10.4 Operands
The following operands shall be supported by the implementation:
_f_i_l_e_1 A pathname of the first file to be compared. If _f_i_l_e_1 is
-, the standard input shall be used.
_f_i_l_e_2 A pathname of the second file to be compared. If _f_i_l_e_2 is
-, the standard input shall be used.
If both _f_i_l_e_1 and _f_i_l_e_2 refer to standard input or refer to the same FIFO
special, block special, or character special file, the results are
undefined.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
416 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
4.10.5 External Influences
4.10.5.1 Standard Input
The standard input shall be used only if the _f_i_l_e_1 or _f_i_l_e_2 operand
refers to standard input. See Input Files.
4.10.5.2 Input Files
The input files can be any file type.
4.10.5.3 Environment Variables
The following environment variables shall affect the execution of cmp:
LANG This variable shall determine the locale to use for
the locale categories when both LC_ALL and the
corresponding environment variable (beginning with
LC_) do not specify a locale. See 2.6.
LC_ALL This variable shall determine the locale to be used
to override any values for locale categories
specified by the settings of LANG or any
environment variables beginning with LC_.
LC_CTYPE This variable shall determine the locale for the
interpretation of sequences of bytes of text data
as characters (e.g., single- versus multibyte
characters in arguments).
LC_MESSAGES This variable shall determine the language in which
messages should be written.
4.10.5.4 Asynchronous Events
Default.
4.10.6 External Effects
4.10.6.1 Standard Output
In the POSIX Locale, results of the comparison shall be written to
standard output. When no options are used, the format shall be:
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.10 cmp - Compare two files 417
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
"%s %s differ: char %d, line %d\n", _f_i_l_e_1, _f_i_l_e_2, <_b_y_t_e _n_u_m_b_e_r>,
<_l_i_n_e _n_u_m_b_e_r>
When the -l option is used, the format is:
"%d %o %o\n", <_b_y_t_e _n_u_m_b_e_r>, <_d_i_f_f_e_r_i_n_g _b_y_t_e>, <_d_i_f_f_e_r_i_n_g _b_y_t_e>
for each byte that differs. The first <_d_i_f_f_e_r_i_n_g _b_y_t_e> number is from
_f_i_l_e_1 while the second is from _f_i_l_e_2. In both cases, <_b_y_t_e _n_u_m_b_e_r> shall 2
be relative to the beginning of the file, beginning with 1. 2
The <_a_d_d_i_t_i_o_n_a_l _i_n_f_o> field shall either be null or a string that starts 1
with a <blank> and contains no <newline> characters. 1
No output shall be written to standard output when the -s option is used.
4.10.6.2 Standard Error
Used only for diagnostic messages. If _f_i_l_e_1 and _f_i_l_e_2 are identical for 2
the entire length of the shorter file, in the POSIX Locale the following 2
diagnostic message shall be written, unless the -s option is specified. 2
"cmp: EOF on %s%s\n", <_n_a_m_e _o_f _s_h_o_r_t_e_r _f_i_l_e>, <_a_d_d_i_t_i_o_n_a_l _i_n_f_o> 1
4.10.6.3 Output Files
None.
4.10.7 Extended Description
None.
4.10.8 Exit Status
The cmp utility shall exit with one of the following values:
0 The files are identical.
1 The files are different; this includes the case where one file
is identical to the first part of the other.
>1 An error occurred.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
418 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
4.10.9 Consequences of Errors
Default.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
4.10.10 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s_,__U_s_a_g_e
The global language in Section 2 indicates that using two mutually-
exclusive options together produces unspecified results. Some System V
implementations consider the option usage:
cmp -l -s ...
to be an error. They also treat:
cmp -s -l ...
as if no options were specified. Both of these behaviors are considered
bugs, but are allowed.
Although input files to cmp can be any type, the results might not be
what would be expected on character special device files or on file types
not described by POSIX.1 {8}. Since POSIX.2 does not specify the block
size used when doing input, comparisons of character special files need
not compare all of the data in those files.
The word char in the standard output format comes from historical usage, 1
even though it is actually a byte number. When cmp is supported in other 1
locales, implementations are encouraged to use the word byte or its 1
equivalent in another language. Users should not interpret this 1
difference to indicate that the functionality of the utility changed 1
between locales. 1
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
Some systems report on the number of lines in the identical-but-shorter 1
file case. This is allowed by the inclusion of the <_a_d_d_i_t_i_o_n_a_l _i_n_f_o> 1
fields in the output format. The restriction on having a leading <blank> 1
and no <newline>s is to make parsing for the file name easier. It is 1
recognized that some file names containing white-space characters will 1
make parsing difficult anyway, but the restriction does aid programs used 1
on systems where the names are predominantly well behaved. 1
END_RATIONALE 1
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.10 cmp - Compare two files 419
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.11 comm - Select or reject lines common to two files
4.11.1 Synopsis
comm [-123] _f_i_l_e_1 _f_i_l_e_2
4.11.2 Description
The comm utility shall read _f_i_l_e_1 and _f_i_l_e_2, which should be ordered in
the current collating sequence, and produce three text columns as output:
lines only in _f_i_l_e_1; lines only in _f_i_l_e_2; and lines in both files.
If the lines in both files are not ordered according to the collating
sequence of the current locale, the results are unspecified.
4.11.3 Options
The comm utility shall conform to the utility argument syntax guidelines
described in 2.10.2.
The following options shall be supported by the implementation:
-1 Suppress the output column of lines unique to _f_i_l_e_1. 1
-2 Suppress the output column of lines unique to _f_i_l_e_2. 1
-3 Suppress the output column of lines duplicated in _f_i_l_e_1 1
and _f_i_l_e_2. 1
4.11.4 Operands
The following operands shall be supported by the implementation:
_f_i_l_e_1 A pathname of the first file to be compared. If _f_i_l_e_1 is
-, the standard input is used.
_f_i_l_e_2 A pathname of the second file to be compared. If _f_i_l_e_2 is
-, the standard input is used.
If both _f_i_l_e_1 and _f_i_l_e_2 refer to standard input or to the same FIFO
special, block special, or character special file, the results are
undefined.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
420 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
4.11.5 External Influences
4.11.5.1 Standard Input
The standard input shall be used only if one of the _f_i_l_e_1 or _f_i_l_e_2
operands refers to standard input. See Input Files.
4.11.5.2 Input Files
The input files shall be text files.
4.11.5.3 Environment Variables
The following environment variables shall affect the execution of comm:
LANG This variable shall determine the locale to use for
the locale categories when both LC_ALL and the
corresponding environment variable (beginning with
LC_) do not specify a locale. See 2.6.
LC_ALL This variable shall determine the locale to be used
to override any values for locale categories
specified by the settings of LANG or any
environment variables beginning with LC_.
LC_CTYPE This variable shall determine the locale for the
interpretation of sequences of bytes of text data
as characters (e.g., single- versus multibyte
characters in arguments and input files).
LC_COLLATE This variable shall determine the locale for the
collating sequence comm expects to have been used
when the input files were sorted.
LC_MESSAGES This variable shall determine the language in which
messages should be written.
4.11.5.4 Asynchronous Events
Default.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.11 comm - Select or reject lines common to two files 421
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.11.6 External Effects
4.11.6.1 Standard Output
The comm utility shall produce output depending on the options selected.
If the -1, -2, and -3 options are all selected, comm shall write nothing
to standard output.
If the -1 option is not selected, lines contained only in _f_i_l_e_1 shall be
written using the format:
"%s\n", <_l_i_n_e _i_n _f_i_l_e_1>
If the -2 option is not selected, lines contained only in _f_i_l_e_2 shall be
written using the format:
"%s%s\n", <_l_e_a_d>, <_l_i_n_e _i_n _f_i_l_e_2>
where the string <_l_e_a_d> is:
<tab> if the -1 option is not selected, or
null string if the -1 option is selected.
If the -3 option is not selected, lines contained in both files shall be
written using the format:
"%s%s\n", <_l_e_a_d>, <_l_i_n_e _i_n _b_o_t_h>
where the string <_l_e_a_d> is:
<tab><tab> if neither the -1 nor the -2 option is selected, or
<tab> if exactly one of the -1 and -2 options is selected,
or
null string if both the -1 and -2 options are selected.
If the input files were ordered according to the collating sequence of
the current locale, the lines written shall be in the collating sequence
of the original lines.
4.11.6.2 Standard Error
Used only for diagnostic messages.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
422 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
4.11.6.3 Output Files
None.
4.11.7 Extended Description
None.
4.11.8 Exit Status
The comm utility shall exit with one of the following values:
0 All input files were successfully output as specified.
>0 An error occurred.
4.11.9 Consequences of Errors
Default.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
4.11.10 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s_,__U_s_a_g_e
If the input files are not properly presorted, the output of comm might
not be useful.
If a file named posix.2 contains a sorted list of the utilities in this
standard, a file named xpg3 contains a sorted list of the utilities
specified in X/Open Portability Guide Issue 3, and a file named svid89
contains a sorted list of the utilities in the System V Interface
Definition Third Edition:
comm -23 posix.2 xpg3 | comm -23 - svid89
would print a list of utilities in this standard not specified by either
of the other documents,
comm -12 posix.2 xpg3 | comm -12 - svid89
would print a list of utilities specified by all three documents, and
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.11 comm - Select or reject lines common to two files 423
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
comm -12 xpg3 svid89 | comm -23 - posix.2
would print a list of utilities specified by both XPG3 and _S_V_I_D, but not
specified in this standard.
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
None.
END_RATIONALE
4.12 command - Execute a simple command
4.12.1 Synopsis
command [-p] _c_o_m_m_a_n_d__n_a_m_e [_a_r_g_u_m_e_n_t ...]
4.12.2 Description
The command utility shall cause the shell to treat the arguments as a
simple command, suppressing the shell function lookup that is described 1
in 3.9.1.1 item (1)(b). 1
If the _c_o_m_m_a_n_d__n_a_m_e is the same as the name of one of the special built-
in utilities, the special properties in the enumerated list at the
beginning of 3.14 shall not occur. In every other respect, if
_c_o_m_m_a_n_d__n_a_m_e is not the name of a function, the effect of command shall
be the same as omitting command.
4.12.3 Options
The command utility shall conform to the utility argument syntax
guidelines described in 2.10.2.
The following option shall be supported by the implementation:
-p Perform the command search using a default value for PATH
that is guaranteed to find all of the standard utilities.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
424 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
4.12.4 Operands
The following operands shall be supported by the implementation:
_a_r_g_u_m_e_n_t One of the strings treated as an argument to _c_o_m_m_a_n_d__n_a_m_e.
_c_o_m_m_a_n_d__n_a_m_e
The name of a utility or a special built-in utility.
4.12.5 External Influences
4.12.5.1 Standard Input
None.
4.12.5.2 Input Files
None.
4.12.5.3 Environment Variables
The following environment variables shall affect the execution of
command:
LANG This variable shall determine the locale to use for
the locale categories when both LC_ALL and the
corresponding environment variable (beginning with
LC_) do not specify a locale. See 2.6.
LC_ALL This variable shall determine the locale to be used
to override any values for locale categories
specified by the settings of LANG or any
environment variables beginning with LC_.
LC_CTYPE This variable shall determine the locale for the
interpretation of sequences of bytes of text data
as characters (e.g., single- versus multibyte
characters).
LC_MESSAGES This variable shall determine the language in which
messages should be written.
PATH This variable shall determine the search path used
during the command search described in 3.9.1.1,
except as described under the -p option.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.12 command - Execute a simple command 425
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.12.5.4 Asynchronous Events
Default.
4.12.6 External Effects
4.12.6.1 Standard Output
None.
4.12.6.2 Standard Error
Used only for diagnostic messages.
4.12.6.3 Output Files
None.
4.12.7 Extended Description
None.
4.12.8 Exit Status
The command utility shall exit with one of the following values:
126 The utility specified by _c_o_m_m_a_n_d__n_a_m_e was found but could not be 1
invoked. 1
127 An error occurred in the command utility or the utility 1
specified by _c_o_m_m_a_n_d__n_a_m_e could not be found. 1
Otherwise, the exit status of command shall be that of the simple command
specified by the arguments to command.
4.12.9 Consequences of Errors
Default.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
426 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
4.12.10 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s_,__U_s_a_g_e
The order for command search in POSIX.2 allows functions to override
regular built-ins and path searches. This utility is necessary to allow
functions that have the same name as a utility to call the utility
(instead of a recursive call to the function).
The system default path is available using getconf; however, since
getconf may need to have the PATH set up before it can be called itself,
the following can be used:
command -p getconf _CS_PATH
Since command appears in Table 2-2, it will always be found prior to the
PATH search.
There is nothing in the description of command that implies the command
line is parsed any differently than for any other simple command. For
example,
command a | b ; c
is not parsed in any special way that causes | or ; to be treated other
than a pipe operator or semicolon or that prevents function lookup on b
or c.
Examples: Make a version of cd that always prints out the new working
directory exactly once:
cd() {
command cd "$@" >/dev/null
pwd
}
Start off a ``secure shell script'' in which the script avoids being
spoofed by its parent:
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.12 command - Execute a simple command 427
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
IFS='
'
# The preceding value should be <space><tab><newline>.
# Set IFS to its default value. 1
\unset -f command
# Ensure command is not a user function.
# Note that unset is escaped to prevent an alias being used
# for unset on implementations that support aliases.
PATH="$(\command -p getconf _CS_PATH):$PATH"
# Put on a reliable PATH prefix.
# Now, unset all utility names that will be used (or
# invoke them with \command each time).
# ...
At this point, given correct permissions on the directories called by
PATH, the script has the ability to ensure that any utility it calls is
the intended one. It is being very cautious because it assumes that
implementation extensions may be present that would allow user aliases
and/or functions to exist when it is invoked; neither capability is
specified by POSIX.2, but neither is prohibited as an extension. For
example, the proposed UPE supplement to POSIX.2 introduces a ENV variable
that precedes the invocation of the script with a user startup script.
Such a script could have used the aliasing facility from the UPE or the
functions in POSIX.2 to spoof the application.
The command, env, nohup, and xargs utilities have been specified to use
exit code 127 if an error occurs so that applications can distinguish 1
``failure to find a utility'' from ``invoked utility exited with an error 1
indication.'' The value 127 was chosen because it is not commonly used 1
for other meanings; most utilities use small values for ``normal error
conditions'' and the values above 128 can be confused with termination
due to receipt of a signal. The value 126 was chosen in a similar manner 1
to indicate that the utility could be found, but not invoked. Some 1
scripts produce meaningful error messages differentiating the 126 and 127 1
cases. The distinction between exit codes 126 and 127 is based on 2
KornShell practice that uses 127 when all attempts to _e_x_e_c the utility 2
fail with [ENOENT], and uses 126 when any attempt to _e_x_e_c the utility 2
fails for any other reason. 2
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
The command utility is somewhat similar to the Eighth Edition builtin
command, but since command also goes to the file system to search for
utilities, the name builtin would not be intuitive.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
428 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
The command utility will most likely be provided as a regular built-in.
In an earlier draft, it was a special built-in. This was changed for the
following reasons:
- The removal of exportable functions made the special precedence of
a special built-in unnecessary.
- A special built-in has special properties (see the enumerated list
at the beginning of 3.14) that were inappropriate for invoking
other utilities. For example, two commands such as
date > _u_n_w_r_i_t_a_b_l_e-_f_i_l_e
command date > _u_n_w_r_i_t_a_b_l_e-_f_i_l_e
would have entirely different results; in a noninteractive script,
the former would continue to execute the next command, the latter
would abort. Introducing this semantic difference along with
suppressing functions was seen to be nonintuitive.
- There are some advantages of suppressing the special
characteristics of special built-ins on occasion. For example:
command exec > _u_n_w_r_i_t_a_b_l_e-_f_i_l_e
will not cause a noninteractive script to abort, so that the output
status can be checked by the script.
An earlier draft presented a larger number of options. Most were removed
because they were not useful to real portable applications, given the new
command search order.
The -p option is present because it is useful to be able to ensure a safe
path search that will find all the POSIX.2 standard utilities. This
search might not be identical to the one that occurs through one of the
POSIX.1 {8} _e_x_e_c functions when PATH is unset, as explained in 2.6.1. At
the very least, this feature is required to allow the script to access
the correct version of getconf so that the value of the default path can
be accurately retrieved.
END_RATIONALE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.12 command - Execute a simple command 429
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.13 cp - Copy files
4.13.1 Synopsis
cp [-fip] _s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_e _t_a_r_g_e_t__f_i_l_e 2
cp [-fip] _s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_e ... _t_a_r_g_e_t 2
cp -R [-fip] _s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_e ... _t_a_r_g_e_t 2
cp -r [-fip] _s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_e ... _t_a_r_g_e_t 2
4.13.2 Description
The first synopsis form is denoted by two operands, neither of which are
existing files of type directory. The cp utility shall copy the contents
of _s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_e to the destination path named by _t_a_r_g_e_t__f_i_l_e.
The second synopsis form is denoted by two or more operands where the -R
or -r options are not specified and the first synopsis form is not
applicable. It shall be an error if any _s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_e is a file of type
directory, if _t_a_r_g_e_t does not exist, or if _t_a_r_g_e_t is a file of a type
defined by POSIX.1 {8}, but is not a file of type directory. The cp
utility shall copy the contents of each _s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_e to the destination
path named by the concatenation of _t_a_r_g_e_t, a slash character, and the
last component of _s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_e.
The third and fourth synopsis forms are denoted by two or more operands
where the -R or -r options are specified. The cp utility shall copy each
file in the file hierarchy rooted in each _s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_e to a destination
path named as follows.
If _t_a_r_g_e_t exists and is a file of type directory, the name of the
corresponding destination path for each file in the file hierarchy shall
be the concatenation of _t_a_r_g_e_t, a slash character, and the pathname of
the file relative to the directory containing _s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_e.
If _t_a_r_g_e_t does not exist, and two operands are specified, the name of the
corresponding destination path for _s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_e shall be _t_a_r_g_e_t; the name
of the corresponding destination path for all other files in the file
hierarchy shall be the concatenation of _t_a_r_g_e_t, a slash character, and
the pathname of the file relative to _s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_e.
It shall be an error if _t_a_r_g_e_t does not exist and more than two operands
are specified, or if _t_a_r_g_e_t exists and is a file of a type defined by
POSIX.1 {8}, but is not a file of type directory.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
430 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
In the following description, _s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_e refers to the file that is
being copied, whether specified as an operand or a file in a file
hierarchy rooted in a _s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_e operand. The term _d_e_s_t__f_i_l_e refers to
the file named by the destination path.
For each _s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_e, the following steps shall be taken:
(1) If _s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_e references the same file as _d_e_s_t__f_i_l_e, cp may
write a diagnostic message to standard error; it shall do 1
nothing more with _s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_e and shall go on to any remaining 1
files. 1
(2) If _s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_e is of type directory, the following steps shall
be taken:
(a) If neither the -R or -r options were specified, cp shall
write a diagnostic message to standard error, do nothing
more with _s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_e, and go on to any remaining files.
(b) If _s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_e was not specified as an operand and
_s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_e is dot or dot-dot, cp shall do nothing more
with _s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_e and go on to any remaining files.
(c) If _d_e_s_t__f_i_l_e exists and it is a file type not specified by
POSIX.1 {8}, the behavior is implementation defined.
(d) If _d_e_s_t__f_i_l_e exists and it is not of type directory, cp
shall write a diagnostic message to standard error, do
nothing more with _s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_e or any files below
_s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_e in the file hierarchy, and go on to any
remaining files.
(e) If the directory _d_e_s_t__f_i_l_e does not exist, it shall be
created with file permission bits set to the same value as
those of _s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_e, modified by the file creation mask
of the user if the -p option was not specified, and then
bitwise inclusively ORed with S_IRWXU. If _d_e_s_t__f_i_l_e
cannot be created, cp shall write a diagnostic message to
standard error, do nothing more with _s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_e, and go
on to any remaining files. It is unspecified if cp shall
attempt to copy files in the file hierarchy rooted in
_s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_e.
(f) The files in the directory _s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_e shall be copied to
the directory _d_e_s_t__f_i_l_e, taking the four steps [(1)-(4)]
listed here with the files as _s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_es.
(g) If _d_e_s_t__f_i_l_e was created, its file permission bits shall
be changed (if necessary) to be the same as those of
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.13 cp - Copy files 431
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
_s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_e, modified by the file creation mask of the
user if the -p option was not specified.
(h) The cp utility shall do nothing more with _s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_e and
go on to any remaining files.
(3) If _s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_e is of type regular file, the following steps 1
shall be taken:
(a) If _d_e_s_t__f_i_l_e exists, the following steps are taken:
[1] If the -i option is in effect, the cp utility shall
write a prompt to the standard error and read a line
from the standard input. If the response is not
affirmative, cp shall do nothing more with
_s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_e and go on to any remaining files.
[2] A file descriptor for _d_e_s_t__f_i_l_e shall be obtained by
performing actions equivalent to the POSIX.1 {8}
_o_p_e_n() function call using _d_e_s_t__f_i_l_e as the _p_a_t_h
argument, and the bitwise inclusive OR of O_WRONLY
and O_TRUNC as the _o_f_l_a_g argument.
[3] If the attempt to obtain a file descriptor fails and 2
the -f option is in effect, cp shall attempt to 2
remove the file by performing actions equivalent to 2
the POSIX.1 {8} _u_n_l_i_n_k() function called using 2
_d_e_s_t__f_i_l_e as the _p_a_t_h argument. If this attempt 2
succeeds, cp shall continue with step (3b). 2
(b) If _d_e_s_t__f_i_l_e does not exist, a file descriptor shall be
obtained by performing actions equivalent to the
POSIX.1 {8} _o_p_e_n() function called using _d_e_s_t__f_i_l_e as the
_p_a_t_h argument, and the bitwise inclusive OR of O_WRONLY
and O_CREAT as the _o_f_l_a_g argument. The file permission
bits of _s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_e shall be the _m_o_d_e argument.
(c) If the attempt to obtain a file descriptor fails, cp shall
write a diagnostic message to standard error, do nothing
more with _s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_e, and go on to any remaining files.
(d) The contents of _s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_e shall be written to the file
descriptor. Any write errors shall cause cp to write a
diagnostic message to standard error and continue to step
(3)(e).
(e) The file descriptor shall be closed.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
432 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
(f) The cp utility shall do nothing more with _s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_e. If 2
a write error occurred in step (3d), it is unspecified if 2
cp continues with any remaining files. If no write error 2
occurred in step (3d), cp shall go on to any remaining 2
files. 2
(4) Otherwise, the following steps shall be taken:
(a) If the -r option was specified, the behavior is 1
implementation defined. 1
(b) If the -R option was specified, the following steps shall 1
be taken: 1
[1] The _d_e_s_t__f_i_l_e shall be created with the same file 1
type as _s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_e. 1
[2] If _s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_e is a file of type FIFO, the file 1
permission bits shall be the same as those of
_s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_e, modified by the file creation mask of
the user if the -p option was not specified.
Otherwise, the permissions, owner ID, and group ID
of _d_e_s_t__f_i_l_e are implementation defined.
If this creation fails for any reason, cp shall
write a diagnostic message to standard error, do
nothing more with _s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_e, and go on to any
remaining files.
If the implementation provides additional or alternate access control
mechanisms (see 2.2.2.55), their effect on copies of files is
implementation-defined.
4.13.3 Options
The cp utility shall conform to the utility argument syntax guidelines
described in 2.10.2.
The following options shall be supported by the implementation:
-f If a file descriptor for a destination file cannot be 2
obtained, as described in step (3a)[2], attempt to unlink 2
the destination file and proceed. 2
-i Write a prompt to standard error before copying to any
existing destination file. If the response from the
standard input is affirmative, the copy shall be
attempted, otherwise not.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.13 cp - Copy files 433
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
-p Duplicate the following characteristics of each source
file in the corresponding destination file:
(1) The time of last data modification and time of last
access. If this duplication fails for any reason,
cp shall write a diagnostic message to standard
error.
(2) The user ID and group ID. If this duplication fails
for any reason, it is unspecified whether cp writes
a diagnostic message to standard error.
(3) The file permission bits and the S_ISUID and S_ISGID
bits. Other, implementation-defined, bits may be
duplicated as well. If this duplication fails for
any reason, cp shall write a diagnostic message to
standard error.
If the user ID or the group ID cannot be duplicated, the
file permission bits S_ISUID and S_ISGID shall be cleared.
If these bits are present in the source file but are not
duplicated in the destination file, it is unspecified
whether cp writes a diagnostic message to standard error.
The order in which the preceding characteristics are
duplicated is unspecified. The _d_e_s_t__f_i_l_e shall not be
deleted if these characteristics cannot be preserved.
-R Copy file hierarchies.
-r Copy file hierarchies. The treatment of special files is 1
implementation defined. 1
4.13.4 Operands
The following operands shall be supported by the implementation:
_s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_e A pathname of a file to be copied.
_t_a_r_g_e_t__f_i_l_e A pathname of an existing or nonexisting file, used for
the output when a single file is copied.
_t_a_r_g_e_t A pathname of a directory to contain the copied file(s).
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
434 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
4.13.5 External Influences
4.13.5.1 Standard Input
Used to read an input line in response to each prompt specified in
Standard Error. Otherwise, the standard input shall not be used.
4.13.5.2 Input Files
The input files specified as operands may be of any file type.
4.13.5.3 Environment Variables
The following environment variables shall affect the execution of cp:
LANG This variable shall determine the locale to use for
the locale categories when both LC_ALL and the
corresponding environment variable (beginning with
LC_) do not specify a locale. See 2.6.
LC_ALL This variable shall determine the locale to be used
to override any values for locale categories
specified by the settings of LANG or any
environment variables beginning with LC_.
LC_COLLATE This variable shall determine the locale for the
behavior of ranges, equivalence classes, and
multicharacter collating elements used in the
extended regular expression defined for the yesexpr
locale keyword in the LC_MESSAGES category.
LC_CTYPE This variable shall determine the locale for the
interpretation of sequences of bytes of text data
as characters (e.g., single- versus multibyte
characters in arguments) and the behavior of
character classes used in the extended regular
expression defined for the yesexpr locale keyword
in the LC_MESSAGES category.
LC_MESSAGES This variable shall determine the processing of
affirmative responses and the language in which
messages should be written.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.13 cp - Copy files 435
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.13.5.4 Asynchronous Events
Default.
4.13.6 External Effects
4.13.6.1 Standard Output
None.
4.13.6.2 Standard Error
A prompt shall be written to standard error under the conditions
specified in 4.13.2. The prompt shall contain the destination pathname,
but its format is otherwise unspecified. Otherwise, the standard error
shall be used only for diagnostic messages.
4.13.6.3 Output Files
The output files may be of any type.
4.13.7 Extended Description
None.
4.13.8 Exit Status
The cp utility shall exit with one of the following values:
0 No error occurred.
>0 An error occurred.
4.13.9 Consequences of Errors
If cp is prematurely terminated by a signal or error, files or file
hierarchies may be only partially copied and files and directories may
have incorrect permissions or access and modification times.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
436 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
4.13.10 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s_,__U_s_a_g_e
None.
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
2
The -i option exists on BSD systems, giving applications and users a way
to avoid accidentally removing files when copying. Although the 4.3BSD
version does not prompt if the standard input is not a terminal, the
working group decided that use of -i is a request for interaction, so
when the destination path exists, the utility takes instructions from
whatever responds on standard input.
The exact format of the interactive prompts is unspecified. Only the
general nature of the contents of prompts are specified, because
implementations may desire more descriptive prompts than those used on
historical implementations. Therefore, an application using the -i
option relies on the system to provide the most suitable dialogue
directly with the user, based on the behavior specified.
The -p option is historical practice on BSD systems, duplicating the time
of last data modification and time of last access. POSIX.2 extends it to
preserve the user and group IDs, as well as the file permissions. This
requirement has obvious problems in that the directories are almost
certainly modified after being copied. This specification requires that
the modification times be preserved even so. The statement that the
order in which the characteristics are duplicated is unspecified is to
permit implementations to provide the maximum amount of security for the
user. Implementations should take into account the obvious security
issues involved in setting the owner, group, and mode in the wrong order
or creating files with an owner, group, or mode different from the final
value.
It is unspecified whether cp writes diagnostic messages when the user and
group IDs cannot be set due to the widespread practice of users using -p
to duplicate some portion of the file characteristics, indifferent to the
duplication of others. Historic implementations only write diagnostic
messages on errors other than [EPERM].
The -r option is historical practice on BSD and BSD-derived systems,
copying file hierarchies as opposed to single files. This functionality
is used heavily in existing applications and its loss would significantly
decrease consensus. The -R option was added as a close synonym to the -r
option, selected for consistency with all other options in the standard
that do recursive directory descent.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.13 cp - Copy files 437
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
The difference between -R and -r is in the treatment by cp of file types
other than regular and directory. The original -r flag, for historic
reasons, does not handle special files any differently than regular
files, but always reads the file and copies its contents. This has
obvious problems in the presence of special file types, for example
character devices, FIFOs, and sockets. The current cp utility
specification is intended to require that the -R option recreate the file
hierarchy and that the -r option support historical practice. It is
anticipated that a future version of this standard will deprecate the -r
option, and for that reason, there has been no attempt to fix its
behavior with respect to FIFOs or other file types where copying the file
is clearly wrong. However, some systems support -r with the same 1
abilities as the -R defined in POSIX.2. To accommodate them as well as 1
systems that do not, the differences between -r and -R are implementation 1
defined. Implementations may make them identical. 1
When a failure occurs during the copying of a file hierarchy, cp is
required to attempt to copy files that are on the same level in the
hierarchy or above the file where the failure occurred. It is
unspecified if cp shall attempt to copy files below the file where the
failure occurred (which cannot succeed in any case).
Permissions, owners, and groups of created special file types have been
deliberately left as implementation defined. This is to allow systems to
satisfy special requirements (for example, allowing users to create
character special devices, but requiring them to be owned by a certain
group). In general, it is strongly suggested that the permissions,
owner, and group be the same as if the user had run the traditional
mknod, ln, or other utility to create the file. It is also probable that
additional privileges will be required to create block, character, or
other, implementation-specific, special file types.
Additionally, the -p option explicitly requires that all set-user-ID and 1
set-group-ID permissions be discarded if any of the owner or group IDs
cannot be set. This is to keep users from unintentionally giving away
special privilege when copying programs.
When creating regular files, historical versions of cp use the mode of
the source file as modified by the file mode creation mask. Other
choices would have been to use the mode of the source file unmodified by
the creation mask, or to use the same mode as would be given to a new
file created by the user, plus the execution bits of the source file, and
then modified by the file mode creation mask. In the absence of any
strong reason to change historic practice, it was in large part retained.
The one difference is that the set-user-ID and set-group-ID bits are
explicitly cleared when files are created. This is to prevent users from
creating programs that are set-user-ID/set-group-ID to them when copying
files or to make set-user-ID/set-group-ID files accessible to new groups
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
438 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
of users. For example, if a file is set-user-ID and the copy has a
different group ID than the source, a new group of users have execute
permission to a set-user-ID program than did previously. In particular,
this is a problem for super-users copying users' trees. A finer
granularity of protection could be specified, in that the set-user-
ID/set-group-ID bits could be retained under certain conditions even if
the owner or group could not be set, based on a determination that no
additional privileges were provided to any users. This was not seen as
sufficiently useful for the added complexity.
When creating directories, historical versions of cp use the mode of the
source directory, plus read, write, and search bits for the owner, as
modified by the file mode creation mask. This is done so that cp can
copy trees where the user has read permission, but the owner does not. A
side effect is that if the file creation mask denies the owner
permissions, cp will fail. Also, once the copy is done, historical
versions of cp set the permissions on the created directory to be the
same as the source directory, unmodified by the file creation mask.
This behavior has been modified so that cp will always be able to create
the contents of the directory, regardless of the file creation mask.
After the copy is done, the permissions are set to be the same as the
source directory, as modified by the file creation mask. This latter
change from historical behavior is to prevent users from accidentally
creating directories with permissions beyond those they would normally
set and for consistency with the behavior of cp in creating files.
It is not a requirement that cp detect attempts to copy a file to itself;
however, implementations are strongly encouraged to do so. Historical
implementations have detected the attempt in most cases, which is
probably all that is needed.
There are two methods of copying subtrees in this standard. The other
method is described as part of the pax utility (see 4.48). Both methods
are historical practice. The cp utility provides a simpler, more
intuitive interface, while pax offers a finer granularity of control.
Each provides additional functionality to the other; in particular, pax
maintains the hard-link structure of the hierarchy, while cp does not.
It is the intention of the working group that the results be similar
(using appropriate option combinations in both utilities). The results
are not required to be identical; there seemed insufficient gain to
applications to balance the difficulty of implementations having to
guarantee that the results would be exactly identical.
The wording allowing cp to copy a directory to implementation-defined
file types not specified by POSIX.1 {8} is provided so that
implementations supporting symbolic links are not required to prohibit
copying directories to symbolic links. Other extensions to POSIX.1 {8}
file types may need to use this loophole as well.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.13 cp - Copy files 439
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
END_RATIONALE
4.14 cut - Cut out selected fields of each line of a file
4.14.1 Synopsis
cut -b _l_i_s_t [-n] [_f_i_l_e ...]
cut -c _l_i_s_t [_f_i_l_e ...]
cut -f _l_i_s_t [-d _d_e_l_i_m] [-s] [_f_i_l_e ...]
4.14.2 Description
The cut utility shall cut out bytes (-b option), characters (-c option),
or character-delimited fields (-f option) from each line in one or more
files, concatenate them, and write them to standard output.
4.14.3 Options
The cut utility shall conform to the utility argument syntax guidelines
described in 2.10.2.
The option-argument _l_i_s_t (see options -b, -c, and -f below) shall be a 2
comma-separated list or <blank>-separated list of positive numbers and 2
ranges. Ranges can be in three forms. The first is two positive numbers
separated by a hyphen (_l_o_w-_h_i_g_h), which represents all fields from the
first number to the second number. The second is a positive number
preceded by a hyphen (-_h_i_g_h), which represents all fields from field
number 1 to that number. The third is a positive number followed by a
hyphen (_l_o_w-), which represents that number to the last field, inclusive.
The elements in list can be repeated, can overlap, and can be specified
in any order.
The following options shall be supported by the implementation:
-b _l_i_s_t Cut based on a _l_i_s_t of bytes. Each selected byte shall be
output unless the -n option is also specified. It shall
not be an error to select bytes not present in the input
line.
-c _l_i_s_t Cut based on a _l_i_s_t of characters. Each selected
character shall be output. It shall not be an error to
select characters not present in the input line.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
440 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
-d _d_e_l_i_m Set the field delimiter to the character _d_e_l_i_m. The
default is the <tab> character.
-f _l_i_s_t Cut based on a _l_i_s_t of fields, assumed to be separated in
the file by a delimiter character (see -d). Each selected
field shall be output. Output fields shall be separated
by a single occurrence of the field delimiter character.
Lines with no field delimiters shall be passed through
intact, unless -s is specified. It shall not be an error
to select fields not present in the input line.
-n Do not split characters. When specified with the -b
option, each element in _l_i_s_t of the form _l_o_w-_h_i_g_h
(hyphen-separated numbers) shall be modified as follows:
If the byte selected by _l_o_w is not the first byte of
a character, _l_o_w shall be decremented to select the
first byte of the character originally selected by
_l_o_w. If the byte selected by _h_i_g_h is not the last
byte of a character, _h_i_g_h shall be decremented to
select the last byte of the character prior to the
character originally selected by _h_i_g_h, or zero if
there is no prior character. If the resulting range
element has _h_i_g_h equal to zero or _l_o_w greater than
_h_i_g_h, the list element shall be dropped from _l_i_s_t
for that input line without causing an error.
Each element in list of the form _l_o_w- shall be treated as
above with _h_i_g_h set to the the number of bytes in the
current line, not including the terminating <newline>
character. Each element in list of the form -_h_i_g_h shall
be treated as above with _l_o_w set to 1. Each element in
list of the form _n_u_m (a single number) shall be treated as
above with _l_o_w set to _n_u_m and _h_i_g_h set to _n_u_m.
-s Suppress lines with no delimiter characters, when used
with the -f option. Unless specified, lines with no
delimiters shall be passed through untouched.
4.14.4 Operands
The following operands shall be supported by the implementation:
_f_i_l_e A pathname of an input file. If no _f_i_l_e operands are
specified, or if a _f_i_l_e operand is -, the standard input
shall be used.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.14 cut - Cut out selected fields of each line of a file 441
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.14.5 External Influences
4.14.5.1 Standard Input
The standard input shall be used only if no _f_i_l_e operands are specified,
or if a _f_i_l_e operand is -. See Input Files.
4.14.5.2 Input Files
The input files shall be text files, except that line lengths shall be
unlimited.
4.14.5.3 Environment Variables
The following environment variables shall affect the execution of cut:
LANG This variable shall determine the locale to use for
the locale categories when both LC_ALL and the
corresponding environment variable (beginning with
LC_) do not specify a locale. See 2.6.
LC_ALL This variable shall determine the locale to be used
to override any values for locale categories
specified by the settings of LANG or any
environment variables beginning with LC_.
LC_CTYPE This variable shall determine the locale for the
interpretation of sequences of bytes of text data
as characters (e.g., single- versus multibyte
characters in arguments and input files).
LC_MESSAGES This variable shall determine the language in which
messages should be written.
4.14.5.4 Asynchronous Events
Default.
4.14.6 External Effects
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
442 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
4.14.6.1 Standard Output
The cut utility output shall be a concatenation of the selected bytes,
characters, or fields (one of the following):
"%s\n", <_c_o_n_c_a_t_e_n_a_t_i_o_n _o_f _b_y_t_e_s>
"%s\n", <_c_o_n_c_a_t_e_n_a_t_i_o_n _o_f _c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r_s>
"%s\n", <_c_o_n_c_a_t_e_n_a_t_i_o_n _o_f _f_i_e_l_d_s _a_n_d _f_i_e_l_d _d_e_l_i_m_i_t_e_r_s>
4.14.6.2 Standard Error
Used only for diagnostic messages.
4.14.6.3 Output Files
None.
4.14.7 Extended Description
None.
4.14.8 Exit Status
The cut utility shall exit with one of the following values:
0 All input files were output successfully.
>0 An error occurred.
4.14.9 Consequences of Errors
Default.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
4.14.10 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s_,__U_s_a_g_e
Examples of the option qualifier list:
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.14 cut - Cut out selected fields of each line of a file 443
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
1,4,7 Select the first, fourth, and seventh bytes, characters,
or fields and field delimiters.
1-3,8 Equivalent to 1,2,3,8.
-5,10 Equivalent to 1,2,3,4,5,10.
3- Equivalent to third through last.
The _l_o_w-_h_i_g_h forms are not always equivalent when used with -b and -n and 1
multibyte characters. See the description of -n. 1
The following command:
cut -d : -f 1,6 /etc/passwd
reads the System V password file (user database) and produces lines of
the form:
<_u_s_e_r _I_D>:<_h_o_m_e _d_i_r_e_c_t_o_r_y>
Most utilities in this standard work on text files. The cut utility can
be used to turn files with arbitrary line lengths into a set of text
files containing the same data. The paste utility can be used to create
(or recreate) files with arbitrary line lengths. For example, if file
contains long lines:
cut -b 1-500 -n file > file1
cut -b 501- -n file > file2
creates file1 (a text file) with lines no longer than 500 bytes (plus the
<newline> character and file2 that contains the remainder of the data
from file. (Note that file2 will not be a text file if there are lines
in file that are longer than 500 + {LINE_MAX} bytes.) The original file
can be recreated from file1 and file2 using the command:
paste -d "\0" file1 file2 > file
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
Some historical implementations do not count <backspace> characters in
determining character counts with the -c option. This may be useful for
using cut for processing nroff output. It was deliberately decided not
to have the -c option treat either <backspace> or <tab> characters in any
special fashion. The fold utility does treat these characters specially. 1
Unlike other utilities, some historical implementations of cut exit after
not finding an input file, rather than continuing to process the
remaining _f_i_l_e operands. This behavior is prohibited by this standard,
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
444 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
where only the exit status is affected by this problem.
The behavior of cut when provided with either mutually exclusive options
or options that do not make sense together has been deliberately left
unspecified in favor of global wording in Section 2.
The traditional cut utility has worked in an environment where bytes and
characters were equivalent (modulo <backspace> and <tab> processing in
some implementations). In the extended world of multibyte characters,
the new -b option has been added. The -n option (used with -b) allows it
to be used to act on bytes rounded to character boundaries. The
algorithm specified for -n guarantees that
cut -b 1-500 -n file > file1
cut -b 501- -n file > file2
will end up with all the characters in file appearing exactly once in
file1 or file2. (There is, however, a <newline> character in both file1
and file2 for each <newline> character in file.)
END_RATIONALE
4.15 date - Write the date and time
4.15.1 Synopsis
date [-u] [+_f_o_r_m_a_t]
4.15.2 Description
The date utility shall write the date and time to standard output. By
default, the current date and time shall be written. If an operand
beginning with + is specified, the output format of date shall be
controlled by the field descriptors and other text in the operand.
4.15.3 Options
The date utility shall conform to the utility argument syntax guidelines
described in 2.10.2.
The following option shall be supported by the implementation:
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.15 date - Write the date and time 445
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
-u Perform operations as if the TZ environment variable was
set to the string UTC0, or its equivalent historical value 2
of GMT0. Otherwise, date shall use the time zone 2
indicated by the TZ environment variable or the system
default if that variable is not set.
4.15.4 Operands
When the format is specified, each field descriptor shall be replaced in
the standard output by its corresponding value. All other characters
shall be copied to the output without change. The output shall be always
terminated with a <newline> character.
Field Descriptors
%a Locale's abbreviated weekday name.
%A Locale's full weekday name.
%b Locale's abbreviated month name.
%B Locale's full month name.
%c Locale's appropriate date and time representation.
%C Century (a year divided by 100 and truncated to an
integer) as a decimal number (00-99).
%d Day of the month as a decimal number (01-31).
%D Date in the format _m_m/_d_d/_y_y.
%e Day of the month as a decimal number (1-31 in a two-digit
field with leading <space> fill).
%h A synonym for %b.
%H Hour (24-hour clock) as a decimal number (00-23).
%I Hour (12-hour clock) as a decimal number (01-12).
%j Day of the year as a decimal number (001-366).
%m Month as a decimal number (01-12).
%M Minute as a decimal number (00-59).
%n A <newline> character.
%p Locale's equivalent of either AM or PM.
%r 12-Hour clock time (01-12) using the _A_M/_P_M notation; in
the POSIX Locale, this shall be equivalent to
"%I:%M:%S %p".
%S Seconds as a decimal number (00-61).
%t A <tab> character.
%T 24-Hour clock time (00-23) in the format _H_H:_M_M:_S_S.
%U Week number of the year (Sunday as the first day of the
week) as a decimal number (00-53).
%w Weekday as a decimal number [0 (Sunday)-6].
%W Week number of the year (Monday as the first day of the
week) as a decimal number (00-53).
%x Locale's appropriate date representation.
%X Locale's appropriate time representation.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
446 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
%y Year (offset from %C) as a decimal number (00-99).
%Y Year with century as a decimal number.
%Z Time-zone name, or no characters if no time zone is
determinable.
%% A <percent-sign> character.
See the LC_TIME description in 2.5.2.5 for the field descriptor values in
the POSIX Locale.
_M_o_d_i_f_i_e_d__F_i_e_l_d__D_e_s_c_r_i_p_t_o_r_s
Some field descriptors can be modified by the E and O modifier characters
to indicate a different format or specification as specified in the
LC_TIME locale description (see 2.5.2.5). If the corresponding keyword
(see era, era_year, era_d_fmt, and alt_digits in 2.5.2.5) is not
specified or not supported for the current locale, the unmodified field
descriptor value shall be used.
%Ec Locale's alternate appropriate date and time
representation.
%EC The name of the base year (period) in the locale's
alternate representation.
%Ex Locale's alternate date representation.
%Ey Offset from %EC (year only) in the locale's alternate
representation.
%EY Full alternate year representation.
%Od Day of month using the locale's alternate numeric symbols.
%Oe Day of month using the locale's alternate numeric symbols.
%OH Hour (24-hour clock) using the locale's alternate numeric
symbols.
%OI Hour (12-hour clock) using the locale's alternate numeric
symbols.
%Om Month using the locale's alternate numeric symbols.
%OM Minutes using the locale's alternate numeric symbols.
%OS Seconds using the locale's alternate numeric symbols.
%OU Week number of the year (Sunday as the first day of the
week) using the locale's alternate numeric symbols.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.15 date - Write the date and time 447
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
%Ow Weekday as number in the locale's alternate representation
(Sunday = 0).
%OW Week number of the year (Monday as the first day of the
week) using the locale's alternate numeric symbols.
%Oy Year (offset from %C) in alternate representation.
4.15.5 External Influences
4.15.5.1 Standard Input
None.
4.15.5.2 Input Files
None.
4.15.5.3 Environment Variables
The following environment variables shall affect the execution of date:
LANG This variable shall determine the locale to use for
the locale categories when both LC_ALL and the
corresponding environment variable (beginning with
LC_) do not specify a locale. See 2.6.
LC_ALL This variable shall determine the locale to be used
to override any values for locale categories
specified by the settings of LANG or any
environment variables beginning with LC_.
LC_CTYPE This variable shall determine the locale for the
interpretation of sequences of bytes of text data
as characters (e.g., single- versus multibyte
characters in arguments).
LC_MESSAGES This variable shall determine the language in which
messages should be written.
LC_TIME This variable shall determine the format and
contents of date and time strings written by date.
TZ This variable shall specify the time zone in which
the time and date are written, unless the -u option
is specified. If the TZ variable is not set and
the -u is not specified, an unspecified system
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
448 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
default time zone is used.
4.15.5.4 Asynchronous Events
Default.
4.15.6 External Effects
4.15.6.1 Standard Output
When no formatting operand is specified, the output in the POSIX Locale
shall be equivalent to specifying
date "+%a %b %e %H:%M:%S %Z %Y"
4.15.6.2 Standard Error
Used only for diagnostic messages.
4.15.6.3 Output Files
None.
4.15.7 Extended Description
None.
4.15.8 Exit Status
The date utility shall exit with one of the following values:
0 The date was written successfully.
>0 An error occurred.
4.15.9 Consequences of Errors
Default.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.15 date - Write the date and time 449
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.15.10 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s_,__U_s_a_g_e
The option for setting the date and time was not included. It is
normally a system administration option, which is outside the scope of
POSIX.2.
The following are input/output examples of date used at arbitrary times
in the POSIX Locale:
$ date
Tue Jun 26 09:58:10 PDT 1990
$ date "+DATE: %m/%d/%y%nTIME: %H:%M:%S"
DATE: 11/21/87
TIME: 13:36:16
$ date "+TIME: %r"
TIME: 01:36:32 PM
Field descriptors are of unspecified format when not in the POSIX Locale.
Some of them can contain <newline>s in some locales, so it may be
difficult to use the format shown in Standard Output for parsing the
output of date in those locales.
The range of values for %S extends from 0 to 61 seconds to accommodate
the occasional leap second or double leap second.
Although certain of the field descriptors in the POSIX Locale (such as
the name of the month) are shown with initial capital letters, this need
not be the case in other locales. Programs using these fields may need
to adjust the capitalization if the output is going to be used at the
beginning of a sentence.
The date string formatting capabilities are intended for use in Gregorian
style calendars, possibly with a different starting year (or years). The
%x and %c field descriptors, however, are intended for ``local
representation''; these may be based on a different, non-Gregorian
calendar.
The %C field descriptor was introduced to allow a fallback for the %EC
(alternate year format base year); it can be viewed as the base of the
current subdivision in the Gregorian calendar. A century is not
calculated as an ordinal number; this standard was approved in century
19, not the twentieth (let's hope). Both the %Ey and %y can then be
viewed as the offset from %EC and %C, respectively.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
450 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
The E and O modifiers modify the traditional field descriptors, so that
they can always be used, even if the implementation (or the current
locale) does not support the modifier.
The E modifier supports alternate date formats, such as the Japanese
Emperor's Era, as long as these are based on the Gregorian calendar
system. Extending the E modifiers to other date elements may provide an
implementation-specific extension capable of supporting other calendar
systems, especially in combination with the O modifier.
The O modifier supports time and date formats using the locale's
alternate numerical symbols, such as Kanji or Hindi digits, or ordinal
number representation.
Non-European locales, whether they use Latin digits in computational 2
items or not, often have local forms of the digits for use in date 2
formats. This is not totally unknown even in Europe; a variant of dates 2
uses Roman numerals for the months: the third day of September 1991 2
would be written as 3.IX.1991. In Japan, Kanji digits are regularly used 2
for dates; in Arabic-speaking countries, Hindi digits are used. The %d, 2
%e, %H, %I, %m, %S, %U, %w, %W, and %y field descriptors always return 2
the date/time field in Latin digits (i.e., 0 through 9). The %O modifier 2
was introduced to support the use for display purposes of non-Latin 2
digits. In the LC_TIME category in localedef, the optional alt_digits 2
keyword is intended for this purpose. As an example, assume the 2
following (partial) localedef source: 2
alt_digits "";"I";"II";"III";"IV";"V";"VI";"VII";"VIII" \ 2
"IX";"X";"XI";"XII" 2
d_fmt "%e.%Om.%Y" 2
With the above date, the command 2
date "+x" 2
would yield ``3.IX.1991.'' With the same d_fmt, but without the 2
alt_digits, the command would yield ``3.9.1991.'' 2
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
Some of the new options for formatting are from the C Standard {7}. The
-u option was introduced to allow portable access to Coordinated
Universal Time (UTC). The string GMT0 is allowed as an equivalent TZ 1
value to be compatible with all of the systems using the BSD 1
implementation, where this option originated.
The %e format field descriptor (adopted from System V) was added because
the C Standard {7} descriptors did not provide any way to produce the
historical default date output during the first nine days of any month.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.15 date - Write the date and time 451
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
END_RATIONALE
4.16 dd - Convert and copy a file
4.16.1 Synopsis
dd [_o_p_e_r_a_n_d ...]
4.16.2 Description
The dd utility shall copy the specified input file to the specified
output file with possible conversions using specific input and output
block sizes. It shall read the input one block at a time, using the
specified input block size; it then shall process the block of data
actually returned, which could be smaller than the requested block size.
It shall apply any conversions that have been specified and write the
resulting data to the output in blocks of the specified output block
size. If the bs=_e_x_p_r operand is specified and no conversions other than
sync or noerror are requested, the data returned from each input block
shall be written as a separate output block; if the read returns less
than a full block and the sync conversion is not specified, the resulting
output block shall be the same size as the input block. If the bs=_e_x_p_r
operand is not specified, or a conversion other than sync or noerror is
requested, the input shall be processed and collected into full-sized
output blocks until the end of the input is reached.
The processing order shall be as follows:
(1) An input block is read.
(2) If the input block is shorter than the specified input block
size and the sync conversion is specified, null bytes shall be 2
appended to the input data up to the specified size. The
remaining conversions and output shall include the pad
characters as if they had been read from the input.
(3) If the bs=_e_x_p_r operand is specified and no conversion other than
sync or noerror is requested, the resulting data shall be
written to the output as a single block, and the remaining steps
are omitted.
(4) If the swab conversion is specified, each pair of input data
bytes shall be swapped. If there are an odd number of bytes in
the input block, the results are unspecified.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
452 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
(5) Any remaining conversions (block, unblock, lcase, and ucase)
shall be performed. These conversions shall operate on the
input data independently of the input blocking; an input or
output fixed-length record may span block boundaries.
(6) The data resulting from input or conversion or both shall be
aggregated into output blocks of the specified size. After the
end of input is reached, any remaining output shall be written
as a block without padding if conv=sync is not specified; thus
the final output block may be shorter than the output block
size.
4.16.3 Options
None.
4.16.4 Operands
All of the operands shall be processed before any input is read. The
following operands shall be supported by the implementation:
if=_f_i_l_e Specify the input pathname; the default is standard
input.
of=_f_i_l_e Specify the output pathname; the default is standard
output. If the seek=_e_x_p_r conversion is not also
specified, the output file shall be truncated before
the copy begins, unless conv=notrunc is specified.
If seek=_e_x_p_r is specified, but conv=notrunc is not,
the effect of the copy shall be to preserve the
blocks in the output file over which dd seeks, but no
other portion of the output file shall be preserved.
(If the size of the seek plus the size of the input
file is less than the previous size of the output
file, the output file shall be shortened by the
copy.)
ibs=_e_x_p_r Specify the input block size, in bytes, by _e_x_p_r
(default is 512).
obs=_e_x_p_r Specify the output block size, in bytes, by _e_x_p_r
(default is 512).
bs=_e_x_p_r Set both input and output block sizes to _e_x_p_r bytes,
superseding ibs= and obs=. If no conversion other
than sync, noerror, and notrunc is specified, each 2
input block shall be copied to the output as a single 2
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.16 dd - Convert and copy a file 453
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
block without aggregating short blocks.
cbs=_e_x_p_r Specify the conversion block size for block and
unblock in bytes by _e_x_p_r (default is zero). If cbs= 2
is omitted or given a value of zero, using block or 2
unblock produces unspecified results. 2
skip=_n Skip _n input blocks (using the specified input block
size) before starting to copy. On seekable files,
the implementation shall read the blocks or seek past
them; on nonseekable files, the blocks shall be read
and the data shall be discarded.
seek=_n Skip _n blocks (using the specified output block size)
from beginning of output file before copying. On
nonseekable files, existing blocks shall be read and
space from the current end of file to the specified
offset, if any, filled with null bytes; on seekable 2
files, the implementation shall seek to the specified 2
offset or read the blocks as described for
nonseekable files.
count=_n Copy only _n input blocks.
conv=_v_a_l_u_e[,_v_a_l_u_e ...]
Where _v_a_l_u_es are comma-separated symbols from the
following list.
block Treat the input as a sequence of <newline>-terminated 2
or end-of-file-terminated variable length records 2
independent of the input block boundaries. Each
record shall be converted to a record with a fixed
length specified by the conversion block size. Any 2
<newline> shall be removed from the input line; 2
<space>s shall be appended to lines that are shorter
than their conversion block size to fill the block.
Lines that are longer than the conversion block size
shall be truncated to the largest number of
characters that will fit into that size; the number
of truncated lines shall be reported (see Standard
Error below).
The block and unblock values are mutually exclusive.
unblock Convert fixed length records to variable length.
Read a number of bytes equal to the conversion block
size, delete all trailing <space>s, and append a 2
<newline>. 2
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
454 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
lcase Map uppercase characters specified by the LC_CTYPE
keyword tolower to the corresponding lowercase
character. Characters for which no mapping is
specified shall not be modified by this conversion.
The lcase and ucase symbols are mutually exclusive.
ucase Map lowercase characters specified by the LC_CTYPE
keyword toupper to the corresponding uppercase
character. Characters for which no mapping is
specified shall not be modified by this conversion.
swab Swap every pair of input bytes.
noerror Do not stop processing on an input error. When an
input error occurs, a diagnostic message shall be
written on standard error, followed by the current
input and output block counts in the same format as
used at completion (see Standard Error). If the sync
conversion is specified, the missing input shall be
replaced with null bytes and processed normally;
otherwise, the input block shall be omitted from the
output.
notrunc Do not truncate the output file. Preserve blocks in
the output file not explicitly written by this
invocation of the dd utility. (See also the
preceding of=_f_i_l_e operand.)
sync Pad every input block to the size of ibs= buffer,
appending null bytes. 2
The behavior is unspecified if operands other than conv= are specified
more than once.
For the bs=, cbs=, ibs=, and obs= operands, the application shall supply
an expression specifying a size in bytes. The expression, _e_x_p_r, can be:
(1) a positive decimal number;
(2) a positive decimal number followed by k, specifying
multiplication by 1024;
(3) a positive decimal number followed by b, specifying
multiplication by 512; or
(4) two or more positive decimal numbers (with or without k or b)
separated by x, specifying the product of the indicated values.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.16 dd - Convert and copy a file 455
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.16.5 External Influences
4.16.5.1 Standard Input
If no if= operand is specified, the standard input shall be used. See
Input Files.
4.16.5.2 Input Files
The input file can be any file type.
4.16.5.3 Environment Variables
The following environment variables shall affect the execution of dd:
LANG This variable shall determine the locale to use for
the locale categories when both LC_ALL and the
corresponding environment variable (beginning with
LC_) do not specify a locale. See 2.6.
LC_ALL This variable shall determine the locale to be used
to override any values for locale categories
specified by the settings of LANG or any
environment variables beginning with LC_.
LC_CTYPE This variable shall determine the locale for the
interpretation of sequences of bytes of text data
as characters (e.g., single- versus multibyte
characters in arguments and input files), the
classification of characters as upper- or
lowercase, and the mapping of characters from one
case to the other.
LC_MESSAGES This variable shall determine the language in which
messages should be written.
4.16.5.4 Asynchronous Events
For SIGINT, the dd utility shall write status information to standard
error before exiting. It shall take the standard action for all other
signals; see 2.11.5.4.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
456 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
4.16.6 External Effects
4.16.6.1 Standard Output
If no of= operand is specified, the standard output shall be used. The
nature of the output depends on the operands selected.
4.16.6.2 Standard Error
On completion, dd shall write the number of input and output blocks to
standard error. In the POSIX Locale the following formats shall be used:
"%u+%u records in\n", <_n_u_m_b_e_r _o_f _w_h_o_l_e _i_n_p_u_t _b_l_o_c_k_s>,
<_n_u_m_b_e_r _o_f _p_a_r_t_i_a_l _i_n_p_u_t _b_l_o_c_k_s>
"%u+%u records out\n", <_n_u_m_b_e_r _o_f _w_h_o_l_e _o_u_t_p_u_t _b_l_o_c_k_s>,
<_n_u_m_b_e_r _o_f _p_a_r_t_i_a_l _o_u_t_p_u_t _b_l_o_c_k_s>
A partial input block is one for which _r_e_a_d() returned less than the
input block size. A partial output block is one that was written with
fewer bytes than specified by the output block size.
In addition, when there is at least one truncated block, the number of
truncated blocks shall be written to standard error. In the POSIX
Locale, the format shall be:
"%u truncated %s\n", <_n_u_m_b_e_r _o_f _t_r_u_n_c_a_t_e_d _b_l_o_c_k_s>, "block" [if
<_n_u_m_b_e_r _o_f _t_r_u_n_c_a_t_e_d _b_l_o_c_k_s> is one] "blocks" [otherwise]
Diagnostic messages may also be written to standard error.
4.16.6.3 Output Files
If the of= operand is used, the output shall be the same as described in
Standard Output.
4.16.7 Extended Description
None.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.16 dd - Convert and copy a file 457
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.16.8 Exit Status
The dd utility shall exit with one of the following values:
0 The input file was copied successfully.
>0 An error occurred.
4.16.9 Consequences of Errors
If an input error is detected and the noerror conversion has not been
specified, any partial output block shall be written to the output file,
a diagnostic message shall be written, and the copy operation shall be
discontinued. If some other error is detected, a diagnostic message
shall be written and the copy operation shall be discontinued.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
4.16.10 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s_,__U_s_a_g_e
The input and output block size can be specified to take advantage of raw
physical I/O.
The following command:
dd if=/dev/rmt0h of=/dev/rmt1h
copies from tape drive 0 to tape drive 1, using a common historical
device naming convention.
The following command:
dd ibs=10 skip=1
strips the first 10 bytes from standard input.
A suggested implementation technique for conv=noerror,sync is to zero the
input buffer before each read and to write the contents of the input
buffer to the output even after an error. In this manner, any data
transferred to the input buffer before the error was detected will be
preserved. Another point is that a failed read on a regular file or a
disk will generally not increment the file offset, and dd must then seek
past the block on which the error occurred; otherwise, the input error
will occur repetitively. When the input is a magnetic tape, however, the
tape will normally have passed the block containing the error when the
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
458 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
error is reported, and thus no seek is necessary.
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
Table 4-4 - ASCII to EBCDIC Conversion
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____
0000 0000 0001 0002 0003 0067 0055 0056 0057
0010 0026 0005 0045 0013 0014 0015 0016 0017
0020 0020 0021 0022 0023 0074 0075 0062 0046
0030 0030 0031 0077 0047 0034 0035 0036 0037
0040 0100 0132 0177 0173 0133 0154 0120 0175
0050 0115 0135 0134 0116 0153 0140 0113 0141
0060 0360 0361 0362 0363 0364 0365 0366 0367
0070 0370 0371 0172 0136 0114 0176 0156 0157
0100 0174 0301 0302 0303 0304 0305 0306 0307
0110 0310 0311 0321 0322 0323 0324 0325 0326
0120 0327 0330 0331 0342 0343 0344 0345 0346
0130 0347 0350 0351 0255 0340 0275 0_2_3_2_ 0155
0140 0171 0201 0202 0203 0204 0205 0206 0207
0150 0210 0211 0221 0222 0223 0224 0225 0226
0160 0227 0230 0231 0242 0243 0244 0245 0246
0170 0247 0250 0251 0300 0117 0320 0137 0007
____
0200 0040 0041 0042 0043 0044 0025 0006 0027
0210 0050 0051 0052 0053 0054 0011 0012 0033
0220 0060 0061 0032 0063 0064 0065 0066 0010
0230 0070 0071 0072 0073 0004 0024 0076 0341
0240 0101 0102 0103 0104 0105 0106 0107 0110
0250 0111 0121 0122 0123 0124 0125 0126 0127
0260 0130 0131 0142 0143 0144 0145 0146 0147
0270 0150 0151 0160 0161 0162 0163 0164 0165
0300 0166 0167 0170 0200 0212 0213 0214 0215
0310 0216 0217 0220 0_1_5_2_ 0233 0234 0235 0236
0320 0237 0240 0252 0253 0254 0112 0256 0257
____
0330 0260 0261 0262 0263 0264 0265 0266 0267
0340 0270 0271 0272 0273 0274 0_2_4_1_ 0276 0277
0350 0312 0313 0314 0315 0316 0317 0332 0333
0360 0334 0335 0336 0337 0352 0353 0354 0355
0370 0356 0357 0372 0373 0374 0375 0376 0377
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The Options subclause is listed as ``None'' because there are no options
recognized by historical dd utilities. Certainly, many of the operands
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.16 dd - Convert and copy a file 459
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
Table 4-5 - ASCII to IBM EBCDIC Conversion
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____
0000 0000 0001 0002 0003 0067 0055 0056 0057
0010 0026 0005 0045 0013 0014 0015 0016 0017
0020 0020 0021 0022 0023 0074 0075 0062 0046
0030 0030 0031 0077 0047 0034 0035 0036 0037
0040 0100 0132 0177 0173 0133 0154 0120 0175
0050 0115 0135 0134 0116 0153 0140 0113 0141
0060 0360 0361 0362 0363 0364 0365 0366 0367
0070 0370 0371 0172 0136 0114 0176 0156 0157
0100 0174 0301 0302 0303 0304 0305 0306 0307
0110 0310 0311 0321 0322 0323 0324 0325 0326
0120 0327 0330 0331 0342 0343 0344 0345 0346
0130 0347 0350 0351 0255 0340 0275 0_1_3_7_ 0155
0140 0171 0201 0202 0203 0204 0205 0206 0207
0150 0210 0211 0221 0222 0223 0224 0225 0226
0160 0227 0230 0231 0242 0243 0244 0245 0246
0170 0247 0250 0251 0300 0117 0320 0241 0007
____
0200 0040 0041 0042 0043 0044 0025 0006 0027
0210 0050 0051 0052 0053 0054 0011 0012 0033
0220 0060 0061 0032 0063 0064 0065 0066 0010
0230 0070 0071 0072 0073 0004 0024 0076 0341
0240 0101 0102 0103 0104 0105 0106 0107 0110
0250 0111 0121 0122 0123 0124 0125 0126 0127
0260 0130 0131 0142 0143 0144 0145 0146 0147
0270 0150 0151 0160 0161 0162 0163 0164 0165
0300 0166 0167 0170 0200 0212 0213 0214 0215
0310 0216 0217 0220 0_2_3_2_ 0233 0234 0235 0236
0320 0237 0240 0252 0253 0254 0255 0256 0257
____
0330 0260 0261 0262 0263 0264 0265 0266 0267
0340 0270 0271 0272 0273 0274 0_2_7_5_ 0276 0277
0350 0312 0313 0314 0315 0316 0317 0332 0333
0360 0334 0335 0336 0337 0352 0353 0354 0355
0370 0356 0357 0372 0373 0374 0375 0376 0377
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
could have been designed to use the Utility Syntax Guidelines, which
would have resulted in the classic hyphenated option letters. In this
version of this standard, dd retains its curious JCL-like syntax due to
the large number of applications that depend on the historical
implementation. ``Fixing'' the interface would cause an excessive
compatibility problem. However, due to interest in the international
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
460 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
community, the developers of the standard have agreed to provide an
alternative syntax for the next version of this standard that conforms to
the spirit of the Utility Syntax Guidelines. This new syntax will be
accompanied by the existing syntax, marked as obsolescent. System
implementors are encouraged to develop and promulgate a new syntax for
dd, perhaps using a different utility name, that can be adopted for the
next version of this standard.
The default ibs= and obs= sizes are specified as 512 bytes because there
are existing (largely portable) scripts that assume these values. If
they were left unspecified, very strange results could occur if an
implementation chose an odd block size.
Historical implementations of dd used _c_r_e_a_t() when processing of=file.
This makes the seek= operand unusable except on special files. More
recent BSD-based implementations use _o_p_e_n() (without O_TRUNC) instead of
_c_r_e_a_t(), but fail to delete output file contents after the data copied.
Since balloting showed a desire to make this behavior available, the
conv=notrunc feature was added.
The w multiplier, (historically meaning _w_o_r_d), is used in System V to
mean 2 and in 4.2BSD to mean 4. Since _w_o_r_d is inherently nonportable,
its use is not supported by POSIX.2.
All references to US ASCII and to conversions to/from IBM and EBCDIC were
removed in preparation for this document's acceptance by the
international community. Implementations are free to have such
conversions as extensions, using the ascii, ibm, and ebcdic keywords.
However, in the interest of promoting consistency of implementation, the
original material from an early draft has been restored to the rationale
as an example:
In the two tables, the conversions from ASCII to either standard
EBCDIC (Table 4-4) or the IBM version of EBCDIC (Table 4-5) are
shown. The differences between the two tables are underlined. In 1
both tables, the ASCII values are the row and column headers and 1
the EBCDIC values are found at their intersections. For example, 1
ASCII 0012 (LF) is the second row, third column, yielding 0045 in 1
EBCDIC. The inverted tables (for EBCDIC to ASCII conversion) are 1
not shown, but are in one-to-one correspondence with these tables. 1
The tables are understood to match recent System V conversion 1
algorithms and there have been reports that earlier System V 1
versions and the BSD version do not always conform to these; 1
however, representatives of the BSD development group have agreed 1
that a future version of their system will use these tables for 1
consistency with System V. 1
The cbs operand is required if any of the ascii, ebcdic, or ibm 2
operands are specified. For the ascii operand, the input is 2
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.16 dd - Convert and copy a file 461
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
handled as described for the unblock operand except that characters 2
are converted to ASCII before the trailing <spaces>s are deleted. 2
For the ebcdic and ibm operands, the input is handled as described 2
for the block operand except that the characters are converted to 2
EBCDIC or IBM EBCDIC after the trailing <spaces>s are added. 2
The block and unblock keywords are from historical BSD practice. 2
Early drafts only allowed two numbers separated by x to be used in a
product when specifying bs=, cbs=, ibs=, and obs= sizes. This was
changed to reflect the historical practice of allowing multiple numbers
in the product as provided by Version 7 and all releases of System V and
BSD.
END_RATIONALE
4.17 diff - Compare two files
4.17.1 Synopsis
diff [ -c | -e | -C _n ] [-br] _f_i_l_e_1 _f_i_l_e_2
4.17.2 Description
The diff utility shall compare the contents of _f_i_l_e_1 and _f_i_l_e_2 and write
to standard output a list of changes necessary to convert _f_i_l_e_1 into
_f_i_l_e_2. This list should be minimal. No output shall be produced if the
files are identical.
4.17.3 Options
The diff utility shall conform to the utility argument syntax guidelines
described in 2.10.2.
The following options shall be supported by the implementation:
-b Cause trailing <blank>s to be ignored and other strings of
<blank>s to compare equal.
-c Produce output in a form that provides three lines of
context.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
462 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
-C _n Produce output in a form that provides _n lines of context
(where _n shall be interpreted as a positive decimal
integer).
-e Produce output in a form suitable as input for the ed
utility (see 4.20), which can then be used to convert
_f_i_l_e_1 into _f_i_l_e_2.
-r Apply diff recursively to files and directories of the
same name when _f_i_l_e_1 and _f_i_l_e_2 are both directories.
4.17.4 Operands
The following operands shall be supported by the implementation:
_f_i_l_e_1
_f_i_l_e_2 A pathname of a file be compared. If either the _f_i_l_e_1 or
_f_i_l_e_2 operand is -, the standard input shall be used in
its place.
If both _f_i_l_e_1 and _f_i_l_e_2 are directories, diff shall not compare block
special files, character special files, or FIFO special files to any
files and shall not compare regular files to directories. The system
documentation shall specify the behavior of diff on implementation-
specific file types not specified by POSIX.1 {8} when found in
directories. Further details are as specified in 4.17.6.1.1.
If only one of _f_i_l_e_1 and _f_i_l_e_2 is a directory, diff shall be applied to
the nondirectory file and the file contained in the directory file with a
filename that is the same as the last component of the nondirectory file.
4.17.5 External Influences
4.17.5.1 Standard Input
The standard input shall be used only if one of the _f_i_l_e_1 or _f_i_l_e_2
operands references standard input. See Input Files.
4.17.5.2 Input Files
The input files shall be text files.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.17 diff - Compare two files 463
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.17.5.3 Environment Variables
The following environment variables shall affect the execution of diff:
LANG This variable shall determine the locale to use for
the locale categories when both LC_ALL and the
corresponding environment variable (beginning with
LC_) do not specify a locale. See 2.6.
LC_ALL This variable shall determine the locale to be used
to override any values for locale categories
specified by the settings of LANG or any
environment variables beginning with LC_.
LC_CTYPE This variable shall determine the locale for the
interpretation of sequences of bytes of text data
as characters (e.g., single- versus multibyte
characters in arguments and input files).
LC_MESSAGES This variable shall determine the language in which
messages should be written.
LC_TIME This variable shall determine the locale for
affecting the format of file time stamps written
with the -C and -c options.
TZ This variable shall determine the locale for
affecting the time zone used for calculating file
time stamps written with the -C and -c options.
4.17.5.4 Asynchronous Events
Default.
4.17.6 External Effects
4.17.6.1 Standard Output
4.17.6.1.1 diff Directory Comparison Format
If both _f_i_l_e_1 and _f_i_l_e_2 are directories, the following output formats
shall be used.
In the POSIX Locale, each file that is present in only one directory
shall be reported using the following format:
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
464 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
"Only in %s: %s\n", <_d_i_r_e_c_t_o_r_y _p_a_t_h_n_a_m_e>, <_f_i_l_e_n_a_m_e>
In the POSIX Locale, subdirectories that are common to the two
directories may be reported with the following format:
"Common subdirectories: %s and %s\n", <_d_i_r_e_c_t_o_r_y_1 _p_a_t_h_n_a_m_e>,
<_d_i_r_e_c_t_o_r_y_2 _p_a_t_h_n_a_m_e>
For each file common to the two directories if the two files are not to
be compared, the following format shall be used in the POSIX Locale:
"File %s is a %s while file %s is a %s\n", <_d_i_r_e_c_t_o_r_y_1 _p_a_t_h_n_a_m_e>,
<_f_i_l_e _t_y_p_e _o_f _d_i_r_e_c_t_o_r_y_1 _p_a_t_h_n_a_m_e>, <_d_i_r_e_c_t_o_r_y_2 _p_a_t_h_n_a_m_e>,
<_f_i_l_e _t_y_p_e _o_f _d_i_r_e_c_t_o_r_y_2 _p_a_t_h_n_a_m_e>
For each file common to the two directories, if the files are to be
compared and are identical, no output shall be written. If the two files
differ, the following format shall be written: 2
"diff %s %s %s\n", <_d_i_f_f__o_p_t_i_o_n_s>, <_f_i_l_e_n_a_m_e_1>, <_f_i_l_e_n_a_m_e_2>
where <_d_i_f_f__o_p_t_i_o_n_s> are the options as specified on the command line.
Depending on these options, one of the following output formats shall be
used to write the differences.
All directory pathnames listed in this subclause shall be relative to the
original command line arguments. All other names of files listed in this
subclause shall be filenames (pathname components).
4.17.6.1.2 diff Default Output Format
The default (without -e, -c, or -C options) diff utility output contains
lines of these forms:
"%da%d\n", <_n_u_m_1>, <_n_u_m_2>
"%da%d,%d\n", <_n_u_m_1>, <_n_u_m_2>, <_n_u_m_3>
"%dd%d\n", <_n_u_m_1>, <_n_u_m_2>
"%d,%dd%d\n", <_n_u_m_1>, <_n_u_m_2>, <_n_u_m_3>
"%dc%d\n", <_n_u_m_1>, <_n_u_m_2>
"%d,%dc%d\n", <_n_u_m_1>, <_n_u_m_2>, <_n_u_m_3>
"%dc%d,%d\n", <_n_u_m_1>, <_n_u_m_2>, <_n_u_m_3>
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.17 diff - Compare two files 465
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
"%d,%dc%d,%d\n", <_n_u_m_1>, <_n_u_m_2>, <_n_u_m_3>, <_n_u_m_4>
These lines resemble ed subcommands to convert _f_i_l_e_1 into _f_i_l_e_2. The line
numbers before the action letters shall pertain to _f_i_l_e_1; those after
shall pertain to _f_i_l_e_2. Thus, by exchanging 'a' for 'd' and reading the
line in reverse order, one can also determine how to convert _f_i_l_e_2 into
_f_i_l_e_1. As in ed, identical pairs (where _n_u_m_1 = _n_u_m_2) are abbreviated as a
single number.
Following each of these lines, diff shall write to standard output all
lines affected in the first file using the format:
"<W%s", <_l_i_n_e>
and all lines affected in the second file using the format:
">W%s", <_l_i_n_e>
If there are lines affected in both _f_i_l_e_1 and _f_i_l_e_2 (as with the c
subcommand), the changes are separated with a line consisting of three
hyphens:
"---\n"
4.17.6.1.3 diff -e Output Format
With the -e option, a script shall be produced that shall, when provided
as input to ed (see 4.20), along with an appended w (write) command,
convert _f_i_l_e_1 into _f_i_l_e_2. Only the a (append), c (change), d (delete), i
(insert), and s (substitute) commands of ed shall be used in this script.
Text line(s), except those consisting of the single character period (.),
shall be output as they appear in the file.
4.17.6.1.4 diff -c or -C Output Format
With the -c or -C option, the output format shall consist of affected
lines along with surrounding lines of context. The affected lines shall
show which ones need to be deleted or changed in _f_i_l_e_1, and those added
from _f_i_l_e_2. With the -c option, three lines of context, if available,
shall be written before and after the affected lines. With the -C
option, the user can specify how many lines of context shall be written.
The exact format follows.
The name and last modification time of each file shall be output in the
following format:
"*** %s %s\n", _f_i_l_e_1, <_f_i_l_e_1 _t_i_m_e _s_t_a_m_p>
"--- %s %s\n", _f_i_l_e_2, <_f_i_l_e_2 _t_i_m_e _s_t_a_m_p>
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
466 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
and a string of 15 asterisks:
"***************\n"
Each <_f_i_l_e> field shall be the pathname of the corresponding file being
compared. The pathname written for standard input is unspecified.
In the POSIX Locale, each <_t_i_m_e _s_t_a_m_p> field shall be equivalent to the
output from the following command:
date "+%a %b %e %T %Y"
without the trailing <newline>, executed at the time of last modification
of the corresponding file (or the current time, if the file is standard
input).
Then, the following output formats shall be applied for every set of
changes.
First, the range of lines in _f_i_l_e_1 shall be written in the following
format:
"*** %d,%d ****\n", <_b_e_g_i_n_n_i_n_g _l_i_n_e _n_u_m_b_e_r>, <_e_n_d_i_n_g _l_i_n_e _n_u_m_b_e_r>
Next, the affected lines along with lines of context (unaffected lines)
shall be written. Unaffected lines shall be written in the following
format:
"WW%s", <_u_n_a_f_f_e_c_t_e_d__l_i_n_e>
Deleted lines shall be written as:
"-W%s", <_d_e_l_e_t_e_d__l_i_n_e>
Changed lines shall be written as:
"!W%s", <_c_h_a_n_g_e_d__l_i_n_e>
Next, the range of lines in _f_i_l_e_2 shall be written in the following
format:
"--- %d,%d ----\n", <_b_e_g_i_n_n_i_n_g _l_i_n_e _n_u_m_b_e_r>, <_e_n_d_i_n_g _l_i_n_e _n_u_m_b_e_r>
Then, lines of context and changed lines shall be written as described in
the previous formats. Lines added from _f_i_l_e_2 shall be written in the
following format:
"+W%s", <_a_d_d_e_d__l_i_n_e>
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.17 diff - Compare two files 467
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.17.6.2 Standard Error
Used only for diagnostic messages.
4.17.6.3 Output Files
None.
4.17.7 Extended Description
None.
4.17.8 Exit Status
The diff utility shall exit with one of the following values:
0 No differences were found.
1 Differences were found.
>1 An error occurred.
4.17.9 Consequences of Errors
Default.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
4.17.10 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s_,__U_s_a_g_e
If lines at the end of a file are changed and other lines are added, diff
output may show this as a delete and add, as a change, or as a change and
add; diff is not expected to know which happened and users should not
care about the difference in output as long as it clearly shows the
differences between the files.
If dir1 is a directory containing a directory named x, dir2 is a
directory containing a directory named x, dir1/x and dir2/x both contain
files named date.out, and dir2/x contains a file named y, the command:
diff -r dir1 dir2
could produce output similar to:
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
468 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
Common subdirectories: dir1/x and dir2/x
Only in dir2/x: y
diff -r dir1/x/date.out dir2/x/date.out
1c1
< Mon Jul 2 13:12:16 PDT 1990
---
> Tue Jun 19 21:41:39 PDT 1990
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
The -h option was removed because it was insufficiently specified and it
does not add to application portability.
Current implementations employ algorithms that do not always produce a
minimum list of differences; the current language about making every
effort is the best the standard can do, as there is no metric that could
be employed to judge the quality of implementations against any and all
file contents. The statement ``This list should be minimal'' clearly
implies that implementations are not expected to provide the following
output when comparing two 100-line files that differ in only one
character on a single line:
1,100c1,100
all 100 lines from file1 preceded with "< "
---
all 100 lines from file2 preceded with "> "
The ``Only in'' messages required by this standard when the -r option is
specified, is not used by most historical implementations if the -e
option is also specified. It is required here because it provides useful
information that must be provided to update a target directory hierarchy
to match a source hierarchy. The ``Common subdirectories'' messages are
written by System V and 4.3BSD when the -r option is specified. They are
allowed here, but are not required because they are reporting on
something that is the same, not reporting a difference, and are not
needed to update a target hierarchy.
The -c option, which writes output in a format using lines of context,
has been included. The format is useful for a variety of reasons, among
them being much improved readability, and the ability to understand
difference changes when the target file has line numbers that differ from
another similar, but slightly different, copy. An important utility,
patch, which has proved itself indispensable to the USENET community,
often only works with difference listings using the context format. The
BSD version of -c takes an optional argument specifying the amount of
context. Rather than overloading -c and breaking the Utility Syntax
Guidelines for diff, the working group decided to add a separate option
for specifying a context diff with a specified amount of context (-C).
Also, the format for context diffs was extended slightly in 4.3BSD to
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.17 diff - Compare two files 469
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
allow multiple changes that are within context lines from each other to
be merged together. The output format contains an additional four
asterisks after the range of affected lines in the first filename. This
was to provide a flag for old programs (like old versions of patch) that
only understand the old context format. The version of context described
here does not require that multiple changes within context lines be
merged, but does not prohibit it either. The extension is upward
compatible, so any vendors that wish to retain the old version of diff
can do so by just adding the extra four asterisks (that is, utilities
that currently use diff and understand the new merged format will also
understand the old unmerged format, but not vice-versa).
The substitute command was added as an additional format for the -e
option. This was added to provide implementations a way to fix the
classic ``dot alone on a line'' bug present in many versions of diff.
Since many implementations have fixed this bug the working group decided
not to standardize broken behavior, but rather, provide the necessary
tool for fixing the bug. One way to fix this bug is to output two
periods whenever a lone period is needed, then terminate the append
command with a period, and then use the substitute command to convert the
two periods into one period.
The -f flag was not included as it provides no additional functionality
over the -e option.
The BSD-derived -r option was added to provide a mechanism for using diff
to compare two file system trees. This behavior is useful, is standard
practice on all BSD-derived systems, and is not easily reproducible with
the find utility.
The requirement that diff not compare files in some circumstances, even
though they have the same name, was added in response to ballot
objections and digging further into the actual output of historical
implementations. The message specified here is already in use when a
directory is being compared to a nondirectory. It is extended here to
preclude the problems arising from running into FIFOs and other files
that would cause diff to hang waiting for input with no indication to the
user that diff was hung. In most common usage, diff -r should indicate
differences in the file hierarchies, not the difference of contents of
devices pointed to by the hierarchies.
Many early implementations of diff require seekable files. Since
POSIX.1 {8} supports named pipes, the working group decided that such a
restriction was unreasonable. Note also that the allowed file name -
almost always refers to a pipe.
No directory search order is being specified in 4.17.6.1.1. The
historical ordering is, in fact, not optimal, in that it prints out all
of the differences at the current level, including the statements about
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
470 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
all common subdirectories before recursing into those subdirectories.
The message 2
"diff %s %s %s\n", <_d_i_f_f__o_p_t_i_o_n_s>, <_f_i_l_e_n_a_m_e_1>, <_f_i_l_e_n_a_m_e_2> 2
does not vary by locale because it is the representation of a command, 2
not an English sentence. 2
END_RATIONALE 2
4.18 dirname - Return directory portion of pathname
4.18.1 Synopsis
dirname _s_t_r_i_n_g
4.18.2 Description
The _s_t_r_i_n_g operand shall be treated as a pathname, as defined in
2.2.2.102. The string _s_t_r_i_n_g shall be converted to the name of the
directory containing the filename corresponding to the last pathname
component in _s_t_r_i_n_g, performing actions equivalent to the following steps
in order:
(1) If _s_t_r_i_n_g is //, skip steps (2) through (5).
(2) If _s_t_r_i_n_g consists entirely of slash characters, _s_t_r_i_n_g shall be
set to a single slash character. In this case, skip steps (3)
through (8).
(3) If there are any trailing slash characters in _s_t_r_i_n_g, they shall
be removed.
(4) If there are no slash characters remaining in _s_t_r_i_n_g, _s_t_r_i_n_g
shall be set to a single period character. In this case, skip
steps (5) through (8).
(5) If there are any trailing nonslash characters in _s_t_r_i_n_g, they
shall be removed.
(6) If the remaining _s_t_r_i_n_g is //, it is implementation defined
whether steps (7) and (8) are skipped or processed.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.18 dirname - Return directory portion of pathname 471
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
(7) If there are any trailing slash characters in _s_t_r_i_n_g, they shall
be removed.
(8) If the remaining _s_t_r_i_n_g is empty, _s_t_r_i_n_g shall be set to a
single slash character.
The resulting string shall be written to standard output.
4.18.3 Options
None.
4.18.4 Operands
The following operand shall be supported by the implementation:
_s_t_r_i_n_g A string.
4.18.5 External Influences
4.18.5.1 Standard Input
None.
4.18.5.2 Input Files
None.
4.18.5.3 Environment Variables
The following environment variables shall affect the execution of
dirname:
LANG This variable shall determine the locale to use for
the locale categories when both LC_ALL and the
corresponding environment variable (beginning with
LC_) do not specify a locale. See 2.6.
LC_ALL This variable shall determine the locale to be used
to override any values for locale categories
specified by the settings of LANG or any
environment variables beginning with LC_.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
472 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
LC_CTYPE This variable shall determine the locale for the
interpretation of sequences of bytes of text data
as characters (e.g., single- versus multibyte
characters in arguments).
LC_MESSAGES This variable shall determine the language in which
messages should be written.
4.18.5.4 Asynchronous Events
Default.
4.18.6 External Effects
4.18.6.1 Standard Output
The dirname utility shall write a line to the standard output in the
following format:
"%s\n", <_r_e_s_u_l_t_i_n_g _s_t_r_i_n_g>
4.18.6.2 Standard Error
Used only for diagnostic messages.
4.18.6.3 Output Files
None.
4.18.7 Extended Description
None.
4.18.8 Exit Status
The dirname utility shall exit with one of the following values:
0 Successful completion.
>0 An error occurred.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.18 dirname - Return directory portion of pathname 473
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.18.9 Consequences of Errors
Default.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
4.18.10 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s_,__U_s_a_g_e
The dirname utility originated in System III. It has evolved through the
System V releases to a version that matches the requirements specified in
this description in System V Release 3.
4.3BSD and earlier versions did not include dirname.
Table 4-6 indicates the results required for some invocations of dirname.
Table 4-6 - dirname Examples
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Command Results
______________________________
dirname / /
dirname // / or //
dirname /a/b/ /a
dirname //a//b// //a
dirname _u_n_s_p_e_c_i_f_i_e_d
dirname a . ($? = 0)
dirname "" . ($? = 0)
dirname /a /
dirname /a/b /a
dirname a/b a
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
The behaviors of basename and dirname in this standard have been
coordinated so that when _s_t_r_i_n_g is a valid pathname
$(basename "string")
would be a valid filename for the file in the directory
$(dirname "string")
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
474 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
This would not work for the versions of these utilities in earlier drafts
due to the way processing of trailing slashes was specified.
Consideration was given to leaving processing unspecified if there were
trailing slashes, but this cannot be done; the POSIX.1 {8} definition of
pathname allows trailing slashes. The basename and dirname utilities
have to specify consistent handling for all valid pathnames.
Since the definition of _p_a_t_h_n_a_m_e in 2.2.2.102 specifies implementation-
defined behavior for pathnames starting with two slash characters, Draft
11 has been changed to specify similar implementation-defined behavior
for the basename and dirname utilities. On implementations where the
pathname // is always treated the same as the pathname /, the
functionality required by Draft 10 meets all of the Draft 11
requirements.
END_RATIONALE
4.19 echo - Write arguments to standard output
4.19.1 Synopsis
echo [_s_t_r_i_n_g ...]
4.19.2 Description
The echo utility shall write its arguments to standard output, followed
by a <newline> character. If there are no arguments, only the <newline>
character shall be written.
4.19.3 Options
The echo utility shall not recognize the -- argument in the manner
specified by utility syntax guideline 10 in 2.10.2; -- shall be
recognized as a string operand.
Implementations need not support any options.
4.19.4 Operands
The following operands shall be supported by the implementation:
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.19 echo - Write arguments to standard output 475
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
_s_t_r_i_n_g A string to be written to standard output. If the first
operand is "-n" or if any of the operands contain a
backslash (\) character, the results are implementation
defined.
4.19.5 External Influences
4.19.5.1 Standard Input
None.
4.19.5.2 Input Files
None.
4.19.5.3 Environment Variables
The following environment variables shall affect the execution of echo:
LANG This variable shall determine the locale to use for
the locale categories when both LC_ALL and the
corresponding environment variable (beginning with
LC_) do not specify a locale. See 2.6.
LC_ALL This variable shall determine the locale to be used
to override any values for locale categories
specified by the settings of LANG or any
environment variables beginning with LC_.
LC_MESSAGES This variable shall determine the language in which
diagnostic messages should be written.
4.19.5.4 Asynchronous Events
Default.
4.19.6 External Effects
4.19.6.1 Standard Output
The echo utility arguments shall be separated by single <space>s and a
<newline> character shall follow the last argument.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
476 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
4.19.6.2 Standard Error
Used only for diagnostic messages.
4.19.6.3 Output Files
None.
4.19.7 Extended Description
None.
4.19.8 Exit Status
The echo utility shall exit with one of the following values:
0 Successful completion.
>0 An error occurred.
4.19.9 Consequences of Errors
Default.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
4.19.10 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s_,__U_s_a_g_e
As specified by this standard, echo writes its arguments in the simplest
of ways. The two different historical versions of echo vary in fatal
incompatible ways.
The BSD echo checks the first argument for the string "-n", which causes
it to suppress the <newline> character that would otherwise follow the
final argument in the output.
The System V echo does not support any options, but allows escape
sequences within its operands:
\a Write an <alert> character.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.19 echo - Write arguments to standard output 477
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
\b Write a <backspace> character.
\c Suppress the <newline> character that otherwise follows the
final argument in the output. All characters following the \c
in the arguments are ignored.
\f Write a <form-feed> character.
\n Write a <newline> character.
\r Write a <carriage-return> character.
\t Write a <tab> character.
\v Write a <vertical-tab> character.
\\ Write a backslash character.
\0_n_u_m
Write an 8-bit value that is the 1-, 2-, or 3-digit octal number
_n_u_m.
It is not possible to use echo portably across these two implementations
unless both -n (as the first argument) and escape sequences are omitted.
The printf utility (see 4.50) can be used to portably emulate any of the
traditional behaviors of the echo utility as follows:
- The System V echo is equivalent to:
printf "%b\n" "$*"
- The BSD echo is equivalent to:
if [ "X$1" = "X-n" ]
then
shift
printf "%s" "$*"
else
printf "%s\n" "$*"
fi
The echo utility does not support utility syntax guideline 10 because
existing applications depend on echo to echo _a_l_l of its arguments, except
for the -n option in the BSD version.
New applications are encouraged to use printf instead of echo. The echo
utility has not been made obsolescent because of its extremely widespread
use in existing applications.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
478 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
In Draft 8, an attempt was made to merge the extensions of BSD and
System V, supporting both -n and escape sequences. During initial ballot
resolution, a -e option was proposed to enable the escape conventions.
Both attempts failed, as there are historical scripts that would be
broken by any attempt at reconciliation. Therefore, in Draft 9 only the
simplest version of echo is presented. Implementation-defined extensions
on BSD and System V will keep historical applications content. Portable
applications that wish to do prompting without <newline>s or that could
possibly be expecting to echo a "-n", should use the new printf utility
(see 4.50), derived from the Ninth Edition.
The LC_CTYPE variable is not cited because echo, as specified here, does
not need to understand the characters in its arguments. The System V and
BSD implementations might need to be sensitive to it because of their
extensions.
END_RATIONALE
4.20 ed - Edit text
4.20.1 Synopsis
ed [-p _s_t_r_i_n_g] [-s] [_f_i_l_e]
_O_b_s_o_l_e_s_c_e_n_t _V_e_r_s_i_o_n:
ed [-p _s_t_r_i_n_g] [-] [_f_i_l_e]
4.20.2 Description
The ed utility is a line-oriented text editor that shall use two modes:
_c_o_m_m_a_n_d _m_o_d_e and _i_n_p_u_t _m_o_d_e. In command mode the input characters shall
be interpreted as commands, and in input mode they shall be interpreted
as text. See 4.20.7.
4.20.3 Options
The ed utility shall conform to the utility argument syntax guidelines
described in 2.10.2, except for its nonstandard usage of - in the
obsolescent version.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.20 ed - Edit text 479
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
The following options shall be supported by the implementation:
-p _s_t_r_i_n_g Use _s_t_r_i_n_g as the prompt string when in command mode. By
default, there shall be no prompt string.
-s Suppress the writing of byte counts by e, E, r, and w
commands and of the ! prompt after a !_c_o_m_m_a_n_d.
- (Obsolescent.) Equivalent to the -s option.
4.20.4 Operands
The following operand shall be supported by the implementation:
_f_i_l_e If the _f_i_l_e argument is given, ed shall simulate an e
command on the file named by the pathname, _f_i_l_e, before
accepting commands from the standard input.
4.20.5 External Influences
4.20.5.1 Standard Input
The standard input shall be a text file consisting of commands, as
described in 4.20.7.
4.20.5.2 Input Files
The input files shall be text files.
4.20.5.3 Environment Variables
The following environment variables shall affect the execution of ed:
HOME This variable shall determine the pathname of the
user's home directory.
LANG This variable shall determine the locale to use for
the locale categories when both LC_ALL and the
corresponding environment variable (beginning with
LC_) do not specify a locale. See 2.6.
LC_ALL This variable shall determine the locale to be used
to override any values for locale categories
specified by the settings of LANG or any
environment variables beginning with LC_.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
480 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
LC_COLLATE This variable shall determine the locale for the
behavior of ranges, equivalence classes, and
multicharacter collating elements within regular
expressions.
LC_CTYPE This variable shall determine the locale for the
interpretation of sequences of bytes of text data
as characters (e.g., single- versus multibyte
characters in arguments and input files), the
behavior of character classes within regular
expressions.
LC_MESSAGES This variable shall determine the language in which
messages should be written.
4.20.5.4 Asynchronous Events
The ed utility shall take the standard action for all signals (see
2.11.5.4), with the following exceptions:
SIGINT The ed utility shall interrupt its current activity, write
the string
"?\n"
to standard output, and return to command mode (see
4.20.7).
SIGHUP If the buffer is not empty and has changed since the last
write, the ed utility shall attempt to write a copy of the
buffer in a file. First, the file named ed.hup in the
current directory shall be used; if that fails, the file
named ed.hup in the directory named by the HOME
environment variable shall be used. In any case, the ed
utility shall exit without returning to command mode.
4.20.6 External Effects
4.20.6.1 Standard Output
Various editing commands and the prompting feature (see -p) write to
standard output, as described in 4.20.7.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.20 ed - Edit text 481
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.20.6.2 Standard Error
Used only for diagnostic messages.
4.20.6.3 Output Files
The output files shall be text files whose formats are dependent on the
editing commands given.
4.20.7 Extended Description
The ed utility shall operate on a copy of the file it is editing; changes
made to the copy shall have no effect on the file until a w (write)
command is given. The copy of the text is called the _b_u_f_f_e_r in this
clause, although no attempt is made to imply a specific implementation.
Commands to ed have a simple and regular structure: zero, one, or two
_a_d_d_r_e_s_s_e_s followed by a single-character _c_o_m_m_a_n_d, possibly followed by
parameters to that command. These addresses specify one or more lines in
the buffer. Every command that requires addresses has default addresses,
so that the addresses very often can be omitted. If the -p option is
specified, the prompt string shall be written to standard output before
each command is read.
In general, only one command can appear on a line. Certain commands
allow text to be input. This text is placed in the appropriate place in
the buffer. While ed is accepting text, it is said to be in _i_n_p_u_t _m_o_d_e.
In this mode, no commands shall be recognized; all input is merely
collected. Input mode is terminated by entering a line consisting of two
characters: a period (.) followed by a <newline>. This line is not
considered part of the input text.
_4._2_0._7._1 ed _R_e_g_u_l_a_r _E_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n_s
The ed utility shall support basic regular expressions, as described in
2.8.3. Since regular expressions in ed are always matched against single
lines, never against any larger section of text, there is no way for a
regular expression to match a <newline>. A null RE shall be equivalent
to the last RE encountered.
Regular expressions are used in addresses to specify lines, and in some
commands (for example, the s substitute command) to specify portions of a
line to be substituted.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
482 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
_4._2_0._7._2 ed _A_d_d_r_e_s_s_e_s
Addressing in ed relates to the _c_u_r_r_e_n_t _l_i_n_e. Generally, the current
line is the last line affected by a command. The _c_u_r_r_e_n_t _l_i_n_e _n_u_m_b_e_r is
the address (line number) of the current line. The exact effect on the
current line number is discussed under the description of each command.
The f, h, H, k, P, w, =, and ! commands shall not modify the current line
number.
Addresses are constructed as follows:
(1) The character . (period) shall address the current line.
(2) The character $ shall address the last line of the buffer.
(3) A positive decimal number _n shall address the _n-th line of the
buffer. The first line in the buffer is line number 1.
(4) '_x shall address the line marked with the mark name character _x,
which shall be a lowercase letter from the portable character
set. Lines can be marked with the k command described in
4.20.7.3.13.
(5) An RE enclosed by slashes (/) shall address the first line found
by searching forward from the line following the current line
toward the end of the buffer and stopping at the first line
containing a string matching the RE. [As stated in 4.20.7.1, an
address consisting of a null RE delimited by slashes (//) shall
address the next line containing the last RE encountered.] If
necessary, the search shall wrap around to the beginning of the
buffer and continue up to and including the current line, so
that the entire buffer is searched. Within the RE, the sequence
\/ shall represent a literal slash instead of the RE delimiter.
(6) An RE enclosed in question-marks (?) shall address the first
line found by searching backward from the line preceding the
current line toward the beginning of the buffer and stopping at
the first line containing a string matching the RE. If
necessary, the search wraps around to the end of the buffer and
continues up to and including the current line. Within the RE,
the sequence \? shall represent a literal question-mark instead
of the RE delimiter.
(7) An address followed by a plus sign (+) or a minus sign (-)
followed by a decimal number specifies that address plus
(respectively minus) the indicated number of lines. The plus
sign can be omitted.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.20 ed - Edit text 483
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
(8) If an address begins with + or -, the addition or subtraction is
taken with respect to the current line number; for example, -5
is understood to mean .-5.
(9) If an address ends with + or -, then 1 shall be added to or
subtracted from the address, respectively. As a consequence of
this rule and of rule (8) immediately above, the address - shall
refer to the line preceding the current line. Moreover,
trailing + and - characters shall have a cumulative effect, so
-- shall refer to the current line number less 2.
(10) A comma (,) shall stand for the address pair 1,$, while a
semicolon (;) shall stand for the pair .,$.
Commands require zero, one, or two addresses. Commands that require no
addresses shall regard the presence of an address as an error. Commands
that accept one or two addresses assume default addresses when no
addresses are given, as described in 4.20.7.3. If one address is given
to a command that allows two addresses, the command shall operate as if
it were specified as:
_g_i_v_e_n__a_d_d_r_e_s_s;. _c_o_m_m_a_n_d
If more addresses are given than such a command requires, the results are
undefined.
Typically, addresses are separated from each other by a comma. They can
also be separated by a semicolon. In the latter case, the current line
number (.) shall be set to the first address, and only then shall the
second address be calculated. This feature can be used to determine the
starting line for forward and backward searches [see rules (5) and (6)
above]. The second address of any two-address sequence shall correspond
to a line that does not precede, in the buffer, the line corresponding to
the first address.
_4._2_0._7._3 ed _C_o_m_m_a_n_d_s
In the following list of ed commands, the default addresses are shown in
parentheses. The number of addresses shown in the default shall be the
number expected by the command. The parentheses are not part of the
address; they show that the given addresses are the default.
It is generally invalid for more than one command to appear on a line.
However, any command (except e, E, f, q, Q, r, w, and !) can be suffixed
by the letter l, n, or p; in which case, except for the l, n, and p
commands, the command shall be executed and then the new current line 1
shall be written as described below under the l, n, and p commands. When 1
an l, n, or p suffix is used with an l, n, or p command, the command
shall write to standard output as described below, but it is unspecified
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
484 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
whether the suffix writes the current line again in the requested format
or whether the suffix has no effect. For example, the pl command (base p
command with an l suffix) shall either write just the current line or
shall write it twice--once as specified for p and once as specified for
l. Also, the g, G, v, and V commands shall take a command as a
parameter.
Each address component can be preceded by zero or more <blank>_s. The
command letter can be preceded by zero or more <blank>_s. If a suffix
letter (l, n, or p) is given, it shall immediately follow the command.
The e, E, f, r, and w commands shall take an optional _f_i_l_e parameter,
separated from the command letter by one or more <blank>s.
If changes have been made in the buffer since the last w command that
wrote the entire buffer, ed shall warn the user if an attempt is made to
destroy the editor buffer via the e or q commands. The ed utility shall
write the string:
"?\n"
(followed by an explanatory message if _h_e_l_p _m_o_d_e has been enabled via the
H command) to standard output and shall continue in command mode with the
current line number unchanged. If the e or q command is repeated with no
intervening command, it shall take effect.
If an end-of-file is detected on standard input when a command is
expected, the ed utility shall act as if a q command had been entered.
If the closing delimiter of an RE or of a replacement string (e.g., /) in
a g, G, s, v, or V command would be the last character before a
<newline>, that delimiter can be omitted, in which case the addressed
line shall be written. For example, the following pairs of commands are
equivalent:
s/s1/s2 s/s1/s2/p
g/s1 g/s1/p
?s1 ?s1?
If an invalid command is entered, ed shall write the string:
"?\n"
(followed by an explanatory message if _h_e_l_p _m_o_d_e has been enabled via the
H command) to standard output and shall continue in command mode with the
current line number unchanged.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.20 ed - Edit text 485
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.20.7.3.1 Append Command
_S_y_n_o_p_s_i_s: (.)a
<_t_e_x_t>
.
The _a_p_p_e_n_d command shall read the given text and append it after the
addressed line; the current line number shall become the address of the
last inserted line, or, if there were none, the addressed line. Address
0 shall be valid for this command: it shall cause the ``appended'' text
to be placed at the beginning of the buffer.
4.20.7.3.2 Change Command
_S_y_n_o_p_s_i_s: (.,.)c 1
<_t_e_x_t>
.
The _c_h_a_n_g_e command shall delete the addressed lines, then accept input
text that replaces these lines; the current line shall be set to the
address of the last line input; or, if there were none, at the line after
the last line deleted; if the lines deleted were originally at the end of
the buffer, the current line number shall be set to the address of the
new last line; if no lines remain in the buffer, the current line number
shall be set to zero.
4.20.7.3.3 Delete Command
_S_y_n_o_p_s_i_s: (.,.)d
The _d_e_l_e_t_e command shall delete the addressed lines from the buffer. The
address of the line after the last line deleted shall become the current
line number; if the lines deleted were originally at the end of the
buffer, the current line number shall be set to the address of the new
last line; if no lines remain in the buffer, the current line number
shall be set to zero.
4.20.7.3.4 Edit Command
_S_y_n_o_p_s_i_s: e [_f_i_l_e]
The _e_d_i_t command shall delete the entire contents of the buffer and then
read in the file named by the pathname _f_i_l_e. The current line number
shall be set to the address of the last line of the buffer. If no
pathname is given, the currently remembered pathname, if any, shall be
used (see the f command). The number of bytes read shall be written to
standard output, unless the -s option was specified, in the following
format:
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
486 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
"%d\n", <_n_u_m_b_e_r _o_f _b_y_t_e_s _r_e_a_d>
The name _f_i_l_e shall be remembered for possible use as a default pathname
in subsequent e, E, r, and w commands. If _f_i_l_e is replaced by !, the
rest of the line shall be taken to be a shell command line whose output
is to be read. Such a shell command line shall not be remembered as the
current _f_i_l_e. All marks shall be discarded upon the completion of a
successful e command. If the buffer has changed since the last time the
entire buffer was written, the user shall be warned, as described
previously.
4.20.7.3.5 Edit Without Checking Command
_S_y_n_o_p_s_i_s: E [_f_i_l_e]
The _E_d_i_t command shall possess all properties and restrictions of the e
command except that the editor shall not check to see if any changes have
been made to the buffer since the last w command.
4.20.7.3.6 File-Name Command
_S_y_n_o_p_s_i_s: f [_f_i_l_e]
If _f_i_l_e is given, the file-name command shall change the currently
remembered pathname to _f_i_l_e; whether the name is changed or not, it then
shall write the (possibly new) currently remembered pathname to the
standard output in the following format:
"%s\n", <_p_a_t_h_n_a_m_e>
The current line number shall be unchanged.
4.20.7.3.7 Global Command
_S_y_n_o_p_s_i_s: (1,$)g/_R_E/_c_o_m_m_a_n_d _l_i_s_t
In the _g_l_o_b_a_l command, the first step shall be to mark every line that
matches the given _R_E. Then, for every such line, the given _c_o_m_m_a_n_d _l_i_s_t
shall be executed with the current line number set to the address of that
line. When the g command completes, the current line number shall have
the value assigned by the last command in the command list. If there
were no matching lines, the current line number shall not be changed. A
single command or the first of a list of commands shall appear on the
same line as the global command. All lines of a multiline list except
the last line shall be ended with a backslash; the a, i, and c commands
and associated input are permitted. The . terminating input mode can be
omitted if it would be the last line of the _c_o_m_m_a_n_d _l_i_s_t. An empty
_c_o_m_m_a_n_d _l_i_s_t shall be equivalent to the p command. The use of the g, G,
v, V, and ! commands in the _c_o_m_m_a_n_d _l_i_s_t produces undefined results. Any
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.20 ed - Edit text 487
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
character other than <space> or <newline> can be used instead of a slash
to delimit the _R_E. Within the RE, the RE delimiter itself can be used as
a literal character if it is preceded by a backslash.
4.20.7.3.8 Interactive Global Command
_S_y_n_o_p_s_i_s: (1,$)G/_R_E/
In the _i_n_t_e_r_a_c_t_i_v_e _g_l_o_b_a_l command, the first step shall be to mark every
line that matches the given _R_E. Then, for every such line, that line
shall be written, the current line number shall be set to the address of
that line, and any one command (other than one of the a, c, i, g, G, v,
and V commands) can be input and shall be executed. A <newline> shall
act as a null command (causing no action to be taken on the current
line); an & shall cause the reexecution of the most recent nonnull
command executed within the current invocation of G. Note that the
commands input as part of the execution of the G command can address and
affect any lines in the buffer. The final value of the current line
number shall be the value set by the last command successfully executed.
(Note that the last command successfully executed shall be the G command
itself if a command fails or the null command is specified.) If there
were no matching lines, the current line number shall not be changed.
The G command can be terminated by a SIGINT signal. Any character other
than <space> or <newline> can be used instead of a slash to delimit the
_R_E and the replacement. Within the RE, the RE delimiter itself can be
used as a literal character if it is preceded by a backslash.
4.20.7.3.9 Help Command
_S_y_n_o_p_s_i_s: h
The _h_e_l_p command shall write a short message to standard output that
explains the reason for the most recent ? notification. The current line
number shall be unchanged.
4.20.7.3.10 Help-Mode Command
_S_y_n_o_p_s_i_s: H
The _H_e_l_p command shall cause ed to enter a mode in which help messages
(see the h command) shall be written to standard output for all
subsequent ? notifications. The H command alternately shall turn this
mode on and off; it shall be initially off. If the help-mode is being
turned on, the H command also shall explain the previous ? notification,
if there was one. The current line number shall be unchanged.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
488 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
4.20.7.3.11 Insert Command
_S_y_n_o_p_s_i_s: (.)i
<_t_e_x_t>
.
The _i_n_s_e_r_t command shall insert the given text before the addressed line;
. shall be left at the last inserted line, or, if there was none, at the
addressed line. This command differs from the a command only in the
placement of the input text. Address 0 shall be invalid for this
command.
4.20.7.3.12 Join Command
_S_y_n_o_p_s_i_s: (.,.+1)j
The _j_o_i_n command shall join contiguous lines by removing the appropriate
<newline> characters. If exactly one address is given, this command
shall do nothing. If lines are joined, the current line number shall be
set to the address of the joined line; otherwise, the current line number
shall be unchanged.
4.20.7.3.13 Mark Command
_S_y_n_o_p_s_i_s: (.)k_x
The _m_a_r_k command shall mark the addressed line with name _x, which shall
be a lowercase letter from the portable character set. The address '_x
then shall refer to this line; the current line number shall be
unchanged.
4.20.7.3.14 List Command
_S_y_n_o_p_s_i_s: (.,.)l
The _l_i_s_t command shall write to standard output the addressed lines in a 1
visually unambiguous form. The characters listed in Table 2-15 (see 1
2.12) shall be written as the corresponding escape sequence. 1
Nonprintable characters not in Table 2-15 shall be written as one three- 1
digit octal number (with a preceding <backslash>) for each byte in the 1
character (most significant byte first). If the size of a byte on the 1
system is greater than nine bits, the format used for nonprintable 1
characters is implementation defined. 1
Long lines shall be folded, with the point of folding indicated by 1
writing <backslash><newline>; the length at which folding occurs is 1
unspecified, but should be appropriate for the output device. The end of 1
each line shall be marked with a $. An l command can be appended to any 1
other command other than e, E, f, q, Q, r, w, or !. The current line
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.20 ed - Edit text 489
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
number shall be set to the address of the last line written.
4.20.7.3.15 Move Command
_S_y_n_o_p_s_i_s: (.,.)m_a_d_d_r_e_s_s
The _m_o_v_e command shall reposition the addressed line(s) after the line
addressed by _a_d_d_r_e_s_s. Address 0 shall be valid for _a_d_d_r_e_s_s and cause the
addressed line(s) to be moved to the beginning of the buffer. It shall
be an error if address _a_d_d_r_e_s_s falls within the range of moved lines.
The current line number shall be set to the address of the last line
moved.
4.20.7.3.16 Number Command
_S_y_n_o_p_s_i_s: (.,.)n
The _n_u_m_b_e_r command shall write to standard output the addressed lines,
preceding each line by its line number and a <tab> character; the current
line number shall be set to the address of the last line written. The n
command can be appended to any other command other than e, E, f, q, Q, r,
w, or !.
4.20.7.3.17 Print Command
_S_y_n_o_p_s_i_s: (.,.)p
The _p_r_i_n_t command shall write to standard output the addressed lines; the
current line number shall be set to the address of the last line written.
The p command can be appended to any other command other than e, E, f, q,
Q, r, w, or !.
4.20.7.3.18 Prompt Command
_S_y_n_o_p_s_i_s: P
The _P_r_o_m_p_t command shall cause ed to prompt with an asterisk (*) (or
_s_t_r_i_n_g, if -p is specified) for all subsequent commands. The P command
alternately shall turn this mode on and off; it shall be initially on if
the -p option is specified, otherwise off. The current line number shall
be unchanged.
4.20.7.3.19 Quit Command
_S_y_n_o_p_s_i_s: q
The _q_u_i_t command shall cause ed to exit. If the buffer has changed since
the last time the entire buffer was written, the user shall be warned, as
described previously.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
490 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
4.20.7.3.20 Quit Without Checking Command
_S_y_n_o_p_s_i_s: Q
The _Q_u_i_t command shall cause ed to exit without checking if changes have
been made in the buffer since the last w command.
4.20.7.3.21 Read Command
_S_y_n_o_p_s_i_s: ($)r [_f_i_l_e]
The _r_e_a_d command shall read in the file named by the pathname _f_i_l_e and
append it after the addressed line. If no _f_i_l_e argument is given, the
currently remembered pathname, if any, shall be used (see e and f
commands). The currently remembered pathname shall not be changed unless
there is no remembered pathname. Address 0 shall be valid for r and
shall cause the file to be read at the beginning of the buffer. If the
read is successful, and -s was not specified, the number of bytes read
shall be written to standard output in the following format:
"%d\n", <_n_u_m_b_e_r _o_f _b_y_t_e_s _r_e_a_d>
The current line number shall be set to the address of the last line read
in. If _f_i_l_e is replaced by !, the rest of the line shall be taken to be
a shell command line whose output is to be read. Such a shell command
line shall not be remembered as the current pathname.
4.20.7.3.22 Substitute Command
_S_y_n_o_p_s_i_s: (.,.)s/_R_E/_r_e_p_l_a_c_e_m_e_n_t/_f_l_a_g_s
The _s_u_b_s_t_i_t_u_t_e command shall search each addressed line for an occurrence
of the specified RE and replace either the first or all (nonoverlapped)
matched strings with the _r_e_p_l_a_c_e_m_e_n_t; see the following description of
the g suffix. It is an error if the substitution fails on every
addressed line. Any character other than <space> or <newline> can be
used instead of a slash to delimit the _R_E and the replacement. Within
the RE, the RE delimiter itself can be used as a literal character if it
is preceded by a backslash. The current line shall be set to the address
of the last line on which a substitution occurred.
An ampersand (&) appearing in the _r_e_p_l_a_c_e_m_e_n_t shall be replaced by the
string matching the RE on the current line. The special meaning of & in
this context can be suppressed by preceding it by backslash. As a more
general feature, the characters \_n, where _n is a digit, shall be replaced
by the text matched by the corresponding backreference expression (see
2.8.3.3). When the character % is the only character in the _r_e_p_l_a_c_e_m_e_n_t,
the _r_e_p_l_a_c_e_m_e_n_t used in the most recent substitute command shall be used
as the _r_e_p_l_a_c_e_m_e_n_t in the current substitute command; if there was no
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.20 ed - Edit text 491
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
previous substitute command, the use of % in this manner shall be an
error. The % shall lose its special meaning when it is in a replacement
string of more than one character or is preceded by a backslash.
A line can be split by substituting a <newline> character into it. The 1
application shall escape the <newline> in the _r_e_p_l_a_c_e_m_e_n_t by preceding it 1
by backslash. Such substitution cannot be done as part of a g or v
command list. The current line number shall be set to the address of the
last line on which a substitution is performed. If no substitution is
performed, the current line number shall be unchanged. If a line is
split, a substitution shall be considered to have been performed on each
of the new lines for the purpose of determining the new current line
number. A substitution shall be considered to have been performed even
if the replacement string is identical to the string that it replaces.
The value of _f_l_a_g_s shall be zero or more of:
_c_o_u_n_t Substitute for the _c_o_u_n_tth occurrence only of the _R_E found on
each addressed line.
g Globally substitute for all nonoverlapping instances of the
_R_E rather than just the first one. If both g and _c_o_u_n_t are
specified, the results are unspecified.
l Write to standard output the final line in which a
substitution was made. The line shall be written in the
format specified for the l command.
n Write to standard output the final line in which a
substitution was made. The line shall be written in the
format specified for the n command.
p Write to standard output the final line in which a
substitution was made. The line shall be written in the
format specified for the p command.
4.20.7.3.23 Copy Command
_S_y_n_o_p_s_i_s: (.,.)t_a_d_d_r_e_s_s
The t command shall be equivalent to the m command, except that a copy of
the addressed lines shall be placed after address _a_d_d_r_e_s_s (which can be
0); the current line number shall be set to the address of the last line
added.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
492 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
4.20.7.3.24 Undo Command
_S_y_n_o_p_s_i_s: u
The _u_n_d_o command shall nullify the effect of the most recent command that
modified anything in the buffer, namely the most recent a, c, d, g, i, j,
m, r, s, t, u, v, G, or V command. All changes made to the buffer by a 1
g, G, v, or V global command shall be ``undone'' as a single change; if 1
no changes were made by the global command (such as with g/_R_E/p), the u 1
command shall have no effect. The current line number shall be set to 1
the value it had immediately before the command being undone started.
4.20.7.3.25 Global Non-Matched Command
_S_y_n_o_p_s_i_s: (1,$)v/_R_E/_c_o_m_m_a_n_d _l_i_s_t
This command shall be equivalent to the global command g except that the
lines that are marked during the first step shall be those that do not
match the RE.
4.20.7.3.26 Interactive Global Not-Matched Command
_S_y_n_o_p_s_i_s: (1,$)V/_R_E/
This command shall be equivalent to the interactive global command G
except that the lines that are marked during the first step shall be
those that do not match the RE.
4.20.7.3.27 Write Command
_S_y_n_o_p_s_i_s: (1,$)w [_f_i_l_e]
The _w_r_i_t_e command shall write the addressed lines into the file named by
the pathname _f_i_l_e. The command shall create the file, if it does not
exist, or shall replace the contents of the existing file. The currently
remembered pathname shall not be changed unless there is no remembered
pathname. If no pathname is given, the currently remembered pathname, if
any, shall be used (see e and f commands); the current line number shall
be unchanged. If the command is successful, the number of bytes written
shall be written to standard output, unless the -s option was specified,
in the following format:
"%d\n", <_n_u_m_b_e_r _o_f _b_y_t_e_s _w_r_i_t_t_e_n>
If _f_i_l_e begins with !, the rest of the line shall be taken to be a shell
command line whose standard input shall be the addressed lines. Such a
shell command line shall not be remembered as the current pathname. This 1
usage of the write command with ! shall not be considered as a ``last w 1
command that wrote the entire buffer,'' as described previously; thus, 1
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.20 ed - Edit text 493
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
this alone shall not prevent the warning to the user if an attempt is 1
made to destroy the editor buffer via the e or q commands. 1
4.20.7.3.28 Line Number Command
_S_y_n_o_p_s_i_s: ($)=
The line number of the addressed line shall be written to standard output
in the following format:
"%d\n", <_l_i_n_e _n_u_m_b_e_r>
The current line number shall be unchanged by this command.
4.20.7.3.29 Shell Escape Command
_S_y_n_o_p_s_i_s: !_c_o_m_m_a_n_d
The remainder of the line after the ! shall be sent to the command
interpreter to be interpreted as a shell command line. Within the text
of that shell command line, the unescaped character % shall be replaced
with the remembered pathname; if a ! appears as the first character of
the command, it shall be replaced with the text of the previous shell
command executed via !. Thus, !! shall repeat the previous !_c_o_m_m_a_n_d. If 2
any replacements of % and/or ! are performed, the modified line shall be 2
written to the standard output before _c_o_m_m_a_n_d is executed. The ! command 2
shall write 2
"!\n"
to standard output upon completion, unless the -s option is specified.
The current line number shall be unchanged.
4.20.7.3.30 Null Command
_S_y_n_o_p_s_i_s: (.+1)
An address alone on a line shall cause the addressed line to be written.
A <newline> alone shall be equivalent to .+1p. The current line number
shall be set to the address of the written line.
4.20.8 Exit Status
The ed utility shall exit with one of the following values:
0 Successful completion without any file or command errors.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
494 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
>0 An error occurred.
4.20.9 Consequences of Errors
When an error in the input script is encountered, or when an error is 1
detected that is a consequence of the data (not) present in the file or 1
due to an external condition such as a read or write error: 1
- If the standard input is a terminal device file, all input shall be 2
flushed, and a new command read. 2
- If the standard input is a regular file, ed shall terminate with a 2
nonzero exit status. 2
BEGIN_RATIONALE 2
4.20.10 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s_,__U_s_a_g_e
Some historical implementations contained a bug that allowed a single
period to be entered in input mode as <backslash> <period> <newline>.
This is not allowed by the POSIX.2 ed because there is no description of
escaping any of the characters in input mode; backslashes are entered
into the buffer exactly as typed. The typical method of entering a
single period has been to precede it with another character and then use
the substitute command to delete that character.
Because of the extremely terse nature of the default error messages, the 1
prudent script writer will begin the ed input commands with an H command, 1
so that if any errors do occur at least some clue as to the cause will be 1
made available. 1
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
The initial description of this utility was adapted from the _S_V_I_D. It
contains some features not found in Version 7 or BSD-derived systems.
Some of the differences between the POSIX.2 and BSD ed utilities include,
but need not be limited to:
- The BSD - option does not suppress the ! prompt after a ! command.
- BSD does not support the special meanings of the % and ! characters
within a ! command.
- BSD does not support the _a_d_d_r_e_s_s_e_s ; and ,.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.20 ed - Edit text 495
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
- BSD allows the command/suffix pairs pp, ll, etc., which are
unspecified in POSIX.2.
- BSD does not support the ! character part of the e, r, or w
commands.
- A failed g command in BSD sets the line number to the last line
searched if there are no matches.
- BSD does not default the command list to the p command.
- BSD does not support the G, h, H, n, or V commands.
- On BSD, if there is no inserted text, the insert command changes
the current line to the referenced line -1; i.e., the line before
the specified line.
- On BSD, the join command with only a single address changes the
current line to that address.
- BSD does not support the P command; moreover, in BSD it is
synonymous with the p command.
- BSD does not support the _u_n_d_o of the commands j, m, r, s, or t.
- The BSD ed commands W, wq, and z are not present in POSIX.2.
The -s option was added to allow the functionality of the - option in a
manner compatible with the Utility Syntax Guidelines. It is the intent
of the working group that portable applications use the -s option, and
that in the future the - option be removed from the standard.
Prior to Draft 8 there was a limit, {ED_FILE_MAX}, which described the
historical limitations of some ed utilities in their handling of large
files; some of these have had problems with files in the >100KB range.
It was this limitation that prompted much of the desire to include a
split command in the standard. Since this limit was removed, the
standard requires that implementations document the file size limits
imposed by ed in the conformance document. The limit {ED_LINE_MAX} was
also removed; therefore, the global limit {LINE_MAX} is used for input
and output lines.
The \{_m,_n\} notation was removed from the description of regular
expressions because this functionality is now described in 2.8.3.
The manner in which the l command writes nonprintable characters was
changed to avoid the historical backspace-overstrike method. On video
display terminals, the overstrike is ambiguous because most terminals 1
simply replace overstruck characters, making the l format not useful for 1
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
496 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
its intended purpose of unambiguously understanding the content of the 1
line. The historical backslash escapes were also ambiguous. (The string
"a\0011" could represent a line containing those six characters or a line
containing the three characters 'a', a byte with a binary value of 1, and
a '1'.) In the format required here, a backslash appearing in the line
will be written as "\\" so that the output is truly unambiguous. The 1
method of marking the ends of lines was adopted from the ex editor (see 1
the User Portability Extension) and is required for any line ending in 1
<space>_s; the $ is placed on all lines so that a real $ at the end of a 1
line cannot be misinterpreted. 1
Systems with bytes too large to fit into three octal digits must devise 1
other means of displaying nonprintable characters. Consideration was 1
given to requiring that the number of octal digits be large enough to 1
hold a byte, but this seemed to be too confusing for applications on the 1
vast majority of systems where three digits are adequate. It would be 1
theoretically possible for the application to use the getconf utility to 1
find out the {CHAR_BIT} value and deal with such an algorithm; however, 1
there is really no portable way that an application can use the octal 1
values of the bytes across various coded character sets anyway, so the 1
additional specification did not seem worth the effort. 1
The description of how a NUL is written was removed. The NUL character
cannot be in text files, and the standard should not dictate behavior in
the case of undefined, erroneous input.
The text requiring filenames accepted by the E, e, R, and r commands to
be patterns was removed due to balloting objections that this was
undesirable and not existing practice.
The -p option in Drafts 8 and 9 said that it only worked when standard
input was associated with a terminal device. This has been changed to
conform to existing implementations, thereby allowing applications to
interpose themselves between a user and the ed utility.
The form of the substitute command that uses the _n suffix was limited to
the first 512 matches in a previous draft (where this was described
incorrectly as ``backreferencing''). This limit has been removed because
there is no reason an editor processing lines of {LINE_MAX} length should
have this restriction. The command s/x/X/2047 should be able to
substitute the 2047th occurrence of x on a line.
The use of printing commands with printing suffixes (such as pn, lp,
etc.) was made unspecified because BSD-based systems allow this, whereas
System V does not.
Some BSD-based systems exit immediately upon receipt of end-of-file if
all of the lines in the file had been deleted. Since POSIX.2 refers to
the q command in this instance, such behavior is not allowed.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.20 ed - Edit text 497
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
Some historical implementations returned exit status zero even if command
errors had occurred; this is not allowed by POSIX.2.
END_RATIONALE
4.21 env - Set environment for command invocation
4.21.1 Synopsis
env [-i] [_n_a_m_e=_v_a_l_u_e] ... [_u_t_i_l_i_t_y [_a_r_g_u_m_e_n_t ...]]
_O_b_s_o_l_e_s_c_e_n_t _V_e_r_s_i_o_n:
env [-] [_n_a_m_e=_v_a_l_u_e] ... [_u_t_i_l_i_t_y [_a_r_g_u_m_e_n_t ...]]
4.21.2 Description
The env utility shall obtain the current environment, modify it according
to its arguments, then invoke the utility named by the _u_t_i_l_i_t_y operand
with the modified environment.
Optional arguments shall be passed to _u_t_i_l_i_t_y.
If no _u_t_i_l_i_t_y operand is specified, the resulting environment shall be
written to the standard output, with one _n_a_m_e=_v_a_l_u_e pair per line.
4.21.3 Options
The env utility shall conform to the utility argument syntax guidelines
described in 2.10.2, except for its nonstandard usage of -, which is
obsolescent.
The following options shall be supported by the implementation:
-i Invoke _u_t_i_l_i_t_y with exactly the environment specified by
the arguments; the inherited environment shall be ignored
completely.
- (Obsolescent.) Equivalent to the -i option.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
498 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
4.21.4 Operands
The following operands shall be supported by the implementation:
_n_a_m_e=_v_a_l_u_e Arguments of the form _n_a_m_e=_v_a_l_u_e modify the execution
environment, and are placed into the inherited environment
before the _u_t_i_l_i_t_y is invoked.
_u_t_i_l_i_t_y The name of the utility to be invoked. If the _u_t_i_l_i_t_y
operand names any of the special built-in utilities in
3.14, the results are undefined.
_a_r_g_u_m_e_n_t A string to pass as an argument for the invoked utility.
4.21.5 External Influences
4.21.5.1 Standard Input
None.
4.21.5.2 Input Files
None.
4.21.5.3 Environment Variables
The following environment variables shall affect the execution of env:
LANG This variable shall determine the locale to use for
the locale categories when both LC_ALL and the
corresponding environment variable (beginning with
LC_) do not specify a locale. See 2.6.
LC_ALL This variable shall determine the locale to be used
to override any values for locale categories
specified by the settings of LANG or any
environment variables beginning with LC_.
LC_CTYPE This variable shall determine the locale for the
interpretation of sequences of bytes of text data
as characters (e.g., single- versus multibyte
characters in arguments).
LC_MESSAGES This variable shall determine the language in which
messages should be written.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.21 env - Set environment for command invocation 499
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
PATH This variable shall determine the location of the
_u_t_i_l_i_t_y, as described in 2.6. If PATH is specified
as a _n_a_m_e=_v_a_l_u_e operand to env, the _v_a_l_u_e given
shall be used in the search for _u_t_i_l_i_t_y.
4.21.5.4 Asynchronous Events
Default.
4.21.6 External Effects
4.21.6.1 Standard Output
If no _u_t_i_l_i_t_y operand is specified, each _n_a_m_e=_v_a_l_u_e pair in the resulting
environment shall be written in the form:
"%s=%s\n", <_n_a_m_e>, <_v_a_l_u_e>
If the _u_t_i_l_i_t_y operand is specified, the env utility shall not write to
standard output.
4.21.6.2 Standard Error
Used only for diagnostic messages.
4.21.6.3 Output Files
None.
4.21.7 Extended Description
None.
4.21.8 Exit Status
If the _u_t_i_l_i_t_y utility is invoked, the exit status of env shall be the
exit status of _u_t_i_l_i_t_y; otherwise, the env utility shall exit with one of
the following values:
0 The env utility completed successfully.
1-125 An error occurred in the env utility. 1
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
500 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
126 The utility specified by _u_t_i_l_i_t_y was found but could not be 1
invoked. 1
127 The utility specified by _u_t_i_l_i_t_y could not be found. 1
4.21.9 Consequences of Errors
Default.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
4.21.10 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s_,__U_s_a_g_e
The following command:
env -i PATH=/mybin mygrep xyz myfile
invokes the command mygrep with a new PATH value as the only entry in its
environment. In this case, PATH is used to locate mygrep, which then
must reside in /mybin.
As with all other utilities that invoke other utilities, the standard
only specifies what env does with standard input, standard output,
standard error, input files, and output files. If a utility is executed,
it is not constrained by env's specification of input and output.
The command, env, nohup, and xargs utilities have been specified to use
exit code 127 if an error occurs so that applications can distinguish 1
``failure to find a utility'' from ``invoked utility exited with an error 1
indication.'' The value 127 was chosen because it is not commonly used 1
for other meanings; most utilities use small values for ``normal error
conditions'' and the values above 128 can be confused with termination
due to receipt of a signal. The value 126 was chosen in a similar manner 1
to indicate that the utility could be found, but not invoked. Some 1
scripts produce meaningful error messages differentiating the 126 and 127 1
cases. The distinction between exit codes 126 and 127 is based on 2
KornShell practice that uses 127 when all attempts to _e_x_e_c the utility 2
fail with [ENOENT], and uses 126 when any attempt to _e_x_e_c the utility 2
fails for any other reason. 2
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
The -i option was added to allow the functionality of the - option in a
manner compatible with the Utility Syntax Guidelines. It is the intent
of the working group that portable applications use the -i option, and
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.21 env - Set environment for command invocation 501
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
that in the future the - option be removed from the standard.
Historical implementations of the env utility use _e_x_e_c_v_p() or _e_x_e_c_l_p()
(see POSIX.1 {8} 3.1.2) to invoke the specified utility; this provides
better performance and keeps users from having to escape characters with
special meaning to the shell. Therefore, shell functions, special
built-ins, and built-ins that are only provided by the shell are not
found. Implementations are free to invoke a shell instead of using one
of the _e_x_e_c family of routines, but if they do, they must be sure to
escape any characters with special meaning to the shell so that the user
does not have to be aware of the difference.
Some have suggested that env is redundant since the same effect is
achieved by:
name=value ... utility [argument ...]
The example is equivalent to env when an environment variable is being
added to the environment of the command, but not when the environment is
being set to the given value. The env utility also writes out the
current environment if invoked without arguments. There is sufficient
functionality beyond what the example provides to justify inclusion of
env.
END_RATIONALE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
502 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
4.22 expr - Evaluate arguments as an expression
4.22.1 Synopsis
expr _o_p_e_r_a_n_d ...
4.22.2 Description
The expr utility shall evaluate an expression and write the result to
standard output.
4.22.3 Options
None.
4.22.4 Operands
The single expression evaluated by expr shall be formed from the
operands, as described in 4.22.7. Each of the expression operator
symbols:
( ) | & = > >= < <= != + - * / % :
and the symbols _i_n_t_e_g_e_r and _s_t_r_i_n_g in the table shall be provided by the
application as separate arguments to expr.
4.22.5 External Influences
4.22.5.1 Standard Input
None.
4.22.5.2 Input Files
None.
4.22.5.3 Environment Variables
The following environment variables shall affect the execution of expr:
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.22 expr - Evaluate arguments as an expression 503
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
LANG This variable shall determine the locale to use for
the locale categories when both LC_ALL and the
corresponding environment variable (beginning with
LC_) do not specify a locale. See 2.6.
LC_ALL This variable shall determine the locale to be used
to override any values for locale categories
specified by the settings of LANG or any
environment variables beginning with LC_.
LC_COLLATE This variable shall determine the locale for the
behavior of ranges, equivalence classes, and
multicharacter collating elements within regular
expressions and by the string comparison operators.
LC_CTYPE This variable shall determine the locale for the
interpretation of sequences of bytes of text data
as characters (e.g., single- versus multibyte
characters in arguments) and the behavior of
character classes within regular expressions.
LC_MESSAGES This variable shall determine the language in which
messages should be written.
4.22.5.4 Asynchronous Events
Default.
4.22.6 External Effects
4.22.6.1 Standard Output
The expr utility shall evaluate the expression and write the result to
standard output. The character '0' shall be written to indicate a zero
value and nothing shall be written to indicate a null string.
4.22.6.2 Standard Error
Used only for diagnostic messages.
4.22.6.3 Output Files
None.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
504 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
4.22.7 Extended Description
The formation of the expression to be evaluated is shown in Table 4-7.
The symbols _e_x_p_r, _e_x_p_r_1, and _e_x_p_r_2 represent expressions formed from
_i_n_t_e_g_e_r and _s_t_r_i_n_g symbols and the expression operator symbols (all
separate arguments) by recursive application of the constructs described
in the table. The expressions in Table 4-7 are listed in order of
increasing precedence, with equal-precedence operators grouped between
horizontal lines. All of the operators shall be left-associative.
Table 4-7 - expr Expressions
_________________________________________________________________________
_____E_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n____________________________D_e_s_c_r_i_p_t_i_o_n_____________________
_e_x_p_r_1 | _e_x_p_r_2 Returns the evaluation of _e_x_p_r_1 if it is
neither null nor zero; otherwise, returns
the evaluation of _e_x_p_r_2.
_________________________________________________________________________
_e_x_p_r_1 & _e_x_p_r_2 Returns the evaluation of _e_x_p_r_1 if neither
expression evaluates to null or zero;
___________________________o_t_h_e_r_w_i_s_e_,__r_e_t_u_r_n_s__z_e_r_o_._______________________
Returns the result of a decimal integer
comparison if both arguments are integers;
otherwise, returns the result of a string
comparison using the locale-specific
collation sequence. The result of each
comparison shall be 1 if the specified
relation is true, or 0 if the relation is
false.
_e_x_p_r_1 = _e_x_p_r_2 _E_q_u_a_l.
| _e_x_p_r_1 > _e_x_p_r_2 | _G_r_e_a_t_e_r _t_h_a_n. |
| _e_x_p_r_1 >= _e_x_p_r_2 | _G_r_e_a_t_e_r _t_h_a_n _o_r _e_q_u_a_l. |
| _e_x_p_r_1 < _e_x_p_r_2 | _L_e_s_s _t_h_a_n. |
| _e_x_p_r_1 <= _e_x_p_r_2 | _L_e_s_s _t_h_a_n _o_r _e_q_u_a_l. |
| _e_x_p_r_1 != _e_x_p_r_2 | _N_o_t _e_q_u_a_l. |
_|______________________|__________________________________________________|
| _e_x_p_r_1 + _e_x_p_r_2 | Addition of decimal integer-valued |
| | arguments. |
| _e_x_p_r_1 - _e_x_p_r_2 | Subtraction of decimal integer-valued |
_|______________________|____a_r_g_u_m_e_n_t_s_._____________________________________|
| _e_x_p_r_1 * _e_x_p_r_2 | Multiplication of decimal integer-valued |
| | arguments. |
| _e_x_p_r_1 / _e_x_p_r_2 | Integer division of decimal integer-valued |
| | arguments, producing an integer result. |
| | Remainder of integer division of decimal |
| | integer-valued arguments. |
| | |
| | |
| Copyright| c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved. |
| This is an unappro|ved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change. |
| | |
| | |
| | |
| | |
| | |
4|.22 expr - Evaluate ar|guments as an expression 505|
| | |
| | |
| | |
| | |
| | |
P|1003.2/D11.2 | INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX|
| | |
| _e_x_p_r_1 % _e_x_p_r_2 | |
| | |
_|______________________|__________________________________________________|
_|____e__x__p__r__1_:____e__x__p__r__2_______|____M_a_t_c_h_i_n_g__e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n_.___S_e_e__4_._2_2_._7_._1_.____________|
| ( _e_x_p_r ) | Grouping symbols. Any expression can be |
| | placed within parentheses. Parentheses |
| | can be nested to a depth of |
| | {EXPR_NEST_MAX}. |
_|______________________|__________________________________________________|
| _i_n_t_e_g_e_r | An argument consisting only of an |
| | (optional) unary minus followed by digits. |
_||________s__t__r__i__n__g__________||____A__s_t_r_i_n_g__a_r_g_u_m_e_n_t_.___S_e_e__4_._2_2_._7_._2_.______________||
4.22.7.1 Matching Expression
The ':' matching operator shall compare the string resulting from the
evaluation of _e_x_p_r_1 with the regular expression pattern resulting from
the evaluation of _e_x_p_r_2. Regular expression syntax shall be that defined
in 2.8.3 (Basic Regular Expressions), except that all patterns are
``anchored'' to the beginning of the string (that is, only sequences
starting at the first character of a string shall be matched by the
regular expression) and, therefore, it is unspecified whether ^ is a
special character in that context. Usually, the matching operator shall
return a string representing the number of characters matched ("0" on
failure). Alternatively, if the pattern contains at least one regular
expression subexpression [\(...\)], the string corresponding to \1 shall
be returned (see 2.8.3.3).
4.22.7.2 String Operand
A string argument is an argument that cannot be identified as an _i_n_t_e_g_e_r
argument or as one of the expression operator symbols shown in 4.22.4.
The use of string arguments length, substr, index, or match produces
unspecified results.
4.22.8 Exit Status
The expr utility shall exit with one of the following values:
0 If the _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n evaluates to neither null nor zero.
1 If the _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n evaluates to null or zero.
2 For invalid _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_ns.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
506 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
>2 An error occurred.
4.22.9 Consequences of Errors
Default.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
4.22.10 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s_,__U_s_a_g_e
The expr utility has a rather difficult syntax:
- Many of the operators are also shell control operators or reserved
words, so they have to be escaped on the command line.
- Each part of the expression is composed of separate arguments, so
liberal usage of <blank>s is required. For example:
Invalid Valid
________________ _____________________
expr 1+2 expr 1 + 2
expr "1 + 2" expr 1 + 2
expr 1 + (2 * 3) expr 1 + \( 2 \* 3 \)
In many cases, the arithmetic and string features provided as part of the
shell command language are easier to use than their equivalents in expr;
the utility was retained by POSIX.2 as acknowledgment of the many
historical shell scripts that use it. Newly written scripts should avoid
expr in favor of the new features within the shell.
The following command
_a=$(_e_x_p_r $_a + _1)
adds 1 to the variable a. A new application should use 1
a=$(($a+1)) 1
The following command, for $a equal to either /usr/abc/file or just file:
expr $a : '.*/\(.*\)' \| $a
returns the last segment of a pathname (i.e., file). Applications should
avoid the character / used alone as an argument: expr may interpret it
as the division operator.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.22 expr - Evaluate arguments as an expression 507
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
The following command:
expr "//$a" : '.*/\(.*\)'
is a better representation of the previous example. The addition of the
// characters eliminates any ambiguity about the division operator and
simplifies the whole expression. Also note that pathnames may contain
characters contained in the IFS variable and should be quoted to avoid
having $a expand into multiple arguments.
The following command
expr "$VAR" : '.*'
returns the number of characters in VAR.
Usage Warning: After argument processing by the shell, expr is not
required to be able to tell the difference between an operator and an
operand except by the value. If $a is =, the command:
expr $a = '='
looks like:
expr = = =
as the arguments are passed to expr (and they all may be taken as the =
operator). The following works reliably:
expr X$a = X=
Also note that this standard permits implementations to extend utilities.
The expr utility permits the integer arguments to be preceded with a
unary minus. This means that an integer argument could look like an
option. Therefore, the portable application must employ the "--"
construct of Guideline 10 (see 2.10.2) to protect its operands if there
is any chance the first operand might be a negative integer (or any
string with a leading minus).
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
In an earlier draft, Extended Regular Expressions were used in the
matching expression syntax. This was changed to the Basic variety to
avoid breaking historical applications.
The use of a leading circumflex in the regular expression is unspecified
because many historical implementations have treated it as special,
despite their system documentation. For example,
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
508 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
expr foo : ^foo expr ^foo : ^foo
return 3 and 0, respectively, on those systems; their documentation would
imply the reverse. Thus, the anchoring condition is left unspecified to
avoid breaking historical scripts relying on this undocumented feature.
END_RATIONALE
4.23 false - Return false value
4.23.1 Synopsis
false
4.23.2 Description
The false utility shall return with a nonzero exit code.
4.23.3 Options
None.
4.23.4 Operands
None.
4.23.5 External Influences
4.23.5.1 Standard Input
None.
4.23.5.2 Input Files
None.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.23 false - Return false value 509
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.23.5.3 Environment Variables
None.
4.23.5.4 Asynchronous Events
Default.
4.23.6 External Effects
4.23.6.1 Standard Output
None.
4.23.6.2 Standard Error
None.
4.23.6.3 Output Files
None.
4.23.7 Extended Description
None.
4.23.8 Exit Status
The false utility always shall exit with a value other than zero.
4.23.9 Consequences of Errors
Default.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
4.23.10 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s_,__U_s_a_g_e
The false utility is typically used in shell control structures like
while.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
510 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
END_RATIONALE
4.24 find - Find files
4.24.1 Synopsis
find _p_a_t_h ... [_o_p_e_r_a_n_d__e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n ...]
4.24.2 Description
The find utility shall recursively descend the directory hierarchy from
each file specified by _p_a_t_h, evaluating a Boolean expression composed of
the primaries described in 4.24.4 for each file encountered.
The find utility shall be able to descend to arbitrary depths in a file
hierarchy and shall not fail due to path length limitations (unless a
path operand specified by the application exceeds {PATH_MAX}
requirements).
The find utility requires that the underlying system provides information
equivalent to the _s_t__d_e_v, _s_t__m_o_d_e, _s_t__n_l_i_n_k, _s_t__u_i_d, _s_t__g_i_d, _s_t__s_i_z_e,
_s_t__a_t_i_m_e, _s_t__m_t_i_m_e, and _s_t__c_t_i_m_e members of _s_t_r_u_c_t _s_t_a_t described by
POSIX.1 {8} 5.6 and conforming to the _f_i_l_e _t_i_m_e_s _u_p_d_a_t_e definition in
2.2.2.69.
4.24.3 Options
None.
4.24.4 Operands
The following operands shall be supported by the implementation:
The _p_a_t_h operand is a pathname of a starting point in the directory
hierarchy.
The first argument that starts with a -, or is a ! or a (, and all
subsequent arguments shall be interpreted as an _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n made up of the
following primaries and operators. In the descriptions, wherever _n is
used as a primary argument, it shall be interpreted as a decimal integer
optionally preceded by a plus (+) or minus (-) sign, as follows:
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.24 find - Find files 511
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
+_n More than _n
_n Exactly _n
-_n Less than _n
Implementations shall recognize the following primaries: _E_d_i_t_o_r'_s _N_o_t_e:
_T_h_e_s_e _p_r_i_m_a_r_i_e_s _h_a_v_e _b_e_e_n _s_o_r_t_e_d _a_l_p_h_a_b_e_t_i_c_a_l_l_y, _w_i_t_h_o_u_t _d_i_f_f _m_a_r_k_s.
-atime _n The primary shall evaluate as true if the file
access time subtracted from the initialization time
is _n-1 to _n multiples of 24 hours. The
initialization time shall be a time between the
invocation of the find utility and the first access
by that invocation of the find utility to any file
specified by its _p_a_t_h operands.
-ctime _n The primary shall evaluate as true if the time of
last change of file status information subtracted
from the initialization time is _n-1 to _n multiples
of 24 hours. The initialization time shall be a
time between the invocation of the find utility and
the first access by that invocation of the find
utility to any file specified by its _p_a_t_h operands.
-depth The primary always shall evaluate as true; it shall
cause descent of the directory hierarchy to be done
so that all entries in a directory are acted on
before the directory itself. If a -depth primary
is not specified, all entries in a directory shall
be acted on after the directory itself. If any
-depth primary is specified, it shall apply to the
entire expression even if the -depth primary would
not normally be evaluated.
-exec _u_t_i_l_i_t_y__n_a_m_e [_a_r_g_u_m_e_n_t ...] ;
The primary shall evaluate as true if the invoked
utility _u_t_i_l_i_t_y__n_a_m_e returns a zero value as exit
status. The end of the primary expression shall be
punctuated by a semicolon. A _u_t_i_l_i_t_y__n_a_m_e or
_a_r_g_u_m_e_n_t containing only the two characters {}
shall be replaced by the current pathname. If a
utility_name or argument string contains the two
characters {}, but not just the two characters {},
it is implementation defined whether find replaces
those two characters with the current pathname or
uses the string without change. The current
directory for the invocation of _u_t_i_l_i_t_y__n_a_m_e shall
be the same as the current directory when the find
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
512 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
utility was started. If the _u_t_i_l_i_t_y__n_a_m_e names any
of the special built-in utilities in 3.14, the
results are undefined.
-group _g_n_a_m_e The primary shall evaluate as true if the file
belongs to the group _g_n_a_m_e. If _g_n_a_m_e is a decimal
integer and the _g_e_t_g_r_n_a_m() (or equivalent) function
does not return a valid group name, _g_n_a_m_e shall be
interpreted as a group ID.
-links _n The primary shall evaluate as true if the file has
_n links.
-mtime _n The primary shall evaluate as true if the file
modification time subtracted from the
initialization time is _n-1 to _n multiples of 24
hours. The initialization time shall be a time
between the invocation of the find utility and the
first access by that invocation of the find utility
to any file specified by its _p_a_t_h operands.
-name _p_a_t_t_e_r_n The primary shall evaluate as true if the basename
of the filename being examined matches _p_a_t_t_e_r_n
using the pattern matching notation described in
3.13.
-newer _f_i_l_e The primary shall evaluate as true if the
modification time of the current file is more
recent than the modification time of the file named
by the pathname _f_i_l_e.
-nogroup The primary shall evaluate as true if the file
belongs to a group ID for which the POSIX.1 {8}
_g_e_t_g_r_g_i_d() (or equivalent) function returns NULL.
-nouser The primary shall evaluate as true if the file
belongs to a user ID for which the POSIX.1 {8}
_g_e_t_p_w_u_i_d() (or equivalent) function returns NULL.
-ok _u_t_i_l_i_t_y__n_a_m_e [_a_r_g_u_m_e_n_t ...] ;
The -ok primary shall be equivalent to -exec,
except that find shall request affirmation of the
invocation of _u_t_i_l_i_t_y__n_a_m_e using the current file
as an argument by writing to standard error as,
described in 4.24.6.2. If the response on standard
input is affirmative, the utility shall be invoked.
Otherwise, the command shall not be invoked and the
value of the -ok operand shall be false.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.24 find - Find files 513
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
-perm [-]_m_o_d_e The _m_o_d_e argument is used to represent file mode
bits. It shall be identical in format to the
_s_y_m_b_o_l_i_c__m_o_d_e operand described in 4.7, and shall
be interpreted as follows. To start, a template
shall be assumed with all file mode bits cleared.
An _o_p symbol of + shall set the appropriate mode
bits in the template; - shall clear the appropriate
bits; = shall set the appropriate mode bits,
without regard to the contents of process's file
mode creation mask. The _o_p symbol of - cannot be
the first character of _m_o_d_e.
If the hyphen is omitted, the primary shall
evaluate as true when the file permission bits
exactly match the value of the resulting template.
Otherwise, if _m_o_d_e is prefixed by a hyphen, the
primary shall evaluate as true if at least all the
bits in the resulting template are set in the file
permission bits.
-perm [-]_o_n_u_m (Obsolescent.) If the hyphen is omitted, the
primary shall evaluate as true when the file
permission bits exactly match the value of the
octal number _o_n_u_m and only the bits corresponding
to the octal mask 07777 shall be compared. (See
the description of the octal _m_o_d_e in 4.7.)
Otherwise, if _o_n_u_m is prefixed by a hyphen, the
primary shall evaluate as true if at least all of
the bits specified in _o_n_u_m that are also set it the
octal mask 07777 are set.
-print The primary always shall evaluate as true; it shall
cause the current pathname to be written to
standard output.
-prune The primary always shall evaluate as true; it shall
cause find not to descend the current pathname if
it is a directory. If the -depth primary is
specified, the -prune primary shall have no effect.
-size _n[c] The primary shall evaluate as true if the file size
in bytes, divided by 512 and rounded up to the next
integer, is _n. If _n is followed by the character c,
the size shall be in bytes.
-type _c The primary shall evaluate as true if the type of
the file is _c, where _c is b, c, d, p, or f for
block special file, character special file,
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
514 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
directory, FIFO, or regular file, respectively.
-user _u_n_a_m_e The primary shall evaluate as true if the file
belongs to the user _u_n_a_m_e. If _u_n_a_m_e is a decimal
integer and the _g_e_t_p_w_n_a_m() (or equivalent) function
does not return a valid user name, _u_n_a_m_e shall be
interpreted as a user ID.
-xdev The primary always shall evaluate as true; it shall
cause find not to continue descending past
directories that have a different device ID
(_s_t__d_e_v, see POSIX.1 {8} 5.6.2). If any -xdev
primary is specified, it shall apply to the entire
expression even if the -xdev primary would not
normally be evaluated.
The primaries can be combined using the following operators (in order of
decreasing precedence):
( _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n ) True if _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n is true.
! _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n Negation of a primary; the unary NOT operator.
_e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n [-a] _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n
Conjunction of primaries; the AND operator shall be
implied by the juxtaposition of two primaries or
made explicit by the optional -a operator. The
second expression shall not be evaluated if the
first expression is false.
_e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n -_o _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n
Alternation of primaries; the OR operator. The
second expression shall not be evaluated if the
first expression is true.
If no _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n is present, -print shall be used as the expression.
Otherwise, if the given expression does not contain any of the primaries
-exec, -ok, or -print, the given expression shall be effectively replaced
by:
( _g_i_v_e_n__e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n ) -print
The -user, -group, and -newer primaries each shall evaluate their
respective arguments only once.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.24 find - Find files 515
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.24.5 External Influences
4.24.5.1 Standard Input
If the -ok primary is used, the response shall be read from the standard
input. An entire line shall be read as the response. Otherwise, the
standard input shall not be used.
4.24.5.2 Input Files
None.
4.24.5.3 Environment Variables
The following environment variables shall affect the execution of find:
LANG This variable shall determine the locale to use for
the locale categories when both LC_ALL and the
corresponding environment variable (beginning with
LC_) do not specify a locale. See 2.6.
LC_ALL This variable shall determine the locale to be used
to override any values for locale categories
specified by the settings of LANG or any
environment variables beginning with LC_.
LC_COLLATE This variable shall determine the locale for the
behavior of ranges, equivalence classes, and
multicharacter collating elements used in the
pattern matching notation for the -name option and
in the extended regular expression defined for the
yesexpr locale keyword in the LC_MESSAGES category.
LC_CTYPE This variable shall determine the locale for the
interpretation of sequences of bytes of text data
as characters (e.g., single- versus multibyte
characters in arguments), the behavior of character
classes within the pattern matching notation used
for the -name option, and the behavior of character
classes within regular expressions used in the
extended regular expression defined for the yesexpr
locale keyword in the LC_MESSAGES category.
LC_MESSAGES This variable shall determine the processing of
affirmative responses and the language in which
messages should be written.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
516 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
PATH This variable shall determine the location of the
_u_t_i_l_i_t_y__n_a_m_e for the -exec and -ok primaries, as
described in 2.6.
4.24.5.4 Asynchronous Events
Default.
4.24.6 External Effects
4.24.6.1 Standard Output
The -print primary shall cause the current pathnames to be written to
standard output. The format shall be:
"%s\n", <_p_a_t_h>
4.24.6.2 Standard Error
The -ok primary shall write a prompt to standard error containing at
least the utility_name to be invoked and the current pathname. In the
POSIX Locale, the last non-<blank> character in the prompt shall be ?.
The exact format used is unspecified.
Otherwise, the standard error shall be used only for diagnostic messages.
4.24.6.3 Output Files
None.
4.24.7 Extended Description
None.
4.24.8 Exit Status
The find utility shall exit with one of the following values:
0 All _p_a_t_h operands were traversed successfully.
>0 An error occurred.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.24 find - Find files 517
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.24.9 Consequences of Errors
Default.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
4.24.10 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s_,__U_s_a_g_e
When used in operands, pattern matching notation, semicolons, opening
parentheses, and closing parentheses are special to the shell and must be
quoted (see 3.2).
The following command:
find / \( -name tmp -o -name '*.xx' \) \
-atime +7 -exec rm {} \;
removes all files named tmp or ending in .xx that have not been accessed
for seven or more 24-hour periods.
The following command:
find . -perm -o+w,+s
prints (-print is assumed) the names of all files in or below the current
directory, with all of the file permission bits S_ISUID, S_ISGID, and
S_IWOTH set.
The -prune primary was adopted from later releases of 4.3BSD and the 1
third edition of the _S_V_I_D. The following command recursively prints 1
pathnames of all files in the current directory and below, but skips
directories named SCCS and files in them.
find . -name SCCS -prune -o -print
The following command behaves as in the previous example, but prints the
names of the SCCS directories.
find . -print -name SCCS -prune
The following command is roughly equivalent to the -nt extension to test: 1
if [ -n "$(find file1 -prune -newer file2)" ]; then 2
printf %s\\n "file1 is newer than file2" 2
fi 1
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
518 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
The historical -a operator is kept as an optional operator for
compatibility with existing shell scripts even though it is redundant
with expression concatenation.
The symbolic means of specifying file permission bits, based on chmod,
was added in response to numerous balloting objections that find was the
only remaining utility to not support this method. The warning about a
leading _O_p of - is to avoid ambiguity with the optional leading hyphen.
Since the initial mode is all bits off, there are not any symbolic modes
that need to use - as the first character. The bit that is traditionally
used for sticky (historically 01000) is still specified in the -perm
primary using the octal number argument form. Since this bit is not
defined by POSIX.1 {8} or POSIX.2, applications must not assume that it
actually refers to the traditional sticky bit.
The descriptions of how the - modifier on the _m_o_d_e and _o_n_u_m arguments to
the -perm primary affects processing has been documented here to match
the way it behaves in practice on historical BSD and System V
implementations. System V and BSD documentation both describe it in
terms of checking additional bits; in fact, it uses the same bits, but
checks for having at least all of the matching bits set instead of having
exactly the matching bits set.
The exact format of the interactive prompts is unspecified. Only the
general nature of the contents of prompts are specified, because:
(1) Implementations may desire more descriptive prompts than those
used on historical implementations.
(2) Since the traditional prompt strings do not terminate with
<newline>s, there is no portable way for another program to
interact with the prompts of this utility via pipes.
Therefore, an application using this prompting option relies on the
system to provide the most suitable dialogue directly with the user,
based on the general guidelines specified.
The -name _f_i_l_e operand was changed to use the shell pattern matching
notation so that find is consistent with other utilities using pattern
matching.
For the -type _c operand, implementors of symbolic links should consider l
(the letter ell) for symbolic links. Implementations that support
sockets also use -type s for sockets. Implementations planning to add
options to allow find to follow symbolic links or treat them as special
files, should consider using -follow as used in BSD and System V Release
4 as a guide.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.24 find - Find files 519
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
The -size operand refers to the size of a file, rather than the number of 2
blocks it may occupy in the file system. The intent is that the 2
POSIX.1 {8} _s_t__s_i_z_e field should be used, not the _s_t__b_l_o_c_k_s found in 2
historical implementations. There are at least two reasons for this: 2
- In both System V and BSD, find only uses _s_t__s_i_z_e in size 2
calculations for the operands specified by POSIX.2. (BSD uses 2
_s_t__b_l_o_c_k_s only when processing the -ls primary.) 2
- Users will usually be thinking of size in terms of the size of the 2
file in bytes, which is also used by the ls utility for the output 2
from the -l option. (In both System V in BSD, ls uses _s_t__s_i_z_e for 2
the -l option size field and uses _s_t__b_l_o_c_k_s for the ls -s 2
calculations. POSIX.2 does not specify ls -s.) 2
The descriptions of -atime, -ctime, and -mtime were changed from the
_S_V_I_D's description of _n ``days'' to ``24-hour periods.'' For example, a
file accessed at 23:59 will be selected by
find . -atime -1 -print
at 00:01 the next day (less than 24 hours later, not more than one day
ago); the midnight boundary between days has no effect on the 24-hour
calculation. The description is also different in terms of the exact 1
timeframe for the _n case (versus the +_n or -_n), but it matches all known 1
historical implementations. It refers to one 24-hour period in the past, 1
not any time from the beginning of that period to the current time. For 1
example, -atime 3 is true if the file was accessed any time in the period 1
from 72 to 48 hours ago. 1
Historical implementations do not modify {} when it appears as a
substring of an -exec or -ok _u_t_i_l_i_t_y__n_a_m_e or argument string. There have
been numerous user requests for this extension, so this standard allows
the desired behavior. At least one recent implementation does support
this feature, but ran into several problems in managing memory allocation
and dealing with multiple occurrences of {} in a string while it was
being developed, so it is not yet required behavior.
Assuming the presence of -print was added at the request of several
working group members to correct a historical pitfall that plagues novice
users. It is entirely upward compatible from the historical System V
find utility and should be easy to implement. In its simplest form (find
_d_i_r_e_c_t_o_r_y), it could be confused with the historical BSD fast find. The
BSD developers agree that adding -print as a default expression is the
right thing to do and believe that the fast find functionality should
have been/should be provided by a separate utility. They suggest that
the new utility be called locate.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
520 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
END_RATIONALE
4.25 fold - Fold lines
4.25.1 Synopsis
fold [-bs] [-w _w_i_d_t_h] [_f_i_l_e ...]
4.25.2 Description
The fold utility is a filter that shall fold lines from its input files,
breaking the lines to have a maximum of _w_i_d_t_h column positions (or bytes,
if the -b option is specified). Lines shall be broken by the insertion
of a <newline> character such that each output line (referred to later in
this clause as a segment) is the maximum width possible that does not
exceed the specified number of column positions (or bytes). A line shall
not be broken in the middle of a character. The behavior is undefined if
_w_i_d_t_h is less than the number of columns any single character in the
input would occupy.
If the <carriage-return>, <backspace>, or <tab> characters are 2
encountered in the input, and the -b option is not specified, they shall
be treated specially:
<carriage-return> 2
The current count of line width shall be set to zero. The fold 2
utility shall not insert a <newline> immediately before or 2
after any <carriage-return>. 2
<backspace>
The current count of line width shall be decremented by one,
although the count never shall become negative. The fold
utility shall not insert a <newline> immediately before or
after any <backspace>.
<tab> Each <tab> character encountered shall advance the column
position pointer to the next tab stop. Tab stops shall be at
each column position _n such that _n modulo 8 equals 1.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.25 fold - Fold lines 521
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.25.3 Options
The fold utility shall conform to the utility argument syntax guidelines
described in 2.10.2.
The following options shall be supported by the implementation:
-b Count _w_i_d_t_h in bytes rather than column positions.
-s If a segment of a line contains a <blank> within the first
_w_i_d_t_h column positions (or bytes), break the line after
the last such <blank> meeting the width constraints. If
there is no <blank> meeting the requirements, the -s
option shall have no effect for that output segment of the
input line.
-w _w_i_d_t_h Specify the maximum line length, in column positions (or
bytes if -b is specified). The results are unspecified if
_w_i_d_t_h is not a positive decimal number. The default value
shall be 80.
4.25.4 Operands
The following operand shall be supported by the implementation:
_f_i_l_e A pathname of a text file to be folded. If no _f_i_l_e
operands are specified, the standard input shall be used.
4.25.5 External Influences
4.25.5.1 Standard Input
The standard input shall be used only if no _f_i_l_e operands are specified.
See Input Files.
4.25.5.2 Input Files
If the -b option is specified, the input files shall be text files except
that the lines are not limited to {LINE_MAX} bytes in length. If the -b
option is not specified, the input files shall be text files.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
522 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
4.25.5.3 Environment Variables
The following environment variables shall affect the execution of fold:
LANG This variable shall determine the locale to use for
the locale categories when both LC_ALL and the
corresponding environment variable (beginning with
LC_) do not specify a locale. See 2.6.
LC_ALL This variable shall determine the locale to be used
to override any values for locale categories
specified by the settings of LANG or any
environment variables beginning with LC_.
LC_CTYPE This variable shall determine the locale for the
interpretation of sequences of bytes of text data
as characters (e.g., single- versus multibyte
characters in arguments and input files) and for
the determination of the width in column positions
each character would occupy on a constant-width-
font output device.
LC_MESSAGES This variable shall determine the language in which
messages should be written.
4.25.5.4 Asynchronous Events
Default.
4.25.6 External Effects
4.25.6.1 Standard Output
The standard output shall be a file containing a sequence of characters
whose order shall be preserved from the input file(s), possibly with
inserted <newline> characters.
4.25.6.2 Standard Error
Used only for diagnostic messages.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.25 fold - Fold lines 523
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.25.6.3 Output Files
None.
4.25.7 Extended Description
None.
4.25.8 Exit Status
The fold utility shall exit with one of the following values:
0 All input files were processed successfully.
>0 An error occurred.
4.25.9 Consequences of Errors
Default.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
4.25.10 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s_,__U_s_a_g_e
The cut and fold utilities can be used to create text files out of files
with arbitrary line lengths. The cut utility should be used when the
number of lines (or records) needs to remain constant. The fold utility
should be used when the contents of long lines needs to be kept
contiguous.
The fold utility is frequently used to send text files to line printers
that truncate, rather than fold, lines wider than the printer is able to
print (usually 80 or 132 column positions.)
Although terminal input in canonical processing mode requires the erase
character (frequently set to <backspace>) to erase the previous character
(not byte or column position), terminal output is not buffered and is
extremely difficult, if not impossible, to parse correctly; the
interpretation depends entirely on the physical device that will actually
display/print/store the output. In all known internationalized
implementations, the utilities producing output for mixed column width
output assume that a <backspace> backs up one column position and outputs
enough <backspace>s to get back to the start of the character when
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
524 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
<backspace> is used to provide local line motions to support underlining
and emboldening operations. Since fold without the -b option is dealing
with these same constraints, <backspace> is always treated as backing up
one column position rather than backing up one character.
An example invocation that submits a file of possibly long lines to the
line printer (under the assumption that the user knows the line width of
the printer to be assigned by lp):
fold -w 132 bigfile | lp
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
Historical versions of the fold utility assumed one byte was one
character and occupied one column position when written out. This is no
longer always true. Since the most common usage of fold is believed to
be folding long lines for output to limited-length output devices, this
capability was preserved as the default case. The -b option was added so
that applications could fold files with arbitrary length lines into text
files that could then be processed by the utilities in this standard.
Note that although the width for the -b option is in bytes, a line will
never be split in the middle of a character. (It is unspecified what
happens if a width is specified that is too small to hold a single
character found in the input followed by a <newline>.)
The use of a hyphen as an option to specify standard input was removed
from an earlier draft because it adds no functionality and is not
historical practice.
The tab stops are hardcoded to be every eighth column to meet historical
practice. No new method of specifying other tab stops was invented.
END_RATIONALE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.25 fold - Fold lines 525
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.26 getconf - Get configuration values
4.26.1 Synopsis
getconf _s_y_s_t_e_m__v_a_r
getconf _p_a_t_h__v_a_r _p_a_t_h_n_a_m_e
4.26.2 Description
In the first synopsis form, the getconf utility shall write to the
standard output the value of the variable specified by the _s_y_s_t_e_m__v_a_r
operand.
In the second synopsis form, the getconf utility shall write to the
standard output the value of the variable specified by the _p_a_t_h__v_a_r
operand for the path specified by the _p_a_t_h_n_a_m_e operand.
The value of each configuration variable shall be determined as if it
were obtained by calling the function from which it is defined to be
available by this standard or by POSIX.1 {8} (see Operands). The value
shall reflect conditions in the current operating environment.
4.26.3 Options
None.
4.26.4 Operands
The following operands shall be supported by the implementation:
_s_y_s_t_e_m__v_a_r A name of a configuration variable whose value is
available from the function defined in 7.8.1 [such as
_c_o_n_f_s_t_r() in the C binding], from the POSIX.1 {8}
_s_y_s_c_o_n_f() function, one of the additional POSIX.2
variables described in 7.8.2, to be available from the
_s_y_s_c_o_n_f() function, or a minimum value specified by
POSIX.1 {8} or POSIX.2 for one of these variables.
The configuration variables and minimum values listed in
the:
- Name column of Table 2-16 (Utility Limit Minimum
Values)
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
526 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
- Name column of Table 2-17 (Symbolic Utility Limits)
- Name column of Table 2-18 (Optional Facility
Configuration Values)
- Name column of POSIX.1 {8} Table 2-3 (Minimum Values)
- Name column of POSIX.1 {8} Table 2-4 (Run-Time
Increasable Values)
- Variable column of POSIX.1 {8} Table 4-2 (Configurable
System Variables; except CLK_TCK need not be
supported), without the enclosing braces and PATH
[corresponding to the _c_o_n_f_s_t_r() name value _CS_PATH]
shall be recognized as valid _s_y_s_t_e_m__v_a_r operands. The
implementation may support additional _s_y_s_t_e_m__v_a_r
operand values.
_p_a_t_h__v_a_r A name of a configuration variable whose value is
available from the POSIX.1 {8} _p_a_t_h_c_o_n_f() function.
The configuration variables listed in the Variable column
of the POSIX.1 {8} Table 5-2 (Configurable Pathname
Variables), without the enclosing braces, shall be
recognized as valid _p_a_t_h__v_a_r operands. The implementation
may support additional _p_a_t_h__v_a_r operand values.
_p_a_t_h_n_a_m_e A pathname for which the variable specified by _p_a_t_h__v_a_r is
to be determined.
4.26.5 External Influences
4.26.5.1 Standard Input
None.
4.26.5.2 Input Files
None.
4.26.5.3 Environment Variables
The following environment variables shall affect the execution of
getconf:
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.26 getconf - Get configuration values 527
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
LANG This variable shall determine the locale to use for
the locale categories when both LC_ALL and the
corresponding environment variable (beginning with
LC_) do not specify a locale. See 2.6.
LC_ALL This variable shall determine the locale to be used
to override any values for locale categories
specified by the settings of LANG or any
environment variables beginning with LC_.
LC_CTYPE This variable shall determine the locale for the
interpretation of sequences of bytes of text data
as characters (e.g., single- versus multibyte
characters in arguments).
LC_MESSAGES This variable shall determine the language in which
messages should be written.
4.26.5.4 Asynchronous Events
Default.
4.26.6 External Effects
4.26.6.1 Standard Output
If the specified variable is defined on the system and its value is
described to be available from the function in 7.8.1, its value shall be
written in the following format:
"%s\n", <_v_a_l_u_e>
Otherwise, if the specified variable is defined on the system, its value
shall be written in the following format:
"%d\n", <_v_a_l_u_e>
If the specified variable is valid, but is undefined on the system,
getconf shall write using the following format:
"undefined\n"
If the variable name is invalid or an error occurs, nothing shall be
written to standard output.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
528 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
4.26.6.2 Standard Error
Used only for diagnostic messages.
4.26.6.3 Output Files
None.
4.26.7 Extended Description
None.
4.26.8 Exit Status
The getconf utility shall exit with one of the following values:
0 The specified variable is valid and information about its
current state was written successfully.
>0 An error occurred.
4.26.9 Consequences of Errors
Default.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
4.26.10 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s_,__U_s_a_g_e
The original need for this utility, and for the _c_o_n_f_s_t_r() function, was
to provide a way of finding the configuration-defined default value for
the PATH environment variable. Since PATH can be modified by the user to
include directories that could contain utilities replacing the POSIX.2
standard utilities, shell scripts need a way to determine the system
supplied PATH environment variable value that contains the correct search
path for the standard utilities.
It was later suggested that access to the other variables described here
could also be useful to applications.
This example illustrates the value of {NGROUPS_MAX}:
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.26 getconf - Get configuration values 529
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
getconf NGROUPS_MAX
This example illustrates the value of {NAME_MAX} for a specific
directory:
getconf NAME_MAX /usr
This example shows how to deal more carefully with results that might be
unspecified:
if value=$(getconf PATH_MAX /usr); then 1
if [ "$value" = "undefined" ]; then
echo PATH_MAX in /usr is infinite.
else
echo PATH_MAX in /usr is $value.
fi
else
echo Error in getconf.
fi
Note that:
sysconf(_SC_POSIX_C_BIND);
and:
system("getconf POSIX2_C_BIND");
in a C program could give different answers. The _s_y_s_c_o_n_f() call supplies
a value that corresponds to the conditions when the program was either
compiled or executed, depending on the implementation; the _s_y_s_t_e_m() call
to getconf always supplies a value corresponding to conditions when the
program is executed.
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
This utility was renamed from posixconf during balloting because the new
name expresses its purpose more specifically, and does not unduly
restrict the scope of application of the utility.
This functionality of this utility would not be adequately subsumed by
another command such as
grep _v_a_r /etc/conf
because such a strategy would provide correct values for neither those
variables that can vary at run-time, nor those that can vary depending on
the path.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
530 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
Previous versions of this utility specified exit status 1 when the
specified variable was valid, but not defined on the system. The output
string "undefined" is now used to specify this case with exit code 0
because so many things depend on an exit code of zero when an invoked
utility is successful.
END_RATIONALE
4.27 getopts - Parse utility options
4.27.1 Synopsis
getopts _o_p_t_s_t_r_i_n_g _n_a_m_e [_a_r_g ...]
4.27.2 Description
The getopts utility can be used to retrieve options and option-arguments
from a list of parameters. It shall support the utility argument syntax
guidelines 3 through 10, inclusive, described in 2.10.2.
Each time it is invoked, the getopts utility shall place the value of the
next option in the shell variable specified by the _n_a_m_e operand and the
index of the next argument to be processed in the shell variable OPTIND.
Whenever the shell is invoked, OPTIND shall be initialized to 1.
When the option requires an option-argument, the getopts utility shall
place it in the shell variable OPTARG. If no option was found, or if the
option that was found does not have an option-argument, OPTARG shall be 1
unset. 1
If an option character not contained in the _o_p_t_s_t_r_i_n_g operand is found
where an option character is expected, the shell variable specified by
_n_a_m_e shall be set to the question-mark (?) character. In this case, if
the first character in _o_p_t_s_t_r_i_n_g is a colon (:), the shell variable
OPTARG shall be set to the option character found, but no output shall be
written to standard error; otherwise, the shell variable OPTARG shall be
unset and a diagnostic message shall be written to standard error. This
condition shall be considered to be an error detected in the way
arguments were presented to the invoking application, but shall not be an
error in getopts processing.
If an option-argument is missing:
- If the first character of _o_p_t_s_t_r_i_n_g is a colon, the shell variable
specified by _n_a_m_e shall be set to the colon character and the shell
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.27 getopts - Parse utility options 531
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
variable OPTARG shall be set to the option character found.
- Otherwise, the shell variable specified by _n_a_m_e shall be set to the
question-mark character, the shell variable OPTARG shall be unset,
and a diagnostic message shall be written to standard error. This
condition shall be considered to be an error detected in the way
arguments were presented to the invoking application, but shall not
be an error in getopts processing; a diagnostic message shall be
written as stated, but the exit status shall be zero.
When the end of options is encountered, the getopts utility shall exit
with a return value greater than zero; the shell variable OPTIND shall be
set to the index of the first nonoption-argument, where the first --
argument is considered to be an option-argument if there are no other
nonoption-arguments appearing before it, or the value $# + 1 if there are
no nonoption-arguments; the _n_a_m_e variable shall be set to the question-
mark character. Any of the following shall identify the end of options:
the special option --, finding an argument that does not begin with a -,
or encountering an error.
The shell variables OPTIND and OPTARG shall be local to the caller of
getopts and shall not be exported by default.
The shell variable specified by the _n_a_m_e operand, OPTIND, and OPTARG
shall affect the current shell execution environment; see 3.12.
If the application sets OPTIND to the value 1, a new set of parameters 1
can be used: either the current positional parameters or new _a_r_g values. 1
Any other attempt to invoke getopts multiple times in a single shell 1
execution environment with parameters (positional parameters or _a_r_g 1
operands) that are not the same in all invocations, or with an OPTIND 1
value modified to be a value other than 1, produces unspecified results. 1
4.27.3 Options
None.
4.27.4 Operands
The following operands shall be supported by the implementation:
_o_p_t_s_t_r_i_n_g A string containing the option characters recognized by
the utility invoking getopts. If a character is followed
by a colon, the option shall be expected to have an
argument, which should be supplied as a separate argument.
Applications should specify an option character and its
option-argument as separate arguments, but getopts shall
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
532 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
interpret the characters following an option character
requiring arguments as an argument whether or not this is
done. An explicit null option-argument need not be
recognized if it is not supplied as a separate argument
when getopts is invoked. [See also the _g_e_t_o_p_t()
Description in B.7]. The characters question-mark and
colon shall not be used as option characters by an
application. The use of other option characters that are 2
not alphanumeric produces unspecified results. If the 2
option-argument is not supplied as a separate argument
from the option character, the value in OPTARG shall be
stripped of the option character and the '-'. The first
character in _o_p_t_s_t_r_i_n_g shall determine how getopts shall
behave if an option character is not known or an option-
argument is missing. See 4.27.2.
_n_a_m_e The name of a shell variable that shall be set by the
getopts utility to the option character that was found.
See 4.27.2.
The getopts utility by default shall parse positional parameters passed
to the invoking shell procedure. If _a_r_gs are given, they shall be parsed
instead of the positional parameters.
4.27.5 External Influences
4.27.5.1 Standard Input
None.
4.27.5.2 Input Files
None.
4.27.5.3 Environment Variables
The following environment variables shall affect the execution of
getopts:
LANG This variable shall determine the locale to use for
the locale categories when both LC_ALL and the
corresponding environment variable (beginning with
LC_) do not specify a locale. See 2.6.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.27 getopts - Parse utility options 533
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
LC_ALL This variable shall determine the locale to be used
to override any values for locale categories
specified by the settings of LANG or any
environment variables beginning with LC_.
LC_CTYPE This variable shall determine the locale for the
interpretation of sequences of bytes of text data
as characters (e.g., single- versus multibyte
characters in arguments).
LC_MESSAGES This variable shall determine the language in which
messages should be written.
OPTIND This variable shall be used by the getopts utility
as the index of the next argument to be processed.
4.27.5.4 Asynchronous Events
Default.
4.27.6 External Effects
4.27.6.1 Standard Output
None.
4.27.6.2 Standard Error
Whenever an error is detected and the first character in the _o_p_t_s_t_r_i_n_g
operand is not a colon (:), a diagnostic message shall be written to
standard error with the following information in an unspecified format: 1
- The invoking program name shall be identified in the message. The 1
invoking program name shall be the value of the shell special 1
parameter 0 (see 3.5.2) at the time the getopts utility is invoked. 1
A name equivalent to 1
basename "$0" 1
may be used. 1
- If an option is found that was not specified in _o_p_t_s_t_r_i_n_g, this 1
error shall be identified and the invalid option character shall be 1
identified in the message. 1
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
534 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
- If an option requiring an option-argument is found, but an option- 1
argument is not found, this error shall be identified and the 1
invalid option character shall be identified in the message. 1
4.27.6.3 Output Files
None.
4.27.7 Extended Description
None.
4.27.8 Exit Status
The getopts utility shall exit with one of the following values:
0 An option, specified or unspecified by _o_p_t_s_t_r_i_n_g, was found.
>0 The end of options was encountered or an error occurred.
4.27.9 Consequences of Errors
Default.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
4.27.10 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s_,__U_s_a_g_e
The getopts utility was chosen in preference to the getopt utility
specified in System V because getopts handles option-arguments containing
<blank> characters.
Since getopts affects the current shell execution environment, it is
generally provided as a shell regular built-in. If it is called in a 1
subshell or separate utility execution environment, such as one of the 1
following: 1
(getopts abc value "$@") 1
nohup getopts ... 1
find . -exec getopts ... \; 1
it will not affect the shell variables in the caller's environment. 1
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.27 getopts - Parse utility options 535
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
Note that shell functions share OPTIND with the calling shell even though
the positional parameters are changed. Functions that want to use
getopts to parse their arguments will usually want to save the value of
OPTIND on entry and restore it before returning. However, there will be
cases when a function will want to change OPTIND for the calling shell.
The following example script parses and displays its arguments:
aflag=
bflag=
while getopts ab: name
do
case $name in
a) aflag=1;;
b) bflag=1
bval="$OPTARG";;
?) printf "Usage: %s: [-a] [-b value] args\n" $0 1
exit 2;;
esac
done
if [ ! -z "$aflag" ]; then 1
printf "Option -a specified\n" 1
fi 1
if [ ! -z "$bflag" ]; then 1
printf 'Option -b "%s" specified\n' "$bval" 1
fi 1
shift $(($OPTIND - 1)) 1
printf "Remaining arguments are: %s\n" "$*" 1
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
The OPTARG variable is not mentioned in the Environment Variables
subclause because it does not affect the execution of getopts; it is one
of the few ``output-only'' variables used by the standard utilities.
Use of colon (:) as an option character (in a previous draft) was new
behavior and violated the syntax guidelines. Many objectors felt that it
did not add enough to getopts to warrant mandating the extension to
existing practice. The colon is now specified to behave as in the
KornShell version of the getopts utility; when used as the first
character in the _o_p_t_s_t_r_i_n_g operand, it disables diagnostics concerning
missing option-arguments and unexpected option characters. This replaces
the use of the OPTERR variable that was specified in an earlier draft.
The formats of the diagnostic messages produced by the getopts utility 1
and the _g_e_t_o_p_t() function are not fully specified because implementations 1
with superior (``friendlier'') formats objected to the formats used by 1
some historical implementations. It was felt to be important that the 1
information in the messages used be uniform between getopts and _g_e_t_o_p_t(). 1
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
536 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
Exact duplication of the messages might not be possible, particularly if 1
a utility is built on another system that has a different _g_e_t_o_p_t() 1
function, but the messages must have specific information included so 1
that the program name, invalid option character, and type of error can be 1
distinguished by a user. 1
Only a rare application program will intercept a getopts standard error 1
message and want to parse it. Therefore, implementations are free to 1
choose the most usable messages they can devise. The following formats 1
are used by many historical implementations: 1
"%s: illegal option -- %c\n", <_p_r_o_g_r_a_m _n_a_m_e>, 1
<_o_p_t_i_o_n _c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r> 1
"%s: option requires an argument -- %c\n", <_p_r_o_g_r_a_m _n_a_m_e>, 1
<_o_p_t_i_o_n _c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r> 1
Historical shells with built-in versions of _g_e_t_o_p_t() or getopts have used
different formats, frequently not even indicating the option character
found in error.
END_RATIONALE
4.28 grep - File pattern searcher
4.28.1 Synopsis
grep [ -E | -F ] [ -c | -l | -q ] [-insvx] -e _p_a_t_t_e_r_n__l_i_s_t ...
[-f _p_a_t_t_e_r_n__f_i_l_e] ... [_f_i_l_e ...]
grep [ -E | -F ] [ -c | -l | -q ] [-insvx] [-e _p_a_t_t_e_r_n__l_i_s_t] ...
-f _p_a_t_t_e_r_n__f_i_l_e ... [_f_i_l_e ...]
grep [ -E | -F ] [ -c | -l | -q ] [-insvx] _p_a_t_t_e_r_n__l_i_s_t [_f_i_l_e ...]
_O_b_s_o_l_e_s_c_e_n_t _V_e_r_s_i_o_n_s:
egrep [ -c | -l ] [-inv] -e _p_a_t_t_e_r_n__l_i_s_t [_f_i_l_e ...]
egrep [ -c | -l ] [-inv] -f _p_a_t_t_e_r_n__f_i_l_e [_f_i_l_e ...]
egrep [ -c | -l ] [-inv] _p_a_t_t_e_r_n__l_i_s_t [_f_i_l_e ...]
fgrep [ -c | -l ] [-invx] -e _p_a_t_t_e_r_n__l_i_s_t [_f_i_l_e ...]
fgrep [ -c | -l ] [-invx] -f _p_a_t_t_e_r_n__f_i_l_e [_f_i_l_e ...]
fgrep [ -c | -l ] [-invx] _p_a_t_t_e_r_n__l_i_s_t [_f_i_l_e ...]
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.28 grep - File pattern searcher 537
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.28.2 Description
The grep utility shall search the input files, selecting lines matching
one or more patterns; the types of patterns shall be controlled by the
options specified. The patterns are specified by the -e option, -f
option, or the _p_a_t_t_e_r_n__l_i_s_t operand. The _p_a_t_t_e_r_n__l_i_s_t's value shall
consist of one or more patterns separated by <newline>s; the
_p_a_t_t_e_r_n__f_i_l_e's contents shall consist of one or more patterns terminated
by <newline>s. By default, an input line shall be selected if any
pattern, treated as an entire basic regular expression (BRE) as described
in 2.8.3, matches any part of the line; a null BRE shall match every
line. By default, each selected input line shall be written to the
standard output.
Regular expression matching shall be based on text lines. Since
<newline> separates or terminates patterns (see the -e and -f options
below), regular expressions cannot contain a <newline> character.
Similarly, since patterns are matched against individual lines of the
input, there is no way for a pattern to match a <newline> found in the
input.
A command invoking the (obsolescent) egrep utility with the -e option
specified shall be equivalent to the command:
grep -E [ -c | -l ] [-inv] -e _p_a_t_t_e_r_n__l_i_s_t [_f_i_l_e ...]
A command invoking the egrep utility with the -f option specified shall
be equivalent to the command:
grep -E [ -c | -l ] [-inv] -f _p_a_t_t_e_r_n__f_i_l_e [_f_i_l_e ...]
A command invoking the egrep utility with the _p_a_t_t_e_r_n__l_i_s_t specified
shall be equivalent to the command:
grep -E [ -c | -l ] [-inv] _p_a_t_t_e_r_n__l_i_s_t [_f_i_l_e ...]
A command invoking the (obsolescent) fgrep utility with the -e option
specified shall be equivalent to the command:
grep -F [ -c | -l ] [-invx] -e _p_a_t_t_e_r_n__l_i_s_t [_f_i_l_e ...]
A command invoking the fgrep utility with the -f option specified shall
be equivalent to the command:
grep -F [ -c | -l ] [-invx] -f _p_a_t_t_e_r_n__f_i_l_e [_f_i_l_e ...]
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
538 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
A command invoking the fgrep utility with the _p_a_t_t_e_r_n__l_i_s_t operand
specified shall be equivalent to the command:
grep -F [ -c | -l ] [-invx] _p_a_t_t_e_r_n__l_i_s_t [_f_i_l_e ...]
4.28.3 Options
The grep utility shall conform to the utility argument syntax guidelines
described in 2.10.2.
The following options shall be supported by the implementation:
-E Match using extended regular expressions. Treat each
pattern specified as an ERE, as described in 2.8.4. If
any entire ERE pattern matches an input line, the line
shall be matched. A null ERE shall match every line.
-F Match using fixed strings. Treat each pattern specified
as a string instead of a regular expression. If an input
line contains any of the patterns as a contiguous sequence
of bytes, the line shall be matched. A null string shall
match every line.
-c Write only a count of selected lines to standard output.
-e _p_a_t_t_e_r_n__l_i_s_t
Specify one or more patterns to be used during the search
for input. Patterns in _p_a_t_t_e_r_n__l_i_s_t shall be separated by
a <newline>. A null pattern can be specified by two
adjacent <newline>s in _p_a_t_t_e_r_n__l_i_s_t; in the obsolescent
forms, adjacent <newline>s in _p_a_t_t_e_r_n__l_i_s_t produce
undefined results. Unless the -E or -F option is also
specified, each pattern shall be treated as a BRE, as
described in 2.8.3. In the nonobsolescent forms, multiple
-e and -f options shall be accepted by the grep utility.
All of the specified patterns shall be used when matching
lines, but the order of evaluation is unspecified.
-f _p_a_t_t_e_r_n__f_i_l_e
Read one or more patterns from the file named by the
pathname _p_a_t_t_e_r_n__f_i_l_e. Patterns in _p_a_t_t_e_r_n__f_i_l_e shall be
terminated by a <newline>. A null pattern can be
specified by an empty line in _p_a_t_t_e_r_n__f_i_l_e. Unless the -E
or -F option is also specified, each pattern shall be
treated as a BRE, as described in 2.8.3.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.28 grep - File pattern searcher 539
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
-i Perform pattern matching in searches without regard to
case. See 2.8.2.
-l (The letter ell.) Write only the names of files
containing selected lines to standard output. Pathnames
shall be written once per file searched. If the standard
input is searched, a pathname of "(standard input)" shall
be written, in the POSIX Locale. In other locales,
standard input may be replaced by something more
appropriate in those locales.
-n Precede each output line by its relative line number in
the file, each file starting at line 1. The line number
counter shall be reset for each file processed.
-q Quiet. Do not write anything to the standard output,
regardless of matching lines. Exit with zero status if an
input line is selected.
-s Suppress the error messages ordinarily written for
nonexistent or unreadable files. Other error messages
shall not be suppressed.
-v Select lines not matching any of the specified patterns.
If the -v option is not specified, selected lines shall be
those that match any of the specified patterns.
-x Consider only input lines that use all characters in the
line to match an entire fixed string or regular expression
to be matching lines.
4.28.4 Operands
The following operands shall be supported by the implementation:
_p_a_t_t_e_r_n Specify one or more patterns to be used during the search
for input. This operand shall be treated as if it were
specified as -e _p_a_t_t_e_r_n__l_i_s_t (see 4.28.3).
_f_i_l_e A pathname of a file to be searched for the pattern(s).
If no _f_i_l_e operands are specified, the standard input
shall be used.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
540 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
4.28.5 External Influences
4.28.5.1 Standard Input
The standard input shall be used only if no _f_i_l_e operands are specified.
See Input Files.
4.28.5.2 Input Files
The input files shall be text files.
4.28.5.3 Environment Variables
The following environment variables shall affect the execution of grep:
LANG This variable shall determine the locale to use for
the locale categories when both LC_ALL and the
corresponding environment variable (beginning with
LC_) do not specify a locale. See 2.6.
LC_ALL This variable shall determine the locale to be used
to override any values for locale categories
specified by the settings of LANG or any
environment variables beginning with LC_.
LC_COLLATE This variable shall determine the locale for the
behavior of ranges, equivalence classes, and
multicharacter collating elements within regular
expressions.
LC_CTYPE This variable shall determine the locale for the
interpretation of sequences of bytes of text data
as characters (e.g., single- versus multibyte
characters in arguments) and the behavior of
character classes within regular expressions.
LC_MESSAGES This variable shall determine the language in which
messages should be written.
4.28.5.4 Asynchronous Events
Default.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.28 grep - File pattern searcher 541
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.28.6 External Effects
4.28.6.1 Standard Output
If the -l option is in effect, and the -q option is not, a single output
line shall be written for each file containing at least one selected
input line:
"%s\n", _f_i_l_e
Otherwise, if more than one _f_i_l_e argument appears, and -q is not
specified, the grep utility shall prefix each output line by:
"%s:", _f_i_l_e
The remainder of each output line shall depend on the other options
specified:
- If the -c option is in effect, the remainder of each output line
shall contain:
"%d\n", <_c_o_u_n_t>
- Otherwise, if -c is not in effect and the -n option is in effect,
the following shall be written to standard output:
"%d:", <_l_i_n_e _n_u_m_b_e_r>
- Finally, the following shall be written to standard output:
"%s", <_s_e_l_e_c_t_e_d-_l_i_n_e _c_o_n_t_e_n_t_s>
4.28.6.2 Standard Error
Used only for diagnostic messages.
4.28.6.3 Output Files
None.
4.28.7 Extended Description
None.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
542 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
4.28.8 Exit Status
The grep utility shall exit with one of the following values:
0 One or more lines were selected.
1 No lines were selected.
>1 An error occurred.
4.28.9 Consequences of Errors
If the -q option is specified, the exit status shall be zero if an input
line is selected, even if an error was detected. Otherwise, default
actions shall be performed.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
4.28.10 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s_,__U_s_a_g_e
This grep has been enhanced in an upward-compatible way to provide the
exact functionality of the historical egrep and fgrep commands as well.
It was the clear intention of the working group to consolidate the three
greps into a single command.
The old egrep and fgrep commands are likely to be supported for many 1
years to come as implementation extensions, allowing existing
applications to operate unmodified.
To find all uses of the word Posix (in any case) in the file text.mm, and
write with line numbers:
grep -i -n posix text.mm
To find all empty lines in the standard input: 2
grep ^$
or
grep -v .
Both of the following commands print all lines containing strings abc or
def or both:
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.28 grep - File pattern searcher 543
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
grep -E 'abc
def'
grep -F 'abc
def'
Both of the following commands print all lines matching exactly abc or
def:
grep -E '^abc$
^def$'
grep -F -x 'abc
def'
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
The -e _p_a_t_t_e_r_n__l_i_s_t option has the same effect as the _p_a_t_t_e_r_n__l_i_s_t
operand, but is useful when _p_a_t_t_e_r_n__l_i_s_t begins with the hyphen
delimiter. It is also useful when it is more convenient to provide
multiple patterns as separate arguments.
Earlier drafts did not show that the -c, -l, and -q options were mutually
exclusive. This has been fixed to more closely align with historical
practice and documentation.
Historical implementations usually silently ignored all but one of
multiply specified -e and -f options, but were not consistent as to which
specification was actually used.
POSIX.2 requires that the nonobsolescent forms accept multiple -e and -f
options and use all of the patterns specified while matching input text
lines. [Note that the order of evaluation is not specified. If an
implementation finds a null string as a pattern, it is allowed to use
that pattern first (matching every line) and effectively ignore any other
patterns.]
The -b option was removed from the Options subclause, since block numbers
are implementation dependent.
The System V restriction on using - to mean standard input was lifted.
A definition of action taken when given a null RE or ERE is specified.
This is an error condition in some historical implementations.
The -l option previously indicated that its use was undefined when no
files were explicitly named. This behavior was historical and placed an
unnecessary restriction on future implementations. It has been removed.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
544 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
The -q option was added at the suggestion of members of the balloting
group as a means of easily determining whether or not a pattern (or
string) exists in a group of files. When searching several files, it
provides a performance improvement (because it can quit as soon as it
finds the first match) and requires less care by the user in choosing the
set of files to supply as arguments (because it will exit zero if it
finds a match even if grep detected an access or read error on earlier
file operands).
The historical BSD grep -s option practice is easily duplicated by
redirecting standard output to /dev/null. The -s option required here is
from System V.
The -x option, historically available only with fgrep, is available here
for all of the nonobsolescent versions.
END_RATIONALE
4.29 head - Copy the first part of files
4.29.1 Synopsis
head [-n _n_u_m_b_e_r] [_f_i_l_e ...]
_O_b_s_o_l_e_s_c_e_n_t _v_e_r_s_i_o_n:
head [-_n_u_m_b_e_r] [_f_i_l_e ...]
4.29.2 Description
The head utility shall copy its input files to the standard output,
ending the output for each file at a designated point.
Copying shall end at the point in each input file indicated by the
-n _n_u_m_b_e_r option (or the obsolescent version's -_n_u_m_b_e_r argument). The
option-argument _n_u_m_b_e_r shall be counted in units of lines.
4.29.3 Options
The head utility shall conform to the utility argument syntax guidelines
described in standard described in 2.10.2, except that the obsolescent
version accepts multicharacter numeric options.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.29 head - Copy the first part of files 545
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
The following option shall be supported by the implementation in the
nonobsolescent version:
-n _n_u_m_b_e_r The first _n_u_m_b_e_r lines of each input file shall be copied
to standard output. The _n_u_m_b_e_r option argument shall be a
positive decimal integer.
If no options are specified, head shall act as if -n 10 had been
specified.
In the obsolescent version, the following option shall be supported by
the implementation:
-_n_u_m_b_e_r The _n_u_m_b_e_r argument is a positive decimal integer with the
same effect as the -n_n_u_m_b_e_r option in the nonobsolescent
version.
4.29.4 Operands
The following operand shall be supported by the implementation:
_f_i_l_e A pathname of an input file. If no _f_i_l_e operands are
specified, the standard input shall be used.
4.29.5 External Influences
4.29.5.1 Standard Input
The standard input shall be used only if no _f_i_l_e operands are specified.
See Input Files.
4.29.5.2 Input Files
Input files shall be text files, but the line length shall not be
restricted to {LINE_MAX} bytes.
4.29.5.3 Environment Variables
The following environment variables shall affect the execution of head:
LANG This variable shall determine the locale to use for
the locale categories when both LC_ALL and the
corresponding environment variable (beginning with
LC_) do not specify a locale. See 2.6.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
546 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
LC_ALL This variable shall determine the locale to be used
to override any values for locale categories
specified by the settings of LANG or any
environment variables beginning with LC_.
LC_CTYPE This variable shall determine the locale for the
interpretation of sequences of bytes of text data
as characters (e.g., single- versus multibyte
characters in arguments and input files).
LC_MESSAGES This variable shall determine the language in which
messages should be written.
4.29.5.4 Asynchronous Events
Default.
4.29.6 External Effects
4.29.6.1 Standard Output
The standard output shall contain designated portions of the input
file(s).
If multiple _f_i_l_e operands are specified, head shall precede the output
for each with the header:
"\n==> %s <==\n", <_p_a_t_h_n_a_m_e>
except that the first header written shall not include the initial
<newline>.
4.29.6.2 Standard Error
Used only for diagnostic messages.
4.29.6.3 Output Files
None.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.29 head - Copy the first part of files 547
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.29.7 Extended Description
None.
4.29.8 Exit Status
The head utility shall exit with one of the following values:
0 Successful completion.
>0 An error occurred.
4.29.9 Consequences of Errors
Default.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
4.29.10 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
_U_s_a_g_e_,__E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s
The nonobsolescent version of head was created to allow conformance to
the Utility Syntax Guidelines. The -n option was added to this new
interface so that head and tail would be more logically related.
To write the first ten lines of all files (except those with a leading
period) in the directory:
head *
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
The head utility was not in early drafts. It was felt that head, and its
frequent companion, tail, were useful mostly to interactive users, and
not application programs. However, balloting input suggested that these
utilities actually do find significant use in scripts, such as to write
out portions of log files. Although it is possible to simulate head with
sed 10q for a single file, the working group decided that the popularity
of head on historical BSD systems warranted its inclusion alongside tail.
An earlier draft had the synopsis line:
head [ -c | -l ] [-n _n_u_m_b_e_r] [_f_i_l_e ...]
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
548 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
This was changed to the current form based on comments and objections
noting that -c has not been provided by historical versions of head and
other utilities in POSIX.2 provide similar functionality. Also, -l was
changed to -n to match a similar change in tail.
END_RATIONALE
4.30 id - Return user identity
4.30.1 Synopsis
id [_u_s_e_r]
id -G [-n] [_u_s_e_r]
id -g [-nr] [_u_s_e_r]
id -u [-nr] [_u_s_e_r]
4.30.2 Description
If no _u_s_e_r operand is provided, the id utility shall write the user and
group IDs and the corresponding user and group names of the invoking
process to standard output. If the effective and real IDs do not match,
both shall be written. If multiple groups are supported by the
underlying system (see the description of {NGROUPS_MAX} in POSIX.1 {8}),
the supplementary group affiliations of the invoking process also shall
be written.
If a _u_s_e_r operand is provided and the process has the appropriate
privileges, the user and group IDs of the selected user shall be written.
In this case, effective IDs shall be assumed to be identical to real IDs. 1
If the selected user has more than one allowable group membership listed 1
in the group database (see POSIX.1 {8} section 9.1), these shall be 1
written in the same manner as the supplementary groups described in the 1
preceding paragraph. 1
4.30.3 Options
The id utility shall conform to the utility argument syntax guidelines
described in 2.10.2.
The following options shall be supported by the implementation:
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.30 id - Return user identity 549
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
-G Output all different group IDs (effective, real, and
supplementary) only, using the format "%u\n". If there is
more than one distinct group affiliation, output each such
affiliation, using the format " %u", before the <newline>
is output.
-g Output only the effective group ID, using the format
"%u\n".
-n Output the name in the format "%s" instead of the numeric
ID using the format "%u".
-r Output the real ID instead of the effective ID.
-u Output only the effective user ID, using the format
"%u\n".
4.30.4 Operands
The following operand shall be supported by the implementation:
_u_s_e_r The login name for which information is to be written.
4.30.5 External Influences
4.30.5.1 Standard Input
None.
4.30.5.2 Input Files
None.
4.30.5.3 Environment Variables
The following environment variables shall affect the execution of id:
LANG This variable shall determine the locale to use for
the locale categories when both LC_ALL and the
corresponding environment variable (beginning with
LC_) do not specify a locale. See 2.6.
LC_ALL This variable shall determine the locale to be used
to override any values for locale categories
specified by the settings of LANG or any
environment variables beginning with LC_.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
550 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
LC_CTYPE This variable shall determine the locale for the
interpretation of sequences of bytes of text data
as characters (e.g., single- versus multibyte
characters in arguments).
LC_MESSAGES This variable shall determine the language in which
messages should be written.
4.30.5.4 Asynchronous Events
Default.
4.30.6 External Effects
4.30.6.1 Standard Output
The following formats shall be used when the LC_MESSAGES locale category
specifies the POSIX Locale. In other locales, the strings uid, gid,
euid, egid, and groups may be replaced with more appropriate strings
corresponding to the locale.
"uid=%u(%s) gid=%u(%s)\n", <_r_e_a_l _u_s_e_r _I_D>, <_u_s_e_r-_n_a_m_e>,
<_r_e_a_l _g_r_o_u_p _I_D>, <_g_r_o_u_p-_n_a_m_e>
If the effective and real user IDs do not match, the following shall be
inserted immediately before the \n character in the previous format:
" euid=%u(%s)",
with the following arguments added at the end of the argument list:
<_e_f_f_e_c_t_i_v_e _u_s_e_r _I_D>, <_e_f_f_e_c_t_i_v_e _u_s_e_r-_n_a_m_e>
If the effective and real group IDs do not match, the following shall be
inserted directly before the \n character in the format string (and after
any addition resulting from the effective and real user IDs not
matching):
" egid=%u(%s)",
with the following arguments added at the end of the argument list:
<_e_f_f_e_c_t_i_v_e _g_r_o_u_p-_I_D>, <_e_f_f_e_c_t_i_v_e _g_r_o_u_p _n_a_m_e>
If the process has supplementary group affiliations or the selected user 1
is allowed to belong to multiple groups, the first shall be added 1
directly before the <newline> character in the format string:
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.30 id - Return user identity 551
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
" groups=%u(%s)"
with the following arguments added at the end of the argument list:
<_s_u_p_p_l_e_m_e_n_t_a_r_y _g_r_o_u_p _I_D>, <_s_u_p_p_l_e_m_e_n_t_a_r_y _g_r_o_u_p _n_a_m_e>
and the necessary number of the following added after that for any
remaining supplementary group IDs:
",%u(%s)"
and the necessary number of the following arguments added at the end of
the argument list:
<_s_u_p_p_l_e_m_e_n_t_a_r_y _g_r_o_u_p _I_D>, <_s_u_p_p_l_e_m_e_n_t_a_r_y _g_r_o_u_p _n_a_m_e>
If any of the user ID, group ID, effective user ID, effective group ID, 1
or supplementary/multiple group IDs cannot be mapped by the system into 1
printable user or group names, the corresponding (%s) and name argument
shall be omitted from the corresponding format string.
When any of the options are specified, the output format shall be as
described under 4.30.3.
4.30.6.2 Standard Error
Used only for diagnostic messages.
4.30.6.3 Output Files
None.
4.30.7 Extended Description
None.
4.30.8 Exit Status
The id utility shall exit with one of the following values:
0 Successful completion.
>0 An error occurred.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
552 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
4.30.9 Consequences of Errors
Default.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
4.30.10 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s_,__U_s_a_g_e
The functionality provided by the 4BSD groups utility can be simulated
using:
id -Gn [_u_s_e_r]
Note that output produced by the -G option and by the default case could
potentially produce very long lines on systems that support large numbers
of supplementary groups. (On systems with user and group IDs that are
32-bit integers and with group names with a maximum of 8 bytes per name,
93 supplementary groups plus distinct effective and real group and user
IDs could theoretically overflow the 2048-byte {LINE_MAX} text file line
limit on the default output case. It would take about 186 supplementary
groups to overflow the 2048-byte barrier using id -G.) This is not
expected to be a problem in practice, but in cases where it is a concern,
applications should consider using fold -s (see 4.25) before
postprocessing the output of id.
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
The 4BSD command groups was considered, but was not used as it did not
provide the functionality of the id utility of the _S_V_I_D. Also, it was
thought that it would be easier to modify id to provide the additional
functionality necessary to systems with multiple groups than to invent
another command.
The options -u, -g, -n, and -r were added to ease the use of id with
shell commands substitution. Without these options it is necessary to
use some preprocessor such as sed to select the desired piece of
information. Since output such as that produced by id -u -n is wanted
frequently, it seemed desirable to add the options.
END_RATIONALE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.30 id - Return user identity 553
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.31 join - Relational database operator
4.31.1 Synopsis
join [ -a _f_i_l_e__n_u_m_b_e_r | -v _f_i_l_e__n_u_m_b_e_r ] [-e _s_t_r_i_n_g] [-o _l_i_s_t] [-t _c_h_a_r]
[-1 _f_i_e_l_d] [-2 _f_i_e_l_d] _f_i_l_e_1 _f_i_l_e_2
_O_b_s_o_l_e_s_c_e_n_t _v_e_r_s_i_o_n:
join [-_a _f_i_l_e__n_u_m_b_e_r] [-e _s_t_r_i_n_g] [-j _f_i_e_l_d] [-j1 _f_i_e_l_d] [-j2 _f_i_e_l_d]
[-o _l_i_s_t ...] [-t _c_h_a_r] _f_i_l_e_1 _f_i_l_e_2
4.31.2 Description
The join utility shall perform an ``equality join'' on the files _f_i_l_e_1
and _f_i_l_e_2. The joined files shall be written to the standard output.
The ``join field'' is a field in each file on which the files are
compared. There shall be one line in the output for each pair of lines
in _f_i_l_e_1 and _f_i_l_e_2 that have identical join fields. The output line by
default shall consist of the join field, then the remaining fields from
_f_i_l_e_1, then the remaining fields from _f_i_l_e_2. This format can be changed
by using the -o option (see below). The -a option can be used to add
unmatched lines to the output. The -v option can be used to output only
unmatched lines.
By default, the files _f_i_l_e_1 and _f_i_l_e_2 should be ordered in the collating
sequence of sort -b (see 4.58) on the fields on which they are to be
joined, by default the first in each line. All selected output shall be
written in the same collating sequence.
The default input field separators shall be <blank>s. In this case,
multiple separators shall count as one field separator, and leading
separators shall be ignored. The default output field separator shall be
a <space>.
The field separator and collating sequence can be changed by using the -t
option (see below).
If the input files are not in the appropriate collating sequence, the
results are unspecified.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
554 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
4.31.3 Options
The join utility shall conform to the utility argument syntax guidelines
described in 2.10.2. The obsolescent version does not follow the utility
argument syntax guidelines: the -j1 and -j2 options are multicharacter
options and the -o option takes multiple arguments.
The following options shall be supported by the implementation:
-a _f_i_l_e__n_u_m_b_e_r
Produce a line for each unpairable line in file
_f_i_l_e__n_u_m_b_e_r, where _f_i_l_e__n_u_m_b_e_r is 1 or 2, in addition to
the default output. If both -a 1 and -a 2 are specified,
all unpairable lines shall be output.
-e _s_t_r_i_n_g Replace empty output fields by string _s_t_r_i_n_g.
-j _f_i_e_l_d (Obsolescent.) Equivalent to: -1 _f_i_e_l_d -2 _f_i_e_l_d
-j1 _f_i_e_l_d (Obsolescent.) Equivalent to: -1 _f_i_e_l_d
-j2 _f_i_e_l_d (Obsolescent.) Equivalent to: -2 _f_i_e_l_d
-o _l_i_s_t Construct the output line to comprise the fields specified
in _l_i_s_t, each element of which has the form
_f_i_l_e__n_u_m_b_e_r._f_i_e_l_d, where _f_i_l_e__n_u_m_b_e_r is a file number and
_f_i_e_l_d is a decimal integer field number. The elements of
_l_i_s_t are either comma- or <blank>-separated, as specified
in Guideline 8 in 2.10.2. The fields specified by _l_i_s_t
shall be written for all selected output lines. Fields
selected by _l_i_s_t that do not appear in the input shall be
treated as empty output fields. (See the -e option.) The
join field shall not be written unless specifically
requested. The _l_i_s_t shall be a single command line
argument. However, as an obsolescent feature, the
argument _l_i_s_t can be multiple arguments on the command
line. If this is the case, and if the -o option is the
last option before _f_i_l_e_1, and if _f_i_l_e_1 is of the form
_s_t_r_i_n_g._s_t_r_i_n_g, the results are undefined.
-t _c_h_a_r Use character _c_h_a_r as a separator, for both input and
output. Every appearance of _c_h_a_r in a line shall be
significant. When this option is specified, the collating
sequence should be the same as sort without the -b option.
-v _f_i_l_e__n_u_m_b_e_r
Instead of the default output, produce a line only for
each unpairable line in _f_i_l_e__n_u_m_b_e_r, where _f_i_l_e__n_u_m_b_e_r is
1 or 2. If both -v 1 and -v 2 are specified, all
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.31 join - Relational database operator 555
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
unpairable lines shall be output.
-1 _f_i_e_l_d Join on the _f_i_e_l_dth field of file 1. Fields are decimal
integers starting with 1.
-2 _f_i_e_l_d Join on the _f_i_e_l_dth field of file 2. Fields are decimal
integers starting with 1.
4.31.4 Operands
The following operands shall be supported by the implementation:
_f_i_l_e_1
_f_i_l_e_2 A pathname of a file to be joined. If either of the _f_i_l_e_1
or _f_i_l_e_2 operands is -, the standard input is used in its
place.
4.31.5 External Influences
4.31.5.1 Standard Input
The standard input shall be used only if the _f_i_l_e_1 or _f_i_l_e_2 operand is -.
See Input Files.
4.31.5.2 Input Files
The input files shall be text files.
4.31.5.3 Environment Variables
The following environment variables shall affect the execution of join:
LANG This variable shall determine the locale to use for
the locale categories when both LC_ALL and the
corresponding environment variable (beginning with
LC_) do not specify a locale. See 2.6.
LC_ALL This variable shall determine the locale to be used
to override any values for locale categories
specified by the settings of LANG or any
environment variables beginning with LC_.
LC_COLLATE This variable shall determine the collating
sequence join expects to have been used when the
input files were sorted.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
556 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
LC_CTYPE This variable shall determine the locale for the
interpretation of sequences of bytes of text data
as characters (e.g., single- versus multibyte
characters in arguments and input files).
LC_MESSAGES This variable shall determine the language in which
messages should be written.
4.31.5.4 Asynchronous Events
Default.
4.31.6 External Effects
4.31.6.1 Standard Output
The join utility output shall be a concatenation of selected character
fields. When the -o option is not specified, the output shall be:
"%s%s%s\n", <_j_o_i_n _f_i_e_l_d>, <_o_t_h_e_r _f_i_l_e_1 _f_i_e_l_d_s>,
<_o_t_h_e_r _f_i_l_e_2 _f_i_e_l_d_s>
If the join field is not the first field in either file, the <_o_t_h_e_r _f_i_l_e
_f_i_e_l_d_s> are:
<_f_i_e_l_d_s _p_r_e_c_e_d_i_n_g _j_o_i_n _f_i_e_l_d>, <_f_i_e_l_d_s _f_o_l_l_o_w_i_n_g _j_o_i_n _f_i_e_l_d>
When the -o option is specified, the output format shall be:
"%s\n", <_c_o_n_c_a_t_e_n_a_t_i_o_n _o_f _f_i_e_l_d_s>
where the concatenation of fields is described by the -o option, above.
For either format, each field (except the last) shall be written with its
trailing separator character. If the separator is the default
(<blank>s), a single <space> character shall be written after each field
(except the last).
4.31.6.2 Standard Error
Used only for diagnostic messages.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.31 join - Relational database operator 557
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.31.6.3 Output Files
None.
4.31.7 Extended Description
None.
4.31.8 Exit Status
The join utility shall exit with one of the following values:
0 All input files were output successfully.
>0 An error occurred.
4.31.9 Consequences of Errors
Default.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
4.31.10 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s_,__U_s_a_g_e
Pathnames consisting of numeric digits should not be specified directly
following the -o list.
The developers of the standard believed that join should operate as
documented in the _S_V_I_D and BSD, not as historically implemented.
Historical implementations do not behave as documented in these areas:
(1) Most implementations of join require using the -o option when
using the -e option.
(2) Most implementations do not parse the -o option as documented,
and parse the elements as separate _a_r_g_v items, until the item is
not of the form _f_i_l_e__n_u_m_b_e_r._f_i_e_l_d. This behavior is permitted
as an obsolescent usage of the utility. To ensure maximum
portability, _f_i_l_e_1 should not be of the form _s_t_r_i_n_g._s_t_r_i_n_g. A
suitable alternative to guarantee portability would be to put
the -- flag before any _f_i_l_e_1 operand.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
558 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
The obsolescent -j, -j1, and -j2 options have been described to show how
they have been used in historical implementations. Earlier drafts showed
-j _f_i_l_e__n_u_m_b_e_r _f_i_e_l_d, but a space was never allowed before the
_f_i_l_e__n_u_m_b_e_r and two option arguments were never intended.
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
The ability to specify _f_i_l_e_2 as - is not historical practice; it was
added for completeness.
As a result of a balloting comment, the -v option was added to the
nonobsolescent version. This option was felt necessary because it
permitted the writing of _o_n_l_y those lines that do not match on the join
field, as opposed to the -a option, which prints both lines that do and
do not match. This additional facility is parallel with the -v option of
grep.
END_RATIONALE
4.32 kill - Terminate or signal processes
4.32.1 Synopsis
kill -s _s_i_g_n_a_l__n_a_m_e _p_i_d ...
kill -l [_e_x_i_t__s_t_a_t_u_s]
_O_b_s_o_l_e_s_c_e_n_t _V_e_r_s_i_o_n_s:
kill [-_s_i_g_n_a_l__n_a_m_e] _p_i_d ...
kill [-_s_i_g_n_a_l__n_u_m_b_e_r] _p_i_d ...
4.32.2 Description
The kill utility shall send a signal to the process(es) specified by each
_p_i_d operand.
For each _p_i_d operand, the kill utility shall perform actions equivalent
to the POSIX.1 {8} _k_i_l_l() function called with the following arguments:
(1) The value of the _p_i_d operand shall be used as the _p_i_d argument.
(2) The _s_i_g argument is the value specified by the -s option,
-_s_i_g_n_a_l__n_u_m_b_e_r option, or the -_s_i_g_n_a_l__n_a_m_e option, or by
SIGTERM, if none of these options is specified.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.32 kill - Terminate or signal processes 559
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.32.3 Options
The kill utility shall conform to the utility argument syntax guidelines
described in 2.10.2, except that in the obsolescent form, the
-_s_i_g_n_a_l__n_u_m_b_e_r and -_s_i_g_n_a_l__n_a_m_e options are usually more than a single
character.
The following options shall be supported by the implementation:
-l (The letter ell.) Write all values of _s_i_g_n_a_l__n_a_m_e
supported by the implementation, if no operand is given.
If an _e_x_i_t__s_t_a_t_u_s operand is given and it is a value of
the ? shell special parameter (see 3.5.2 and wait in 4.70)
corresponding to a process that was terminated by a
signal, the _s_i_g_n_a_l__n_a_m_e corresponding to the signal that
terminated the process shall be written. If an
_e_x_i_t__s_t_a_t_u_s operand is given and it is the unsigned
decimal integer value of a signal number, the _s_i_g_n_a_l__n_a_m_e
(the POSIX.1 {8}-defined symbolic constant name without
the SIG prefix) corresponding to that signal shall be
written. Otherwise, the results are unspecified.
-s _s_i_g_n_a_l__n_a_m_e
Specify the signal to send, using one of the symbolic
names defined for Required Signals or Job Control Signals
in POSIX.1 {8} 3.3.1.1. Values of _s_i_g_n_a_l__n_a_m_e shall be
recognized in a case-independent fashion, without the SIG
prefix. In addition, the symbolic name 0 shall be
recognized, representing the signal value zero. The
corresponding signal shall be sent instead of SIGTERM.
-_s_i_g_n_a_l__n_a_m_e
(Obsolescent.) Equivalent to -s _s_i_g_n_a_l__n_a_m_e.
-_s_i_g_n_a_l__n_u_m_b_e_r
(Obsolescent.) Specify a nonnegative decimal integer,
_s_i_g_n_a_l__n_u_m_b_e_r, representing the signal to be used instead
of SIGTERM, as the _s_i_g argument in the effective call to
_k_i_l_l(). The correspondence between integer values and the
_s_i_g value used is shown in the following table.
_ssss_iiii_gggg_nnnn_aaaa_llll______nnnn_uuuu_mmmm_bbbb_eeee_rrrr _ssss_iiii_gggg Value
_____________ _________
0 0
1 SIGHUP
2 SIGINT
3 SIGQUIT
6 SIGABRT
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
560 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
9 SIGKILL
14 SIGALRM
15 SIGTERM
The effects of specifying any _s_i_g_n_a_l__n_u_m_b_e_r other than
those listed in the table are undefined.
In the obsolescent versions, if the first argument is a negative integer,
it shall be interpreted as a -_s_i_g_n_a_l__n_u_m_b_e_r option, not as a negative _p_i_d
operand specifying a process group.
4.32.4 Operands
The following operands shall be supported by the implementation:
_p_i_d A decimal integer specifying a process or process group to
be signaled. The process(es) selected by positive,
negative, and zero values of the _p_i_d operand shall be as
described for POSIX.1 {8} _k_i_l_l() function. If the first
_p_i_d operand is negative, it should be preceded by -- to
keep it from being interpreted as an option.
_e_x_i_t__s_t_a_t_u_s A decimal integer specifying a signal number or the exit
status of a process terminated by a signal.
4.32.5 External Influences
4.32.5.1 Standard Input
None.
4.32.5.2 Input Files
None.
4.32.5.3 Environment Variables
The following environment variables shall affect the execution of kill:
LANG This variable shall determine the locale to use for
the locale categories when both LC_ALL and the
corresponding environment variable (beginning with
LC_) do not specify a locale. See 2.6.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.32 kill - Terminate or signal processes 561
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
LC_ALL This variable shall determine the locale to be used
to override any values for locale categories
specified by the settings of LANG or any
environment variables beginning with LC_.
LC_CTYPE This variable shall determine the locale for the
interpretation of sequences of bytes of text data
as characters (e.g., single- versus multibyte
characters in arguments).
LC_MESSAGES This variable shall determine the language in which
messages should be written.
4.32.5.4 Asynchronous Events
Default.
4.32.6 External Effects
4.32.6.1 Standard Output
When the -l option is not specified, the standard output shall not be
used.
When the -l option is specified, the symbolic name of each signal shall
be written in the following format:
"%s%c", <_s_i_g_n_a_l__n_a_m_e>, <_s_e_p_a_r_a_t_o_r>
where the <_s_i_g_n_a_l__n_a_m_e> is in uppercase, without the SIG prefix, and the
<_s_e_p_a_r_a_t_o_r> shall be either a <newline> or a <space>. For the last
signal written, <_s_e_p_a_r_a_t_o_r> shall be a <newline>.
When both the -l option and _e_x_i_t__s_t_a_t_u_s operand are specified, the
symbolic name of the corresponding signal shall be written in the
following format:
"%s\n", <_s_i_g_n_a_l__n_a_m_e>
4.32.6.2 Standard Error
Used only for diagnostic messages.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
562 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
4.32.6.3 Output Files
None.
4.32.7 Extended Description
None.
4.32.8 Exit Status
The kill utility shall exit with one of the following values:
0 At least one matching process was found for each _p_i_d operand,
and the specified signal was successfully processed for at least
one matching process.
>0 An error occurred.
4.32.9 Consequences of Errors
Default.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
4.32.10 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s_,__U_s_a_g_e
Any of the commands
kill -9 100 -165
kill -s kill 100 -165
kill -s KILL 100 -165
sends the SIGKILL signal to the process whose process ID is 100 and to
all processes whose process group ID is 165, assuming the sending process
has permission to send that signal to the specified processes, and that
they exist.
POSIX.1 {8} and POSIX.2 do not require specific signal numbers for any
_s_i_g_n_a_l__n_a_m_e_s. Even the -_s_i_g_n_a_l__n_u_m_b_e_r option provides symbolic (although
numeric) names for signals. If a process is terminated by a signal, its
exit status indicates the signal that killed it, but the exact values are
not specified. The kill -l option, however, can be used to map decimal
signal numbers and exit status values into the name of a signal. The
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.32 kill - Terminate or signal processes 563
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
following example reports the status of a terminated job:
job
stat=$?
if [ $stat -eq 0 ]
then
echo job completed successfully.
elif [ $stat -gt 128 ]
then
echo job terminated by signal SIG$(kill -l $stat).
else
echo job terminated with error code $stat.
fi
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
The signal name extension was based on a desire to avoid limiting the
kill utility to implementation-dependent values.
The -l option originated from the C-shell, and is also implemented in the
KornShell. The C-shell output can consist of multiple output lines,
because the signal names do not always fit on a single line on some
terminal screens. The KornShell output also included the
implementation-specific signal numbers, and was felt by the working group
to be too difficult for scripts to parse conveniently. The specified
output format is intended not only to accommodate the historical C-shell
output, but also to permit an entirely vertical or entirely horizontal
listing on systems for which this is appropriate.
An earlier draft invented the name SIGNULL as a _s_i_g_n_a_l__n_a_m_e for signal 0
(used by POSIX.1 {8} to test for the existence of a process without
sending it a signal). Since the _s_i_g_n_a_l__n_a_m_e "0" can be used in this case
unambiguously, SIGNULL has been removed.
An earlier draft also required symbolic _s_i_g_n_a_l__n_a_m_es to be recognized
with or without the SIG prefix. Historical versions of kill have not
written the SIG prefix for the -l option and have not recognized the SIG
prefix on _s_i_g_n_a_l__n_a_m_es. Since neither application portability nor ease of
use would be improved by requiring this extension, it is no longer
required.
POSIX.2 contains no utility that browses for process IDs. Values for _p_i_d
are available via the ! and $ parameters of the shell command language
(see 3.5.2).
The use of numeric signal values was the subject of a long debate in the
Working Group. During balloting, it was determined that their use should
be declared obsolescent, but retained to provide backward compatibility
to existing applications.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
564 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
Existing implementations of kill permit negative _p_i_d operands
representing process groups, but this was often unclearly documented.
The assumption that an initial negative number argument specifies a
signal number (rather than a process group) is the existing behavior, and
was retained. Therefore, to send the default signal to a process group
(say 123), an application should use a command similar to one of the
following:
kill -TERM -123
kill -- -123
The -s option was added in response to international interest in
providing some form of kill that meets the Utility Syntax Guidelines.
Some implementations provide kill only as a shell built-in utility and
use that status to support the extension of killing background
asynchronous lists (those started with &), by the use of job identifiers.
For example,
kill %1
would kill the first asynchronous list in the background. This standard
does not require (but permits) such an extension, because other related
job-control features are not provided by the shell, and because these
facilities are not ordinarily usable in portable shell applications.
This notation is expected to be introduced by the UPE.
END_RATIONALE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.32 kill - Terminate or signal processes 565
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.33 ln - Link files
4.33.1 Synopsis
ln [-f] _s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_e _t_a_r_g_e_t__f_i_l_e
ln [-f] _s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_e ... _t_a_r_g_e_t__d_i_r
4.33.2 Description
In the first synopsis form, the ln utility shall create a new directory
entry (link) for the file specified by the _s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_e operand, at the
_d_e_s_t_i_n_a_t_i_o_n path specified by the _t_a_r_g_e_t__f_i_l_e operand. This first
synopsis form shall be assumed when the final operand does not name an
existing directory; if more than two operands are specified and the final 1
is not an existing directory, an error shall result. 1
In the second synopsis form, the ln utility shall create a new directory
entry for each file specified by a _s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_e operand, at a _d_e_s_t_i_n_a_t_i_o_n
path in the existing directory named by _t_a_r_g_e_t__d_i_r.
If the last operand specifies an existing file of a type not specified by
POSIX.1 {8}, the behavior is implementation defined.
The corresponding destination path for each _s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_e shall be the
concatenation of the target directory pathname, a slash character, and
the last pathname component of the _s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_e. The second synopsis form
shall be assumed when the final operand names an existing directory.
For each _s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_e:
(1) If the _d_e_s_t_i_n_a_t_i_o_n path exists:
(a) If the -f option is not specified, ln shall write a
diagnostic message to standard error, do nothing more with
the current _s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_e, and go on to any remaining
_s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_e_s.
(b) Actions shall be performed equivalent to the POSIX.1 {8}
_u_n_l_i_n_k() function, called using _d_e_s_t_i_n_a_t_i_o_n as the _p_a_t_h
argument. If this fails for any reason, ln shall write a
diagnostic message to standard error, do nothing more with
the current _s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_e, and go on to any remaining
_s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_e_s.
(2) Actions shall be performed equivalent to the POSIX.1 {8} _l_i_n_k()
function using _s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_e as the _p_a_t_h_1 argument, and the
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
566 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
_d_e_s_t_i_n_a_t_i_o_n path as the _p_a_t_h_2 argument.
4.33.3 Options
The ln utility shall conform to the utility argument syntax guidelines
described in 2.10.2.
The following option shall be supported by the implementation:
-f Force existing _d_e_s_t_i_n_a_t_i_o_n pathnames to be removed to
allow the link.
4.33.4 Operands
The following operands shall be supported by the implementation:
_s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_e A pathname of a file to be linked. This can be a regular
or special file; whether a directory can be linked is
implementation defined.
_t_a_r_g_e_t__f_i_l_e The pathname of the new directory entry to be created.
_t_a_r_g_e_t__d_i_r A pathname of an existing directory in which the new
directory entries are to be created.
4.33.5 External Influences
4.33.5.1 Standard Input
None.
4.33.5.2 Input Files
None.
4.33.5.3 Environment Variables
The following environment variables shall affect the execution of ln:
LANG This variable shall determine the locale to use for
the locale categories when both LC_ALL and the
corresponding environment variable (beginning with
LC_) do not specify a locale. See 2.6.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.33 ln - Link files 567
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
LC_ALL This variable shall determine the locale to be used
to override any values for locale categories
specified by the settings of LANG or any
environment variables beginning with LC_.
LC_CTYPE This variable shall determine the locale for the
interpretation of sequences of bytes of text data
as characters (e.g., single- versus multibyte
characters in arguments).
LC_MESSAGES This variable shall determine the language in which
messages should be written.
4.33.5.4 Asynchronous Events
Default.
4.33.6 External Effects
4.33.6.1 Standard Output
None.
4.33.6.2 Standard Error
Used only for diagnostic messages.
4.33.6.3 Output Files
None.
4.33.7 Extended Description
None.
4.33.8 Exit Status
The ln utility shall exit with one of the following values:
0 All the specified files were linked successfully.
>0 An error occurred.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
568 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
4.33.9 Consequences of Errors
Default.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
4.33.10 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s_,__U_s_a_g_e
None.
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
Some historic versions of ln (including the one specified by the _S_V_I_D)
unlink the destination file, if it exists, by default. If the mode does
not permit writing, these versions will prompt for confirmation before
attempting the unlink. In these versions the -f option causes ln to not
attempt to prompt for confirmation.
This allows ln to succeed in creating links when the target file already
exists, even if the file itself is not writable (although the directory
must be). Previous versions of this draft specified this functionality.
This draft does not allow the ln utility to unlink existing destination
paths by default for the following reasons:
- The ln utility has traditionally been used to provide locking for
shell applications, a usage that is incompatible with ln unlinking
the destination path by default. There was no corresponding
technical advantage to adding this functionality.
- This functionality gave ln the ability to destroy the link
structure of files, which changes the historical behavior of ln.
- This functionality is easily replicated with a combination of rm
and ln.
- It is not historical practice in many systems; BSD and BSD-derived
systems do not support this behavior. Unfortunately, whichever
behavior is selected can cause scripts written expecting the other
behavior to fail.
- It is preferable that ln perform in the same manner as the _l_i_n_k()
function, which does not permit the target to already exist.
This standard retains the -f option to provide support for shell scripts
depending on the _S_V_I_D semantics. It seems likely that shell scripts
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.33 ln - Link files 569
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
would not be written to handle prompting by ln, and would therefore have
specified the -f option.
It should also be noted that -f is an undocumented feature of many
historical versions of the ln utility, allowing linking to directories.
These versions will require modification.
Previous drafts of this standard also required an -i option, which
behaved like the -i options in cp and mv, prompting for confirmation
before unlinking existing files. This was not historical practice for
the ln utility and has been deleted from this version.
Although symbolic links are not part of the standard, the -s option
should be used only for the traditional purpose of creating symbolic
links.
END_RATIONALE
4.34 locale - Get locale-specific information
4.34.1 Synopsis
locale [ -a | -m ]
locale [-ck] _n_a_m_e ...
4.34.2 Description
The locale utility shall write information about the current locale
environment, or all public locales, to the standard output. For the
purposes of this clause, a _p_u_b_l_i_c _l_o_c_a_l_e is one provided by the
implementation that is accessible to the application.
When locale is invoked without any arguments, it shall summarize the
current locale environment for each locale category as determined by the
settings of the environment variables defined in 2.5.
When invoked with operands, it shall write values that have been assigned
to the keywords in the locale categories, as follows:
- Specifying a keyword name shall select the named keyword and the
category containing that keyword.
- Specifying a category name shall select the named category and all
keywords in that category.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
570 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
4.34.3 Options
The locale utility shall conform to the utility argument syntax
guidelines described in 2.10.2.
The following options shall be supported by the implementation:
-a Write information about all available public locales. The
available locales shall include POSIX, representing the
POSIX Locale. The manner in which the implementation
determines what other locales are available is
implementation defined.
-c Write the names of selected locale categories; see
4.34.6.1.
-k Write the names and values of selected keywords. The
implementation may omit values for some keywords; see
4.34.4.
-m Write names of available charmaps; see 2.4.1. 1
4.34.4 Operands
The following operand shall be supported by the implementation:
_n_a_m_e The name of a locale category as defined in 2.5, the name
of a keyword in a locale category, or the reserved name
charmap. The named category or keyword shall be selected
for output. If a single _n_a_m_e represents both a locale
category name and a keyword name in the current locale,
the results are unspecified. Otherwise, both category and
keyword names can be specified as _n_a_m_e operands, in any
sequence. It is implementation defined whether any
keyword values are written for the categories LC_CTYPE and
LC_COLLATE.
4.34.5 External Influences
4.34.5.1 Standard Input
None.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.34 locale - Get locale-specific information 571
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.34.5.2 Input Files
None.
4.34.5.3 Environment Variables
The following environment variables shall affect the execution of locale:
LANG This variable shall determine the locale to use for
the locale categories when both LC_ALL and the
corresponding environment variable (beginning with
LC_) do not specify a locale. See 2.6.
LC_ALL This variable shall determine the locale to be used
to override any values for locale categories
specified by the settings of LANG or any
environment variables beginning with LC_.
LC_CTYPE This variable shall determine the locale for the
interpretation of sequences of bytes of text data
as characters (e.g., single- versus multibyte
characters in arguments).
LC_MESSAGES This variable shall determine the language in which
messages should be written.
The LANG and LC_* environment variables shall specify the current locale
environment to be written out; they shall be used if the -a option is not
specified.
4.34.5.4 Asynchronous Events
Default.
4.34.6 External Effects
4.34.6.1 Standard Output
If locale is invoked without any options or operands, the names and
values of the LANG and LC_* environment variables described in this
standard shall be written to the standard output, one variable per line,
with LANG first, and each line using the following format. Only those
variables set in the environment and not overridden by LC_ALL shall be
written using this format:
"%s=%s\n", <_v_a_r_i_a_b_l_e__n_a_m_e>, <_v_a_l_u_e>
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
572 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
The names of those LC_* variables associated with locale categories
defined in this standard that are not set in the environment or are
overridden by LC_ALL shall be written in the following format:
"%s=\"%s\"\n", <_v_a_r_i_a_b_l_e__n_a_m_e>, <_i_m_p_l_i_e_d _v_a_l_u_e>
The <_i_m_p_l_i_e_d _v_a_l_u_e> shall be the name of the locale that has been
selected for that category by the implementation, based on the values in
LANG and LC_ALL, as described in 2.6.
The <_v_a_l_u_e> and <_i_m_p_l_i_e_d _v_a_l_u_e> shown above shall be properly quoted for 1
possible later re-entry to the shell. The <_v_a_l_u_e> shall not be quoted 1
using double-quotes (so that it can be distinguished by the user from the 1
<_i_m_p_l_i_e_d _v_a_l_u_e> case, which always requires double-quotes). 1
The LC_ALL variable shall be written last, using the first format shown 1
above. If it is not set, it shall be written as:
"LC_ALL=\n"
If any arguments are specified:
(1) If the -a option is specified, the names of all the public
locales shall be written, each in the following format:
"%s\n", <_l_o_c_a_l_e _n_a_m_e>
(2) If the -c option is specified, the name(s) of all selected
categories shall be written, each in the following format:
"%s\n", <_c_a_t_e_g_o_r_y _n_a_m_e>
If keywords are also selected for writing (see following items),
the category name output shall precede the keyword output for
that category.
If the -c option is not specified, the names of the categories 2
shall not be written; only the keywords, as selected by the _n_a_m_e 2
operand, shall be written. 2
(3) If the -k option is specified, the name(s) and value(s) of
selected keywords shall be written. If a value is nonnumeric,
it shall be written in the following format:
"%s=\"%s\"\n", <_k_e_y_w_o_r_d _n_a_m_e>, <_k_e_y_w_o_r_d _v_a_l_u_e>
If the keyword was charmap, the name of the charmap (if any)
that was specified via the localedef -f option when the locale
was created shall be written, with the word charmap as <_k_e_y_w_o_r_d
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.34 locale - Get locale-specific information 573
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
_n_a_m_e>.
If a value is numeric, it shall be written in one of the
following formats:
"%s=%d\n", <_k_e_y_w_o_r_d _n_a_m_e>, <_k_e_y_w_o_r_d _v_a_l_u_e>
"%s=%c%o\n", <_k_e_y_w_o_r_d _n_a_m_e>, <_e_s_c_a_p_e _c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r>,
<_k_e_y_w_o_r_d _v_a_l_u_e>
"%s=%cx%x\n", <_k_e_y_w_o_r_d _n_a_m_e>, <_e_s_c_a_p_e _c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r>,
<_k_e_y_w_o_r_d _v_a_l_u_e>
where the <_e_s_c_a_p_e _c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r> is that identified by the
escape_char keyword in the current locale; see 2.5.2.
Compound keyword values (list entries) shall be separated in the
output by semicolons. When included in keyword values, the
semicolon, the double-quote, the backslash, and any control
character shall be preceded (escaped) with the escape character.
(4) If the -k option is not specified, selected keyword values shall
be written, each in the following format:
"%s\n", <_k_e_y_w_o_r_d _v_a_l_u_e>
If the keyword was charmap, the name of the charmap (if any)
that was specified via the localedef -f option when the locale
was created shall be written.
(5) If the -m option is specified, then a list of all available
charmaps shall be written, each in the format
"%s\n", <_c_h_a_r_m_a_p>
where <_c_h_a_r_m_a_p> is in a format suitable for use as the option-
argument to the localedef -f option.
4.34.6.2 Standard Error
Used only for diagnostic messages.
4.34.6.3 Output Files
None.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
574 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
4.34.7 Extended Description
None.
4.34.8 Exit Status
The locale utility shall exit with one of the following values:
0 All the requested information was found and output successfully.
>0 An error occurred.
4.34.9 Consequences of Errors
Default.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
4.34.10 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s_,__U_s_a_g_e
In the following examples, the assumption is that locale environment
variables are set as follows:
LANG=locale_x
LC_COLLATE=locale_y
The command:
locale
would result in the following output:
LANG=locale_x 1
LC_CTYPE="locale_x"
LC_COLLATE=locale_y
LC_TIME="locale_x"
LC_NUMERIC="locale_x"
LC_MONETARY="locale_x"
LC_MESSAGES="locale_x"
LC_ALL=
The order of presentation of the categories is not specified by this
standard.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.34 locale - Get locale-specific information 575
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
The command
LC_ALL=POSIX locale -ck decimal_point
would produce:
LC_NUMERIC
decimal_point="."
The following command shows an application of locale to determine whether
a user supplied response is affirmative:
if printf "%s\n" "$response" | grep -Eq "$(locale yesexpr)"
then
affirmative processing goes here
else
nonaffirmative processing goes here
fi
If the LANG environment variable is not set or set to an empty value, or
one of the LC_* environment variables is set to an unrecognized value,
the actual locales assumed (if any) are implementation defined as
described in 2.6.
Implementations are not required to write out the actual values for
keywords in the categories LC_CTYPE and LC_COLLATE; however, they must
write out the categories (allowing an application to determine, e.g.,
which character classes are available).
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
This command was added in Draft 9 to resolve objections to the lack of a
way for applications to determine what locales are available, a way to
examine the contents of existing public locales, a way to retrieve
specific locale items, and a way to recognize affirmative and negative
responses in an international environment.
In Draft 10 it was cut back considerably in answer to balloting
objections about its complexity and requirement of features not useful
for application programs. The format for the no-arguments case was
expanded to show the implied values of the categories as an aid to the
novice user; the output was of little more value than that from env.
Based on the questionable value in a shell script of getting an entire
array of characters back, and the problem of returning a collation
description that makes sense, short of a complete localedef source, the
output from requests for categories LC_CTYPE and LC_COLLATE has been made
implementation defined.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
576 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
The -m option has been added to allow applications to query for the
existence of charmaps. The output is a list of the charmaps
(implementation-supplied and user-supplied, if any) on the system.
The -c option was included for readability when more than one category is 2
selected (e.g., via more than one keyword name or via a category name). 2
It is valid both with and without the -k option. 2
The charmap keyword, which returns the name of the charmap (if any) that
was used when the current locale was created, was introduced to allow
applications needing the information to retrieve it.
END_RATIONALE
4.35 localedef - Define locale environment
4.35.1 Synopsis
localedef [-c] [-f _c_h_a_r_m_a_p] [-i _s_o_u_r_c_e_f_i_l_e] _n_a_m_e
4.35.2 Description
The localedef utility shall convert source definitions for locale
categories into a format usable by the functions and utilities whose
operational behavior is determined by the setting of the locale
environment variables defined in 2.5. It is implementation defined
whether users shall have the capability to create new locales, in
addition to those supplied by the implementation. If the symbolic
constant {POSIX2_LOCALEDEF} is defined, then the system supports the
creation of new locales. In a system not supporting this capability, the
localedef utility shall terminate with an exit code of 3.
The utility shall read source definitions for one or more locale
categories belonging to the same locale from the file named in the -i
option (if specified) or from standard input.
The _n_a_m_e operand identifies the target locale. The utility shall support
the creation of _p_u_b_l_i_c, or generally accessible locales, as well as
_p_r_i_v_a_t_e, or restricted-access locales. Implementations may restrict the
capability to create or modify public locales to users with the
appropriate privileges.
Each category source definition shall be identified by the corresponding
environment variable name and terminated by an END _c_a_t_e_g_o_r_y-_n_a_m_e
statement. The following categories shall be supported. In addition,
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.35 localedef - Define locale environment 577
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
the input may contain source for implementation-defined categories.
LC_CTYPE Defines character classification and case conversion.
LC_COLLATE Defines collation rules.
LC_MONETARY Defines the format and symbols used in formatting of
monetary information.
LC_NUMERIC Defines the decimal delimiter, grouping, and grouping
symbol for nonmonetary numeric editing.
LC_TIME Defines the format and content of date and time
information.
LC_MESSAGES Defines the format and values of affirmative and
negative responses.
4.35.3 Options
The localedef utility shall conform to the utility argument syntax
guidelines described in 2.10.2.
The following options shall be supported by the implementation:
-c Create permanent output even if warning messages have been
issued.
-f _c_h_a_r_m_a_p
Specify the pathname of a file containing a mapping of
character symbols and collating element symbols to actual
character encodings. The format of the _c_h_a_r_m_a_p is
described under 2.4.1. This option shall be specified if
symbolic names (other than collating symbols defined in a
collating-symbol keyword) are used. If the -f option is
not present, an implementation-defined default character
mapping file shall be used. 2
-i _i_n_p_u_t_f_i_l_e The pathname of a file containing the source definitions.
If this option is not present, source definitions shall be
read from standard input. The format of the _i_n_p_u_t_f_i_l_e is
described in 2.5.2.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
578 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
4.35.4 Operands
The following operand shall be supported by the implementation:
_n_a_m_e Identifies the locale. See 2.5 for a description of the
use of this name. If the name contains one or more slash
characters, _n_a_m_e shall be interpreted as a pathname where
the created locale definition(s) shall be stored. If _n_a_m_e
does not contain any slash characters, the interpretation
of the name is implementation defined and the locale shall
be public. This capability may be restricted to users
with appropriate privileges.
4.35.5 External Influences
4.35.5.1 Standard Input
Unless the -i option is specified, the standard input shall be a text
file containing one or more locale category source definitions, as
described in 2.5.2. When lines are continued using the escape character 1
mechanism, there is no limit to the length of the accumulated continued 1
line. 1
4.35.5.2 Input Files
The character set mapping file specified as the _c_h_a_r_m_a_p option-argument
is described under 2.4.1. If a locale category source definition
contains a copy statement, as defined in 2.5.2, and the copy statement
names a valid, existing locale, then localedef shall behave as if the
source definition had contained a valid category source definition for
the named locale.
4.35.5.3 Environment Variables
The following environment variables shall affect the execution of
localedef:
LANG This variable shall determine the locale to use for
the locale categories when both LC_ALL and the
corresponding environment variable (beginning with
LC_) do not specify a locale. See 2.6.
LC_ALL This variable shall determine the locale to be used
to override any values for locale categories
specified by the settings of LANG or any
environment variables beginning with LC_. and LC_*
variables as described in 2.6.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.35 localedef - Define locale environment 579
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
LC_COLLATE (This variable shall have no affect on localedef;
the POSIX Locale shall be used for this category.)
LC_CTYPE This variable shall determine the locale for the
interpretation of sequences of bytes of argument
data as characters (e.g., single- versus multibyte
characters). This variable shall have no affect on
the processing of localedef input data; the POSIX
Locale shall be used for this purpose, regardless
of the value of this variable.
LC_MESSAGES This variable shall determine the language in which
messages should be written.
4.35.5.4 Asynchronous Events
Default.
4.35.6 External Effects
4.35.6.1 Standard Output
The utility shall report all categories successfully processed, in an
unspecified format.
4.35.6.2 Standard Error
Used only for diagnostic messages.
4.35.6.3 Output Files
The format of the created output is unspecified. If the _n_a_m_e operand
does not contain a slash, the existence of an output file for the locale
is unspecified.
4.35.7 Extended Description
None.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
580 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
4.35.8 Exit Status
The localedef utility shall exit with one of the following values:
0 No errors occurred and the locale(s) were successfully created.
1 Warnings occurred and the locale(s) were successfully created.
2 The locale specification exceeded implementation limits or the
coded character set or sets used were not supported by the
implementation, and no locale was created.
3 The capability to create new locales is not supported by the
implementation.
>3 Warnings or errors occurred and no output was created.
4.35.9 Consequences of Errors
If an error is detected, no permanent output shall be created.
If warnings occur, permanent output shall be created if the -c option was
specified. The following conditions shall cause warning messages to be
issued:
- If a symbolic name not found in the _c_h_a_r_m_a_p file is used for the
descriptions of the LC_CTYPE or LC_COLLATE categories (for other
categories, this shall be an error conditions).
- If the number of operands to the order keyword exceeds the
{COLL_WEIGHTS_MAX} limit.
- If optional keywords not supported by the implementation are 1
present in the source. 1
Other implementation-defined conditions may also cause warnings.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
4.35.10 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
_U_s_a_g_e_,__E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s
The output produced by the localedef utility is implementation defined.
The _n_a_m_e operand is used to identify the specific locale. (As a
consequence, although several categories can be processed in one
execution, only categories belonging to the same locale can be
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.35 localedef - Define locale environment 581
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
processed.)
The _c_h_a_r_m_a_p definition is optional, and is contained outside the locale
definition. This allows both completely ``self-defined'' source files,
and ``generic'' sources (applicable to more than one code set). To aid
portability, all _c_h_a_r_m_a_p definitions shall use the same symbolic names
for the portable character set. As explained in 2.4.1, it is
implementation defined whether or not users or applications can provide
additional character set description files. Therefore, the -f option
might be operable only when an implementation-provided _c_h_a_r_m_a_p is named.
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
This description is based on work performed in the UniForum Technical
Committee Subcommittee on Internationalization.
The localedef utility is provided as a standard, portable interface for
implementations that allow users to create new locales, in addition to
implementation-supplied ones.
The ability to create new locales and categories, already available on
many commercially available implementations of POSIX compliant systems,
provides the means by which application providers can develop portable
applications which use standard interfaces to adjust the behavior of the
application to language and culture differences.
END_RATIONALE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
582 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
4.36 logger - Log messages
4.36.1 Synopsis
logger _s_t_r_i_n_g ...
4.36.2 Description
The logger utility saves a message, in an unspecified manner and format,
containing the _s_t_r_i_n_g operands provided by the user. The messages are
expected to be evaluated later by personnel performing system
administration tasks.
4.36.3 Options
None.
4.36.4 Operands
The following operands shall be supported by the implementation:
_s_t_r_i_n_g One of the string arguments whose contents are
concatenated together, in the order specified, separated
by single <space>s.
4.36.5 External Influences
4.36.5.1 Standard Input
None.
4.36.5.2 Input Files
None.
4.36.5.3 Environment Variables
The following environment variables shall affect the execution of logger:
LANG This variable shall determine the locale to use for
the locale categories when both LC_ALL and the
corresponding environment variable (beginning with
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.36 logger - Log messages 583
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
LC_) do not specify a locale. See 2.6.
LC_ALL This variable shall determine the locale to be used
to override any values for locale categories
specified by the settings of LANG or any
environment variables beginning with LC_.
LC_CTYPE This variable shall determine the locale for the
interpretation of sequences of bytes of text data
as characters (e.g., single- versus multibyte
characters in arguments).
LC_MESSAGES This variable shall determine the language in which
diagnostic messages should be written.
4.36.5.4 Asynchronous Events
Default.
4.36.6 External Effects
4.36.6.1 Standard Output
None.
4.36.6.2 Standard Error
Used only for diagnostic messages.
4.36.6.3 Output Files
Unspecified.
4.36.7 Extended Description
None.
4.36.8 Exit Status
The logger utility shall exit with one of the following values:
0 Successful completion.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
584 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
>0 An error occurred.
4.36.9 Consequences of Errors
Default.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
4.36.10 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s_,__U_s_a_g_e
This utility allows logging of information for later use by a system
administrator or programmer in determining why noninteractive utilities
have failed. POSIX.2 makes no requirements for the locations of the
saved message, their format, or retention period. It also provides no
method for a portable application to read messages, once written. (It is
expected that the POSIX.7 System Administration standard will have
something to say about that.)
The purpose of this utility might best be illustrated by an example. A
batch application, running noninteractively, tries to read a
configuration file and fails; it may attempt to notify the system
administrator with:
logger myname: unable to read file foo. [time stamp]
The text with LC_MESSAGES about diagnostic messages means diagnostics
from logger to the user or application, not diagnostic messages that the
user is sending to the system administrator.
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
Multiple _s_t_r_i_n_g arguments were allowed, similar to echo, for ease of use.
In Draft 9, the posixlog utility was renamed logger to match its BSD
forebear, with which it is (downward) compatible.
The working group believed strongly that some method of alerting
administrators to errors was necessary. The obvious example is a batch
utility, running noninteractively, that is unable to read its
configuration files, or that is unable to create or write its results
file. However, the working group did not wish to define the format or
delivery mechanisms as they have historically been (and will probably
continue to be) very system specific, as well as involving functionality
clearly outside of the scope of this standard.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.36 logger - Log messages 585
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
Like the utilities mailx and lp, logger is admittedly difficult to test.
This was not deemed sufficient justification to exclude these utilities
from the standard. It is also arguable that they are, in fact, testable,
but that the tests themselves are not portable.
END_RATIONALE
4.37 logname - Return user's login name
4.37.1 Synopsis
logname
4.37.2 Description
The logname utility shall write the user's login name to standard output.
The login name shall be the string that would be returned by the
POSIX.1 {8} _g_e_t_l_o_g_i_n() function. Under the conditions where the
_g_e_t_l_o_g_i_n() function would fail, the logname utility shall write a
diagnostic message to standard error and exit with a nonzero exit status.
4.37.3 Options
None.
4.37.4 Operands
None.
4.37.5 External Influences
4.37.5.1 Standard Input
None.
4.37.5.2 Input Files
None.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
586 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
4.37.5.3 Environment Variables
The following environment variables shall affect the execution of
logname:
LANG This variable shall determine the locale to use for
the locale categories when both LC_ALL and the
corresponding environment variable (beginning with
LC_) do not specify a locale. See 2.6.
LC_ALL This variable shall determine the locale to be used
to override any values for locale categories
specified by the settings of LANG or any
environment variables beginning with LC_.
LC_MESSAGES This variable shall determine the language in which
messages should be written.
4.37.5.4 Asynchronous Events
Default.
4.37.6 External Effects
4.37.6.1 Standard Output
The logname utility output shall be a single line consisting of the
user's login name:
"%s\n", <_l_o_g_i_n _n_a_m_e>
4.37.6.2 Standard Error
Used only for diagnostic messages.
4.37.6.3 Output Files
None.
4.37.7 Extended Description
None.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.37 logname - Return user's login name 587
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.37.8 Exit Status
The logname utility shall exit with one of the following values:
0 Successful completion.
>0 An error occurred.
4.37.9 Consequences of Errors
Default.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
4.37.10 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s_,__U_s_a_g_e
The logname utility explicitly ignores the LOGNAME environment variable
because environment changes could produce erroneous results.
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
The passwd file is not listed as required, because the implementation may
have other means of mapping login names.
END_RATIONALE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
588 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
4.38 lp - Send files to a printer
4.38.1 Synopsis
lp [-c] [-d _d_e_s_t] [-n _c_o_p_i_e_s] [_f_i_l_e ...]
4.38.2 Description
The lp utility shall copy the input files to an output device in an
unspecified manner. The default output destination should be to a
hardcopy device, such as a printer or microfilm recorder, that produces
nonvolatile, human-readable documents. If such a device is not available
to the application, or if the system provides no such device, the lp
utility shall exit with a nonzero exit status.
The actual writing to the output device may occur some time after the lp
utility successfully exits. During the portion of the writing that
corresponds to each input file, the implementation shall guarantee
exclusive access to the device.
4.38.3 Options
The lp utility shall conform to the utility argument syntax guidelines
described in 2.10.2.
The following options shall be supported by the implementation:
-c Exit only after further access to any of the input files
is no longer required. The application can then safely
delete or modify the files without affecting the output
operation.
-d _d_e_s_t Specify a string that names the output device or
destination. If -d is not specified, and neither the
LPDEST nor PRINTER environment variable is set, an
unspecified output device is used. The -d _d_e_s_t option
shall take precedence over LPDEST, which in turn shall
take precedence over PRINTER. Results are undefined when
_d_e_s_t contains a value that is not a valid device or
destination name.
-n _c_o_p_i_e_s Write _c_o_p_i_e_s number of copies of the files, where _c_o_p_i_e_s
is a positive decimal integer. The methods for producing
multiple copies and for arranging the multiple copies when
multiple _f_i_l_e operands are used are unspecified, except
that each file shall be output as an integral whole, not
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.38 lp - Send files to a printer 589
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
interleaved with portions of other files.
4.38.4 Operands
The following operands shall be supported by the implementation:
_f_i_l_e A pathname of a file to be output. If no _f_i_l_e operands
are specified, or if a _f_i_l_e operand is -, the standard
input shall be used. If a _f_i_l_e operand is used, but the
-c option is not specified, the process performing the
writing to the output device may have user and group
permissions that differ from that of the process invoking
lp.
4.38.5 External Influences
4.38.5.1 Standard Input
The standard input shall be used only if no _f_i_l_e operands are specified,
or if a _f_i_l_e operand is -. See Input Files.
4.38.5.2 Input Files
The input files shall be text files.
4.38.5.3 Environment Variables
The following environment variables shall affect the execution of lp:
LANG This variable shall determine the locale to use for
the locale categories when both LC_ALL and the
corresponding environment variable (beginning with
LC_) do not specify a locale. See 2.6.
LC_ALL This variable shall determine the locale to be used
to override any values for locale categories
specified by the settings of LANG or any
environment variables beginning with LC_.
LC_CTYPE This variable shall determine the locale for the
interpretation of sequences of bytes of text data
as characters (e.g., single- versus multibyte
characters in arguments and input files).
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
590 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
LC_MESSAGES This variable shall determine the language in which
messages should be written.
LPDEST This variable shall be interpreted as a string that
names the output device or destination. If the
LPDEST environment variable is not set, the PRINTER
environment variable shall be used. The -d _d_e_s_t
option shall take precedence over LPDEST. Results
are undefined when -d is not specified and LPDEST
contains a value that is not a valid device or
destination name.
PRINTER This variable shall be interpreted as a string that
names the output device or destination. If the
LPDEST and PRINTER environment variables are not
set, an unspecified output device is used. The
-d _d_e_s_t option and the LPDEST environment variable
shall take precedence over PRINTER. Results are
undefined when -d is not specified, LPDEST is
unset, and PRINTER contains a value that is not a
valid device or destination name.
4.38.5.4 Asynchronous Events
Default.
4.38.6 External Effects
4.38.6.1 Standard Output
A message concerning the identification or status of the print request 2
may be written, in an unspecified format. 2
4.38.6.2 Standard Error
Used only for diagnostic messages.
4.38.6.3 Output Files
None.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.38 lp - Send files to a printer 591
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.38.7 Extended Description
None.
4.38.8 Exit Status
The lp utility shall exit with one of the following values:
0 All input files were processed successfully.
>0 No output device was available, or an error occurred.
4.38.9 Consequences of Errors
Default.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
4.38.10 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s_,__U_s_a_g_e
Since the default destination, device type, queueing mechanisms, and
acceptable forms of input are all unspecified, usage guidelines for what
a portable application can do are as follows:
(1) Use the command in a pipeline, or with -c, so that there are no
permission problems and the files can be safely deleted or
modified.
(2) Limit output to text files of reasonable line lengths and
printable characters and include no device-specific formatting
information, such as a page description language. The meaning
of ``reasonable'' in this context can only be answered as a
quality of implementation issue, but should be apparent from
historical usage patterns in the industry and the locale. The
pr and fold utilities can be used to achieve reasonable
formatting for the implementation's default page size.
Alternatively, the application can arrange its installation in such a way
that requires the system administrator or operator to provide the
appropriate information on lp options and environment variable values.
At a minimum, having this utility in the standard tells the industry that
portable applications require a means to print output and provides at
least a command name and LPDEST routing mechanism that can be used for
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
592 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
discussions between vendors, application writers, and users. The use of
``should'' in the Description clearly shows the working group's intent,
even if it cannot mandate that all systems (such as laptops) have
printers.
Examples:
To print file _f_i_l_e:
lp -c file
To print multiple files with headers:
pr file1 file2 | lp
On most existing implementations of lp, an option is provided to pass
printer specific options to the daemon handling the printer. It is not
specified here because the printer-specific options are widespread and in
conflict, the lp specified here is not required to even have a queueing
mechanism, and the choice of options varies widely from printer to
printer. Nonetheless, implementors are encouraged to use this mechanism
where appropriate:
-o _o_p_t_i_o_n Specifies an implementation-defined option that controls
the specific operation of the printer. The following
_o_p_t_i_o_ns could be used for the meanings below if the
hardware is capable of supporting the option.
_oooo_pppp_tttt_iiii_oooo_nnnn Meaning
______ ____________________________________
lp2 two logical pages per physical page
lp4 four logical pages per physical page
d double sided
POSIX.2 does not specify what the ownership of the process performing the 1
writing to the output device may be. If -c is not used, it is 1
unspecified whether the process performing the writing to the output 1
device will have permission to read _f_i_l_e if there are any restrictions in 1
place on who may read _f_i_l_e until after it is printed. Also, if -c is not 1
used, the results of deleting _f_i_l_e before it is printed are unspecified. 1
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
The lp utility was designed to be a basic version of a utility that is
already available in many historical implementations. The working group
felt that it should be implementable simply as:
cat "$@" > /dev/lp
after appropriate processing of options, if that is how the
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.38 lp - Send files to a printer 593
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
implementation chose to do it and if exclusive access could be granted
(so that two users did not write to the device simultaneously). Although
in the future the working group may add other options to this utility, it
should always be able to execute with no options or operands and send the
standard input to an unspecified output device.
The standard makes no representations concerning the format of the
printed output, except that it must be ``human-readable'' and
``nonvolatile.'' Thus, writing by default to a disk or tape drive or a
display terminal would not qualify. (Such destinations are not
prohibited when -d _d_e_s_t, LPDEST, or PRINTER are used, however.)
A portable application will use one of the _f_i_l_e operands only with the -c
option or if the file is publicly readable and guaranteed to be available
at the time of printing. This is because the standard gives the
implementation the freedom to queue up the request for printing at some
later time by a different process that might not be able to access the
file.
The standard is worded such that a ``print job'' consisting of multiple
input files, possibly in multiple copies, is guaranteed to print so that
any one file is not jumbled up with another, but there is no statement
that all the files or copies have to print out together.
The -c option may imply a spooling operation, but this is not required.
The utility can be implemented to simply wait until the printer is ready
and then wait until it's finished. Because of that, there is no attempt
to define a queueing mechanism (priorities, classes of output, etc.).
The -n and -d options were added in response to balloting objections that
too little historical value was being provided.
Although the historical System V lp and BSD lpr utilities have provided
similar functionality, they used different names for the environment
variable specifying the destination printer. Since the name of the
utility here is lp, LPDEST (used by the System V lp utility) was given
precedence over PRINTER (used by the BSD lpr utility). Since
environments of users frequently contain one or the other environment
variable, the lp utility is required to recognize both. If this was not
done, many applications would send output to unexpected output devices
when users moved from system to system.
Some have commented that lp has far too little functionality to make it
worthwhile. Requests have proposed additional options or operands or
both that added functionality. The requests included:
- wording _r_e_q_u_i_r_i_n_g the output to be ``hardcopy''
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
594 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
- a requirement for multiple printers
- options for PostScript, dimpress, hp, and lineprint formats
Given that a POSIX.2 compliant system is not required to even have a
printer, placing further restrictions upon the behavior of the printer is
not useful. Since hardcopy format is so application dependent, it is
difficult, if not impossible, to select a reasonable subset of
functionality that should be required on all POSIX.2 compliant systems.
The term ``unspecified'' is used in this clause in lieu of
``implementation defined'' as most known implementations would not be
able to say anything fully useful in their conformance documents: the
existence and usage of printers is very dependent on how the system
administrator configures each individual system.
END_RATIONALE
4.39 ls - List directory contents
4.39.1 Synopsis
ls [-CFRacdilqrtu1] [_f_i_l_e ...]
4.39.2 Description
For each operand that names a file of a type other than directory, ls
shall write the name of the file as well as any requested, associated
information. For each operand that names a file of type directory, ls
shall write the names of files contained within that directory, as well
as any requested, associated information.
If no operands are specified, the contents of the current directory shall
be written. If more than one operand is specified, nondirectory operands
shall be written first; directory and nondirectory operands shall be
sorted separately according to the collating sequence in the current
locale.
4.39.3 Options
The ls utility shall conform to the utility argument syntax guidelines
described in 2.10.2.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.39 ls - List directory contents 595
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
The following options shall be supported by the implementation:
-C Write multi-text-column output with entries sorted down
the columns, according to the collating sequence. The
number of text columns and the column separator characters
are unspecified, but should be adapted to the nature of
the output device.
-F Write a slash (/) immediately after each pathname that is
a directory, an asterisk (*) after each that is
executable, and a vertical bar (|) after each that is a
FIFO.
-R Recursively list subdirectories encountered.
-a Write out all directory entries, including those whose
names begin with a period (.). Entries beginning with a
period (.) shall not be written out unless explicitly
referenced, the -a option is supplied, or an
implementation-defined condition causes them to be
written.
-c Use time of last modification of the file status
information (see POSIX.1 {8} 5.6.1.3) instead of last
modification of the file itself for sorting (-t) or
writing (-l).
-d Do not treat directories differently than other types of 2
files. The use of -d with -R produces unspecified 2
results. 2
-i For each file, write the file's file serial number (see
POSIX.1 {8} 5.6.2).
-l (The letter ell.) Write out in long format (see
4.39.6.1). When -l (ell) is specified, -1 (one) shall be 2
assumed. 2
-q Force each instance of nonprintable filename characters 2
and <tab>s to be written as the question-mark (?) 2
character. Implementations may provide this option by
default if the output is to a terminal device.
-r Reverse the order of the sort to get reverse collating
sequence or oldest first.
-t Sort by time modified (most recently modified first)
before sorting the operands by the collating sequence.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
596 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
-u Use time of last access (see POSIX.1 {8} 5.6.1.3) instead
of last modification of the file for sorting (-t) or
writing (-l).
-1 (The numeric digit one.) Force output to be one entry per
line.
Specifying more than one of the options in the following mutually 2
exclusive pairs shall not be considered an error: -C and -l (ell), -C 2
and -1 (one), -c and -u. The last option specified in each pair shall 2
determine the output format. 2
4.39.4 Operands
The following operands shall be supported by the implementation:
_f_i_l_e A pathname of a file to be written. If the file specified
is not found, a diagnostic message shall be output on
standard error.
4.39.5 External Influences
4.39.5.1 Standard Input
None.
4.39.5.2 Input Files
None.
4.39.5.3 Environment Variables
The following environment variables shall affect the execution of ls:
COLUMNS This variable shall determine the user's preferred
column position width for writing multiple-text-
column output. If this variable contains a string
representing a decimal integer, the ls utility
shall calculate how many pathname text columns to
write (see -C) based on the width provided. If
COLUMNS is not set or invalid, an implementation-
defined number of column positions shall be
assumed, based on the implementation's knowledge of
the output device. The column width chosen to
write the names of files in any given directory
shall be constant. File names shall not be
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.39 ls - List directory contents 597
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
truncated to fit into the multiple-text-column
output.
LANG This variable shall determine the locale to use for
the locale categories when both LC_ALL and the
corresponding environment variable (beginning with
LC_) do not specify a locale. See 2.6.
LC_ALL This variable shall determine the locale to be used
to override any values for locale categories
specified by the settings of LANG or any
environment variables beginning with LC_.
LC_COLLATE This variable shall determine the locale for
character collation information in determining the
pathname collation sequence.
LC_CTYPE This variable shall determine the locale for the
interpretation of sequences of bytes of text data
as characters (e.g., single- versus multibyte
characters in arguments) and which characters are
defined as printable (character class print).
LC_MESSAGES This variable shall determine the language in which
messages should be written.
LC_TIME This variable shall determine the the format and
contents for date and time strings written by ls.
TZ This variable shall determine the time zone for
date and time strings written by ls.
4.39.5.4 Asynchronous Events
Default.
4.39.6 External Effects
4.39.6.1 Standard Output
The default format shall be to list one entry per line to standard
output; the exceptions are to terminals or when the -C option is
specified. If the output is to a terminal, the format is implementation
defined.
2
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
598 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
If the -i option is specified, the file's file serial number (see
POSIX.1 {8} 5.6.1) shall be written in the following format before any 2
other output for the corresponding entry: 2
"%u ", <_f_i_l_e _s_e_r_i_a_l _n_u_m_b_e_r> 2
If the -l option is specified, the following information shall be
written:
"%s %u %s %s %u %s %s\n", <_f_i_l_e _m_o_d_e>, <_n_u_m_b_e_r _o_f _l_i_n_k_s>, 1
<_o_w_n_e_r _n_a_m_e>, <_g_r_o_u_p _n_a_m_e>, <_n_u_m_b_e_r _o_f _b_y_t_e_s _i_n _t_h_e _f_i_l_e>,
<_d_a_t_e _a_n_d _t_i_m_e>, <_p_a_t_h_n_a_m_e>
If <_o_w_n_e_r _n_a_m_e> or <_g_r_o_u_p _n_a_m_e> cannot be determined, they shall be
replaced with their associated numeric values using the format "%u".
The <_d_a_t_e _a_n_d _t_i_m_e>, field shall contain the appropriate date and time
stamp of when the file was last modified. In the POSIX Locale, the field
shall be the equivalent of the output of the following date command (see
4.15):
date "+%b %e %H:%M"
if the file has been modified in the last six months, or:
date "+%b %e %Y"
(where two <space> characters are used between %e and %Y) if the file has
not been modified in the last six months or if the modification date is
in the future, except that, in both cases, the final <newline> produced
by date shall not be included and the output shall be as if the date
command were executed at the time of the last modification date of the
file rather than the current time. When the LC_TIME locale category is
not set to the POSIX Locale, a different format and order of presentation
of this field may be used.
If the file is a character special or block special file, the size of the
file may be replaced with implementation-defined information associated
with the device in question.
If the pathname was specified as a _f_i_l_e operand, it shall be written as
specified.
The file mode written under the -l option shall consist of the following
format:
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.39 ls - List directory contents 599
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
"%c%s%s%s%c", <_e_n_t_r_y _t_y_p_e>, <_o_w_n_e_r _p_e_r_m_i_s_s_i_o_n_s>,
<_g_r_o_u_p _p_e_r_m_i_s_s_i_o_n_s>, <_o_t_h_e_r _p_e_r_m_i_s_s_i_o_n_s>,
<_o_p_t_i_o_n_a_l _a_l_t_e_r_n_a_t_e _a_c_c_e_s_s _m_e_t_h_o_d _f_l_a_g>
The <_o_p_t_i_o_n_a_l _a_l_t_e_r_n_a_t_e _a_c_c_e_s_s _m_e_t_h_o_d _f_l_a_g> shall be a single <space> if
there is no alternate or additional access control method associated with
the file; otherwise, a printable character shall be used.
The <_e_n_t_r_y _t_y_p_e> character shall describe the type of file, as follows:
d Directory
b Block special file
c Character special file
p FIFO
- Regular file
Implementations may add other characters to this list to represent other,
implementation-defined, file types.
The next three fields shall be three characters each:
<_o_w_n_e_r _p_e_r_m_i_s_s_i_o_n_s> Permissions for the file owner class (see
2.9.1.3).
<_g_r_o_u_p _p_e_r_m_i_s_s_i_o_n_s> Permissions for the file group class.
<_o_t_h_e_r _p_e_r_m_i_s_s_i_o_n_s> Permissions for the file other class.
Each field shall have three character positions:
(1) If r, the file is readable; if -, it is not readable.
(2) If w, the file is writable; if -, it is not writable.
(3) The first of the following that applies:
S If in <_o_w_n_e_r _p_e_r_m_i_s_s_i_o_n_s>, the file is not executable
and set-user-ID mode is set. If in <_g_r_o_u_p
_p_e_r_m_i_s_s_i_o_n_s>, the file is not executable and set-
group-ID mode is set.
s If in <_o_w_n_e_r _p_e_r_m_i_s_s_i_o_n_s>, the file is executable and
set-user-ID mode is set. If in <_g_r_o_u_p _p_e_r_m_i_s_s_i_o_n_s>,
the file is executable and set-group-ID mode is set.
x The file is executable or the directory is searchable.
- None of the attributes of S, s, or x applies.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
600 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
Implementations may add other characters to this list for the
third character position. Such additions shall, however, be
written in lowercase if the file is executable or searchable,
and in uppercase if it is not.
If the -l option is specified, each list of files within the directory
shall be preceded by a status line indicating the number of file system
blocks occupied by files in the directory in 512-byte units, rounded up
to the next integral number of units, if necessary. In the POSIX Locale,
the format shall be:
"total %u\n", <_n_u_m_b_e_r _o_f _u_n_i_t_s _i_n _t_h_e _d_i_r_e_c_t_o_r_y>
If more than one directory, or a combination of nondirectory files and
directories are written, either as a result of specifying multiple
operands, or the -R option, each list of files within a directory shall
be preceded by:
"\n%s:\n", <_d_i_r_e_c_t_o_r_y _n_a_m_e>
If this string is the first thing to be written, the first <newline>
character shall not be written. This output shall precede the number of
units in the directory.
4.39.6.2 Standard Error
Used only for diagnostic messages.
4.39.6.3 Output Files
None.
4.39.7 Extended Description
None.
4.39.8 Exit Status
The ls utility shall exit with one of the following values:
0 All files were written successfully.
>0 An error occurred.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.39 ls - List directory contents 601
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.39.9 Consequences of Errors
Default.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
4.39.10 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s_,__U_s_a_g_e
An example of a small directory tree being fully listed with ls -laRF a
in the POSIX Locale:
total 11
drwxr-xr-x 3 hlj prog 64 Jul 4 12:07 ./
drwxrwxrwx 4 hlj prog 3264 Jul 4 12:09 ../
drwxr-xr-x 2 hlj prog 48 Jul 4 12:07 b/
-rwxr--r-- 1 hlj prog 572 Jul 4 12:07 foo*
a/b:
total 4
drwxr-xr-x 2 hlj prog 48 Jul 4 12:07 ./
drwxr-xr-x 3 hlj prog 64 Jul 4 12:07 ../
-rw-r--r-- 1 hlj prog 700 Jul 4 12:07 bar
Many implementations use the equals-sign (=) and the at-sign (@) to
denote sockets bound to the file system and symbolic links, respectively,
for the -F option. Similarly, many historical implementations use the
``s'' character and the ``l'' character to denote sockets and symbolic
links, respectively, as the entry type characters for the -l option.
These characters should not be used to signify any other types of files
in new implementations.
It is difficult for an application to use every part of the file modes
field of ls -l in a portable manner. Certain file types and executable
bits are not guaranteed to be exactly as shown, as implementations may
have extensions. Applications can use this field to pass directly to a
user printout or prompt, but actions based on its contents should
generally be deferred, instead, to the test utility (see 4.62).
The output of ls (with the -l option) contains information that logically
could be used by utilities such as chmod and touch to restore files to a
known state. However, this information is presented in a format that
cannot be used directly by those utilities or be easily translated into a
format that can be used. In POSIX.2, a character was added to the end of
the permissions string so that applications will at least have an
indication that they may be working in an area they do not understand
instead of assuming that they can translate the permissions string into
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
602 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
something that can be used. POSIX.6 may define one or more specific
characters to be used based on different standard additional or
alternative access control mechanisms.
Some historical implementations of the ls utility show all entries in a
directory except dot and dot-dot when super-user invokes ls without
specifying the -a option. When ``normal'' users invoke ls without
specifying -a, they should not see information about any files with names
beginning with period unless they were named as file operands.
As with many of the utilities that deal with file names, the output of ls 1
for multiple files or in one of the long listing formats must be used 1
carefully on systems where file names can contain embedded white space. 1
It is recommended that systems and system administrators institute 1
policies and user training to limit the use of such file names. 1
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
Implementations are expected to traverse arbitrary depths when processing
the -R option. The only limitation on depth should be based on running
out of physical storage for keeping track of untraversed directories.
The -1 (one) option is currently found in BSD and BSD-derived
implementations only. It was required in the standard so that portable
applications might ensure that output is one entry per line, even if the
output is to a terminal. Recent changes to the 2.10.2 allow numeric
options.
Generally, the standard is mute about what happens when options are given
multiple times. In the case of -C, -l, and -1, however, it does specify
the results of these overlapping options. Since ls is one of the most
aliased commands, it is important that the implementation do the correct
thing. For example, if the alias were
alias ls="ls -C"
and the user typed ``ls -1'', single text column output should result,
not an error. (The working group is aware that aliases are not included
in the standard; this is just an example.)
The _S_V_I_D defines a -x option for multi-text-column output sorted
horizontally. The working group felt that -x provided only limited
increased functionality over the -C option. The _S_V_I_D also provides a -m
option for a comma separated list of files. It was not provided because
similar functionality (easier to parse for scripts) can be provided by
the echo and printf utilities. Nonetheless, implementations considering
adding new options to ls should look at historical BSD and System V
versions of ls to avoid naming conflicts.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.39 ls - List directory contents 603
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
The BSD ls provides a -A option (like -a, but dot and dot-dot are not
written out). The small difference from -a did not seem important enough
to require both.
Implementations are allowed to make -q the default for terminals to
prevent Trojan Horse attacks on terminals with special escape sequences.
This is not required because:
- Some control characters may be useful on some terminals; for
example, a system might write them as \001 or ^A,
- Special behavior for terminals is not relevant to application
portability.
The -s option provided by existing implementations is not required by
this standard. The number of disk blocks occupied by the file that it
reports varies depending on underlying file system type, block size units
reported, and the method of calculating the number of blocks. On some
file system types, the number is the actual number of blocks occupied by
the file (counting indirect blocks and ignoring holes in the file); on
others it is calculated based on the file size (usually making an
allowance for indirect blocks, but ignoring holes). The former is
probably more useful, but depends on information not required by
POSIX.1 {8} and not readily accessible on some file system types.
Therefore, applications cannot depend on -s to provide any portable
information. Implementations are urged to continue to provide this
option, but applications should use the file size reported by the -l
option in any calculations about the space needed to store a file.
An earlier draft specified that the optional alternate access method flag
had to be ``+'' if there was an alternate access method used on the file
or <space> if there was not. This was changed in Draft 10 to be <space>
if there is not and a single printable character if there is. This was
done for three reasons: 1) There are existing implementations using
characters other than ``+''; 2) There are implementations that vary this
character used in that position to distinguish between various alternate
access methods in use, and; 3) the developers of the standard did not
want to preclude specification by POSIX.6 that might need a way to
specify more than one alternate access method. Nonetheless,
implementations providing a single alternate access method are encouraged
to use ``+''.
In a previous draft the units used to specify the number of blocks
occupied by files in a directory in an ls -l listing was implementation
defined. This was because BSD systems have historically used 1024-byte
units and System V systems have historically used 512-byte units. It was
pointed out by developers at Berkeley that BSD has used 512-byte units in
some places and 1024-byte units in other places. (System V has
consistently used 512.) Therefore, POSIX.2 and POSIX.2a usually specify
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
604 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
512 and that value has been restored here as it was in Draft 9. Future
releases of BSD are expected to consistently provide 512 as a default
with a way of specifying 1024-byte units where appropriate.
The <_d_a_t_e _a_n_d _t_i_m_e> field in the -l format is specified only for the
POSIX Locale. As noted, the format can be different in other locales.
No mechanism for defining this is present in this standard, as the
appropriate vehicle is a messaging system; i.e., the format should be
specified as a ``message.''
END_RATIONALE
4.40 mailx - Process messages
4.40.1 Synopsis
mailx [-s _s_u_b_j_e_c_t] _a_d_d_r_e_s_s ...
4.40.2 Description
The mailx utility shall read standard input and send it to one or more
addresses in an unspecified manner. Unless the first character of one or
more lines is tilde ( ), all characters in the input message shall appear
in the delivered mess~age, but additional characters may be inserted in
the message before it is retrieved.
4.40.3 Options
The mailx utility shall conform to the utility argument syntax guidelines
described in 2.10.2.
The following option shall be supported by the implementation:
-s _s_u_b_j_e_c_t A string representing the subject of the message. All 2
characters in the _s_u_b_j_e_c_t string shall appear in the 2
delivered message. The results are unspecified if _s_u_b_j_e_c_t 2
is longer than {LINE_MAX} - 10 bytes or contains a 2
<newline>. 2
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.40 mailx - Process messages 605
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.40.4 Operands
The following operand shall be supported by the implementation:
_a_d_d_r_e_s_s Send a message to _a_d_d_r_e_s_s. Valid login names on the local
system shall be accepted as valid _a_d_d_r_e_s_ses. The
interpretation of other types of _a_d_d_r_e_s_ses is unspecified.
An implementation-defined way for a user with a login-name
address to retrieve the message shall be provided by the
implementation.
4.40.5 External Influences
4.40.5.1 Standard Input
The standard input shall be a text file. The results are unspecified if
the first character of any input line is a tilde (~).
4.40.5.2 Input Files
None.
4.40.5.3 Environment Variables
The following environment variables shall affect the execution of mailx:
DEAD This variable shall affect the processing of
signals by mailx: if the application sets this
variable to /dev/null, the results of receiving a
signal are as described by this standard; they are
otherwise unspecified.
HOME This variable shall be interpreted as a pathname of
the user's home directory.
LANG This variable shall determine the locale to use for
the locale categories when both LC_ALL and the
corresponding environment variable (beginning with
LC_) do not specify a locale. See 2.6.
LC_ALL This variable shall determine the locale to be used
to override any values for locale categories
specified by the settings of LANG or any
environment variables beginning with LC_.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
606 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
LC_CTYPE This variable shall determine the locale for the
interpretation of sequences of bytes of text data
as characters (e.g., single- versus multibyte
characters in arguments and input files).
LC_MESSAGES This variable shall determine the language in which
messages should be written.
MAILRC This variable shall affect the startup processing
of mailx: if the application sets this variable to
/dev/null, mailx shall operate as described by this
standard; otherwise, unspecified results occur.
4.40.5.4 Asynchronous Events
Default.
4.40.6 External Effects
4.40.6.1 Standard Output
None.
4.40.6.2 Standard Error
Used only for diagnostic messages.
4.40.6.3 Output Files
None.
4.40.7 Extended Description
None.
4.40.8 Exit Status
The mailx utility shall exit with one of the following values:
0 Successful completion.
>0 An error occurred.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.40 mailx - Process messages 607
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.40.9 Consequences of Errors
Default.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
4.40.10 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
_U_s_a_g_e_,__E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s
The intent is that a header indicating who sent the message and a message
subject string, the contents of the standard input, and perhaps a trailer
is delivered to users specified by the given addresses. The standard
input, however, may have to be manipulated slightly to avoid confusion
between message text and headers as it passes through the message
delivery system. POSIX.2 does not specify how standard input may be
manipulated; that will be specified in detail by POSIX.2a.
The restriction on a subject line being {LINE_MAX} - 10 bytes is based on 2
the historical format that consumes 10 bytes for "Subject: " and the 2
trailing <newline>. Many historical mailers that a message may encounter 2
on other systems will not be able to handle lines that long, however. 2
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
The developers of the standard felt strongly that a method for
applications to send messages to specific users was necessary. The
obvious example is a batch utility, running noninteractively, that wishes
to communicate errors or results to a user. However, the actual format,
delivery mechanism, and method of reading the message are clearly beyond
the scope of this standard.
The intent of this command is to provide a simple, portable interface for
sending messages noninteractively. It merely defines a ``front-end'' to
the historical mail system. It is suggested that implementations
explicitly denote the sender and recipient in the body of the delivered
message. Further specification of formats for either the message
envelope or the message itself were deliberately not made, as the
industry is in the midst of changing from the current standards to a more
internationalized standard and it is probably incorrect, at this time, to
require either one.
Implementations are encouraged to conform to the various delivery
mechanisms described in ARPANET Requests for Comment Numbers 819, 822,
882, 920, 921, and the CCITT X.400 standards.
The standard does not place any restrictions on the length of messages
handled by mailx, and for delivery of local messages the only limitations
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
608 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
should be the normal problems of available disk space for the target mail
file. When sending messages to external machines, applications are
advised to limit messages to less than 50 kilobytes because many mail
gateways impose message-length restrictions. (Note that this is usually
an administrative issue based on the amount of mail traffic and disk
space available on the gateways. Therefore, there is no way for this
standard to require implementations to guarantee delivery of long
messages to remote systems.)
Like the utilities logger and lp, mailx is admittedly difficult to test.
This was not deemed sufficient justification to exclude these utilities
from the standard. It is also arguable that they are, in fact, testable,
but that the tests themselves are not portable.
Before Draft 7, there was a utility named mailto. In Draft 7, the name
was changed to sendto because of comments noting that mailto implied full
mail-like functionality and that was not what the specification provided.
However, there have been consistent comments that it does not make sense
to end up with a standard that will require two mail-sending interfaces.
(POSIX.2a is working on a fully fleshed-out mail-sending and -reading
utility based on the historical System V mailx utility.) A message- (or
mail-) sending utility that is a subset of the interactive utility that
will be described by POSIX.2a is much more consistent with the rest of
the standard. Therefore, in Draft 10 the name has been changed again to
mailx and the description is a small subset of the functionality being
specified by POSIX.2a. It provides a portable way for a shell script to
be able to send a message to a user on the local system. It is expected
that implementations that have provided mailx in the past will use it to
meet the POSIX.2 requirements. Implementations that have not provided
mailx in the past will be able to create a simple interface to their
current mailer to meet these requirements.
Most of the features provided by mailx (and the similar BSD Mail) utility
are not specified here because they are not needed for noninteractive use
(applications do not usually read mail without user participation) and
they depend on other interactive features that are not defined by
POSIX.2, but will be defined by POSIX.2a (the v command, for instance,
uses the vi editor as a default.) ~
If the DEAD environment variable is not set to /dev/null, historical
versions of mailx and Mail save a message being constructed in a file
under some circumstances when some asynchronous events occur. The
details will be specified by POSIX.2a.
If the MAILRC environment variable does not name an empty file,
historical versions of mailx and Mail read initialization commands from a
file before processing begins. Since the initialization that a user
specifies could alter the contents of messages an application is trying
to send, applications are advised to set MAILRC to /dev/null. POSIX.2a
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.40 mailx - Process messages 609
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
will specify details on the format of the initialization file.
Options to specify addresses as ``cc'' (carbon-copy) or ``bcc'' (blind-
carbon-copy) were considered to be format details and were omitted.
A zero exit status implies that all messages were _s_e_n_t, but it gives no
assurances that any of them were actually _d_e_l_i_v_e_r_e_d. The reliability of
the delivery mechanism is unspecified and is an appropriate marketing
distinction between systems.
END_RATIONALE
4.41 mkdir - Make directories
4.41.1 Synopsis
mkdir [-p] [-m _m_o_d_e] _d_i_r ...
4.41.2 Description
The mkdir utility shall create the directories specified by the operands,
in the order specified.
For each _d_i_r operand, the mkdir utility shall perform actions equivalent
to the POSIX.1 {8} _m_k_d_i_r() function, called with the following arguments:
(1) The _d_i_r operand is used as the _p_a_t_h argument.
(2) The value of the bitwise inclusive OR of S_IRWXU, S_IRWXG, and
S_IRWXO is used as the _m_o_d_e argument. (If the -m option is 1
specified, the _m_o_d_e option-argument overrides this default.) 1
4.41.3 Options
The mkdir utility shall conform to the utility argument syntax guidelines
described in 2.10.2.
The following options shall be supported by the implementation:
-m _m_o_d_e Set the file permission bits of the newly-created
directory to the specified _m_o_d_e value. The _m_o_d_e option-
argument shall be the same as the _m_o_d_e operand defined for
the chmod utility (see 4.7). In the _s_y_m_b_o_l_i_c__m_o_d_e
strings, the _o_p characters + and - shall be interpreted
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
610 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
relative to an assumed initial mode of a=rwx; + shall add
permissions to the default mode, - shall delete
permissions from the default mode.
-p Create any missing intermediate pathname components.
For each _d_i_r operand that does not name an existing
directory, effects equivalent to those caused by following
command shall occur:
mkdir -p -m $(umask -S),u+wx $(dirname _d_i_r) &&
mkdir [-m _m_o_d_e] _d_i_r
where the [-m _m_o_d_e] option represents that option supplied
to the original invocation of mkdir, if any.
Each _d_i_r operand that names an existing directory shall be
ignored without error.
4.41.4 Operands
The following operand shall be supported by the implementation:
_d_i_r A pathname of a directory to be created.
4.41.5 External Influences
4.41.5.1 Standard Input
None.
4.41.5.2 Input Files
None.
4.41.5.3 Environment Variables
The following environment variables shall affect the execution of mkdir:
LANG This variable shall determine the locale to use for
the locale categories when both LC_ALL and the
corresponding environment variable (beginning with
LC_) do not specify a locale. See 2.6.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.41 mkdir - Make directories 611
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
LC_ALL This variable shall determine the locale to be used
to override any values for locale categories
specified by the settings of LANG or any
environment variables beginning with LC_.
LC_CTYPE This variable shall determine the locale for the
interpretation of sequences of bytes of text data
as characters (e.g., single- versus multibyte
characters in arguments).
LC_MESSAGES This variable shall determine the language in which
messages should be written.
4.41.5.4 Asynchronous Events
Default.
4.41.6 External Effects
4.41.6.1 Standard Output
None.
4.41.6.2 Standard Error
Used only for diagnostic messages.
4.41.6.3 Output Files
None.
4.41.7 Extended Description
None.
4.41.8 Exit Status
The mkdir utility shall exit with one of the following values:
0 All the specified directories were created successfully or the
-p option was specified and all the specified directories now
exist.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
612 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
>0 An error occurred.
4.41.9 Consequences of Errors
Default.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
4.41.10 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s_,__U_s_a_g_e
The default file mode for directories is a=rwx (777) with selected
permissions removed in accordance with the file mode creation mask. For
intermediate path name components created by mkdir, the mode is the
default modified by u+wx so that the subdirectories can always be created
regardless of the file mode creation mask; if different ultimate
permissions are desired for the intermediate directories, they can be
changed afterward with chmod.
Application writers should note that some of the requested directories
may have been created even if an error occurs.
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
The System V -m option was added to control the file mode.
The System V -p option was added to create any needed intermediate
directories, to complement the functionality provided rmdir for removing
directories in the path prefix as they become empty. Because no error is
produced if any path component already exists, the -p option is also
useful to ensure that a particular directory exists.
The functionality of mkdir is described substantially through a reference
to the _m_k_d_i_r() function in POSIX.1 {8}. For example, by default, the
mode of the directory is affected by the file mode creation mask in
accordance with the specified behavior of POSIX.1 {8} _m_k_d_i_r(). In this
way, there is less duplication of effort required for describing details
of the directory creation.
END_RATIONALE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.41 mkdir - Make directories 613
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.42 mkfifo - Make FIFO special files
4.42.1 Synopsis
mkfifo [-m _m_o_d_e] _f_i_l_e ...
4.42.2 Description
The mkfifo utility shall create the FIFO special files specified by the
operands, in the order specified.
For each _f_i_l_e operand, the mkfifo utility shall perform actions
equivalent to the POSIX.1 {8} _m_k_f_i_f_o() function, called with the
following arguments:
(1) The _f_i_l_e operand is used as the _p_a_t_h argument.
(2) The value of the bitwise inclusive OR of S_IRUSR, S_IWUSR,
S_IRGRP, S_IWGRP, S_IROTH, and S_IWOTH is used as the _m_o_d_e
argument. (If the -m option is specified, the _m_o_d_e option-
argument overrides this default.)
4.42.3 Options
The mkfifo utility shall conform to the utility argument syntax
guidelines described in 2.10.2.
The following option shall be supported by the implementation:
-m _m_o_d_e Set the file permission bits of the newly-created FIFO to
the specified _m_o_d_e value. The _m_o_d_e option-argument shall
be the same as the _m_o_d_e operand defined for the chmod
utility (see 4.7). In the _s_y_m_b_o_l_i_c__m_o_d_e strings, the _o_p
characters + and - shall be interpreted relative to an
assumed initial mode of a=rw.
4.42.4 Operands
The following operand shall be supported by the implementation:
_f_i_l_e A pathname of the FIFO special file to be created.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
614 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
4.42.5 External Influences
4.42.5.1 Standard Input
None.
4.42.5.2 Input Files
None.
4.42.5.3 Environment Variables
The following environment variables shall affect the execution of mkfifo:
LANG This variable shall determine the locale to use for
the locale categories when both LC_ALL and the
corresponding environment variable (beginning with
LC_) do not specify a locale. See 2.6.
LC_ALL This variable shall determine the locale to be used
to override any values for locale categories
specified by the settings of LANG or any
environment variables beginning with LC_.
LC_CTYPE This variable shall determine the locale for the
interpretation of sequences of bytes of text data
as characters (e.g., single- versus multibyte
characters in arguments).
LC_MESSAGES This variable shall determine the language in which
messages should be written.
4.42.5.4 Asynchronous Events
Default.
4.42.6 External Effects
4.42.6.1 Standard Output
None.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.42 mkfifo - Make FIFO special files 615
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.42.6.2 Standard Error
Used only for diagnostic messages.
4.42.6.3 Output Files
None.
4.42.7 Extended Description
None.
4.42.8 Exit Status
The mkfifo utility shall exit with one of the following values:
0 All the specified FIFO special files were created successfully.
>0 An error occurred.
4.42.9 Consequences of Errors
Default.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
4.42.10 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s_,__U_s_a_g_e
None.
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
This new utility was added to permit shell applications to create FIFO
special files.
The -m option was added to control the file mode, for consistency with
the similar functionality provided the mkdir utility.
Earlier drafts included a -p option similar to mkdir's -p option that
created intermediate directories leading up to the FIFO specified by the
final component. This was removed because it is not commonly needed and
is not common practice with similar utilities.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
616 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
The functionality of mkfifo is described substantially through a
reference to the _m_k_f_i_f_o() function in POSIX.1. For example, by default,
the mode of the FIFO file is affected by the file mode creation mask in
accordance with the specified behavior of POSIX.1 {8} _m_k_f_i_f_o(). In this
way, there is less duplication of effort required for describing details
of the file creation.
END_RATIONALE
4.43 mv - Move files
4.43.1 Synopsis
mv [-fi] _s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_e _t_a_r_g_e_t__f_i_l_e
mv [-fi] _s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_e ... _t_a_r_g_e_t__d_i_r
4.43.2 Description
In the first synopsis form, the mv utility shall move the file named by
the _s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_e operand to the _d_e_s_t_i_n_a_t_i_o_n specified by the _t_a_r_g_e_t__f_i_l_e.
This first synopsis form is assumed when the final operand does not name
an existing directory.
In the second synopsis form, mv shall move each file named by a
_s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_e operand to a _d_e_s_t_i_n_a_t_i_o_n file in the existing directory named
by the _t_a_r_g_e_t__d_i_r operand. The _d_e_s_t_i_n_a_t_i_o_n path for each _s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_e
shall be the concatenation of the target directory, a single slash
character, and the last pathname component of the _s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_e.
If any operand specifies an existing file of a type not specified by
POSIX.1 {8}, the behavior is implementation defined.
This second form is assumed when the final operand names an existing
directory.
For each _s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_e the following steps shall be taken:
(1) If the destination path exists, the -f option is not specified,
and either of the following conditions is true:
(a) The permissions of the destination path do not permit
writing and the standard input is a terminal.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.43 mv - Move files 617
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
(b) The -i option is specified.
the mv utility shall write a prompt to standard error and read a
line from standard input. If the response is not affirmative,
mv shall do nothing more with the current _s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_e and go on
to any remaining _s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_es.
(2) The mv utility shall perform actions equivalent to the
POSIX.1 {8} _r_e_n_a_m_e() function, called with the following
arguments:
(a) The _s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_e operand is used as the _o_l_d argument.
(b) The destination path is used as the _n_e_w argument.
If this succeeds, mv shall do nothing more with the current
_s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_e and go on to any remaining _s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_es. If this
fails for any reasons other than those described for the _e_r_r_n_o
[EXDEV] in POSIX.1 {8}, mv shall write a diagnostic message to
standard error, do nothing more with the current _s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_e,
and go on to any remaining _s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_es.
(3) If the destination path exists, and it is a file of type
directory and _s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_e is not a file of type directory, or it
is a file not of type directory and _s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_e is a file of
type directory, mv shall write a diagnostic message to standard
error, do nothing more with the current _s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_e, and go on
to any remaining _s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_es.
(4) If the destination path exists, mv shall attempt to remove it.
If this fails for any reason, mv shall write a diagnostic
message to standard error, do nothing more with the current
_s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_e, and go on to any remaining _s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_es.
(5) The file hierarchy rooted in _s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_e shall be duplicated as
a file hierarchy rooted in the destination path. The following
characteristics of each file in the file hierarchy shall be
duplicated:
(a) The time of last data modification and time of last
access.
(b) The user ID and group ID.
(c) The file mode.
If the user ID, group ID, or file mode of a regular file cannot
be duplicated, the file mode bits S_ISUID and S_ISGID shall not
be duplicated.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
618 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
When files are duplicated to another file system, the 1
implementation may require that the process invoking mv have 1
read access to each file being duplicated. 1
If the duplication of the file hierarchy fails for any reason,
mv shall write a diagnostic message to standard error, do
nothing more with the current _s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_e, and go on to any
remaining _s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_es.
If the duplication of the file characteristics fails for any
reason, mv shall write a diagnostic message to standard error,
but this failure shall not cause mv to modify its exit status.
(6) The file hierarchy rooted in _s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_e shall be removed. If
this fails for any reason, mv shall write a diagnostic message
to the standard error, do nothing more with the current
_s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_e, and go on to any remaining _s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_es.
4.43.3 Options
The mv utility shall conform to the utility argument syntax guidelines
described in 2.10.2.
The following options shall be supported by the implementation:
-f Do not prompt for confirmation if the _d_e_s_t_i_n_a_t_i_o_n path
exists. Any previous occurrences of the -i option shall
be ignored.
-i Prompt for confirmation if the destination path exists.
Any previous occurrences of the -f option shall be
ignored.
Specifying more than one of the -f or -i options shall not be considered
an error. The last option specified shall determine mv's behavior.
4.43.4 Operands
The following operands shall be supported by the implementation:
_s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_e A pathname of a file or directory to be moved.
_t_a_r_g_e_t__f_i_l_e A new pathname for the file or directory being moved.
_t_a_r_g_e_t__d_i_r A pathname of an existing directory into which to move the
input files.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.43 mv - Move files 619
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.43.5 External Influences
4.43.5.1 Standard Input
Used to read an input line in response to each prompt specified in
Standard Error. 4.43.6.2. Otherwise, the standard input shall not be
used.
4.43.5.2 Input Files
The input files specified by each _s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_e operand can be of any file
type.
4.43.5.3 Environment Variables
The following environment variables shall affect the execution of mv:
LANG This variable shall determine the locale to use for
the locale categories when both LC_ALL and the
corresponding environment variable (beginning with
LC_) do not specify a locale. See 2.6.
LC_ALL This variable shall determine the locale to be used
to override any values for locale categories
specified by the settings of LANG or any
environment variables beginning with LC_.
LC_COLLATE This variable shall determine the locale for the
behavior of ranges, equivalence classes, and
multicharacter collating elements used in the
extended regular expression defined for the yesexpr
locale keyword in the LC_MESSAGES category.
LC_CTYPE This variable shall determine the locale for the
interpretation of sequences of bytes of text data
as characters (e.g., single- versus multibyte
characters in arguments) and the behavior of
character classes within regular expressions used
in the extended regular expression defined for the
yesexpr locale keyword in the LC_MESSAGES category.
LC_MESSAGES This variable shall determine the processing of
affirmative responses and the language in which
messages should be written.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
620 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
4.43.5.4 Asynchronous Events
Default.
4.43.6 External Effects
4.43.6.1 Standard Output
None.
4.43.6.2 Standard Error
Prompts shall be written to the standard error under the conditions
specified in 4.43.2. The prompts shall contain the _d_e_s_t_i_n_a_t_i_o_n pathname,
but their format is otherwise unspecified. Otherwise, the standard error
shall be used only for diagnostic messages.
4.43.6.3 Output Files
The output files may be of any file type.
4.43.7 Extended Description
None.
4.43.8 Exit Status
The mv utility shall exit with one of the following values:
0 All input files were moved successfully.
>0 An error occurred.
4.43.9 Consequences of Errors
If the copying or removal of _s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_e is prematurely terminated by a
signal or error, mv may leave a partial copy of _s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_e at the source
or destination. The mv utility shall not modify both _s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_e and the
destination path simultaneously; termination at any point shall leave
either _s_o_u_r_c_e__f_i_l_e or the destination path complete.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.43 mv - Move files 621
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.43.10 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s_,__U_s_a_g_e
If the current directory contains only files a (of any type defined by
POSIX.1 {8}), b (also of any type), and a directory c:
mv a b c
mv c d
will result with the original files a and b residing in the directory d
in the current directory.
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
Previous versions of this draft diverged from _S_V_I_D and BSD historical
practice in that they required that when the destination path exists, the
-f option is not specified, and input is not a terminal, mv shall fail.
This was done for compatibility with cp. This draft returns to
historical practice. It should be noted that this is consistent with the
POSIX.1 {8} function _r_e_n_a_m_e(), which does not require write permission on
the target.
For absolute clarity, paragraph (1), describing mv'_s behavior when
prompting for confirmation, should be interpreted in the following
manner:
if (exists AND (NOT f_option) AND
((not_writable AND input_is_terminal) OR i_option))
The -i option exists on BSD systems, giving applications and users a way
to avoid accidentally unlinking files when moving others. When the
standard input is not a terminal, the 4.3BSD mv deletes all existing
destination paths without prompting, even when -i is specified; this is
inconsistent with the behavior of the 4.3BSD cp utility, which always
generates an error when the file is unwritable and the standard input is
not a terminal. The working group decided that use of -i is a request
for interaction, so when the _d_e_s_t_i_n_a_t_i_o_n path exists, the utility takes
instructions from whatever responds to standard input.
The _r_e_n_a_m_e() function is able to move directories within the same file
system. Some historical versions of mv have been able to move 1
directories, but not to a different file system. The working group felt
that this was an annoying inconsistency, so the standard requires
directories to be movable even across file systems. There is no -R
option to confirm that moving a directory is actually intended, since
such an option was not required for moving directories in historical
practice. Requiring the application to specify it sometimes, depending
on the destination, seemed just as inconsistent. The semantics of the
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
622 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
_r_e_n_a_m_e() function were preserved as much as possible. For example, mv is
not permitted to ``rename'' files to or from directories, even though
they might be empty and removable.
Historic implementations of mv did not exit with a nonzero exit status if
they were unable to duplicate any file characteristics when moving a file
across file systems, nor did they write a diagnostic message for the
user. The former behavior has been preserved to prevent scripts from
breaking; a diagnostic message is now required, however, so that users
are alerted that the file characteristics have changed.
The exact format of the interactive prompts is unspecified. Only the
general nature of the contents of prompts are specified, because
implementations may desire more descriptive prompts than those used on
historical implementations. Therefore, an application not using the -f
option or using the -i option relies on the system to provide the most
suitable dialogue directly with the user, based on the behavior
specified.
END_RATIONALE
4.44 nohup - Invoke a utility immune to hangups
4.44.1 Synopsis
nohup _u_t_i_l_i_t_y [_a_r_g_u_m_e_n_t ...]
4.44.2 Description
The nohup utility shall invoke the utility named by the _u_t_i_l_i_t_y operand
with arguments supplied as the _a_r_g_u_m_e_n_t operands. At the time the named
_u_t_i_l_i_t_y is invoked, the SIGHUP signal shall be set to be ignored.
If the standard output is a terminal, all output written by the named
_u_t_i_l_i_t_y to its standard output shall be appended to the end of the file
nohup.out in the current directory. If nohup.out cannot be created or
opened for appending, the output shall be appended to the end of the file
nohup.out in the directory specified by the HOME environment variable.
If neither file can be created or opened for appending, _u_t_i_l_i_t_y shall not
be invoked. If a file is created, the file's permission bits shall be
set to S_IRUSR | S_IWUSR instead of the default specified in 2.9.1.4.
If the standard error is a terminal, all output written by the named
_u_t_i_l_i_t_y to its standard error shall be redirected to the same file
descriptor as the standard output.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.44 nohup - Invoke a utility immune to hangups 623
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.44.3 Options
None.
4.44.4 Operands
The following operands shall be supported by the implementation:
_u_t_i_l_i_t_y The name of a utility that is to be invoked. If the
_u_t_i_l_i_t_y operand names any of the special built-in
utilities in 3.14, the results are undefined.
_a_r_g_u_m_e_n_t Any string to be supplied as an argument when invoking the
utility named by the _u_t_i_l_i_t_y operand.
4.44.5 External Influences
4.44.5.1 Standard Input
None.
4.44.5.2 Input Files
None.
4.44.5.3 Environment Variables
The following environment variables shall affect the execution of nohup:
HOME This variable shall determine the pathname of the
user's home directory: if the output file
nohup.out cannot be created in the current
directory, the nohup utility shall use the
directory named by HOME to create the file.
LANG This variable shall determine the locale to use for
the locale categories when both LC_ALL and the
corresponding environment variable (beginning with
LC_) do not specify a locale. See 2.6.
LC_ALL This variable shall determine the locale to be used
to override any values for locale categories
specified by the settings of LANG or any
environment variables beginning with LC_.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
624 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
LC_CTYPE This variable shall determine the locale for the
interpretation of sequences of bytes of text data
as characters (e.g., single- versus multibyte
characters in arguments).
LC_MESSAGES This variable shall determine the language in which
messages should be written.
PATH This variable shall determine the search path that
shall be used to locate the utility to be invoked.
See 2.6.
4.44.5.4 Asynchronous Events
The nohup utility shall take the standard action for all signals (see
2.11.5.4), except that SIGHUP shall be ignored.
4.44.6 External Effects
4.44.6.1 Standard Output
If the standard output is not a terminal, the standard output of nohup
shall be the standard output generated by the execution of the _u_t_i_l_i_t_y
specified by the operands. Otherwise, nothing shall be written to the
standard output.
4.44.6.2 Standard Error
If the standard output is a terminal, a message shall be written to the
standard error, indicating the name of the file to which the output is
being appended. The name of the file shall be either nohup.out or
$HOME/nohup.out.
4.44.6.3 Output Files
If the standard output is a terminal, all output written by the named
_u_t_i_l_i_t_y to the standard output and standard error is appended to the file
nohup.out, which is created if it does not already exist.
4.44.7 Extended Description
None.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.44 nohup - Invoke a utility immune to hangups 625
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.44.8 Exit Status
The nohup utility shall exit with one of the following values:
126 The utility specified by _u_t_i_l_i_t_y was found but could not be 1
invoked. 1
127 An error occurred in the nohup utility or the utility specified 1
by _u_t_i_l_i_t_y could not be found. 1
Otherwise, the exit status of nohup shall be that of the utility
specified by the _u_t_i_l_i_t_y operand.
4.44.9 Consequences of Errors
Default.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
4.44.10 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s_,__U_s_a_g_e
It is frequently desirable to apply nohup to pipelines or lists of
commands. This can be done by placing pipelines and command lists in a
single file; this file can then be invoked as a utility, and the nohup
applies to everything in the file.
Alternatively, the following command can be used to apply nohup to a
complex command:
nohup sh -c '_c_o_m_p_l_e_x-_c_o_m_m_a_n_d-_l_i_n_e'
The 4.3BSD version ignores SIGTERM and SIGHUP, and if ./nohup.out cannot
be used, it fails instead of trying to use $HOME/nohup.out.
The command, env, nohup, and xargs utilities have been specified to use
exit code 127 if an error occurs so that applications can distinguish 1
``failure to find a utility'' from ``invoked utility exited with an error 1
indication.'' The value 127 was chosen because it is not commonly used 1
for other meanings; most utilities use small values for ``normal error
conditions'' and the values above 128 can be confused with termination
due to receipt of a signal. The value 126 was chosen in a similar manner 1
to indicate that the utility could be found, but not invoked. Some 1
scripts produce meaningful error messages differentiating the 126 and 127 1
cases. The distinction between exit codes 126 and 127 is based on 2
KornShell practice that uses 127 when all attempts to _e_x_e_c the utility 2
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
626 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
fail with [ENOENT], and uses 126 when any attempt to _e_x_e_c the utility 2
fails for any other reason. 2
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
The csh utility has a built-in version of nohup that acts differently
than this.
The term _u_t_i_l_i_t_y is used, rather than _c_o_m_m_a_n_d, to highlight the fact that
shell compound commands, pipelines, special built-ins, etc., cannot be
used directly. However, _u_t_i_l_i_t_y includes user application programs and
shell scripts, not just the standard utilities.
Historical versions of the nohup utility use default file creation
semantics. Some more recent versions use the permissions specified here
as an added security precaution.
Some historical implementations ignore SIGQUIT in addition to SIGHUP;
others ignore SIGTERM. An earlier draft allowed, but did not require,
SIGQUIT to be ignored. Several members of the balloting group objected,
saying that nohup should only modify the handling of SIGHUP as required
by this specification.
END_RATIONALE
4.45 od - Dump files in various formats
4.45.1 Synopsis
od [-v] [-A _a_d_d_r_e_s_s__b_a_s_e] [-j _s_k_i_p] [-N _c_o_u_n_t] [-t _t_y_p_e__s_t_r_i_n_g] ...
[_f_i_l_e ...]
4.45.2 Description
The od utility shall write the contents of its input files to standard
output in a user-specified format.
4.45.3 Options
The od utility shall conform to the utility argument syntax guidelines
described in 2.10.2, except that the order of presentation of the -t
options is significant.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.45 od - Dump files in various formats 627
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
The following options shall be supported by the implementation:
-A _a_d_d_r_e_s_s__b_a_s_e
Specify the input offset base (see 4.45.7). The
_a_d_d_r_e_s_s__b_a_s_e option argument shall be a character. The
characters d, o, and x shall specify that the offset base
shall be written in decimal, octal, or hexadecimal,
respectively. The character n shall specify that the
offset shall not be written.
-j _s_k_i_p Jump over _s_k_i_p bytes from the beginning of the input. The
od utility shall read or seek past the first _s_k_i_p bytes in
the concatenated input files. If the combined input is
not at least _s_k_i_p bytes long, the od utility shall write a
diagnostic message to standard error and exit with a
nonzero exit status.
By default, the _s_k_i_p option-argument shall be interpreted
as a decimal number. With a leading 0x or 0X, the offset
shall be interpreted as a hexadecimal number; otherwise,
with a leading 0, the offset shall be interpreted as an
octal number. Appending the character b, k, or m to
offset shall cause it to be interpreted as a multiple of
512, 1024, or 1048576 bytes, respectively.
-N _c_o_u_n_t Format no more than _c_o_u_n_t bytes of input. By default,
_c_o_u_n_t shall be interpreted as a decimal number. With a
leading 0x or 0X, _c_o_u_n_t shall be interpreted as a
hexadecimal number; otherwise, with a leading 0, it shall
be interpreted as an octal number. If _c_o_u_n_t bytes of
input (after successfully skipping, if -j _s_k_i_p is
specified) are not available, it shall not be considered
an error; the od utility shall format the input that is
available.
-t _t_y_p_e__s_t_r_i_n_g
Specify one or more output types (see 4.45.7). The
_t_y_p_e__s_t_r_i_n_g option-argument shall be a string specifying
the types to be used when writing the input data. The
string shall consist of the type specification characters
a, c, d, f, o, u, and x, specifying named character,
character, signed decimal, floating point, octal, unsigned
decimal, and hexadecimal, respectively. The type
specification characters d, f, o, u, and x can be followed
by an optional unsigned decimal integer that specifies the
number of bytes to be transformed by each instance of the
output type. The type specification character f can be
followed by an optional F, D, or L indicating that the
conversion should be applied to an item of type _f_l_o_a_t,
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
628 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
_d_o_u_b_l_e, or _l_o_n_g _d_o_u_b_l_e, respectively. The type
specification characters d, o, u, and x can be followed by
an optional C, S, I, or L indicating that the conversion
should be applied to an item of type _c_h_a_r, _s_h_o_r_t, _i_n_t, or
_l_o_n_g, respectively. Multiple types can be concatenated
within the same _t_y_p_e__s_t_r_i_n_g and multiple -t options can be
specified. Output lines shall be written for each type
specified in the order in which the type specification
characters are specified.
-v Write all input data. Without the -v option, any number
of groups of output lines, which would be identical to the
immediately preceding group of output lines (except for
the byte offsets), shall be replaced with a line
containing only an asterisk (*).
4.45.4 Operands
The following operands shall be supported by the implementation:
_f_i_l_e A pathname of a file to be written. If no file operands
are specified, the standard input shall be used. The
results are unspecified if the first character of _f_i_l_e is
a plus-sign (+) or the first character of the first file
operand is numeric, unless at least one of the -A, -j, -N,
or -t options is specified.
4.45.5 External Influences
4.45.5.1 Standard Input
The standard input shall be used only if no _f_i_l_e operands are specified.
See Input Files.
4.45.5.2 Input Files
The input files can be any file type.
4.45.5.3 Environment Variables
The following environment variables shall affect the execution of od:
LANG This variable shall determine the locale to use for
the locale categories when both LC_ALL and the
corresponding environment variable (beginning with
LC_) do not specify a locale. See 2.6.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.45 od - Dump files in various formats 629
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
LC_ALL This variable shall determine the locale to be used
to override any values for locale categories
specified by the settings of LANG or any
environment variables beginning with LC_.
LC_CTYPE This variable shall determine the locale for the
interpretation of sequences of bytes of text data
as characters (e.g., single- versus multibyte
characters in arguments and input files).
LC_MESSAGES This variable shall determine the language in which
messages should be written.
LC_NUMERIC This variable shall determine the locale for
selecting the radix character used when writing
floating-point formatted output.
4.45.5.4 Asynchronous Events
Default.
4.45.6 External Effects
4.45.6.1 Standard Output
See 4.45.7.
4.45.6.2 Standard Error
Used only for diagnostic messages. 2
4.45.6.3 Output Files
None.
4.45.7 Extended Description
The od utility shall copy sequentially each input file to standard
output, transforming the input data according to the output types
specified by the -t option(s). If no output type is specified, the
default output shall be as if -t o2 had been specified.
The number of bytes transformed by the output type specifier c may be
variable depending on the LC_CTYPE category.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
630 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
The default number of bytes transformed by output type specifiers d, f,
o, u, and x shall correspond to the various C-language types as follows. 1
If the c89 compiler is present on the system, these specifiers shall 1
correspond to the sizes used by default in that compiler. Otherwise, 1
these sizes are implementation defined. 1
- For the type specifier characters d, o, u, and x, the default
number of bytes shall correspond to the size of the underlying
implementation's basic integral data type. For these specifier
characters, the implementation shall support values of the optional
number of bytes to be converted corresponding to the number of
bytes in the C-language types _c_h_a_r, _s_h_o_r_t, _i_n_t, and _l_o_n_g. These
numbers can also be specified by an application as the characters
C, S, I, and L, respectively. The byte order used when
interpreting numeric values is implementation defined, but shall
correspond to the order in which a constant of the corresponding
type is stored in memory on the system.
- For the type specifier character f, the default number of bytes
shall correspond to the number of bytes in the underlying
implementation's basic double precision floating point data type.
The implementation shall support values of the optional number of
bytes to be converted corresponding to the number of bytes in the
C-language types _f_l_o_a_t, _d_o_u_b_l_e, and _l_o_n_g _d_o_u_b_l_e. These numbers can
also be specified by an application as the characters F, D, and L,
respectively.
The type specifier character a specifies that bytes shall be interpreted
as named characters from the International Reference Version (IRV) of
ISO/IEC 646 {1}. Only the least significant seven bits of each byte
shall be used for this type specification. Bytes with the values listed
in Table 4-8 shall be written using the corresponding names for those
characters.
The type specifier character c specifies that bytes shall be interpreted
as characters specified by the current setting of the LC_CTYPE locale
category. Characters listed in Table 2-15 (see 2.12) shall be written as
the corresponding escape sequences, except that backslash shall be
written as a single backslash and a NUL shall be written as \0. Other
nonprintable characters shall be written as one three-digit octal number
for each byte in the character. If the size of a byte on the system is 1
greater than nine bits, the format used for nonprintable characters is 1
implementation-defined. Printable multibyte characters shall be written 1
in the area corresponding to the first byte of the character; the two-
character sequence ** shall be written in the area corresponding to each
remaining byte in the character, as an indication that the character is
continued.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.45 od - Dump files in various formats 631
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
Table 4-8 - od Named Characters
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Value Name Value Name Value Name Value Name
_____ ____ _____ ____ _____ _________ _____ ____
\000 nul \001 soh \002 stx \003 etx
\004 eot \005 enq \006 ack * \007 bel
\010 bs \011 ht \012 lf or nl \013 vt
\014 ff \015 cr \016 so \017 si
\020 dle \021 dc1 \022 dc2 \023 dc3
\024 dc4 \025 nak \026 syn \027 etb
\030 can \031 em \032 sub \033 esc
\034 fs \035 gs \036 rs \037 us
\040 sp \177 del
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
NOTE: The \012 value may be written either as lf or nl.
The input data shall be manipulated in blocks, where a block is defined
as a multiple of the least common multiple of the number of bytes
transformed by the specified output types. If the least common multiple
is greater than 16, the results are unspecified. Each input block shall
be written as transformed by each output type, one per written line, in
the order that the output types were specified. If the input block size
is larger than the number of bytes transformed by the output type, the
output type shall sequentially transform the parts of the input block and
the output from each of the transformations shall be separated by one or
more <blank>s.
If, as a result of the specification of the -N option or end-of-file
being reached on the last input file, input data only partially satisfies
an output type, the input shall be extended sufficiently with null bytes
to write the last byte of the input.
Unless -A n is specified, the first output line produced for each input
block shall be preceded by the input offset, cumulative across input
files, of the next byte to be written. The format of the input offset is
unspecified; however, it shall not contain any <blank>s, shall start at
the first character of the output line, and shall be followed by one or
more <blank>s. In addition, the offset of the byte following the last
byte written shall be written after all the input data has been
processed, but shall not be followed by any <blank>s.
If no -A option is specified, the input offset base is unspecified.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
632 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
4.45.8 Exit Status
The od utility shall exit with one of the following values:
0 All input files were processed successfully.
>0 An error occurred.
4.45.9 Consequences of Errors
Default.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
4.45.10 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s_,__U_s_a_g_e
If a file containing 128 bytes with decimal values zero through 127, in
increasing order, is supplied as standard input to the command:
od -A d -t a
on an implementation using an input block size of 16 bytes, the standard
output, independent of the current locale setting, would be similar to:
0000000 nul soh stx etx eot enq ack bel bs ht nl vt ff cr so si
0000016 dle dc1 dc2 dc3 dc4 nak syn etb can em sub esc fs gs rs us
0000032 sp ! " # $ % & ' ( ) * + , - . /
0000048 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 : ; < = > ?
0000064 @ A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O
0000080 P Q R S T U V W X Y Z [ \ ] ^ _
0000096 ` a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o
0000112 p q r s t u v w x y z { | } del
0000128 ~
Note that this standard allows nl or lf to be used as the name for the
ISO/IEC 646 {1} IRV character with decimal value 10. The IRV names this
character lf (line feed), but traditional implementations on which
POSIX.2 are based have referred to this character as newline (nl) and the
POSIX Locale character set symbolic name for the corresponding character
is <newline>.
The command:
od -A o -t o2x2x -n 18
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.45 od - Dump files in various formats 633
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
on a system with 32-bit words and an implementation using an input block
size of 16 bytes could write 18 bytes in approximately the following
format:
0000000 032056 031440 041123 042040 052516 044530 020043 031464
342e 3320 4253 4420 554e 4958 2023 3334
342e3320 42534420 554e4958 20233334
0000020 032472
353a
353a0000
0000022
The command:
od -A d -t f -t o4 -t x4 -n 24 -j 0x15
on a system with 64-bit doubles (for example, the IEEE Std 754 double
precision floating point format) would skip 21 bytes of input data and
then write 24 bytes in approximately the following format:
0000000 1.00000000000000e+00 1.57350000000000e+01
07774000000 00000000000 10013674121 35341217270
3ff00000 00000000 402f7851 eb851eb8
0000016 1.40668230000000e+02
10030312542 04370303230
40619562 23e18698
0000024
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
The od utility has gone through several names in previous drafts,
including hd, xd, and most recently hexdump. There were several
objections to all of these based on the following reasons:
- The hd and xd names conflicted with existing utilities that behaved
differently.
- The hexdump description was much more complex than needed for a
simple dump utility.
- The od utility has been available on all traditional
implementations and there was no need to create a new name for a
utility so similar to the existing od utility.
The original reasons for not standardizing historical od were also fairly
widespread. Those reasons are given below along with rationale
explaining why the developers of this standard believe that this version
does not suffer from the indicated problem:
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
634 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
- The BSD and System V versions of od have diverged and the
intersection of features provided by both does not meet the needs
of the user community. In fact, the System V version only provides
a mechanism for dumping octal bytes and _s_h_o_r_ts, signed and unsigned
decimal _s_h_o_r_ts, hexadecimal _s_h_o_r_ts, and ASCII characters. BSD
added the ability to dump _f_l_o_a_ts, _d_o_u_b_l_es, named ASCII characters,
and octal, signed decimal, unsigned decimal, and hexadecimal _l_o_n_gs.
The version presented here provides more normalized forms for
dumping bytes, _s_h_o_r_ts, _i_n_ts, and _l_o_n_gs in octal, signed decimal,
unsigned decimal, and hexadecimal; _f_l_o_a_t, _d_o_u_b_l_e, and _l_o_n_g _d_o_u_b_l_e;
and named ASCII as well as current locale characters.
- It would not be possible to come up with a compatible superset of
the BSD and System V flags that met the requirements of this
standard. The historical default od output is the specified
default output of this utility. None of the option letters chosen
for this version of od conflict with any of the options to
historical versions of od.
- On systems with different sizes for _s_h_o_r_t, _i_n_t, and _l_o_n_g, there was
no way to ask for dumps of _i_n_ts, even in the BSD version. The way
options are named, there is no easy way to extend the namespace for
these problems. This is why the -t option was added with type
specifiers more closely matched to the _p_r_i_n_t_f() formats used in the
rest of this standard and the optional field sizes were added to
the d, f, o, u, and x type specifiers. It is also one of the
reasons why the historical practice was not mandated as a required
obsolescent form of od. (Although the old versions of od are not
listed as an obsolescent form, implementations are urged to
continue to recognize the old forms they have recognized for a few
years.) The a, c, f, o, and x types match the meaning of the
corresponding format characters in the historical implementations
of od except for the default sizes of the fields converted. The d
format is signed in this specification to match the _p_r_i_n_t_f()
notation. (Historical versions of od used d as a synonym for u in
this version. The System V implementation uses s for signed
decimal; BSD uses i for signed decimal and s for null terminated
strings.) Other than d and u, all of the type specifiers match
format characters in the historical BSD version of od.
The sizes of the C-language types _c_h_a_r, _s_h_o_r_t, _i_n_t, _l_o_n_g, _f_l_o_a_t,
_d_o_u_b_l_e, and _l_o_n_g _d_o_u_b_l_e are used even though it is recognized that
there may be zero or more than one compiler for the C language on
an implementation and that they may use different sizes for some of
these types. [For example, one compiler might use 2-byte _s_h_o_r_t_s,
2-byte _i_n_t_s, and 4-byte _l_o_n_g_s while another compiler (or an option
to the same compiler) uses 2-byte _s_h_o_r_t_s, 4-byte _i_n_t_s, and 4-byte
_l_o_n_g_s.] Nonetheless, there has to be a basic size known by the
implementation for these types, corresponding to the values
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.45 od - Dump files in various formats 635
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
reported by invocations of the getconf utility (see 4.26) when
called with _s_y_s_t_e_m__v_a_r operands UCHAR_MAX, USHORT_MAX, UINT_MAX,
and ULONG_MAX for the types _c_h_a_r, _s_h_o_r_t, _i_n_t, and _l_o_n_g,
respectively. There are similar constants required by the
C Standard {7}, but not required by POSIX.1 {8} or POSIX.2. They
are FLT_MANT_DIG, DBL_MANT_DIG, and LDBL_MANT_DIG for the types
_f_l_o_a_t, _d_o_u_b_l_e, and _l_o_n_g _d_o_u_b_l_e, respectively. If the optional c89
utility (see A.1) is provided by the implementation and used as
specified by this standard, these are the sizes that would be
provided. If an option is used that specifies different sizes for
these types, there is no guarantee that the od utility will be able
to correctly interpret binary data output by such a program.
POSIX.2 requires that the numeric values of these lengths be
recognized by the od utility and that symbolic forms also be
recognized. Thus a portable application can always look at an
array of _u_n_s_i_g_n_e_d _l_o_n_g data elements using od -t uL.
- The method of specifying the format for the address field based on
specifying a starting offset in a file unnecessarily tied the two
together. The -A option now specifies the address base and the -S
option specifies a starting offset. Applications are warned not to
use filenames starting with + or a first operand starting with a
numeric character so that the old functionality can be maintained
by implementations, unless they specify one of the new options
specified by POSIX.2. To guarantee that one of these filenames
will always be interpreted as a file name, an application could
always specify the address base format with the -A option.
- It would be hard to break the dependence on US ASCII to get an
internationalized utility. It does not seem to be any harder for
od to dump characters in the current locale than it is for the ed
or sed l commands. The c type specifier does this with no problem
and is completely compatible with the historical implementations of
the c format character when the current locale uses a superset of
ISO/IEC 646 {1} as a code set. The a type specifier (from the BSD
a format character) was left as a portable means to dump ASCII [or
more correctly ISO/IEC 646 {1} (IRV)] so that headers produced by
pax could be deciphered even on systems that do not use ISO/IEC 646
{1} as a subset of their base code set.
The use of ** as an indication of continuation of a multibyte character
in c specifier output was chosen based on seeing an implementation that
uses this method. The continuation bytes have to be marked in a way that
will not be ambiguous with another single- or multibyte character.
An earlier draft used -S and -n, respectively, for the -j and -N options
in this draft. These were changed to avoid conflicts with historical
implementations.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
636 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
END_RATIONALE
4.46 paste - Merge corresponding or subsequent lines of files
4.46.1 Synopsis
paste [-s] [-d _l_i_s_t] _f_i_l_e ...
4.46.2 Description
The paste utility shall concatenate the corresponding lines of the given
input files, and write the resulting lines to standard output.
The default operation of paste shall concatenate the corresponding lines
of the input files. The <newline> character of every line except the
line from the last input file shall be replaced with a <tab> character.
If an end-of-file condition is detected on one or more input files, but
not all input files, paste shall behave as though empty lines were read
from the file(s) on which end-of-file was detected, unless the -s option
is specified.
4.46.3 Options
The paste utility shall conform to the utility argument syntax guidelines
described in 2.10.2.
The following options shall be supported by the implementation:
-d _l_i_s_t Unless a backslash character appears in _l_i_s_t, each 2
character in _l_i_s_t is an element specifying a delimiter 2
character. If a backslash character appears in _l_i_s_t, the 2
backslash character and one or more characters following 2
it are an element specifying a delimiter character as 2
described below. These elements specify one or more 2
delimiters to use, instead of the default <tab>, to 2
replace the <newline> character of the input lines. The 2
elements in _l_i_s_t shall be used circularly; i.e., when the 2
list is exhausted the first element from the list shall be 2
re-used. When the -s option is specified:
- The last <newline> character in a file shall not be
modified.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.46 paste - Merge corresponding or subsequent lines of files 637
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
- The delimiter shall be reset to the first element of
list after each _f_i_l_e operand is processed.
When the -s option is not specified:
- The <newline> characters in the file specified by the
last _f_i_l_e operand shall not be modified.
- The delimiter shall be reset to the first element of
list each time a line is processed from each file.
If a backslash character appears in _l_i_s_t, it and the
character following it shall be used to represent the
following delimiter characters:
\n <newline> character
\t <tab> character
\\ backslash character
\0 Empty string (not a null character). If \0 is
immediately followed by the character x, the
character X, or any character defined by the
LC_CTYPE digit keyword (see 2.5.2.1), the results
are unspecified.
If any other characters follow the backslash, the results
are unspecified.
-s Concatenate all of the lines of each separate input file
in command line order. The <newline> character of every
line except the last line in each input file shall be
replaced with the <tab> character, unless otherwise
specified by the -d option.
4.46.4 Operands
The following operand shall be supported by the implementation:
_f_i_l_e A pathname of an input file. If - is specified for one or
more of the _f_i_l_es, the standard input shall be used; the
standard input shall be read one line at a time,
circularly, for each instance of -. Implementations shall
support pasting of at least 12 _f_i_l_e operands.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
638 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
4.46.5 External Influences
4.46.5.1 Standard Input
The standard input shall be used only if one or more _f_i_l_e operands is -.
See Input Files.
4.46.5.2 Input Files
The input files shall be text files, except that line lengths shall be
unlimited.
4.46.5.3 Environment Variables
The following environment variables shall affect the execution of paste:
LANG This variable shall determine the locale to use for
the locale categories when both LC_ALL and the
corresponding environment variable (beginning with
LC_) do not specify a locale. See 2.6.
LC_ALL This variable shall determine the locale to be used
to override any values for locale categories
specified by the settings of LANG or any
environment variables beginning with LC_.
LC_CTYPE This variable shall determine the locale for the
interpretation of sequences of bytes of text data
as characters (e.g., single- versus multibyte
characters in arguments and input files).
LC_MESSAGES This variable shall determine the language in which
messages should be written.
4.46.5.4 Asynchronous Events
Default.
4.46.6 External Effects
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.46 paste - Merge corresponding or subsequent lines of files 639
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.46.6.1 Standard Output
Concatenated lines of input files shall be separated by the <tab>
character (or other characters under the control of the -d option) and
terminated by a <newline> character.
4.46.6.2 Standard Error
Used only for diagnostic messages.
4.46.6.3 Output Files
None.
4.46.7 Extended Description
None.
4.46.8 Exit Status
The paste utility shall exit with one of the following values:
0 Successful completion.
>0 An error occurred.
4.46.9 Consequences of Errors
If one or more input files cannot be opened when the -s option is not
specified, a diagnostic message shall be written to standard error, but
no output shall be written to standard output. If the -s option is
specified, the paste utility shall provide the default behavior described
in 2.11.9.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
4.46.10 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s_,__U_s_a_g_e
When the escape sequences of the _l_i_s_t option-argument are used in a shell
script, they must be quoted; otherwise, the shell treats the \ as a
special character.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
640 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
Write out a directory in four columns:
ls | paste - - - -
Combine pairs of lines from a file into single lines:
paste -s -d "\t\n" file
Portable applications should only use the specific backslash escaped
delimiters presented in this standard. Historical implementations treat
\x, where x is not in this list, as x, but future implementations are
free to expand this list to recognize other common escapes similar to
those accepted by printf and other standard utilities.
Most of the standard utilities work on text files. The cut utility can
be used to turn files with arbitrary line lengths into a set of text
files containing the same data. The paste utility can be used to create
(or recreate) files with arbitrary line lengths. For example, if file
contains long lines:
cut -b 1-500 -n file > file1
cut -b 501- -n file > file2
creates file1 (a text file) with lines no longer than 500 bytes (plus the
<newline> character) and file2 that contains the remainder of the data
from file. (Note that file2 will not be a text file if there are lines
in file that are longer than 500 + {LINE_MAX} bytes.) The original file
can be recreated from file1 and file2 using the command:
paste -d "\0" file1 file2 > file
The commands 2
paste -d "\0" ... 2
paste -d "" ... 2
are not necessarily equivalent; the latter is not specified by POSIX.2 2
and may result in an error. The construct \0 is used to mean ``no 2
separator'' because historical versions of paste did not follow the 2
syntax guidelines and the command 2
paste -d"" ... 2
could not be handled properly by _g_e_t_o_p_t(). 2
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
Because most of the standards utilities work on text files, cut and paste
are required to process lines of arbitrary length as a means of
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.46 paste - Merge corresponding or subsequent lines of files 641
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
converting long lines from arbitrary sources into text files and
converting processed text files back into files with arbitrary line
lengths to interface with those applications that require long lines as
input.
END_RATIONALE
4.47 pathchk - Check pathnames
4.47.1 Synopsis
pathchk [-p] _p_a_t_h_n_a_m_e ...
4.47.2 Description
The pathchk utility shall check that one or more pathnames are valid
(i.e., they could be used to access or create a file without causing
syntax errors) and portable (i.e., no filename truncation will result).
More extensive portability checks are provided by the -p option.
By default, the pathchk utility shall check each component of each
_p_a_t_h_n_a_m_e operand based on the underlying file system. A diagnostic shall
be written for each _p_a_t_h_n_a_m_e operand that:
- is longer than {PATH_MAX} bytes (see Pathname Variable Values in
POSIX.1 {8} 2.9.5),
- contains any component longer than {NAME_MAX} bytes in its
containing directory,
- contains any component in a directory that is not searchable, or
- contains any character in any component that is not valid in its
containing directory.
The format of the diagnostic message is not specified, but shall indicate
the error detected and the corresponding _p_a_t_h_n_a_m_e operand.
It shall not be considered an error if one or more components of a
_p_a_t_h_n_a_m_e operand do not exist as long as a file matching the pathname
specified by the missing components could be created that does not
violate any of the checks specified above.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
642 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
4.47.3 Options
The pathchk utility shall conform to the utility argument syntax
guidelines described in 2.10.2.
The following option shall be supported by the implementation:
-p Instead of performing checks based on the underlying file
system, write a diagnostic for each _p_a_t_h_n_a_m_e operand that:
- is longer than {_POSIX_PATH_MAX} bytes (see Minimum
Values in POSIX.1 {8} 2.9.2),
- contains any component longer than {_POSIX_NAME_MAX}
bytes, or
- contains any character in any component that is not in
the portable filename character set (see 2.2.2.111).
4.47.4 Operands
The following operand shall be supported by the implementation:
_p_a_t_h_n_a_m_e A pathname to be checked.
4.47.5 External Influences
4.47.5.1 Standard Input
None.
4.47.5.2 Input Files
None.
4.47.5.3 Environment Variables
The following environment variables shall affect the execution of
pathchk:
LANG This variable shall determine the locale to use for
the locale categories when both LC_ALL and the
corresponding environment variable (beginning with
LC_) do not specify a locale. See 2.6.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.47 pathchk - Check pathnames 643
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
LC_ALL This variable shall determine the locale to be used
to override any values for locale categories
specified by the settings of LANG or any
environment variables beginning with LC_.
LC_CTYPE This variable shall determine the locale for the
interpretation of sequences of bytes of text data
as characters (e.g., single- versus multibyte
characters in arguments).
LC_MESSAGES This variable shall determine the language in which
messages should be written.
4.47.5.4 Asynchronous Events
Default.
4.47.6 External Effects
4.47.6.1 Standard Output
None.
4.47.6.2 Standard Error
Used only for diagnostic messages.
4.47.6.3 Output Files
None.
4.47.7 Extended Description
None.
4.47.8 Exit Status
The pathchk utility shall exit with one of the following values:
0 All _p_a_t_h_n_a_m_e operands passed all of the checks.
>0 An error occurred.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
644 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
4.47.9 Consequences of Errors
Default.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
4.47.10 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s_,__U_s_a_g_e
To verify that all pathnames in an imported data interchange archive are
legitimate and unambiguous on the current system:
pax -f archive | xargs pathchk 1
if [ $? -eq 0 ]
then
pax -r -f archive
else
echo Investigate problems before importing files.
exit 1
fi
To verify that all files in the current directory hierarchy could be
moved to any POSIX.1 {8} conforming system that also supports the pax
utility:
find . -print | xargs pathchk -p
if [ $? -eq 0 ]
then
pax -w -f archive .
else
echo Portable archive cannot be created.
exit 1
fi
To verify that a user-supplied pathname names a readable file and that
the application can create a file extending the given path without
truncation and without overwriting any existing file:
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.47 pathchk - Check pathnames 645
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
case $- in
*C*) reset="";;
*) reset="set +C"
set -C;;
esac
test -r "$path" && pathchk "$path.out" &&
rm "$path.out" > "$path.out"
if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then
printf "%s: %s not found or %s.out fails \ 1
creation checks.\n" $0 "$path" "$path" 1
$reset # reset the noclobber option in case a trap 1
# on EXIT depends on it 1
exit 1
fi
$reset
PROCESSING < "$path" > "$path.out"
The following assumptions are made in this example:
(1) PROCESSING represents the code that will be used by the
application to use $path once it is verified that $path.out will
work as intended.
(2) The state of the _n_o_c_l_o_b_b_e_r option is unknown when this code is
invoked and should be set on exit to the state it was in when
this code was invoked. (The reset variable is used in this
example to restore the initial state.)
(3) Note the usage of rm "$path.out" > "$path.out":
(a) The pathchk command has already verified, at this point,
that $path.out will not be truncated.
(b) With the _n_o_c_l_o_b_b_e_r option set, the shell will verify that
$path.out does not already exist before invoking rm.
(c) If the shell succeeded in creating $path.out, rm will
remove it so that the application can create the file
again in the PROCESSING step.
(d) If the PROCESSING step wants the file to already exist
when it is invoked, the
rm "$path.out" > "$path.out"
should be replaced with
> "$path.out"
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
646 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
which will verify that the file did not already exist, but
leave $path.out in place for use by PROCESSING.
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
The pathchk utility is new, commissioned for this standard. It, along
with the set -C (_n_o_c_l_o_b_b_e_r) option added to the shell, replaces the
mktemp, validfnam, and create utilities that appeared in earlier drafts.
All of these utilities were attempts to solve a few common problems:
- Verify the validity (for several different definitions of
``valid'') of a pathname supplied by a user, generated by an
application, or imported from an external source,
- Atomically create a file, and
- Perform various string handling functions to generate a temporary
file name.
The test utility (see 4.62) can be used to determine if a given pathname
names an existing file; it will not, however, give any indication of
whether or not any component of the pathname was truncated in a directory
where the {_POSIX_NO_TRUNC} feature (see Execution-Time Symbolic
Constants for Portability Specification in POSIX.1 {8} 2.9.4) is not in
effect. The pathchk utility provided here does not check for file
existence; it performs checks to determine if a pathname does exist or
could be created with no pathname component truncation.
The _n_o_c_l_o_b_b_e_r option added to the shell (see 3.14.11) can be used to
atomically create a file. As with all file creation semantics in
POSIX.1 {8}, it guarantees atomic creation, but still depends on
applications to agree on conventions and cooperate on the use of files
after they have been created. The create utility, included in one
earlier draft, provided checking and atomic creation in a single
invocation of the utility; these are orthogonal issues and need not be
grouped into a single utility. Note that the _n_o_c_l_o_b_b_e_r option also
provides a way of creating a lock for process synchronization; since it
provides an atomic create, there is no race between a test for existence
and the following creation if it did not exist.
Having a function like _t_m_p_n_a_m() in the C Standard {7} is important in
many high-level languages. The shell programming language, however, has
built-in string manipulation facilities, making it very easy to construct
temporary file names. The names needed obviously depend on the
application, but are frequently of a form similar to
$TMPDIR/_a_p_p_l_i_c_a_t_i_o_n__a_b_b_r_e_v_i_a_t_i_o_n$$._s_u_f_f_i_x
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.47 pathchk - Check pathnames 647
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
In cases where there is likely to be contention for a given suffix, a
simple shell for or while loop can be used with the shell _n_o_c_l_o_b_b_e_r
option to create a file without risk of collisions, as long as
applications trying to use the same filename namespace are cooperating on
the use of files after they have been created.
END_RATIONALE
4.48 pax - Portable archive interchange
4.48.1 Synopsis
pax [-cdnv] [-f _a_r_c_h_i_v_e] [-s _r_e_p_l_s_t_r] ... [_p_a_t_t_e_r_n ...] 1
pax -r [-cdiknuv] [-f _a_r_c_h_i_v_e] [-o _o_p_t_i_o_n_s] ... [-p _s_t_r_i_n_g] ... 1
[-s _r_e_p_l_s_t_r] ... [_p_a_t_t_e_r_n ...] 1
pax -w [-dituvX] [-b _b_l_o_c_k_s_i_z_e] [ [-a] [-f _a_r_c_h_i_v_e] ] [-o _o_p_t_i_o_n_s] ... 1
[-s _r_e_p_l_s_t_r] ... [-x _f_o_r_m_a_t] [_f_i_l_e ...]
pax -r -w [-diklntuvX] [-p _s_t_r_i_n_g] ... [-s _r_e_p_l_s_t_r] ... [_f_i_l_e ...]
_d_i_r_e_c_t_o_r_y
4.48.2 Description
The pax utility shall read, write, and write lists of the members of
archive files and copy directory hierarchies. A variety of archive
formats shall be supported; see the -x _f_o_r_m_a_t option description under
4.48.3.
The action to be taken depends on the presence of the -r and -w options:
(1) When neither the -r option nor the -w option is specified, pax
shall write the names of the members of the archive file read
from the standard input, with pathnames matching the specified
patterns, to standard output. If a named file is of type
directory, the file hierarchy rooted at that file shall be
written out as well.
(2) When the -r option is specified, but the -w option is not, pax
shall extract the members of the archive file read from the
standard input, with pathnames matching the specified patterns.
If an extracted file is of type directory, the file hierarchy
rooted at that file shall be extracted as well. The extracted
files shall be created relative to the current file hierarchy.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
648 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
The ownership, access and modification times, and file mode of 1
the restored files are discussed under the -p option. 1
(3) When the -w option is specified and the -r option is not, pax
shall write the contents of the file operands to the standard
output in an archive format. If no _f_i_l_e operands are specified,
a list of files to copy, one per line, shall be read from the
standard input. A file of type directory shall include all of
the files in the file hierarchy rooted at the file.
(4) When both the -r and -w options are specified, pax shall copy
the file operands to the destination directory.
If no _f_i_l_e operands are specified, a list of files to copy, one
per line, shall be read from the standard input. A file of type
directory shall include all of the files in the file hierarchy
rooted at the file.
The effect of the copy shall be as if the copied files were
written to an archive file and then subsequently extracted,
except that there may be hard links between the original and the
copied files. If the destination directory is a subdirectory of
one of the files to be copied, the results are unspecified. If
the destination directory is a file of a type not defined by
POSIX.1 {8}, the results are implementation defined; otherwise
it shall be an error for the file named by the directory operand
not to exist, not be writable by the user, or not be a file of
type directory.
If, when the -r option is specified, intermediate directories are
necessary to extract an archive member, pax shall perform actions
equivalent to the POSIX.1 {8} _m_k_d_i_r() function, called with the following
arguments:
- The intermediate directory used as the _p_a_t_h argument.
- The value of the bitwise inclusive OR of S_IRWXU, S_IRWXG, and
S_IRWXO as the _m_o_d_e argument.
If any specified _p_a_t_t_e_r_n or _f_i_l_e operands are not matched by at least one
file or archive member, pax shall write a diagnostic message to standard
error for each one that did not match and exit with a nonzero exit
status.
The supported archive formats shall be automatically detected on input.
The default output archive format shall be implementation defined.
A single archive can span multiple files. The pax utility shall
determine, in an implementation-defined manner, what file to read or
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.48 pax - Portable archive interchange 649
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
write as the next file.
If the selected archive format supports the specification of linked
files, it shall be an error if these files cannot be linked when the
archive is extracted. Any of the various names in the archive that 1
represent a file can be used to select the file for extraction. 1
4.48.3 Options
The pax utility shall conform to the utility argument syntax guidelines
described in 2.10.2, except that the order of presentation of the -s
options is significant.
The following options shall be supported by the implementation:
-r Read an archive file from standard input.
-w Write files to the standard output in the specified
archive format.
-a Append files to the end of the archive. It is 1
implementation defined which devices on the system support 1
appending. Additional file formats unspecified by this 1
standard may impose restrictions on appending. 1
-b _b_l_o_c_k_s_i_z_e 1
Block the output at a positive decimal integer number of
bytes per write to the archive file. Devices and archive
formats may impose restrictions on blocking. Blocking
shall be automatically determined on input. Conforming
POSIX.2 applications shall not specify a _b_l_o_c_k_s_i_z_e value 1
larger than 32256. Default blocking when creating 1
archives depends on the archive format. (See the -x
option below.)
-c Match all file or archive members except those specified
by the _p_a_t_t_e_r_n or _f_i_l_e operands.
-d Cause files of type directory being copied or archived or
archive members of type directory being extracted to match
only the file or archive member itself and not the file
hierarchy rooted at the file.
-f _a_r_c_h_i_v_e Specify the pathname of the input or output archive,
overriding the default standard input (when neither the -r
option nor the -w option is specified, or the -r option is
specified and the -w option is not) or standard output
(when the -w option is specified and the -r option is
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
650 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
not).
-i Interactively rename files or archive members. For each
archive member matching a _p_a_t_t_e_r_n operand or file matching
a _f_i_l_e operand, a prompt shall be written to the file
/dev/tty. The prompt shall contain the name of the file
or archive member, but the format is otherwise
unspecified. A line shall then be read from /dev/tty. If 1
this line is blank, the file or archive member shall be 1
skipped. If this line consists of a single period, the
file or archive member shall be processed with no
modification to its name. Otherwise, its name shall be
replaced with the contents of the line. The pax utility
shall immediately exit with a nonzero exit status if end-
of-file is encountered when reading a response or if
/dev/tty cannot be opened for reading and writing.
-k Prevent the overwriting of existing files.
-l (The letter ell.) Link files. When both the -r and -w
options are specified, hard links shall be made between
the source and destination file hierarchies whenever
possible.
-n Select the first archive member that matches each _p_a_t_t_e_r_n
operand. No more than one archive member shall be matched
for each pattern (although members of type directory shall
still match the file hierarchy rooted at that file).
-o _o_p_t_i_o_n_s Provide information to the implementation to modify the 1
algorithm for extracting or writing files that is specific 1
to the file format specified by -x. This version of this 1
standard does not specify any such options and a Strictly 1
Conforming POSIX.2 Application shall not use the -o 1
option. 1
NOTE: It is expected that future versions of POSIX.2 will 1
offer additional file formats and this option will be used 1
by POSIX.2 and other POSIX standards to specify such 1
features as international file-name and file codeset 1
translations, security, accounting, etc., related to each 1
additional format. 1
-p _s_t_r_i_n_g Specify one or more file characteristic options
(privileges). The _s_t_r_i_n_g option-argument shall be a
string specifying file characteristics to be retained or
discarded on extraction. The string shall consist of the
specification characters a, e, m, o, and p, and/or other,
implementation-defined, characters. Multiple
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.48 pax - Portable archive interchange 651
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
characteristics can be concatenated within the same string
and multiple -p options can be specified. The meaning of
the specification characters are as follows:
a Do not preserve file access times.
e Preserve the user ID, group ID, file mode bits 1
(see 2.2.2.60), access time, modification time, 1
and any other, implementation-defined, file 1
characteristics. 1
m Do not preserve file modification times.
o Preserve the user ID and group ID.
p Preserve the file mode bits. Other, 1
implementation-defined file-mode attributes may 1
be preserved. 1
In the preceding list, ``preserve'' indicates that an
attribute stored in the archive shall be given to the
extracted file, subject to the permissions of the invoking 1
process; otherwise, the attribute shall be determined as 1
part of the normal file creation action (see 2.9.1.4). 1
If neither the e nor the o specification character is
specified, or the user ID and group ID are not preserved
for any reason, pax shall not set the S_ISUID and S_ISGID
bits of the file mode.
If the preservation of any of these items fails for any
reason, pax shall write a diagnostic message to standard
error. Failure to preserve these items shall affect the
final exit status, but shall not cause the extracted file
to be deleted.
If file-characteristic letters in any of the _s_t_r_i_n_g
option-arguments are duplicated or conflict with each
other, the one(s) given last shall take precedence. For
example, if -p eme is specified, file modification times
shall be preserved.
-s _r_e_p_l_s_t_r Modify file or archive member names named by _p_a_t_t_e_r_n or
_f_i_l_e operands according to the substitution expression
_r_e_p_l_s_t_r, using the syntax of the ed utility (see 4.20).
The concepts of ``address'' and ``line'' are meaningless
in the context of the pax utility, and shall not be
supplied. The format shall be:
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
652 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
-s /_o_l_d/_n_e_w/[gp]
where as in ed, _o_l_d is a basic regular expression and _n_e_w
can contain an ampersand, \_n (where _n is a digit)
backreferences, or subexpression matching. The _o_l_d string
shall also be permitted to contain <newline> characters.
Any nonnull character can be used as a delimiter (/ shown
here). Multiple -s expressions can be specified; the
expressions shall be applied in the order specified,
terminating with the first successful substitution. The
optional trailing g shall be as defined in the ed utility.
The optional trailing p shall cause successful
substitutions to be written to standard error. File or
archive member names that substitute to the empty string
shall be ignored when reading and writing archives.
-t Cause the access times of the archived files to be the
same as they were before being read by pax.
-u Ignore files that are older (having a less recent file
modification time) than a pre-existing file or archive
member with the same name. If the -r option is specified
and the -w option is not specified, an archive member with
the same name as a file in the file system shall be
extracted if the archive member is newer than the file.
If the -w option is specified and the -r option is not
specified, an archive file member with the same name as a
file in the file system shall be superseded if the file is
newer than the archive member. It is unspecified if this
is accomplished by actual replacement in the archive or by
appending to the archive. If both the -r and -w options
are specified, the file in the destination hierarchy shall
be replaced by the file in the source hierarchy or by a
link to the file in the source hierarchy if the file in
the source hierarchy is newer.
-v Produce a verbose table of contents (see 4.48.6.1) if
neither the -r option nor the -w option is specified.
Otherwise, list archive member pathnames to standard error
(see 4.48.6.2).
-x _f_o_r_m_a_t Specify the output archive format. The pax utility shall
recognize the following formats:
cpio The extended cpio interchange format specified
in POSIX.1 {8} 10.1.2. The default _b_l_o_c_k_s_i_z_e 1
for this format for character special archive 1
files shall be 5120. Implementations shall 1
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.48 pax - Portable archive interchange 653
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
support all _b_l_o_c_k_s_i_z_e values less than or 1
equal to 32256 that are multiples of 512.
ustar The extended tar interchange format specified
in POSIX.1 {8} 10.1.1. The default _b_l_o_c_k_s_i_z_e 1
for this format for character special archive 1
files shall be 10240. Implementations shall 1
support all _b_l_o_c_k_s_i_z_e values less than or 1
equal to 32256 that are multiples of 512.
Implementation-defined formats shall specify a default
block size as well as any other block sizes supported for
character special archive files.
Any attempt to append to an archive file in a format
different from the existing archive format shall cause pax
to exit immediately with a nonzero exit status.
-X When traversing the file hierarchy specified by a
pathname, pax shall not descend into directories that have
a different device ID [_s_t__d_e_v, see POSIX.1 {8} _s_t_a_t()].
The options that operate on the names of files or archive members (-c, 1
-i, -n, -s, -u, and -v) shall interact as follows. When the -r option is 1
specified and the -w option is not (archive members are being extracted), 1
the archive members shall be ``selected,'' based on the user-specified 1
_p_a_t_t_e_r_n operands as modified by the -c, -n, and -u options. Then, any -s
and -i options shall modify, in that order, the names of the selected
files. The -v option shall write names resulting from these
modifications.
When the -w option is specified (files are being archived), the files
shall be selected based on the user-specified pathnames as modified by
the -n and -u options. Then, any -s and -i options shall, in that order,
modify the names of these selected files. The -v option shall write
names resulting from these modifications. 1
If both the -u and -n options are specified, pax shall not consider a
file selected unless it is newer than the file to which it is compared.
4.48.4 Operands
The following operands shall be supported by the implementation:
_d_i_r_e_c_t_o_r_y The destination directory pathname for copies when both
the -r and -w options are specified.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
654 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
_f_i_l_e A pathname of a file to be copied or archived.
_p_a_t_t_e_r_n A pattern matching one or more pathnames of archive
members. A pattern shall be given in the name-generating
notation of the pattern matching notation in 3.13,
including the filename expansion rules in 3.13.3. The 1
default, if no _p_a_t_t_e_r_n is specified, is to select all 1
members in the archive.
4.48.5 External Influences
4.48.5.1 Standard Input
If the -w option is specified, the standard input shall be used only if
no _f_i_l_e operands are specified. It shall be a text file containing a
list of pathnames, one per line, without leading or trailing <blank>s.
If neither the -f nor -w options are specified, the standard input shall
be an archive file. (See 4.48.5.2.)
Otherwise, the standard input shall not be used.
4.48.5.2 Input Files
The input file named by the _a_r_c_h_i_v_e option-argument, or standard input
when the archive is read from there, shall be a file formatted according
to one of the specifications in POSIX.1 {8} 10.1, or some other,
implementation-defined, format.
The file /dev/tty shall be used to write prompts and read responses.
4.48.5.3 Environment Variables
The following environment variables shall affect the execution of pax:
LANG This variable shall determine the locale to use for
the locale categories when both LC_ALL and the
corresponding environment variable (beginning with
LC_) do not specify a locale. See 2.6.
LC_ALL This variable shall determine the locale to be used
to override any values for locale categories
specified by the settings of LANG or any
environment variables beginning with LC_.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.48 pax - Portable archive interchange 655
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
LC_COLLATE This variable shall determine the locale for the
behavior of ranges, equivalence classes, and
multicharacter collating elements used in the
pattern matching expressions for the _p_a_t_t_e_r_n
operand, the basic regular expression for the -s
option, and the extended regular expression defined
for the yesexpr locale keyword in the LC_MESSAGES
category.
LC_CTYPE This variable shall determine the locale for the
interpretation of sequences of bytes of text data
as characters (e.g., single- versus multibyte
characters in arguments and input files) and the
behavior of character classes within regular
expressions and pattern matching.
LC_MESSAGES This variable shall determine the processing of
affirmative responses and the language in which
messages should be written.
LC_TIME This variable shall determine the format and
contents of date and time strings when the -v
option is specified.
4.48.5.4 Asynchronous Events
Default.
4.48.6 External Effects
4.48.6.1 Standard Output
If the -w option is specified and neither the -f nor -r options are
specified, the standard output shall be the archive formatted according
to one of the specifications in POSIX.1 {8} 10.1, or some other
implementation-defined format. (See -x _f_o_r_m_a_t under 4.48.3.)
If neither the -r option nor the -w option is specified, the table of
contents of the selected archive members shall be written to standard
output using the following format: 1
"%s\n", <_p_a_t_h_n_a_m_e>
If neither the -r option nor the -w option is specified, but the -v
option is specified, the table of contents of the selected archive
members shall be written to standard output using the following formats:
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
656 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
For pathnames representing hard links to previous members of the archive:
"%sW==W%s\n", <_l_s -_l _l_i_s_t_i_n_g>, <_l_i_n_k_n_a_m_e>
For all other pathnames:
"%s\n", <_l_s -_l _l_i_s_t_i_n_g>
where <_l_s -_l _l_i_s_t_i_n_g> shall be the format specified by the ls utility
(see 4.39) with the -l option. When writing pathnames in this format, it
is unspecified what is written for fields for which the underlying
archive format does not have the correct information, although the
correct number of <blank>-separated fields shall be written.
When writing a table of contents of selected archive members, standard
output shall not be buffered more than a line at a time.
4.48.6.2 Standard Error
If either or both of the -r option and the -w option are specified as
well as the -v option, pax shall write the pathnames it processes to the
standard error output using the following format: 1
"%s\n", <_p_a_t_h_n_a_m_e>
These pathnames shall be written as soon as processing is begun on the
file or archive member, and shall be flushed to standard error. The
trailing <newline>, which shall not be buffered, shall be written when
the file has been read or written.
If the -s option is specified, and the replacement string has a trailing
p, substitutions shall be written to standard error in the following
format:
"%sW>>W%s\n", <_o_r_i_g_i_n_a_l _p_a_t_h_n_a_m_e>, <_n_e_w _p_a_t_h_n_a_m_e> 2
In all operating modes of pax (see 4.48.2), optional messages of
unspecified format concerning the input archive format and volume number,
the number of files, blocks, volumes, and media parts as well as other
diagnostic messages may be written to standard error.
In all formats, for both standard output and standard error, it is
unspecified how nonprintable characters in pathnames or linknames are
written.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.48 pax - Portable archive interchange 657
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.48.6.3 Output Files
If the -r option is specified, the extracted or copied output files shall
be of the archived file type.
If the -w option is specified, but the -r option is not, the output file
named by the -f option argument shall be a file formatted according to
one of the specifications in POSIX.1 {8} 10.1, or some other,
implementation-defined, format.
4.48.7 Extended Description
None.
4.48.8 Exit Status
The pax utility shall exit with one of the following values:
0 All files were processed successfully.
>0 An error occurred.
4.48.9 Consequences of Errors
If pax cannot create a file or a link when reading an archive or cannot
find a file when writing an archive, or cannot preserve the user ID,
group ID, or file mode when the -p option is specified, a diagnostic
message shall be written to standard error and a nonzero exit status
shall be returned, but processing shall continue. In the case where pax
cannot create a link to a file, pax shall not, by default, create a
second copy of the file.
If the extraction of a file from an archive is prematurely terminated by
a signal or error, pax may have only partially extracted the file or (if
the -n option was not specified) may have extracted a file of the same
name as that specified by the user, but which is not the file the user
wanted. Additionally, the file modes of extracted directories may have
additional bits from the S_IRWXU mask set as well as incorrect
modification and access times.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
658 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
4.48.10 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s_,__U_s_a_g_e
The following command:
pax -w -f /dev/rmt/1m .
copies the contents of the current directory to tape drive 1, medium
density (assuming historical System V device naming procedures. The
historical BSD device name would be /dev/rmt9).
The following commands:
mkdir _n_e_w_d_i_r
pax -rw _o_l_d_d_i_r _n_e_w_d_i_r
copy the _o_l_d_d_i_r directory hierarchy to _n_e_w_d_i_r.
pax -r -s ',^//*usr//*,,' -f a.pax
reads the archive a.pax, with all files rooted in ``/usr'' in the archive
extracted relative to the current directory.
The -p (privileges) option was invented to reconcile differences between 1
historical tar and cpio implementations. In particular, the two 1
utilities used -m in diametrically opposed ways. The -p option also 1
provides a consistent means of extending the ways in which future file 1
attributes can be addressed, such as for enhanced security systems or 1
high-performance files. Although it may seem complex, there are really 1
two modes that will be most commonly used: 1
-p e ``Preserve everything.'' This would be used by the 1
historical super-user, someone with all the appropriate 1
privileges, to preserve all aspects of the files as they are 1
recorded in the archive. The e flag is the sum of o and p, 1
and other implementation-defined attributes. 1
-p p ``Preserve'' the file mode bits. This would be used by the 1
user with regular privileges who wished to preserve aspects 1
of the file other than the ownership. The file times are 1
preserved by default, but two other flags are offered to 1
disable these and use the time of extraction. 1
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
The description of pax was adopted from a command written by Glenn Fowler
of AT&T. It is a new utility, commissioned for this standard.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.48 pax - Portable archive interchange 659
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
The table of contents output is written to standard output to facilitate
pipeline processing.
The output archive formats required are those defined in POSIX.1 {8};
others, such as the historical tar format, may be added as an extension.
The one pathname per line format of standard input precludes pathnames
containing <newline>s. Although such pathnames violate the portable
filename guidelines, they may exist and their presence may inhibit usage
of pax within shell scripts. This problem is inherited from historical
archive programs. The problem can be avoided by listing filename
arguments on the command line instead of on standard input.
An earlier draft had hard links displaying for all pathnames. This was 1
removed because it complicates the output of the non -v case and does not 1
match historical cpio usage. The hard-link information is available in 1
the -v display. 1
The working group realizes that the presence of symbolic links will
affect certain pax operations. Historical practice, in both System V and
BSD-based systems, is that the physical traversal of the file hierarchy
shall be the default, and an option is provided to cause the utility to
do a logical traversal, that is, follow symbolic links. Historical
practice has not been so consistent as to what option is used to cause
the logical traversal; BSD systems have used -h (cp and tar) and -L (ls),
while the _S_V_I_D specifies -L (cpio and ls). Given this inconsistency, the
-L option is recommended.
The archive formats described in POSIX.1 {8} have certain restrictions
that have been brought along from historical usage. For example, there
are restrictions on the length of pathnames stored in the archive. When
pax is used in -rw mode, copying directory hierarchies, there is no
stated dependency on these archive formats. Therefore, such restrictions
should not apply.
The POSIX.2 working group is currently devising a new archive format to 1
be published in a revision or amendment to this standard. It is expected 1
that the ustar and cpio formats then will be retired from a future 1
version of POSIX.1 {8}. This new format will address all restrictions 1
and new requirements for security labeling, etc. The pax utility should
be upward-compatible enough to handle any such changes. The reason that
the default -x _f_o_r_m_a_t output format is implementation defined is to
reserve the default format for this new standard interface. The -o 1
option was devised to provide means of controlling the many aspects of 1
international and security concerns without expending the entire alphabet 1
of option letters for this, and possibly other, file formats. The -o 1
string is meant to be specific for each -x format. Control of various 1
file permissions and attributes that can be expressed in a binary way 1
will continue to use the -p (permissions) option; the -o will be reserved 1
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
660 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
for more involved requirements and will probably take a 1
pax -o name=value,name=value -o name=value 1
approach. 1
The fundamental difference in how cpio and tar viewed the world was in
the way directories were treated. The cpio utility did not treat
directories differently from other files, and to select a directory and
its contents required that each file in the hierarchy be explicitly
specified. For tar, a directory matched every file in the file hierarchy
it rooted.
The pax utility offers both interfaces; by default, directories map into
the file hierarchy they root. The -d option causes pax to skip any file
not explicitly referenced, as cpio traditionally did. The tar-_s_t_y_l_e
behavior was chosen as the default because it was believed that this was
the more common usage, and because tar is the more commonly available
interface, as it was historically provided on both System V and BSD
implementations. Because a file may be matched more than once without
causing it to be selected multiple times, the traditional usage of piping
an ls or find to the archive command works as always.
The Data Interchange Format specification of POSIX.1 {8} requires that
processes with ``appropriate privileges'' shall always restore the
ownership and permissions of extracted files exactly as archived. If
viewed from the historic equivalence between super-user and ``appropriate
privileges,'' there are two problems with this requirement. First, users
running as super-users may unknowingly set dangerous permissions on
extracted files. Second, it is needlessly limiting in that super-users
cannot extract files and own them as super-user unless the archive was
created by the super-user. (It should be noted that restoration of
ownerships and permissions for the super-user, by default, is historical
practice in cpio, but not in tar.) In order to avoid these two problems,
the pax specification has an additional ``privilege'' mechanism, the -p
option. Only a pax invocation with the POSIX.1 {8} privileges needed,
and which has the -p option set using the e specification character, has
the ``appropriate privilege'' to restore full ownership and permission
information.
Note also that POSIX.1 {8} 10.1 requires that the file ownership and
access permissions shall be set, on extraction, in the same fashion as
the POSIX.1 {8} _c_r_e_a_t() function when provided the mode stored in the
archive. This means that the file creation mask of the user is applied
to the file permissions.
The default _b_l_o_c_k_s_i_z_e value of 5120 for cpio was selected because it is
one of the standard block-size values for cpio, set when the -B option is
specified. (The other default block-size value for cpio is 512, and this
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.48 pax - Portable archive interchange 661
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
was felt to be too small.) The default block value of 10240 for tar was
selected as that is the standard block-size value for BSD tar. The 1
maximum block size of 32256 (215-512) is the largest multiple of 512 that 1
fits into a signed 16-bit tape controller transfer register. There are 1
known limitations in some historic system that would prevent larger 1
blocks from being accepted. Historic values were chosen to make 1
compatibility with existing scripts using dd or similar utilities to
manipulate archives more likely. Also, default block sizes for any file
type other than character special has been deleted from the standard as
unimportant and not likely to affect the structure of the resulting
archive.
Implementations are permitted to modify the block-size value based on the
archive format or the device to which the archive is being written. This
is to provide implementations the opportunity to take advantage of
special types of devices, and should not be used without a great deal of
consideration as it will almost certainly decrease archive portability.
The -n option in early drafts had three effects; the first was to cause
special characters in patterns to not be treated specially. The second
was to cause only the first file that matched a pattern to be extracted.
The third was to cause pax to write a diagnostic message to standard
error when no file was found matching a specified pattern. Only the
second behavior is retained by POSIX.2, for many reasons. First, it is
in general a bad idea for a single option to have multiple effects.
Second, the ability to make pattern matching characters act as normal
characters is useful for other parts of pax than just file extraction.
Third, a finer degree of control over the special characters is useful,
because users may wish to normalize only a single special character in a
single file name. Fourth, given a more general escape mechanism, the
previous behavior of the -n option can be easily obtained using the -s
option or a sed script. Finally, writing a diagnostic message when a
pattern specified by the user is unmatched by any file is useful behavior
in all cases.
There are two methods of copying subtrees in POSIX.2. The other method
is described as part of the cp utility (see 4.13). Both methods are
historical practice: cp provides a simpler, more intuitive interface,
while pax offers a finer granularity of control. Each provides
additional functionality to the other; in particular, pax maintains the
hard-link structure of the hierarchy, while cp does not. It is the
intention of the working group that the results be similar (using
appropriate option combinations in both utilities). The results are not
required to be identical; there seemed insufficient gain to applications
to balance the difficulty of implementations having to guarantee that the
results would be exactly identical.
A single archive may span more than one file. See POSIX.1 {8} 10.1.3.
While POSIX.1 {8} only refers to reading the archive file, it is
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
662 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
reasonable that the format utility may also determine, in an
implementation-defined manner, the next file to write. It is suggested
that implementations provide informative messages to the user on the
standard error whenever the archive file is changed.
The -d option (do not create intermediate directories not listed in the
archive) found in previous drafts of this standard was originally
provided as a complement to the historic -d option of cpio. It has been
deleted.
The -s option in earlier drafts specified a subset of the substitution
command from the ed utility. As there was no reason for only a subset to
be supported, the -s option is now compatible with the current ed
specification. Since the delimiter can be any nonnull character, the
following usage with single spaces is valid:
pax -s " foo bar " ...
The -t option (specify an implementation-defined identifier naming an
input or output device) found in earlier drafts has been deleted because
it is not historical practice and of limited utility. In particular,
historic versions of neither cpio nor tar had the concept of devices that
were not mapped into the file system; if the devices are mapped into the
file system, the -f option is sufficient.
The -o and -p options found in previous versions of this standard have
been renamed to be -p and -t, respectively, to correspond more closely
with the historic tar and cp utilities.
The default behavior of pax with regard to file modification times is the
same as historical implementations of tar. It is not the historical
behavior of cpio.
Because the -i option uses /dev/tty, utilities without a controlling
terminal will not be able to use this option.
The -y option, found in earlier drafts, has been deleted because a line
containing a single period for the -i option has equivalent
functionality. The special lines for the -i option (a single period and
the empty line) are historical practice in cpio.
In earlier drafts, an -e _c_h_a_r_m_a_p option was included to increase 1
portability of files between systems using different coded character 1
sets. This option was omitted because it was apparent that consensus 1
could not be formed for it. It was an interface without implementation 1
experience and overloaded the charmap file concept to provide additional 1
uses its original authors had not intended. The developers of POSIX.2 1
will consider other mechanisms for transporting files with nonportable 1
names as they develop the new interchange format, described earlier. 1
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.48 pax - Portable archive interchange 663
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
The -k option was added to address international concerns about the
dangers involved in the character set transformations of -e (if the
target character set were different than the source, the file names might
be transformed into names matching existing files) and was made more
general to also protect files transferred between file systems with
different {NAME_MAX} values (truncating a filename on a smaller system
might also inadvertently overwrite existing files). As stated, it
prevents any overwriting, even if the target file is older than the
source, which is seen as a generally useful feature anyway.
It is almost certain that appropriate privileges will be required for pax
to accomplish parts of this specification. Specifically, creating files
of type block special or character special, restoring file access times
unless the files are owned by the user (the -t option), or preserving
file owner, group, and mode (the -p option) will all probably require
appropriate privileges.
Some of the file characteristics referenced in this specification may not
be supported by some archive formats. For example, neither the tar nor
cpio formats contain the file access time. For this reason, the e
specification character has been provided, intended to cause all file
characteristics specified in the archive to be retained.
It is required that extracted directories, by default, have their access
and modification times and permissions set to the values specified in the
archive. This has obvious problems in that the directories are almost
certainly modified after being extracted and that directory permissions
may not permit file creation. One possible solution is to create
directories with the mode specified in the archive, as modified by the
_u_m_a_s_k of the user, plus sufficient permissions to allow file creation.
After all files have been extracted, pax would then reset the access and
modification times and permissions as necessary.
When the -r option is specified, and the -w option is not,
implementations are permitted to overwrite files when the archive has
multiple members with the same name. This may fail, of course, if
permissions on the first version of the file do not permit it to be
overwritten.
END_RATIONALE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
664 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
4.49 pr - Print files
4.49.1 Synopsis
pr [+_p_a_g_e] [-_c_o_l_u_m_n] [-adFmrt] [-e[_c_h_a_r][_g_a_p]] [-h _h_e_a_d_e_r]
[-i[_c_h_a_r][_g_a_p]] [-l _l_i_n_e_s] [-n[_c_h_a_r][_w_i_d_t_h]] [-o _o_f_f_s_e_t] [-s[_c_h_a_r]]
[-w _w_i_d_t_h] [_f_i_l_e ...]
4.49.2 Description
The pr utility is a printing and pagination filter. If multiple input
files are specified, each shall be read, formatted, and written to
standard output. By default, the input shall be separated into 66-line
pages, each with:
- A 5-line header that includes the page number, date, time, and the 1
pathname of the file. 1
- A 5-line trailer consisting of blank lines. 1
If standard output is associated with a terminal, diagnostic messages
shall be deferred until the pr utility has completed processing.
When options specifying multicolumn output are specified, output text
columns shall be of equal width; input lines that do not fit into a text
column shall be truncated. By default, text columns shall be separated
with at least one <blank>.
4.49.3 Options
The pr utility shall conform to the utility argument syntax guidelines
described in 2.10.2, except that: the _p_a_g_e option has a '+' delimiter;
_p_a_g_e and _c_o_l_u_m_n can be multidigit numbers; some of the option-arguments
are optional; and some of the option-arguments cannot be specified as
separate arguments from the preceding option letter. In particular, the
-s option does not allow the option letter to be separated from its
argument, and the options -e, -i, and -n require that both arguments, if
present, not be separated from the option letter.
The following options shall be supported by the implementation. In the
following option descriptions, _c_o_l_u_m_n, _l_i_n_e_s, _o_f_f_s_e_t, _p_a_g_e, and _w_i_d_t_h are 1
positive decimal integers; _g_a_p is a nonnegative decimal integer. 1
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.49 pr - Print files 665
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
+_p_a_g_e Begin output at page number _p_a_g_e of the formatted input.
-_c_o_l_u_m_n Produce output that is _c_o_l_u_m_n_s wide (default shall be 1)
and is written down each column in the order in which the
text is received from the input file. This option should
not be used with -m. The options -e and -i shall be
assumed for multiple text-column output. Whether or not
text columns are balanced is unspecified, but a text
column shall never exceed the length of the page (see the
-l option). When used with -t, use the minimum number of
lines to write the output.
-a Modify the effect of the -_c_o_l_u_m_n option so that the 1
columns are filled across the page in a round-robin order 1
(e.g., when _c_o_l_u_m_n is 2, the first input line heads column 1
1, the second heads column 2, the third is the second line 1
in column 1, etc.). 1
-d Produce output that is double-spaced; append an extra
<newline> following every <newline> found in the input.
-e[_c_h_a_r][_g_a_p]
Expand each input <tab> to the next greater column 1
position specified by the formula _n*_g_a_p+1, where _n is an 1
integer > 0. If _g_a_p is zero or is omitted, it shall 1
default to 8. All <tab> characters in the input shall be
expanded into the appropriate number of <space>s. If any
nondigit character, _c_h_a_r, is specified, it shall be used
as the input tab character.
-F Use a <form-feed> character for new pages, instead of the
default behavior that uses a sequence of <newline>
characters.
-h _h_e_a_d_e_r Use the string _h_e_a_d_e_r to replace the contents of the _f_i_l_e 1
operand in the page header. See 4.49.6.1. 1
-i[_c_h_a_r][_g_a_p]
In output, replace multiple <space>s with <tab>s wherever
two or more adjacent <space>s reach column positions
_g_a_p+1, 2*_g_a_p+1, 3*_g_a_p+1, etc. If _g_a_p is zero or is
omitted, default <tab> settings at every eighth column
position shall be assumed. If any nondigit character,
_c_h_a_r, is specified, it shall be used as the output <tab>
character.
-l _l_i_n_e_s Override the 66-line default and reset the page length to
_l_i_n_e_s. If _l_i_n_e_s is not greater than the sum of both the 1
header and trailer depths (in lines), the pr utility shall
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
666 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
suppress both the header and trailer, as if the -t option
were in effect.
-m Merge files. Standard output shall be formatted so the pr
utility writes one line from each file specified by a _f_i_l_e
operand, side by side into text columns of equal fixed
widths, in terms of the number of column positions.
Implementations shall support merging of at least nine
_f_i_l_e operands.
-n[_c_h_a_r][_w_i_d_t_h]
Provide _w_i_d_t_h-digit line numbering (default for _w_i_d_t_h
shall be 5). The number shall occupy the first _w_i_d_t_h 1
column positions of each text column of default output or
each line of -m output. If _c_h_a_r (any nondigit character)
is given, it shall be appended to the line number to
separate it from whatever follows (default for _c_h_a_r shall
be a <tab>).
-o _o_f_f_s_e_t Each line of output shall be preceded by offset <space>s.
If the -o option is not specified, the default offset
shall be zero. The space taken shall be in addition to
the output line width (see -w option below).
-r Write no diagnostic reports on failure to open files.
-s[_c_h_a_r] Separate text columns by the single character _c_h_a_r instead
of by the appropriate number of <space>s (default for _c_h_a_r
shall be the <tab> character).
-t Write neither the five-line identifying header nor the
five-line trailer usually supplied for each page. Quit
writing after the last line of each file without spacing
to the end of the page.
-w _w_i_d_t_h Set the width of the line to _w_i_d_t_h column positions for
multiple text-column output only. If the -w option is not
specified and the -s option is not specified, the default
width shall be 72. If the -w option is not specified and
the -s option is specified, the default width shall be
512.
For single column output, input lines shall not be
truncated.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.49 pr - Print files 667
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.49.4 Operands
The following operand shall be supported by the implementation:
_f_i_l_e A pathname of a file to be written. If no _f_i_l_e operands
are specified, or if a _f_i_l_e operand is -, the standard
input shall be used.
4.49.5 External Influences
4.49.5.1 Standard Input
The standard input shall be used only if no _f_i_l_e operands are specified,
or if a _f_i_l_e operand is -. See Input Files.
4.49.5.2 Input Files
The input files shall be text files.
4.49.5.3 Environment Variables
The following environment variables shall affect the execution of pr:
LANG This variable shall determine the locale to use for
the locale categories when both LC_ALL and the
corresponding environment variable (beginning with
LC_) do not specify a locale. See 2.6.
LC_ALL This variable shall determine the locale to be used
to override any values for locale categories
specified by the settings of LANG or any
environment variables beginning with LC_.
LC_CTYPE This variable shall determine the locale for the
interpretation of sequences of bytes of text data
as characters (e.g., single- versus multibyte
characters in arguments and input files) and which
characters are defined as printable (character
class print). Nonprintable characters still shall
be written to standard output, but shall be not
counted for the purpose for column-width and line-
length calculations.
LC_MESSAGES This variable shall determine the language in which
messages should be written.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
668 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
LC_TIME This variable shall determine the format of the
date and time for use in writing header lines.
TZ This variable shall determine the time zone for use
in writing header lines.
4.49.5.4 Asynchronous Events
If pr receives an interrupt while writing to a terminal, it shall flush
all accumulated error messages to the screen before terminating.
4.49.6 External Effects
4.49.6.1 Standard Output
The pr utility output shall be a paginated version of the original file
(or files). This pagination shall be accomplished using either <form-
feed>s or a sequence of <newline>s, as controlled by the -F option. Page
headers shall be generated unless the -t option is specified. The page
headers shall be of the form:
"\n\n%s %s Page %d\n\n\n", <_o_u_t_p_u_t _o_f _d_a_t_e>, <_f_i_l_e>,
<_p_a_g_e _n_u_m_b_e_r>
In the POSIX Locale, the <_o_u_t_p_u_t _o_f _d_a_t_e> field, representing the date
and time of last modification of the input file (or the current date and
time if the input file is standard input), shall be equivalent to the
output of the following command as it would appear if executed at the
given time:
date "+%b %e %H:%M %Y"
without the trailing <newline>, if the page being written is from
standard input. If the page being written is not from standard input, in
the POSIX Locale, the same format shall be used, but the time used shall
be the modification time of the file corresponding to _f_i_l_e instead of the
current time. When the LC_TIME locale category is not set to the POSIX
Locale, a different format and order of presentation of this field may be
used.
If the standard input is used instead of a _f_i_l_e operand, the <_f_i_l_e> field
shall be replaced by a null string.
If the -h option is specified, the _f_i_l_e field shall be replaced by the
_h_e_a_d_e_r argument.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.49 pr - Print files 669
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.49.6.2 Standard Error
Used only for diagnostic messages.
4.49.6.3 Output Files
None.
4.49.7 Extended Description
None.
4.49.8 Exit Status
The pr utility shall exit with one of the following values:
0 All files were written successfully.
>0 An error occurred.
4.49.9 Consequences of Errors
Default.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
4.49.10 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s_,__U_s_a_g_e
To print a numbered list of all files in the current directory:
ls -a | pr -n -h "Files in $(pwd)."
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
This utility is one of those that does not follow the Utility Syntax
Guidelines because of its historical origins. The working group could
have added new options that obeyed the guidelines (and marked the old
options _o_b_s_o_l_e_s_c_e_n_t) or devised an entirely new utility; there are
examples of both actions in this standard. For this utility, it chose to
leave some of the options as they are because of their heavy usage by 1
existing applications. However, due to interest in the international
community, the developers of the standard have agreed to provide an
alternative syntax for the next version of this standard that conforms to
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
670 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
the spirit of the Utility Syntax Guidelines. This new syntax will be
accompanied by the existing syntax, marked as obsolescent. System
implementors are encouraged to develop and promulgate a new syntax for
pr, perhaps using a different utility name, that can be adopted for the
next version of this standard.
Implementations are required to accept option arguments to the -h, -l,
-o, and -w options whether presented as part of the same argument or as a
separate argument to pr, as suggested by the utility syntax guidelines.
The -n and -s options, however, are specified as in historical practice
because they are frequently specified without their optional arguments.
If a <blank> were allowed before the option-argument in these cases, a
file operand could mistakenly be interpreted as an option-argument in
historical applications.
Historical implementations of the pr utility have differed in the action
taken for the -f option. BSD uses it as described here for the -F
option; System V uses it to change trailing <newline>s on each page to a
<form-feed> and, if standard output is a TTY device, sends an <alert> to
standard error and reads a line from /dev/tty before the first page.
Draft 9 incorrectly specified part of the System V behavior, raising
several ballot objections. There were strong arguments from both sides
of this issue concerning existing practice and additional arguments
against the System V -f behavior, on the grounds that it was not a
modular design to have the behavior of an option change depending on
where output is directed. Therefore, the -f option is not specified and
the -F option has been added.
The -p option was omitted since it represents a purely interactive usage. 1
The <_o_u_t_p_u_t _o_f _d_a_t_e> field in the -l format is specified only for the
POSIX Locale. As noted, the format can be different in other locales.
No mechanism for defining this is present in this standard, as the
appropriate vehicle is a messaging system; i.e., the format should be
specified as a ``message.''
END_RATIONALE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.49 pr - Print files 671
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.50 printf - Write formatted output
4.50.1 Synopsis
printf _f_o_r_m_a_t [_a_r_g_u_m_e_n_t ...]
4.50.2 Description
The printf utility shall write formatted operands to the standard output.
The _a_r_g_u_m_e_n_t operands shall be formatted under control of the _f_o_r_m_a_t
operand.
4.50.3 Options
None.
4.50.4 Operands
The following operands shall be supported by the implementation:
_f_o_r_m_a_t A string describing the format to use to write the
remaining operands; see 4.50.7.
_a_r_g_u_m_e_n_t The strings to be written to standard output, under the
control of _f_o_r_m_a_t; see 4.50.7.
4.50.5 External Influences
4.50.5.1 Standard Input
None.
4.50.5.2 Input Files
None.
4.50.5.3 Environment Variables
The following environment variables shall affect the execution of printf:
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
672 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
LANG This variable shall determine the locale to use for
the locale categories when both LC_ALL and the
corresponding environment variable (beginning with
LC_) do not specify a locale. See 2.6.
LC_ALL This variable shall determine the locale to be used
to override any values for locale categories
specified by the settings of LANG or any
environment variables beginning with LC_.
LC_CTYPE This variable shall determine the locale for the
interpretation of sequences of bytes of text data
as characters (e.g., single- versus multibyte
characters in arguments).
LC_MESSAGES This variable shall determine the language in which
messages should be written.
LC_NUMERIC This variable shall determine the locale for
numeric formatting. It shall affect the format of
numbers written using the e, E, f, g, and G
conversion characters (if supported).
4.50.5.4 Asynchronous Events
Default.
4.50.6 External Effects
4.50.6.1 Standard Output
See 4.50.7.
4.50.6.2 Standard Error
Used only for diagnostic messages.
4.50.6.3 Output Files
None.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.50 printf - Write formatted output 673
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.50.7 Extended Description
The _f_o_r_m_a_t operand shall be used as the _f_o_r_m_a_t string described in 2.12
with the following exceptions:
(1) A <space> character in the format string, in any context other
than a flag of a conversion specification, shall be treated as
an ordinary character that is copied to the output.
(2) A W character in the format string shall be treated as a W
character, not as a <space>.
(3) In addition to the escape sequences shown in Table 2-15 (see
2.12), \_d_d_d, where _d_d_d is a one-, two-, or three-digit octal
number, shall be written as a byte with the numeric value
specified by the octal number.
(4) The implementation shall not precede or follow output from the d
or u conversion specifications with <blank>s not specified by
the _f_o_r_m_a_t operand.
(5) The implementation shall not precede output from the o
conversion specification with zeroes not specified by the _f_o_r_m_a_t
operand.
(6) The e, E, f, g, and G conversion specifications need not be
supported.
(7) An additional conversion character, b, shall be supported as
follows. The argument shall be taken to be a string that may
contain backslash-escape sequences. The following backslash-
escape sequences shall be supported:
(a) The escape sequences listed in Table 2-15, which shall be
converted to the characters they represent;
(b) \0_d_d_d, where _d_d_d is a zero-, one-, two-, or three-digit
octal number that shall be converted to a byte with the
numeric value specified by the octal number;
(c) \c, which shall not be written and shall cause printf to
ignore any remaining characters in the string operand
containing it, any remaining string operands, and any
additional characters in the _f_o_r_m_a_t operand.
The interpretation of a backslash followed by any other sequence
of characters is unspecified.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
674 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
Bytes from the converted string shall be written until the end
of the string or the number of bytes indicated by the precision
specification is reached. If the precision is omitted, it shall
be taken to be infinite, so all bytes up to the end of the
converted string shall be written.
(8) For each specification that consumes an argument, the next
argument operand shall be evaluated and converted to the
appropriate type for the conversion as specified below.
(9) The _f_o_r_m_a_t operand shall be reused as often as necessary to
satisfy the argument operands. Any extra c or s conversion
specifications shall be evaluated as if a null string argument
were supplied; other extra conversion specifications shall be
evaluated as if a zero argument were supplied. If the _f_o_r_m_a_t
operand contains no conversion specifications and _a_r_g_u_m_e_n_t
operands are present, the results are unspecified.
(10) If a character sequence in the _f_o_r_m_a_t operand begins with a %
character, but does not form a valid conversion specification,
the behavior is unspecified.
The _a_r_g_u_m_e_n_t operands shall be treated as strings if the corresponding
conversion character is b, c, or s; otherwise, it shall be evaluated as a
C constant, as described by the C Standard {7}, with the following
extensions:
- A leading plus or minus sign shall be allowed.
- If the leading character is a single- or double-quote, the value
shall be the numeric value in the underlying code set of the
character following the single- or double-quote.
If an argument operand cannot be completely converted into an internal
value appropriate to the corresponding conversion specification, a
diagnostic message shall be written to standard error and the utility
shall not exit with a zero exit status, but shall continue processing any
remaining operands and shall write the value accumulated at the time the
error was detected to standard output.
4.50.8 Exit Status
The printf utility shall exit with one of the following values:
0 Successful completion.
>0 An error occurred.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.50 printf - Write formatted output 675
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.50.9 Consequences of Errors
Default.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
4.50.10 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s_,__U_s_a_g_e
To alert the user and then print and read a series of prompts:
printf "\aPlease fill in the following: \nName: "
read name
printf "Phone number: "
read phone
To read out a list of right and wrong answers from a file, calculate the
percentage right, and print them out. The numbers are right-justified
and separated by a single <tab>. The percentage is written to one
decimal place of accuracy.
while read right wrong ; do
percent=$(echo "scale=1;($right*100)/($right+$wrong)" | bc)
printf "%2d right\t%2d wrong\t(%s%%)\n" \
$right $wrong $percent
done < database_file
The command:
printf "%5d%4d\n" 1 21 321 4321 54321
produces:
1 21
3214321
54321 0
Note that the _f_o_r_m_a_t operand is used three times to print all of the
given strings and that a 0 was supplied by printf to satisfy the last %4d
conversion specification.
The printf utility is required to notify the user when conversion errors
are detected while producing numeric output; thus, the following results
would be expected on an implementation with 32-bit twos-complement
integers when %d is specified as the _f_o_r_m_a_t operand:
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
676 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
Standard
Argument Output Diagnostic Output
___________ ___________ _________________________________________
5a 5 printf: "5a" not completely converted
9999999999 2147483647 printf: "9999999999" arithmetic overflow
-9999999999 -2147483648 printf: "-9999999999" arithmetic overflow
ABC 0 printf: "ABC" expected numeric value
The diagnostic message format is not specified, but these examples convey
the type of information that should be reported. Note that the value
shown on standard output is what would be expected as the return value
from the C Standard {7} function _s_t_r_t_o_l(). A similar correspondence
exists between %u and _s_t_r_t_o_u_l() and %e, %f, and %g (if the implementation
supports floating-point conversions) and _s_t_r_t_o_d().
In a locale using ISO/IEC 646 {1} as the underlying code set, the
command:
printf "%d\n" 3 +3 -3 \'3 \"+3 "'-3"
produces:
3 Numeric value of constant 3
3 Numeric value of constant 3
-3 Numeric value of constant -3
51 Numeric value of the character ``3'' in
ISO/IEC 646 {1} code set
43 Numeric value of the character ``+'' in
ISO/IEC 646 {1} code set
45 Numeric value of the character ``-'' in
ISO/IEC 646 {1} code set
Note that in a locale with multibyte characters, the value of a character
is intended to be the value of the equivalent of the _w_c_h_a_r__t
representation of the character as described in C Standard {7}.
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
The printf utility was added to provide functionality that has
historically been provided by echo. However, due to irreconcilable
differences in the various versions of echo extant, the version in this
standard has few special features, leaving those to this new printf
utility, which is based on one in the Ninth Edition at AT&T Bell Labs.
The Extended Description almost exactly matches the C Standard {7}
_p_r_i_n_t_f() function, although it is described in terms of the file format
notation in 2.12.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.50 printf - Write formatted output 677
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
The floating point formatting conversion specifications are not required
because all arithmetic in the shell is integer arithmetic. The awk
utility performs floating point calculations and provides its own printf
function. The bc utility can perform arbitrary-precision floating point
arithmetic, but doesn't provide extensive formatting capabilities. (This
printf utility cannot really be used to format bc output; it does not
support arbitrary precision.) Implementations are encouraged to support
the floating point conversions as an extension.
Note that this printf utility, like the C Standard {7} _p_r_i_n_t_f() function
on which it is based, makes no special provision for dealing with
multibyte characters when using the %c conversion specification or when a
precision is specified in a %b or %s conversion specification.
Applications should be extremely cautious using either of these features
when there are multibyte characters in the character set.
Field widths and precisions cannot be specified as '*' since the '*' can
be replaced directly in the _f_o_r_m_a_t operand using shell variable
substitution. Implementations can also provide this feature as an
extension if they so choose.
Hexadecimal character constants as defined in the C Standard {7} are not
recognized in the _f_o_r_m_a_t operand because there is no consistent way to
detect the end of the constant. Octal character constants are limited
to, at most, three octal digits, but hexadecimal character constants are
only terminated by a nonhex-digit character. In the C Standard {7}, the
## concatenation operator can be used to terminate a constant and follow
it with a hexadecimal character to be written. In the shell,
concatenation occurs before the printf utility has a chance to parse the
end of the hexadecimal constant.
The %b conversion specification is not part of the C Standard {7}; it has
been added here as a portable way to process backslash-escapes expanded
in string operands as provided by the System V version of the echo
utility. See also the rationale for echo for ways to use printf as a
replacement for all of the traditional versions of the echo utility.
If an argument cannot be parsed correctly for the corresponding
conversion specification, the printf utility is required to report an
error. Thus, overflow and extraneous characters at the end of an
argument being used for a numeric conversion are to be reported as
errors. If written in C, the printf utility could use the _s_t_r_t_o_l()
function to parse optionally signed numeric arguments, _s_t_r_t_o_u_l() to parse
unsigned numeric arguments, and _s_t_r_t_o_d() to parse floating point
arguments (if floating point conversions are supported). It is not
considered an error if an argument operand is not completely used for a c
or s conversion or if a ``string'' operand's first or second character is
used to get the numeric value of a character.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
678 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
END_RATIONALE
4.51 pwd - Return working directory name
4.51.1 Synopsis
pwd
4.51.2 Description
The pwd utility shall write an absolute pathname of the current working
directory to standard output.
4.51.3 Options
None.
4.51.4 Operands
None.
4.51.5 External Influences
4.51.5.1 Standard Input
None.
4.51.5.2 Input Files
None.
4.51.5.3 Environment Variables
The following environment variables shall affect the execution of pwd:
LANG This variable shall determine the locale to use for
the locale categories when both LC_ALL and the
corresponding environment variable (beginning with
LC_) do not specify a locale. See 2.6.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.51 pwd - Return working directory name 679
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
LC_ALL This variable shall determine the locale to be used
to override any values for locale categories
specified by the settings of LANG or any
environment variables beginning with LC_.
LC_MESSAGES This variable shall determine the language in which
messages should be written.
4.51.5.4 Asynchronous Events
Default.
4.51.6 External Effects
4.51.6.1 Standard Output
The pwd utility output shall be an absolute pathname of the current
working directory:
"%s\n", <_d_i_r_e_c_t_o_r_y _p_a_t_h_n_a_m_e>
4.51.6.2 Standard Error
Used only for diagnostic messages.
4.51.6.3 Output Files
None.
4.51.7 Extended Description
None.
4.51.8 Exit Status
The pwd utility shall exit with one of the following values:
0 Successful completion.
>0 An error occurred.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
680 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
4.51.9 Consequences of Errors
If an error is detected, output shall not be written to standard output,
a diagnostic message shall be written to standard error, and the exit
status shall not be zero.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
4.51.10 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s_,__U_s_a_g_e
Some implementations have historically provided pwd as a shell special
built-in command.
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
In most utilities, if an error occurs, partial output may be written to
standard output. This does not happen in historical implementations of
pwd. Because pwd is frequently used in existing shell scripts without
checking the exit status, it is important that the historical behavior is
required here; therefore, the Consequences of Errors subclause
specifically disallows any partial output being written to standard
output.
END_RATIONALE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.51 pwd - Return working directory name 681
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.52 read - Read a line from standard input
4.52.1 Synopsis
read [-r] _v_a_r ...
4.52.2 Description
The read utility shall read a single line from standard input.
By default, unless the -r option is specified, backslash (\) shall act as
an escape character, as described in 3.2.1.
The line shall be split into fields (see the definition in 3.1.3) as in
the shell (see 3.6.5); the first field shall be assigned to the first
variable _v_a_r, the second field to the second variable _v_a_r, etc. If there
are fewer _v_a_r operands specified than there are fields, the leftover
fields and their intervening separators shall be assigned to the last
_v_a_r. If there are fewer fields than _v_a_rs, the remaining _v_a_rs shall be set
to empty strings.
The setting of variables specified by the _v_a_r operands shall affect the
current shell execution environment; see 3.12.
4.52.3 Options
The read utility shall conform to the utility argument syntax guidelines
described in 2.10.2.
The following option shall be supported by the implementation:
-r Do not treat a backslash character in any special way.
Consider each backslash to be part of the input line.
4.52.4 Operands
The following operands shall be supported by the implementation:
_v_a_r The name of an existing or nonexisting shell variable.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
682 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
4.52.5 External Influences
4.52.5.1 Standard Input
The standard input shall be a text file.
4.52.5.2 Input Files
None.
4.52.5.3 Environment Variables
The following environment variables shall affect the execution of read:
IFS This variable shall determine the internal field
separators used to delimit fields. See 3.5.3.
LANG This variable shall determine the locale to use for
the locale categories when both LC_ALL and the
corresponding environment variable (beginning with
LC_) do not specify a locale. See 2.6.
LC_ALL This variable shall determine the locale to be used
to override any values for locale categories
specified by the settings of LANG or any
environment variables beginning with LC_. 2.6.
LC_CTYPE This variable shall determine the locale for the
interpretation of sequences of bytes of text data
as characters (e.g., single- versus multibyte
characters in arguments).
LC_MESSAGES This variable shall determine the language in which
messages should be written.
4.52.5.4 Asynchronous Events
Default.
4.52.6 External Effects
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.52 read - Read a line from standard input 683
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.52.6.1 Standard Output
None.
4.52.6.2 Standard Error
Used only for diagnostic messages.
4.52.6.3 Output Files
None.
4.52.7 Extended Description
None.
4.52.8 Exit Status
The read utility shall exit with one of the following values:
0 Successful completion.
>0 End-of-file was detected or an error occurred.
4.52.9 Consequences of Errors
Default.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
4.52.10 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s_,__U_s_a_g_e
The following command:
while read -r xx yy
do
printf "%s %s\n" "$yy" "$xx" 1
done < _i_n_p_u_t__f_i_l_e
prints a file with the first field of each line moved to the end of the
line.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
684 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
The text in 2.11.5.2 indicates that the results are undefined if an end-
of-file is detected following a backslash at the end of a line when -r is
not specified.
Since read affects the current shell execution environment, it is
generally provided as a shell regular built-in. If it is called in a 1
subshell or separate utility execution environment, such as one of the 1
following: 1
(read foo) 1
nohup read ... 1
find . -exec read ... \; 1
it will not affect the shell variables in the caller's environment. 1
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
The read utility has historically been a shell built-in. It was
separated off into its own clause to take advantage of the standard's
richer description of functionality at the utility level.
The -r option was added to enable read to subsume the purpose of the
historical line utility.
END_RATIONALE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.52 read - Read a line from standard input 685
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.53 rm - Remove directory entries
4.53.1 Synopsis
rm [-fiRr] _f_i_l_e ...
4.53.2 Description
The rm utility shall remove the directory entry specified by each _f_i_l_e
argument.
If either of the files dot or dot-dot are specified as the basename
portion of an operand (i.e., the final pathname component), rm shall
write a diagnostic message to standard error and do nothing more with
such operands.
For each _f_i_l_e the following steps shall be taken:
(1) If the _f_i_l_e does not exist:
(a) If the -f option is not specified, write a diagnostic
message to standard error.
(b) Go on to any remaining _f_i_l_e_s.
(2) If _f_i_l_e is of type directory, the following steps shall be
taken:
(a) If neither the -R option nor the -r option is specified,
write a diagnostic message to standard error, do nothing
more with _f_i_l_e, and go on to any remaining files.
(b) If the -f option is not specified, and either the
permissions of _f_i_l_e do not permit writing and the standard
input is a terminal or the -i option is specified, write a
prompt to standard error and read a line from the standard
input. If the response is not affirmative, do nothing
more with the current file and go on to any remaining
files.
(c) For each entry contained in _f_i_l_e, other than dot or dot-
dot, the four steps listed here [(1)-(4)] shall be taken
with the entry as if it were a _f_i_l_e operand.
(d) If the -i option is specified, write a prompt to standard
error and read a line from the standard input. If the
response is not affirmative, do nothing more with the
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
686 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
current file, and go on to any remaining files.
(3) If _f_i_l_e is not of type directory, the -f option is not
specified, and either the permissions of _f_i_l_e do not permit
writing and the standard input is a terminal or the -i option is
specified, write a prompt to the standard error and read a line
from the standard input. If the response is not affirmative, do
nothing more with the current file and go on to any remaining
files.
(4) If the current file is a directory, rm shall perform actions
equivalent to the POSIX.1 {8} _r_m_d_i_r() function called with a
pathname of the current file used as the _p_a_t_h argument. If the
current file is not a directory, rm shall perform actions
equivalent to the POSIX.1 {8} _u_n_l_i_n_k() function called with a
pathname of the current file used as the _p_a_t_h argument.
If this fails for any reason, rm shall write a diagnostic
message to standard error, do nothing more with the current
file, and go on to any remaining files.
The rm utility shall be able to descend to arbitrary depths in a file
hierarchy, and shall not fail due to path length limitations (unless an
operand specified by the user exceeds system limitations).
4.53.3 Options
The rm utility shall conform to the utility argument syntax guidelines 2
described in 2.10.2. 2
The following options shall be supported by the implementation:
-f Do not prompt for confirmation. Do not write diagnostic
messages or modify the exit status in the case of
nonexistent operands. Any previous occurrences of the -i
option shall be ignored.
-i Prompt for confirmation as described in 4.53.2. Any
previous occurrences of the -f option shall be ignored.
-R Remove file hierarchies. See 4.53.2.
-r Equivalent to -R.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.53 rm - Remove directory entries 687
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.53.4 Operands
The following operand shall be supported by the implementation:
_f_i_l_e A pathname of a directory entry to be removed.
4.53.5 External Influences
4.53.5.1 Standard Input
Used to read an input line in response to each prompt specified in
4.53.6.1. Otherwise, the standard input shall not be used.
4.53.5.2 Input Files
None.
4.53.5.3 Environment Variables
The following environment variables shall affect the execution of rm:
LANG This variable shall determine the locale to use for
the locale categories when both LC_ALL and the
corresponding environment variable (beginning with
LC_) do not specify a locale. See 2.6.
LC_ALL This variable shall determine the locale to be used
to override any values for locale categories
specified by the settings of LANG or any
environment variables beginning with LC_.
LC_COLLATE This variable shall determine the locale for the
behavior of ranges, equivalence classes, and
multicharacter collating elements used in the
extended regular expression defined for the yesexpr
locale keyword in the LC_MESSAGES category.
LC_CTYPE This variable shall determine the locale for the
interpretation of sequences of bytes of text data
as characters (e.g., single- versus multibyte
characters in arguments) and the behavior of
character classes within regular expressions used
in the extended regular expression defined for the
yesexpr locale keyword in the LC_MESSAGES category.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
688 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
LC_MESSAGES This variable shall determine the processing of
affirmative responses and the language in which
messages should be written.
4.53.5.4 Asynchronous Events
Default.
4.53.6 External Effects
4.53.6.1 Standard Output
None.
4.53.6.2 Standard Error
Prompts shall be written to standard error under the conditions specified
in 4.53.2 and 4.53.3. The prompts shall contain the _f_i_l_e pathname, but
their format is otherwise unspecified. The standard error shall also be
used for diagnostic messages.
4.53.6.3 Output Files
None.
4.53.7 Extended Description
None.
4.53.8 Exit Status
The rm utility shall exit with one of the following values:
0 If the -f option was not specified, all the named directory
entries were removed; otherwise, all the existing named
directory entries were removed.
>0 An error occurred.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.53 rm - Remove directory entries 689
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.53.9 Consequences of Errors
Default.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
4.53.10 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s_,__U_s_a_g_e
The _S_V_I_D requires that systems do not permit the removal of the last link
to an executable binary file that is being executed. Thus, the rm
utility can fail to remove such files.
The -i option causes rm to prompt and read the standard input even if the
standard input is not a terminal, but in the absence of -i the mode
prompting is not done when the standard input is not a terminal. 1
For absolute clarity, paragraphs (2)(b) and (3) in 4.53.2, describing
rm'_s behavior when prompting for confirmation, should be interpreted in
the following manner:
if ((NOT f_option) AND
((not_writable AND input_is_terminal) OR i_option))
It is forbidden to remove the names dot and dot-dot in order to avoid the
consequences of inadvertently doing something like:
rm -r .*
The following command
rm a.out core
removes the directory entries a.out and core.
The following command
rm -Rf junk
removes the directory junk and all its contents, without prompting.
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
The exact format of the interactive prompts is unspecified. Only the
general nature of the contents of prompts are specified, because
implementations may desire more descriptive prompts than those used on
historical implementations. Therefore, an application not using the -f
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
690 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
option, or using the -i option relies on the system to provide the most
suitable dialogue directly with the user, based on the behavior
specified.
The -r option is existing practice on all known systems. The synonym -R
option is provided for consistency with the other utilities in this
standard that provide options requesting recursive descent.
The behavior of the -f option in historical versions of rm is
inconsistent. In general, along with ``forcing'' the unlink without
prompting for permission, it always causes diagnostic messages to be
suppressed and the exit status to be unmodified for nonexistent operands
and files that cannot be unlinked. In some versions, however, the -f
option suppresses usage messages and system errors as well. Suppressing
such messages is not a service to either shell scripts or users.
It is less clear that error messages regarding unlinkable files should be
suppressed. Although this is historical practice, this standard does not
permit the -f option to suppress such messages.
When given the -r and -i options, historical versions of rm prompt the
user twice for each directory, once before removing its contents and once
before actually attempting to delete the directory entry that names it.
This allows the user to ``prune'' the file hierarchy walk. Historical
versions of rm were inconsistent in that some did not do the former
prompt for directories named on the command line and others had obscure
prompting behavior when the -i option was specified and the permissions
of the file did not permit writing. The POSIX.2 rm differs little from
historic practice, but does require that prompts be consistent.
Historical versions of rm were also inconsistent in that prompts were
done to both standard output and standard error. POSIX.2 requires that
prompts be done to standard error, for consistency with cp and mv and to
allow existing extensions to rm that provide an option to list deleted
files on standard output.
The rm utility is required to descend to arbitrary depths so that any
file hierarchy may be deleted. This means, for example, that the rm
utility cannot run out of file descriptors during its descent, i.e., if
the number of file descriptors is limited, rm cannot be implemented in
the historical fashion where a file descriptor is used per directory
level. Also, rm is not permitted to fail because of path length
restrictions, unless an operand specified by the user is longer than
{PATH_MAX}.
END_RATIONALE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.53 rm - Remove directory entries 691
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.54 rmdir - Remove directories
4.54.1 Synopsis
rmdir [-p] _d_i_r ...
4.54.2 Description
The rmdir utility shall remove the directory entry specified by each _d_i_r
operand, which shall refer to an empty directory.
Directories shall be processed in the order specified. If a directory
and a subdirectory of that directory are specified in a single invocation
of the rmdir utility, the subdirectory shall be specified before the
parent directory so that the parent directory will be empty when the
rmdir utility tries to remove it.
4.54.3 Options
The rmdir utility shall conform to the utility argument syntax guidelines
described in 2.10.2.
The following option shall be supported by the implementation:
-p Remove all directories in a pathname. For each _d_i_r
operand:
(1) The directory entry it names shall be removed.
(2) If the _d_i_r operand includes more than one pathname
component, effects equivalent to the following
command shall occur:
rmdir -p $(dirname _d_i_r)
4.54.4 Operands
The following operand shall be supported by the implementation:
_d_i_r A pathname of an empty directory to be removed.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
692 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
4.54.5 External Influences
4.54.5.1 Standard Input
None.
4.54.5.2 Input Files
None.
4.54.5.3 Environment Variables
The following environment variables shall affect the execution of rmdir:
LANG This variable shall determine the locale to use for
the locale categories when both LC_ALL and the
corresponding environment variable (beginning with
LC_) do not specify a locale. See 2.6.
LC_ALL This variable shall determine the locale to be used
to override any values for locale categories
specified by the settings of LANG or any
environment variables beginning with LC_.
LC_CTYPE This variable shall determine the locale for the
interpretation of sequences of bytes of text data
as characters (e.g., single- versus multibyte
characters in arguments).
LC_MESSAGES This variable shall determine the language in which
messages should be written.
4.54.5.4 Asynchronous Events
Default.
4.54.6 External Effects
4.54.6.1 Standard Output
None.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.54 rmdir - Remove directories 693
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.54.6.2 Standard Error
Used only for diagnostic messages.
4.54.6.3 Output Files
None.
4.54.7 Extended Description
None.
4.54.8 Exit Status
The rmdir utility shall exit with one of the following values:
0 Each directory entry specified by a _d_i_r operand was removed
successfully.
>0 An error occurred.
4.54.9 Consequences of Errors
Default.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
4.54.10 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s_,__U_s_a_g_e
On historical System V systems, the -p option also caused a message to be
written to the standard output. The message indicated whether the whole
path was removed or part of the path remains for some reason. The
Standard Error subclause requires this diagnostic when the entire path
specified by a _d_i_r operand is not removed, but does not allow the status
message reporting success to be written as a diagnostic.
If a directory a in the current directory is empty except it contains a
directory b and a/b is empty except it contains a directory c,
rmdir -p a/b/c
will remove all three directories.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
694 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
The rmdir utility on System V also included an -s option that suppressed
the informational message output by the -p option. This option has been
omitted because the informational message is not specified by POSIX.2.
END_RATIONALE
4.55 sed - Stream editor
4.55.1 Synopsis
sed [-n] _s_c_r_i_p_t [_f_i_l_e ...]
sed [-n] [-e _s_c_r_i_p_t] ... [-f _s_c_r_i_p_t__f_i_l_e] ... [_f_i_l_e ...]
4.55.2 Description
The sed utility is a stream editor that shall read one or more text
files, make editing changes according to a script of editing commands,
and write the results to standard output. The script shall be obtained
from either the _s_c_r_i_p_t operand string or a combination of the option-
arguments from the -e _s_c_r_i_p_t and -f _s_c_r_i_p_t__f_i_l_e options.
4.55.3 Options
The sed utility shall conform to the utility argument syntax guidelines
described in 2.10.2, except that the order of presentation of the -e and
-f options is significant.
The following options shall be supported by the implementation:
-e _s_c_r_i_p_t Add the editing commands specified by the _s_c_r_i_p_t option-
argument to the end of the script of editing commands.
The _s_c_r_i_p_t option-argument shall have the same properties
as the _s_c_r_i_p_t operand, described in 4.55.4.
-f _s_c_r_i_p_t__f_i_l_e
Add the editing commands in the file _s_c_r_i_p_t__f_i_l_e to the
end of the script.
-n Suppress the default output (in which each line, after it
is examined for editing, is written to standard output).
Only lines explicitly selected for output shall be
written.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.55 sed - Stream editor 695
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
Multiple -e and -f options may be specified. All commands shall be added
to the script in the order specified, regardless of their origin.
4.55.4 Operands
The following operands shall be supported by the implementation:
_f_i_l_e A pathname of a file whose contents shall be read and
edited. If multiple _f_i_l_e operands are specified, the
named files shall be read in the order specified and the
concatenation shall be edited. If no _f_i_l_e operands are
specified, the standard input shall be used.
_s_c_r_i_p_t A string to be used as the script of editing commands.
The application shall not present a _s_c_r_i_p_t that violates
the restrictions of a text file (see 2.2.2.151), except
that the final character need not be a <newline>.
4.55.5 External Influences
4.55.5.1 Standard Input
The standard input shall be used only if no _f_i_l_e operands are specified.
See Input Files.
4.55.5.2 Input Files
The input files shall be text files. The _s_c_r_i_p_t__f_i_l_es named by the -f
option shall consist of editing commands, one per line.
4.55.5.3 Environment Variables
The following environment variables shall affect the execution of sed:
LANG This variable shall determine the locale to use for
the locale categories when both LC_ALL and the
corresponding environment variable (beginning with
LC_) do not specify a locale. See 2.6.
LC_ALL This variable shall determine the locale to be used
to override any values for locale categories
specified by the settings of LANG or any
environment variables beginning with LC_.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
696 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
LC_COLLATE This variable shall determine the locale for the
behavior of ranges, equivalence classes, and
multicharacter collating elements within regular
expressions.
LC_CTYPE This variable shall determine the locale for the
interpretation of sequences of bytes of text data
as characters (e.g., single- versus multibyte
characters in arguments and input files), and the
behavior of character classes within regular
expressions.
LC_MESSAGES This variable shall determine the language in which
messages should be written.
4.55.5.4 Asynchronous Events
Default.
4.55.6 External Effects
4.55.6.1 Standard Output
The input files shall be written to standard output, with the editing
commands specified in the script applied. If the -n option is specified,
only those input lines selected by the script shall be written to
standard output.
4.55.6.2 Standard Error
Used only for diagnostic messages.
4.55.6.3 Output Files
The output files shall be text files whose formats are dependent on the
editing commands given.
4.55.7 Extended Description
The _s_c_r_i_p_t shall consist of editing commands, one per line, of the
following form:
[_a_d_d_r_e_s_s[,_a_d_d_r_e_s_s]]_c_o_m_m_a_n_d[_a_r_g_u_m_e_n_t_s]
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.55 sed - Stream editor 697
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
Zero or more <blank>s shall be accepted before the first address and
before _c_o_m_m_a_n_d.
In default operation, sed cyclically shall copy a line of input, less its 1
terminating <newline>, into a _p_a_t_t_e_r_n _s_p_a_c_e (unless there is something 1
left after a D command), apply in sequence all commands whose addresses
select that pattern space, and at the end of the script copy the pattern
space to standard output (except when -n is specified) and delete the
pattern space. Whenever the pattern space is written to standard output 1
or a named file, sed shall immediately follow it with a <newline>. 1
Some of the commands use a _h_o_l_d _s_p_a_c_e to save all or part of the _p_a_t_t_e_r_n
_s_p_a_c_e for subsequent retrieval. The _p_a_t_t_e_r_n and _h_o_l_d _s_p_a_c_e_s shall each
be able to hold at least 8192 bytes.
_4._5_5._7._1 sed _A_d_d_r_e_s_s_e_s
An address is either empty, a decimal number that counts input lines
cumulatively across files, a $ character that addresses the last line of
input, or a context address (which consists of a regular expression as
described in 4.55.7.2, preceded and followed by a delimiter, usually a
slash).
A command line with no addresses shall select every pattern space.
A command line with one address shall select each pattern space that
matches the address.
A command line with two addresses shall select the inclusive range from
the first pattern space that matches the first address through the next
pattern space that matches the second. (If the second address is a
number less than or equal to the line number first selected, only one
line shall be selected.) Starting at the first line following the
selected range, sed shall look again for the first address. Thereafter
the process shall be repeated.
Editing commands can be applied only to nonselected pattern spaces by use
of the negation command ! (see 4.55.7.3).
_4._5_5._7._2 sed _R_e_g_u_l_a_r _E_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n_s
The sed utility shall support the basic regular expressions described in
2.8.3, with the following additions:
(1) In a context address, the construction \_c_R_E_c, where _c is any
character other than <backslash> or <newline>, shall be 1
identical to /_R_E/. If the character designated by _c appears
following a backslash, then it shall be considered to be that
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
698 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
literal character, which shall not terminate the RE. For
example, in the context address \xabc\xdefx, the second x stands
for itself, so that the regular expression is abcxdef.
(2) The escape sequence \n shall match a <newline> embedded in the
pattern space. A literal <newline> character shall not be used
in the regular expression of a context address or in the
substitute command.
4.55.7.3 sed Editing Commands
In the following list of commands, the maximum number of permissible
addresses for each command is indicated by [_0_a_d_d_r], [_1_a_d_d_r], or [_2_a_d_d_r],
representing zero, one, or two addresses.
The argument _t_e_x_t shall consist of one or more lines. Each embedded
<newline> in the text shall be preceded by a backslash. Other
backslashes in text shall be removed and the following character shall be
treated literally.
The r and w commands take an optional _r_f_i_l_e (or _w_f_i_l_e) parameter,
separated from the command letter by one or more <blank>s;
implementations may allow zero separation as an extension.
The argument _r_f_i_l_e or the argument _w_f_i_l_e shall terminate the command
line. Each _w_f_i_l_e shall be created before processing begins.
Implementations shall support at least nine _w_f_i_l_e arguments in the
script; the actual number (_>9) that shall be supported by the
implementation is unspecified. The use of the _w_f_i_l_e parameter shall
cause that file to be initially created, if it does not exist, or shall
replace the contents of an existing file.
The b, r, s, t, w, y, !, and : commands shall accept additional
arguments. The following synopses indicate which arguments shall be
separated from the commands by a single <space>.
Two of the commands take a _c_o_m_m_a_n_d-_l_i_s_t, which is a list of sed commands
separated by <newline>s, as follows:
{ _c_o_m_m_a_n_d
_c_o_m_m_a_n_d
...
}
The { can be preceded with <blank>s and can be followed with white space.
The _c_o_m_m_a_n_d_s can be preceded by white space. The terminating } shall be
preceded by a <newline> and then zero or more <blank>s.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.55 sed - Stream editor 699
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
[_2_a_d_d_r] {_c_o_m_m_a_n_d-_l_i_s_t
} Execute _c_o_m_m_a_n_d-_l_i_s_t only when the pattern space is
selected.
[_1_a_d_d_r]a\
_t_e_x_t Write _t_e_x_t to standard output just before each attempt to 1
fetch a line of input, whether by executing the N command 1
or by beginning a new cycle. 1
[_2_a_d_d_r]b [_l_a_b_e_l]
Branch to the : command bearing the _l_a_b_e_l. If _l_a_b_e_l is not
specified, branch to the end of the script. The
implementation shall support _l_a_b_e_l_s recognized as unique
up to at least 8 characters; the actual length (_>8) that
shall be supported by the implementation is unspecified.
It is unspecified whether exceeding a label length causes
an error or a silent truncation.
[_2_a_d_d_r]c\
_t_e_x_t Delete the pattern space. With 0 or 1 address or at the
end of a 2-address range, place _t_e_x_t on the output.
[_2_a_d_d_r]d Delete the pattern space and start the next cycle.
[_2_a_d_d_r]D Delete the initial segment of the pattern space through
the first <newline> and start the next cycle.
[_2_a_d_d_r]g Replace the contents of the pattern space by the contents
of the hold space.
[_2_a_d_d_r]G Append to the pattern space a <newline> followed by the 1
contents of the hold space. 1
[_2_a_d_d_r]h Replace the contents of the hold space with the contents
of the pattern space.
[_2_a_d_d_r]H Append to the hold space a <newline> followed by the 1
contents of the pattern space. 1
[_1_a_d_d_r]i\
_t_e_x_t Write _t_e_x_t to standard output. 1
[_2_a_d_d_r]l (The letter ell.) Write the pattern space to standard
output in a visually unambiguous form. The characters 1
listed in Table 2-15 (see 2.12) shall be written as the 1
corresponding escape sequence. Nonprintable characters 1
not in Table 2-15 shall be written as one three-digit 1
octal number (with a preceding <backslash>) for each byte 1
in the character (most significant byte first). If the 1
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
700 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
size of a byte on the system is greater than nine bits, 1
the format used for nonprintable characters is 1
implementation defined. 1
Long lines shall be folded, with the point of folding 1
indicated by writing <backslash><newline>; the length at 1
which folding occurs is unspecified, but should be 1
appropriate for the output device. The end of each line 1
shall be marked with a $. 1
[_2_a_d_d_r]n Write the pattern space to standard output if the default
output has not been suppressed, and replace the pattern
space with the next line of input.
[_2_a_d_d_r]N Append the next line of input to the pattern space, using
an embedded <newline> to separate the appended material
from the original material. Note that the current line
number changes.
[_2_a_d_d_r]p Write the pattern space to standard output.
[_2_a_d_d_r]P Write the pattern space, up to the first <newline>, to 1
standard output.
[_1_a_d_d_r]q Branch to the end of the script and quit without starting
a new cycle.
[_1_a_d_d_r]r _r_f_i_l_e
Copy the contents of _r_f_i_l_e to standard output just before 1
each attempt to fetch a line of input. If _r_f_i_l_e does not 1
exist or cannot be read, it shall be treated as if it were 1
an empty file, causing no error condition. 1
[_2_a_d_d_r]s/_r_e_g_u_l_a_r _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n/_r_e_p_l_a_c_e_m_e_n_t/_f_l_a_g_s
Substitute the _r_e_p_l_a_c_e_m_e_n_t string for instances of the
_r_e_g_u_l_a_r _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n in the pattern space. Any character
other than <backslash> or <newline> can be used instead of 1
a slash to delimit the RE and the replacement. Within the 1
RE and the replacement, the RE delimiter itself can be
used as a literal character if it is preceded by a
backslash.
An ampersand (&) appearing in the _r_e_p_l_a_c_e_m_e_n_t shall be
replaced by the string matching the RE. The special
meaning of & in this context can be suppressed by
preceding it by backslash. The characters \_n, where _n is
a digit, shall be replaced by the text matched by the
corresponding backreference expression (see 2.8.3.3).
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.55 sed - Stream editor 701
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
A line can be split by substituting a <newline> character
into it. The application shall escape the <newline> in 1
the _r_e_p_l_a_c_e_m_e_n_t by preceding it by backslash. A 1
substitution shall be considered to have been performed
even if the replacement string is identical to the string
that it replaces.
The value of _f_l_a_g_s shall be zero or more of:
_n Substitute for the _nth occurrence only of the
_r_e_g_u_l_a_r _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n found within the pattern
space.
g Globally substitute for all nonoverlapping
instances of the _r_e_g_u_l_a_r _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n rather
than just the first one. If both g and _n are
specified, the results are unspecified.
p Write the pattern space to standard output if
a replacement was made.
w _w_f_i_l_e Write. Append the pattern space to _w_f_i_l_e if a
replacement was made.
[_2_a_d_d_r]t [_l_a_b_e_l]
Test. Branch to the : command bearing the _l_a_b_e_l if any
substitutions have been made since the most recent reading
of an input line or execution of a t. If _l_a_b_e_l is not
specified, branch to the end of the script.
[_2_a_d_d_r]w _w_f_i_l_e
Append [write] the pattern space to _w_f_i_l_e.
[_2_a_d_d_r]x Exchange the contents of the pattern and hold spaces.
[_2_a_d_d_r]y/_s_t_r_i_n_g_1/_s_t_r_i_n_g_2/
Replace all occurrences of characters in _s_t_r_i_n_g_1 with the
corresponding characters in _s_t_r_i_n_g_2. If the number of
characters in _s_t_r_i_n_g_1 and _s_t_r_i_n_g_2 are not equal, or if any
of the characters in _s_t_r_i_n_g_1 appear more than once, the
results are undefined. Any character other than 1
<backslash> or <newline> can be used instead of slash to 1
delimit the strings. Within _s_t_r_i_n_g_1 and _s_t_r_i_n_g_2, the 1
delimiter itself can be used as a literal character if it 1
is preceded by a backslash. 1
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
702 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
[_2_a_d_d_r]!_c_o_m_m_a_n_d
[_2_a_d_d_r]!{_c_o_m_m_a_n_d-_l_i_s_t
} Apply the _c_o_m_m_a_n_d or _c_o_m_m_a_n_d-_l_i_s_t only to the lines that
are not selected by the address(es).
[_0_a_d_d_r]:_l_a_b_e_l
This command shall do nothing; it bears a _l_a_b_e_l for the b
and t commands to branch to.
[_1_a_d_d_r]= Write the following to standard output:
"%d\n", <_c_u_r_r_e_n_t _l_i_n_e _n_u_m_b_e_r> 1
[_0_a_d_d_r] An empty command shall be ignored.
[_0_a_d_d_r]# The # and the remainder of the line shall be ignored
(treated as a comment), with the single exception that if
the first two characters in the file are #n, the default
output shall be suppressed; this shall be the equivalent
of specifying -n on the command line.
4.55.8 Exit Status
The sed utility shall exit with one of the following values:
0 Successful completion.
>0 An error occurred.
4.55.9 Consequences of Errors
Default.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
4.55.10 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s_,__U_s_a_g_e
See the rationale for cat (4.4.10) for an example sed script.
This standard requires implementations to support at least nine distinct
_w_f_i_l_e_s, matching historical practice on many implementations.
Implementations are encouraged to support more, but portable applications
should not exceed this limit.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.55 sed - Stream editor 703
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
Note that regular expressions match entire strings, not just individual
lines, but <newline> is matched by \n in a sed RE; <newline> is not
allowed in an RE. Also note that \n cannot be used to match a <newline>
at the end of an input line; <newline>s appear in the pattern space as a
result of the N editing command.
The exit status codes specified here are different from those in
System V. System V returns 2 for garbled sed commands, but returns zero
with its usage message or if the input file could not be opened. The
working group considered this to be a bug.
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
The manner in which the l command writes nonprintable characters was
changed to avoid the historical backspace-overstrike method and added 1
other requirements to achieve unambiguous output. See the rationale for 1
ed (4.20.10) for details of the format chosen, which is the same as that 1
chosen for sed. 1
The standard requires implementations to provide pattern and hold spaces
of at least 8192 bytes, larger than the 4000-byte spaces used by some
historical implementations, but less than the 20K byte limit used in an
earlier draft. Implementations are encouraged to dynamically allocate
larger pattern and hold spaces as needed.
The requirements for acceptance of <blank>s and <space>s in command lines
has been made more explicit than in earlier drafts to clearly describe
existing practice and remove confusion about the phrase ``protect initial
blanks [sic] and tabs from the stripping that is done on every script
line'' that appears in much of the historical documentation of the sed
utility description of text. (Not all implementations are known to have 1
stripped <blank>s from text lines, although they all have allowed leading 1
<blank>s preceding the address on a command line.) 1
The treatment of # comments differs from the _S_V_I_D, which only allows a
comment as the first line of the script, but matches BSD-derived
implementations. The comment character is treated as a command and it
has the same properties in terms of being accepted with leading <blank>_s;
the BSD implementation has historically supported this.
Earlier drafts of POSIX.2 required that a _s_c_r_i_p_t__f_i_l_e have at least one
noncomment line. Some historical implementations have behaved in
unexpected ways if this were not the case. The working group felt that
this was incorrect behavior, and that application developers should not
have to work around this feature. A correct implementation of POSIX.2
shall permit _s_c_r_i_p_t__f_i_l_es that consist only of comment lines.
Earlier drafts indicated that if -e and -f options were intermixed, all
-e options were processed before any -f options. This has been changed
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
704 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
to process them in the order presented because it matches existing
practice and is more intuitive.
The treatment of the p flag to the s command differs between System V and
BSD-based systems (actually, between Version 7 and 32V) when the default
output is suppressed. In the two examples:
echo a | sed 's/a/A/p'
echo a | sed -n 's/a/A/p'
POSIX.2, BSD, System V documentation, and the _S_V_I_D indicate that the
first example should write two lines with A, whereas the second should
write one. Some System V systems write the A only once in both examples,
because the p flag is ignored if the -n option is not specified.
This is a case of a diametrical difference between systems that could not
be reconciled through the compromise of declaring the behavior to be
unspecified. The _S_V_I_D/BSD/32V behavior was adopted for POSIX.2 because:
- No known documentation for any historic system describes the
interaction between the p flag and the -n option.
- The selected behavior is more correct as there is no technical
justification for any interaction between the p flag and the -n
option. A relationship between -n and the p flag might imply that
they are only used together (when p should be a no-op), but this
ignores valid scripts that interrupt the cyclical nature of the
processing through the use of the D, d, q, or branching commands.
Such scripts rely on the p suffix to write the pattern space
because they do not make use of the default output at the
``bottom'' of the script.
- Because the -n option makes the p flag a no-op, any interaction
would only be useful if sed scripts were written to run both with
and without the -n option. This is believed to be unlikely. It is
even more unlikely that programmers have coded the p flag expecting
it to be a no-op. Because the interaction was not documented, the
likelihood of a programmer discovering the interaction and
depending on it is further decreased.
- Finally, scripts that break under the specified behavior will
produce too much output instead of too little, which is easier to
diagnose and correct.
The form of the substitute command that uses the _n suffix was limited to
the first 512 matches in a previous draft. This limit has been removed
because there is no reason an editor processing lines of {LINE_MAX}
length should have this restriction. The command s/a/A/2047 should be
able to substitute the 2047th occurrence of a on a line.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.55 sed - Stream editor 705
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
END_RATIONALE
4.56 sh - Shell, the standard command language interpreter
4.56.1 Synopsis
sh [-aCefinuvx] [ _c_o_m_m_a_n_d__f_i_l_e [_a_r_g_u_m_e_n_t ...] ] 1
sh -c [-aCefinuvx] _c_o_m_m_a_n_d__s_t_r_i_n_g [ _c_o_m_m_a_n_d__n_a_m_e [_a_r_g_u_m_e_n_t ...] ] 1
sh -s [-aCefinuvx] [_a_r_g_u_m_e_n_t ...] 1
4.56.2 Description
The sh utility is a command language interpreter that shall execute
commands read from a command-line string, the standard input, or a
specified file. The commands to be executed shall be expressed in the
language described in Section 3.
4.56.3 Options
The sh utility shall conform to the utility argument syntax guidelines
described in 2.10.2.
The -a, -C, -e, -f, -n, -u, -v, and -x options are described as part of
the set utility in 3.14.11. The following additional options shall be
supported by the implementation:
-c Read commands from the _c_o_m_m_a_n_d__s_t_r_i_n_g operand. Set the
value of special parameter 0 (see 3.5.2) from the value of
the _c_o_m_m_a_n_d__n_a_m_e operand and the positional parameters
($1, $2, etc.) in sequence from the remaining _a_r_g_u_m_e_n_t
operands. No commands shall be read from the standard
input.
-i Specify that the shell is _i_n_t_e_r_a_c_t_i_v_e; see below. An
implementation may treat specifying the -i option as an
error if the real user ID of the calling process does not
equal the effective user ID or if the real group ID does
not equal the effective user ID.
-s Read commands from the standard input.
If there are no operands and the -c option is not specified, the -s
option shall be assumed.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
706 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
If the -i option is present, or if there are no operands and the shell's
standard input and standard error are attached to a terminal, the shell
is considered to be _i_n_t_e_r_a_c_t_i_v_e. (See 3.1.4.) The behavior of an
interactive shell is not fully specified by this standard.
NOTE: The preceding sentence is expected to change following the
eventual approval of the UPE supplement.
Implementations may accept the option letters with a leading plus sign
(+) instead of a leading hyphen (meaning the reverse case of the option
as described in this standard). A conforming application shall protect
its first operand, if it starts with a plus sign, by preceding it with
the -- argument that denotes ``end of options.''
4.56.4 Operands
The following operands shall be supported by the implementation:
- A single hyphen shall be treated as the first operand and
then ignored. If both - and -- are given as arguments, or
if other operands precede the single hyphen, the results
are undefined.
_a_r_g_u_m_e_n_t The positional parameters ($1, $2, etc.) shall be set to
_a_r_g_u_m_e_n_t_s, if any.
_c_o_m_m_a_n_d__f_i_l_e
The pathname of a file containing commands. If the 1
pathname contains one or more slash characters, the 1
implementation shall attempt to read that file; the file 1
need not be executable. If the pathname does not contain 1
a slash character:
- The implementation shall attempt to read that file from
the current working directory; the file need not be
executable.
- If the file is not in the current working directory,
the implementation may perform a search for an
executable file using the value of PATH, as described
in 3.9.1.1.
Special parameter 0 (see 3.5.2) shall be set to the value
of _c_o_m_m_a_n_d__f_i_l_e. If sh is called using a synopsis form
that omits _c_o_m_m_a_n_d__f_i_l_e, special parameter 0 shall be set
to the value of the first argument passed to sh from its
parent (e.g., _a_r_g_v[0] in the C binding), which is normally
a pathname used to execute the sh utility.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.56 sh - Shell, the standard command language interpreter 707
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
_c_o_m_m_a_n_d__n_a_m_e
A string assigned to special parameter 0 when executing
the commands in _c_o_m_m_a_n_d__s_t_r_i_n_g. If _c_o_m_m_a_n_d__n_a_m_e is not
specified, special parameter 0 shall be set to the value
of the first argument passed to sh from its parent (e.g.,
_a_r_g_v[0] in the C binding), which is normally a pathname
used to execute the sh utility.
_c_o_m_m_a_n_d__s_t_r_i_n_g
A string that shall be interpreted by the shell as one or
more commands, as if the string were the argument to the
function in 7.1.1 [such as the _s_y_s_t_e_m() function in the C
binding]. If the _c_o_m_m_a_n_d__s_t_r_i_n_g operand is an empty 1
string, sh shall exit with a zero exit status. 1
4.56.5 External Influences
4.56.5.1 Standard Input
The standard input shall be used only if:
(1) The -s option is specified, or;
(2) The -c option is not specified and no operands are specified,
or;
(3) The script executes one or more commands that require input from
standard input (such as a read command that does not redirect
its input).
See Input Files.
When the shell is using standard input and it invokes a command that also
uses standard input, the shell shall ensure that the standard input file
pointer points directly after the command it has read when the command
begins execution. It shall not read ahead in such a manner that any 1
characters intended to be read by the invoked command are consumed by the 1
shell (whether interpreted by the shell or not) or that characters that 1
are not read by the invoked command are not seen by the shell. When the 1
command expecting to read standard input is started asynchronously by an
interactive shell, it is unspecified whether characters are read by the
command or interpreted by the shell.
If the standard input to sh is a FIFO or terminal device and is set to 1
nonblocking reads, then sh shall enable blocking reads on standard input. 1
This shall remain in effect when the command completes. 1
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
708 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
4.56.5.2 Input Files
The input file shall be a text file, except that line lengths shall be 1
unlimited. If the input file is empty or consists solely of blank lines 1
and/or comments, sh shall exit with a zero exit status. 1
4.56.5.3 Environment Variables
The following environment variables shall affect the execution of sh:
HOME This variable shall be interpreted as the pathname
of the user's home directory. The contents of HOME
are used in Tilde Expansion as described in 3.6.1.
IFS _I_n_p_u_t _f_i_e_l_d _s_e_p_a_r_a_t_o_r_s: a string treated as a list
of characters that shall be used for field
splitting and to split lines into words with the
read command. See 3.6.5. If IFS is not set, the
shell shall behave as if the value of IFS were the
<space>, <tab>, and <newline> characters.
Implementations may ignore the value of IFS in the
environment at the time sh is invoked, treating IFS
as if it were not set.
LANG This variable shall determine the locale to use for
the locale categories when both LC_ALL and the
corresponding environment variable (beginning with
LC_) do not specify a locale. See 2.6.
LC_ALL This variable shall determine the locale to be used
to override any values for locale categories
specified by the settings of LANG or any
environment variables beginning with LC_.
LC_COLLATE This variable shall determine the behavior of range
expressions, equivalence classes, and
multicharacter collating elements within pattern
matching.
LC_CTYPE This variable shall determine the locale for the
interpretation of sequences of bytes of text data
as characters (e.g., single- versus multibyte
characters in arguments and input files), which
characters are defined as letters (character class
alpha), and the behavior of character classes
within pattern matching.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.56 sh - Shell, the standard command language interpreter 709
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
LC_MESSAGES This variable shall determine the language in which
messages should be written.
PATH This variable shall represent a string formatted as
described in 2.6, used to effect command
interpretation. See 3.9.1.1.
4.56.5.4 Asynchronous Events
Default.
4.56.6 External Effects
4.56.6.1 Standard Output
See Standard Error.
4.56.6.2 Standard Error
Except as otherwise stated (by the descriptions of any invoked utilities
or in interactive mode), standard error is used only for diagnostic
messages.
4.56.6.3 Output Files
None.
4.56.7 Extended Description
See Section 3.
4.56.8 Exit Status
The sh utility shall exit with one of the following values: 1
0 The script to be executed consisted solely of zero or more 1
blank lines and/or comments. 1
1-125 A noninteractive shell detected a syntax, redirection, or 1
variable assignment error. 1
127 A specified _c_o_m_m_a_n_d__f_i_l_e could not be found by a 1
noninteractive shell. 1
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
710 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
Otherwise, the shell shall return the exit status of the last command it
invoked or attempted to invoke (see also the exit utility in 3.14.7).
4.56.9 Consequences of Errors
See 3.8.1.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
4.56.10 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s_,__U_s_a_g_e
sh -c "cat myfile"
sh my_shell_cmds
The sh utility and the set special built-in utility share a common set of
options. Unlike set, however, the POSIX.2 sh does not specify the use of
+ as an option flag, because it is not particularly useful (the + variety
generally invokes the default behavior) and because _g_e_t_o_p_t() does not
support it. However, since many historical implementations do support
the plus, applications will have to guard against the relatively obscure
case of a first operand with a leading plus sign.
There is a large number of environment variables used by historical
implementations of sh that will not be introduced by POSIX.2 until the
UPE is completed.
The KornShell ignores the contents of IFS upon entry to the script. A
conforming application cannot rely on importing IFS. One justification
for this, beyond security considerations, is to assist possible future
shell compilers. Allowing IFS to be imported from the environment will
prevent many optimizations that might otherwise be performed via dataflow
analysis of the script itself.
The standard input and standard error are the files that determine
whether a shell is interactive when -i is not specified. For example,
sh > file and sh 2> file
create interactive and noninteractive shells, respectively. Although
both accept terminal input, the results of error conditions will be
different, as described in 3.8.1; in the second example a redirection
error encountered by a special built-in utility will abort the shell.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.56 sh - Shell, the standard command language interpreter 711
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
The text in Standard Input about nonblocking reads concerns an instance 1
of sh that has been invoked, probably by a C-language program, with 1
standard input that has been opened using the O_NONBLOCK flag; see 1
POSIX.1 {8} _o_p_e_n(). If the shell did not reset this flag, it would 1
immediately terminate because no input data would be available yet and 1
that would be considered the same as end-of-file. 1
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
See the Rationale for Section 3 concerning the lack of interactive
features in sh. These features, including optional job control, are
scheduled to be added in the User Portability Extension.
The PS1 and PS2 variables are not specified because this standard,
without UPE, does not describe an interactive shell.
The options associated with a _r_e_s_t_r_i_c_t_e_d _s_h_e_l_l (command name rsh and the
-r option) were excluded because the developers of the standard felt that
the implied level of security was not achievable and they did not want to
raise false expectations.
On systems that support set-user-ID scripts, a historical trapdoor has
been to link a script to the name -i. When it is called by a sequence
such as sh - or by #! /bin/sh - the historical systems have assumed that
no option letters follow. Thus, POSIX.2 allows the single hyphen to mark
the end of the options, in addition to the use of the regular --
argument, because it was felt that the older practice was so pervasive.
An alternative approach is taken by the KornShell, where real and
effective user/group IDs must match for an interactive shell; this
behavior is specifically allowed by POSIX.2. (Note: there are other
problems with set-user-ID scripts that the two approaches described here
do not deal with.)
END_RATIONALE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
712 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
4.57 sleep - Suspend execution for an interval
4.57.1 Synopsis
sleep _t_i_m_e
4.57.2 Description
The sleep utility shall suspend execution for at least the integral
number of seconds specified by the _t_i_m_e operand.
4.57.3 Options
None.
4.57.4 Operands
The following operands shall be supported by the implementation:
_t_i_m_e A nonnegative decimal integer specifying the number of
seconds for which to suspend execution.
4.57.5 External Influences
4.57.5.1 Standard Input
None.
4.57.5.2 Input Files
None.
4.57.5.3 Environment Variables
The following environment variables shall affect the execution of sleep:
LANG This variable shall determine the locale to use for
the locale categories when both LC_ALL and the
corresponding environment variable (beginning with
LC_) do not specify a locale. See 2.6.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.57 sleep - Suspend execution for an interval 713
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
LC_ALL This variable shall determine the locale to be used
to override any values for locale categories
specified by the settings of LANG or any
environment variables beginning with LC_.
LC_CTYPE This variable shall determine the locale for the
interpretation of sequences of bytes of text data
as characters (e.g., single- versus multibyte
characters in arguments).
LC_MESSAGES This variable shall determine the language in which
messages should be written.
4.57.5.4 Asynchronous Events
If the sleep utility receives a SIGALRM signal, one of the following
actions shall be taken:
(1) Terminate normally with a zero exit status
(2) Effectively ignore the signal
(3) Provide the default behavior for signals described in 2.11.5.4.
This could include terminating with a nonzero exit status.
The sleep utility shall take the standard action for all other signals;
see 2.11.5.4.
4.57.6 External Effects
4.57.6.1 Standard Output
None.
4.57.6.2 Standard Error
Used only for diagnostic messages.
4.57.6.3 Output Files
None.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
714 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
4.57.7 Extended Description
None.
4.57.8 Exit Status
The sleep utility shall exit with one of the following values:
0 The execution was successfully suspended for at least _t_i_m_e
seconds, or a SIGALRM signal was received (see 4.57.5.4).
>0 An error occurred.
4.57.9 Consequences of Errors
Default.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
4.57.10 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s_,__U_s_a_g_e
The exit status is allowed to be zero when sleep is interrupted by the
SIGALRM signal, because most implementations of this utility rely on the
arrival of that signal to notify them that the requested finishing time
has been successfully attained. Such implementations thus do not
distinguish this situation from the successful completion case. Other
implementations are allowed to catch the signal and go back to sleep
until the requested time expires or provide the normal signal termination
procedures.
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
As with all other utilities that take integral operands and do not
specify subranges of allowed values, sleep is required by this standard
to deal with _t_i_m_e requests of up to 2147483647 seconds. This may mean
that some implementations will have to make multiple calls to the
underlying operating system's delay mechanism if its argument range is
less than this.
END_RATIONALE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.57 sleep - Suspend execution for an interval 715
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.58 sort - Sort, merge, or sequence check text files
4.58.1 Synopsis
sort [-m] [-o _o_u_t_p_u_t] [-bdfinru] [-t _c_h_a_r] [-k _k_e_y_d_e_f] ... [_f_i_l_e ...]
sort -c [-bdfinru] [-t _c_h_a_r] [-k _k_e_y_d_e_f] ... [_f_i_l_e]
_O_b_s_o_l_e_s_c_e_n_t _V_e_r_s_i_o_n_s:
sort [-mu] [-o _o_u_t_p_u_t] [-bdfinr] [-t _c_h_a_r] [+_p_o_s_1[-_p_o_s_2]] ...
[_f_i_l_e ...]
sort -c [-u] [-bdfinr] [-t _c_h_a_r] [+_p_o_s_1[-_p_o_s_2]] ... [_f_i_l_e]
4.58.2 Description
The sort utility shall perform one of the following functions:
(1) Sort lines of all the named files together and write the result
to the specified output.
(2) Merge lines of all the named (presorted) files together and
write the result to the specified output.
(3) Check that a single input file is correctly presorted.
Comparisons shall be based on one or more sort keys extracted from each
line of input (or the entire line if no sort keys are specified), and
shall be performed using the collating sequence of the current locale.
4.58.3 Options
The sort utility shall conform to the utility argument syntax guidelines
described in 2.10.2, except that the notation +_p_o_s_1 -_p_o_s_2 uses a
nonstandard prefix and multidigit option names in the obsolescent
versions, the -o _o_u_t_p_u_t option shall be recognized after a _f_i_l_e operand
as an obsolescent feature in both versions where the -c option is not
specified, and the -k _k_e_y_d_e_f option should follow the -b, -d, -f, -i, -n,
and -r options.
The following options shall be supported by the implementation:
-c Check that the single input file is ordered as specified
by the arguments and the collating sequence of the current
locale. No output shall be produced; only the exit code
shall be affected.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
716 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
-m Merge only; the input files shall be assumed to be already
sorted.
-o _o_u_t_p_u_t Specify the name of an output file to be used instead of
the standard output. This file can be the same as one of
the input _f_i_l_es.
-u Unique: suppress all but one in each set of lines having
equal keys. If used with the -c option, check that there
are no lines with duplicate keys, in addition to checking
that the input file is sorted.
The following options shall override the default ordering rules. When
ordering options appear independent of any key field specifications, the
requested field ordering rules shall be applied globally to all sort
keys. When attached to a specific key (see -k), the specified ordering
options shall override all global ordering options for that key. In the
obsolescent forms, if one or more of these options follows a +_p_o_s_1
option, it shall affect only the key field specified by that preceding
option.
-d Specify that only <blank>s and alphanumeric characters,
according to the current setting of LC_CTYPE, shall be
significant in comparisons. The behavior is undefined for
a sort key to which -i or -n also applies.
-f Consider all lowercase characters that have uppercase
equivalents, according to the current setting of LC_CTYPE,
to be the uppercase equivalent for the purposes of
comparison.
-i Ignore all characters that are nonprintable, according to
the current setting of LC_CTYPE.
-n Restrict the sort key to an initial numeric string,
consisting of optional <blank>s, optional minus sign, and
zero or more digits with an optional radix character and
thousands separators (as defined in the current locale),
which shall be sorted by arithmetic value. An empty digit
string shall be treated as zero. Leading zeros and signs
on zeros shall not affect ordering.
-r Reverse the sense of comparisons.
The treatment of field separators can be altered using the options:
-b Ignore leading <blank>s when determining the starting and
ending positions of a restricted sort key. If the -b
option is specified before the first -k option, it shall
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.58 sort - Sort, merge, or sequence check text files 717
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
be applied to all -k options. Otherwise, the -b option
can be attached independently to each -k _f_i_e_l_d__s_t_a_r_t or
_f_i_e_l_d__e_n_d option-argument (see below).
-t _c_h_a_r Use _c_h_a_r as the field separator character; _c_h_a_r shall not
be considered to be part of a field (although it can be
included in a sort key). Each occurrence of _c_h_a_r shall be
significant (for example, <_c_h_a_r><_c_h_a_r> shall delimit an
empty field). If -t is not specified, <blank> characters
shall be used as default field separators; each maximal
nonempty sequence of <blank> characters that follows a
non-<blank> character shall be a field separator.
Sort keys can be specified using the options:
-k _k_e_y_d_e_f The _k_e_y_d_e_f argument is a restricted sort key field
definition. The format of this definition is
_f_i_e_l_d__s_t_a_r_t[_t_y_p_e][,_f_i_e_l_d__e_n_d[_t_y_p_e]]
where _f_i_e_l_d__s_t_a_r_t and _f_i_e_l_d__e_n_d define a key field
restricted to a portion of the line (see 4.58.7), and _t_y_p_e
is a modifier from the list of characters b, d, f, i, n,
r. The b modifier shall behave like the -b option, but
applies only to the _f_i_e_l_d__s_t_a_r_t or _f_i_e_l_d__e_n_d to which it
is attached. The other modifiers shall behave like the
corresponding options, but shall apply only to the key
field to which they are attached; they shall have this
effect if specified with _f_i_e_l_d__s_t_a_r_t, _f_i_e_l_d__e_n_d, or both.
Modifiers attached to a _f_i_e_l_d__s_t_a_r_t or _f_i_e_l_d__e_n_d shall
override any specifications made by the options.
Implementations shall support at least nine occurrences of
the -k option, which shall be significant in command line
order. If no -k option is specified, a default sort key
of the entire line shall be used.
When there are multiple key fields, later keys shall be
compared only after all earlier keys compare equal.
Except when the -u option is specified, lines that
otherwise compare equal shall be ordered as if none of the
options -d, -f, -i, -n, or -k were present (but with -r
still in effect, if it was specified) and with all bytes
in the lines significant to the comparison. The order in
which lines that still compare equal are written is
unspecified.
+_p_o_s_1 (Obsolescent.) Specify the start position of a key field.
See 4.58.7.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
718 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
-_p_o_s_2 (Obsolescent.) Specify the end position of a key field.
See 4.58.7.
4.58.4 Operands
The following operand shall be supported by the implementation:
_f_i_l_e A pathname of a file to be sorted, merged, or checked. If
no _f_i_l_e operands are specified, or if a _f_i_l_e operand is -,
the standard input shall be used.
4.58.5 External Influences
4.58.5.1 Standard Input
The standard input shall be used only if no _f_i_l_e operands are specified,
or if a _f_i_l_e operand is -. See Input Files.
4.58.5.2 Input Files
The input files shall be text files, except that the sort utility shall
add a <newline> to the end of a file ending with an incomplete last line.
4.58.5.3 Environment Variables
The following environment variables shall affect the execution of sort:
LANG This variable shall determine the locale to use for
the locale categories when both LC_ALL and the
corresponding environment variable (beginning with
LC_) do not specify a locale. See 2.6.
LC_ALL This variable shall determine the locale to be used
to override any values for locale categories
specified by the settings of LANG or any
environment variables beginning with LC_.
LC_COLLATE This variable shall determine the locale for
ordering rules.
LC_CTYPE This variable shall determine the locale for the
interpretation of sequences of bytes of text data
as characters (e.g., single- versus multibyte
characters in arguments and input files) and the
behavior of character classification for the -b,
-d, -f, -i, and -n options.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.58 sort - Sort, merge, or sequence check text files 719
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
LC_MESSAGES This variable shall determine the language in which
messages should be written.
LC_NUMERIC This variable shall determine the locale for the
definition of the radix character and thousands
separator for the -n option.
4.58.5.4 Asynchronous Events
Default.
4.58.6 External Effects
4.58.6.1 Standard Output
Unless the -o or -c options are in effect, the standard output shall
contain the sorted input.
4.58.6.2 Standard Error
Used only for diagnostic messages. A warning message about correcting an 2
incomplete last line of an input file may be generated, but need not 2
affect the final exit status. 2
4.58.6.3 Output Files
If the -o option is in effect, the sorted input shall be placed in the
file _o_u_t_p_u_t.
4.58.7 Extended Description
The notation
-k _f_i_e_l_d__s_t_a_r_t[_t_y_p_e][,_f_i_e_l_d__e_n_d[_t_y_p_e]]
shall define a key field that begins at _f_i_e_l_d__s_t_a_r_t and ends at _f_i_e_l_d__e_n_d
inclusive, unless _f_i_e_l_d__s_t_a_r_t falls beyond the end of the line or after
_f_i_e_l_d__e_n_d, in which case the key field shall be empty. A missing
_f_i_e_l_d__e_n_d shall mean the last character of the line.
A field comprises a maximal sequence of nonseparating characters and, in 1
the absence of option -t, any preceding field separator. 1
The _f_i_e_l_d__s_t_a_r_t portion of the _k_e_y_d_e_f option argument shall have the
form:
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
720 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
_f_i_e_l_d__n_u_m_b_e_r[._f_i_r_s_t__c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r]
Fields and characters within fields shall be numbered starting with 1.
The _f_i_e_l_d__n_u_m_b_e_r and _f_i_r_s_t__c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r pieces, interpreted as positive
decimal integers, shall specify the first character to be used as part of
a sort key. If ._f_i_r_s_t__c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r is omitted, it shall refer to the first
character of the field.
The _f_i_e_l_d__e_n_d portion of the _k_e_y_d_e_f option argument shall have the form:
_f_i_e_l_d__n_u_m_b_e_r[._l_a_s_t__c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r]
The _f_i_e_l_d__n_u_m_b_e_r shall be as described above for _f_i_e_l_d__s_t_a_r_t. The
_l_a_s_t__c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r piece, interpreted as a nonnegative decimal integer, shall
specify the last character to be used as part of the sort key. If
_l_a_s_t__c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r evaluates to zero or ._l_a_s_t__c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r is omitted, it shall
refer to the last character of the field specified by _f_i_e_l_d__n_u_m_b_e_r.
If the -b option or b type modifier is in effect, characters within a
field shall be counted from the first non-<blank> in the field. (This
shall apply separately to _f_i_r_s_t__c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r and _l_a_s_t__c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r.)
The obsolescent [ +_p_o_s_1 [-_p_o_s_2] ] options provide functionality
equivalent to the -k _k_e_y_d_e_f option. For comparison, the full formats of
these options shall be:
+_f_i_e_l_d_0__n_u_m_b_e_r[._f_i_r_s_t_0__c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r][_t_y_p_e] [-_f_i_e_l_d_0__n_u_m_b_e_r[._f_i_r_s_t_0__c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r][_t_y_p_e]]
-k _f_i_e_l_d__n_u_m_b_e_r[._f_i_r_s_t__c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r][_t_y_p_e][,_f_i_e_l_d__n_u_m_b_e_r[._l_a_s_t__c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r][_t_y_p_e]]
In the obsolescent form, fields (specified by _f_i_e_l_d_0__n_u_m_b_e_r) and
characters within fields (specified by _f_i_r_s_t_0__c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r) shall be
numbered from zero instead of one. The -_p_o_s_2 option shall specify the
first character after the sort field instead of the last character in the
sort field. (Therefore, _f_i_e_l_d_0__n_u_m_b_e_r and _f_i_r_s_t_0__c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r shall be
interpreted as nonnegative, instead of positive, decimal integers and
there is no need for a specification of a _l_a_s_t__c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r-like form.) The
optional type modifiers shall be the same in both forms. If
._f_i_r_s_t_0__c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r is omitted or _f_i_r_s_t_0__c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r evaluates to zero, it
shall refer to the first character of the field.
Thus, a the fully specified +_p_o_s_1 -_p_o_s_2 form:
+_w._x -_y._z
shall be equivalent to:
-k _w+1._x+1,_y.0 (if _z == 0)
-k _w+1._x+1,_y+1._z (if _z > 0)
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.58 sort - Sort, merge, or sequence check text files 721
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
As with the nonobsolescent forms, implementations shall support at least
nine occurrences of the +_p_o_s_1 option, which shall be significant in
command line order.
4.58.8 Exit Status
The sort utility shall exit with one of the following values:
0 All input files were output successfully, or -c was specified
and the input file was correctly sorted.
1 Under the -c option, the file was not ordered as specified, or
if the -c and -u options were both specified, two input lines
were found with equal keys. This exit status shall not be
returned if the -c option is not used.
>1 An error occurred.
4.58.9 Consequences of Errors
Default.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
4.58.10 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s_,__U_s_a_g_e
In the following examples, nonobsolescent and obsolescent ways of
specifying sort keys are given as an aid to understanding the
relationship between the two forms.
Either of the following commands sorts the contents of infile with the
second field as the sort key:
sort -k 2,2 infile
sort +1 -2 infile
Either of the following commands sorts, in reverse order, the contents of
infile1 and infile2, placing the output in outfile and using the second
character of the second field as the sort key (assuming that the first
character of the second field is the field separator):
sort -r -o outfile -k 2.2,2.2 infile1 infile2 1
sort -r -o outfile +1.1 -1.2 infile1 infile2
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
722 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
Either of the following commands sorts the contents of infile1 and
infile2 using the second non-<blank> character of the second field as the
sort key:
sort -k 2.2b,2.2b infile1 infile2
sort +1.1b -1.2b infile1 infile2
Either of the following commands prints the System V password file (user
database) sorted by the numeric user ID (the third colon-separated
field):
sort -t : -k 3,3n /etc/passwd
sort -t : +2 -3n /etc/passwd
Either of the following commands prints the lines of the already sorted
file infile, suppressing all but one occurrence of lines having the same
third field:
sort -um -k 3.1,3.0 infile
sort -um +2.0 -3.0 infile
Examples in some historical documentation state that options -um with one 1
input file keep the first in each set of lines with equal keys. This 2
behavior was deemed to be an implementation artifact and was not made 1
standard. 1
The default value for -t, <blank>, has different properties than, for
example, -t "<space>". If a line contains:
<space><space>foo
the following treatment would occur with default separation versus
specifically selecting a <space>:
Field Default -t "<space>"
_____ _________________ ____________
1 <space><space>foo _e_m_p_t_y
2 _e_m_p_t_y _e_m_p_t_y 1
3 _e_m_p_t_y foo 1
The leading field separator itself is included in a field when -t is not 1
used. For example, this command returns an exit status of zero, meaning 1
the input was already sorted: 1
sort -c -k 2 <<eof 1
y<tab>b 1
x<space>a 1
eof 1
(assuming that <tab> precedes <space> in the current collating sequence). 1
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.58 sort - Sort, merge, or sequence check text files 723
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
The field separator is not included in a field when it is explicitly set 1
via -t. This is historical practice and allows usage such as 1
sort -t "|" -k 2n <<eof 1
Atlanta|425022|Georgia 1
Birmingham|284413|Alabama 1
Columbia|100385|South Carolina 1
eof 1
where the second field can be correctly sorted numerically without regard 1
to the nonnumeric field separator. 1
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
The -z option was removed; it is not standard practice on most systems,
and is inconsistent with using sort to individually sort several files
and then merging them together. The previous language appeared to
require implementations to determine the proper buffer length during the
sort phase of operation, but not during the merge.
The -y option was removed because of nonportability. The -M option,
present in System V, was removed because of nonportability in
international usage.
An undocumented -T option exists in some implementations. It is used to
specify a directory for intermediate files. Implementations are
encouraged to support the use of the TMPDIR environment variable instead
of adding an option to support this functionality.
The -k option was added to satisfy two complaints. First, the zero-based
counting used by sort is not consistent with other utility conventions.
Second, it did not meet syntax guideline requirements. The one-based
counting in this standard was developed from the input provided by
several ballot comments, ballot objections, and discussions with users.
The wording in Draft 10 also clarifies that the -b, -d, -f, -i, -n, and
-r options have to come before the first sort key specified if they are
intended to apply to all specified keys. The way it is described in this
standard matches historical practice, not historical documentation. In
the nonobsolescent versions, the results are unspecified if these options
are specified after a -k option. This will allow implementations to make
the options independent of each other when the obsolescent forms are
finally dropped (if that ever happens).
Historical documentation indicates that ``setting -n implies -b.'' The
description of -n already states that optional leading <blank>s are
tolerated in doing the comparison. If -b is enabled, rather than
implied, by -n, this has unusual side effects. When a character offset
is used into a column of numbers (e.g., to sort mod 100), that offset
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
724 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
will be measured relative to the most significant digit, not to the
column. Based upon a recommendation of the author of the original sort
utility, the -b implication has been omitted from POSIX.2 and an
application wishing to achieve the previously mentioned side effects will
have to manually code the -b flag.
END_RATIONALE
4.59 stty - Set the options for a terminal
4.59.1 Synopsis
stty [ -a | -g ]
stty _o_p_e_r_a_n_d_s
4.59.2 Description
The stty utility shall set or report on terminal I/O characteristics for
the device that is its standard input. Without options or operands
specified, it shall report the settings of certain characteristics,
usually those that differ from implementation-defined defaults.
Otherwise, it shall modify the terminal state according to the specified
operands. Detailed information about the modes listed in the first five
groups below are described in POSIX.1 {8} Section 7. Operands in the
Combination Modes group (see 4.59.4.6) shall be implemented using
operands in the previous groups. Some combinations of operands are
mutually exclusive on some terminal types; the results of using such
combinations are unspecified.
Typical implementations of this utility require a communications line
configured to use a POSIX.1 {8} _t_e_r_m_i_o_s interface. On systems where none
of these lines are available, and on lines not currently configured to
support the POSIX.1 {8} termios interface, some of the operands need not
affect terminal characteristics.
4.59.3 Options
The stty utility shall conform to the utility argument syntax guidelines
described in 2.10.2.
The following options shall be supported by the implementation:
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.59 stty - Set the options for a terminal 725
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
-a Write to standard output all the current settings for the
terminal.
-g Write to standard output all the current settings in an
unspecified form that can be used as arguments to another
invocation of the stty utility on the same system. The
form used shall not contain any characters that would
require quoting to avoid word expansion by the shell; see
3.6.
4.59.4 Operands
The following operands shall be supported by the implementation to set
the terminal characteristics:
4.59.4.1 Control Modes
parenb (-parenb) Enable (disable) parity generation and
detection. This shall have the effect of
setting (not setting) PARENB in the _t_e_r_m_i_o_s
_c__c_f_l_a_g field, as defined in POSIX.1 {8}.
parodd (-parodd) Select odd (even) parity. This shall have the
effect of setting (not setting) PARODD in the
_t_e_r_m_i_o_s _c__c_f_l_a_g field, as defined in
POSIX.1 {8}.
cs5 cs6 cs7 cs8 Select character size, if possible. This shall
have the effect of setting CS5, CS6, CS7, and
CS8, respectively, in the _t_e_r_m_i_o_s _c__c_f_l_a_g
field, as defined in POSIX.1 {8}.
_n_u_m_b_e_r Set terminal baud rate to the number given, if
possible. If the baud rate is set to zero, the
modem control lines shall no longer be
asserted. This shall have the effect of
setting the input and output _t_e_r_m_i_o_s baud rate
values as defined in POSIX.1 {8}.
ispeed _n_u_m_b_e_r Set terminal input baud rate to the number
given, if possible. If the input baud rate is
set to zero, the input baud rate shall be
specified by the value of the output baud rate.
This shall have the effect of setting the input
_t_e_r_m_i_o_s baud rate values as defined in
POSIX.1 {8}.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
726 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
ospeed _n_u_m_b_e_r Set terminal output baud rate to the number
given, if possible. If the output baud rate is
set to zero, the modem control lines shall no
longer be asserted. This shall have the effect
of setting the output _t_e_r_m_i_o_s baud rate values
as defined in POSIX.1 {8}.
hupcl (-hupcl) Stop asserting modem control lines (do not stop
asserting modem control lines) on last close.
This shall have the effect of setting (not
setting) HUPCL in the _t_e_r_m_i_o_s _c__c_f_l_a_g field, as
defined in POSIX.1 {8}.
hup (-hup) Same as hupcl (-hupcl).
cstopb (-cstopb) Use two (one) stop bits per character. This
shall have the effect of setting (not setting)
CSTOPB in the _t_e_r_m_i_o_s _c__c_f_l_a_g field, as defined
in POSIX.1 {8}.
cread (-cread) Enable (disable) the receiver. This shall have
the effect of setting (not setting) CREAD in
the _t_e_r_m_i_o_s _c__c_f_l_a_g field, as defined in
POSIX.1 {8}.
clocal (-clocal) Assume a line without (with) modem control.
This shall have the effect of setting (not
setting) CLOCAL in the _t_e_r_m_i_o_s _c__c_f_l_a_g field,
as defined in POSIX.1 {8}.
It is unspecified whether stty shall report an error if an attempt to set
a Control Mode fails.
4.59.4.2 Input Modes
ignbrk (-ignbrk) Ignore (do not ignore) break on input. This
shall have the effect of setting (not setting)
IGNBRK in the _t_e_r_m_i_o_s _c__i_f_l_a_g field, as defined
in POSIX.1 {8}.
brkint (-brkint) Signal (do not signal) INTR on break. This
shall have the effect of setting (not setting)
BRKINT in the _t_e_r_m_i_o_s _c__i_f_l_a_g field, as defined
in POSIX.1 {8}.
ignpar (-ignpar) Ignore (do not ignore) bytes with parity
errors. This shall have the effect of setting
(not setting) IGNPAR in the _t_e_r_m_i_o_s _c__i_f_l_a_g
field, as defined in POSIX.1 {8}.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.59 stty - Set the options for a terminal 727
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
parmrk (-parmrk) Mark (do not mark) parity errors. This shall
have the effect of setting (not setting) PARMRK
in the _t_e_r_m_i_o_s _c__i_f_l_a_g field, as defined in
POSIX.1 {8}.
inpck (-inpck) Enable (disable) input parity checking. This
shall have the effect of setting (not setting)
INPCK in the _t_e_r_m_i_o_s _c__i_f_l_a_g field, as defined
in POSIX.1 {8}.
istrip (-istrip) Strip (do not strip) input characters to seven
bits. This shall have the effect of setting
(not setting) ISTRIP in the _t_e_r_m_i_o_s _c__i_f_l_a_g
field, as defined in POSIX.1 {8}.
inlcr (-inlcr) Map (do not map) NL to CR on input. This shall
have the effect of setting (not setting) INLCR
in the _t_e_r_m_i_o_s _c__i_f_l_a_g field, as defined in
POSIX.1 {8}.
igncr (-igncr) Ignore (do not ignore) CR on input. This shall
have the effect of setting (not setting) IGNCR
in the _t_e_r_m_i_o_s _c__i_f_l_a_g field, as defined in
POSIX.1 {8}.
icrnl (-icrnl) Map (do not map) CR to NL on input. This shall
have the effect of setting (not setting) ICRNL
in the _t_e_r_m_i_o_s _c__i_f_l_a_g field, as defined in
POSIX.1 {8}.
ixon (-ixon) Enable (disable) START/STOP output control.
Output from the system is stopped when the
system receives STOP and started when the
system receives START. This shall have the
effect of setting (not setting) IXON in the
_t_e_r_m_i_o_s _c__i_f_l_a_g field, as defined in
POSIX.1 {8}.
ixoff (-ixoff) Request that the system send (not send) STOP
characters when the input queue is nearly full
and START characters to resume data
transmission. This shall have the effect of
setting (not setting) IXOFF in the _t_e_r_m_i_o_s
_c__i_f_l_a_g field, as defined in POSIX.1 {8}.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
728 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
4.59.4.3 Output Modes
opost (-opost) Post-process output (do not post-process
output; ignore all other output modes). This
shall have the effect of setting (not setting)
OPOST in the _t_e_r_m_i_o_s _c__o_f_l_a_g field, as defined
in POSIX.1 {8}.
4.59.4.4 Local Modes
isig (-isig) Enable (disable) the checking of characters
against the special control characters INTR,
QUIT, and SUSP. This shall have the effect of
setting (not setting) ISIG in the _t_e_r_m_i_o_s
_c__l_f_l_a_g field, as defined in POSIX.1 {8}.
icanon (-icanon) Enable (disable) canonical input (ERASE and
KILL processing). This shall have the effect
of setting (not setting) ICANON in the _t_e_r_m_i_o_s
_c__l_f_l_a_g field, as defined in POSIX.1 {8}.
iexten (-iexten) Enable (disable) any implementation-defined
special control characters not currently
controlled by icanon, isig, ixon, or ixoff.
This shall have the effect of setting (not
setting) IEXTEN in the _t_e_r_m_i_o_s _c__l_f_l_a_g field,
as defined in POSIX.1 {8}.
echo (-echo) Echo back (do not echo back) every character
typed. This shall have the effect of setting
(not setting) ECHO in the _t_e_r_m_i_o_s _c__l_f_l_a_g
field, as defined in POSIX.1 {8}.
echoe (-echoe) The ERASE character shall (shall not) visually
erase the last character in the current line
from the display, if possible. This shall have
the effect of setting (not setting) ECHOE in
the _t_e_r_m_i_o_s _c__l_f_l_a_g field, as defined in
POSIX.1 {8}.
echok (-echok) Echo (do not echo) NL after KILL character.
This shall have the effect of setting (not
setting) ECHOK in the _t_e_r_m_i_o_s _c__l_f_l_a_g field, as
defined in POSIX.1 {8}.
echonl (-echonl) Echo (do not echo) NL, even if echo is
disabled. This shall have the effect of
setting (not setting) ECHONL in the _t_e_r_m_i_o_s
_c__l_f_l_a_g field, as defined in POSIX.1 {8}.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.59 stty - Set the options for a terminal 729
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
noflsh (-noflsh) Disable (enable) flush after INTR, QUIT, SUSP.
This shall have the effect of setting (not
setting) NOFLSH in the _t_e_r_m_i_o_s _c__l_f_l_a_g field,
as defined in POSIX.1 {8}.
tostop (-tostop) Send SIGTTOU for background output. This shall 2
have the effect of setting (not setting) TOSTOP 2
in the _t_e_r_m_i_o_s _c__l_f_l_a_g field, as defined in 2
POSIX.1 {8}. 2
NOTE: Setting TOSTOP has no effect on systems 2
not supporting the POSIX.1 {8} job control 2
option. 2
4.59.4.5 Special Control Character Assignments
_c_o_n_t_r_o_l-_c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r _s_t_r_i_n_g
Set _c_o_n_t_r_o_l-_c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r to _s_t_r_i_n_g. If _c_o_n_t_r_o_l-
_c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r is one of the character sequences in
the first column of Table 4-9, the
corresponding POSIX.1 {8} control character
from the second column shall be recognized.
This shall have the effect of setting the
corresponding element of the _t_e_r_m_i_o_s _c__c_c array
(see POSIX.1 {8} 7.1.2).
Table 4-9 - stty Control Character Names
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__cccc__oooo__nnnn__tttt__rrrr__oooo__llll__----__cccc__hhhh__aaaa__rrrr__aaaa__cccc__tttt__eeee__rrrr__________P_O_S_I_X_._1__{_8_}__S_u_b_s_c_r_i_p_t_____________D_e_s_c_r_i_p_t_i_o_n___
eof VEOF EOF character
eol VEOL EOL character
erase VERASE ERASE character
intr VINTR INTR character
kill VKILL KILL character
quit VQUIT QUIT character
susp VSUSP SUSP character
start VSTART START character
stop VSTOP STOP character
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
If _s_t_r_i_n_g is a single character, the control
character shall be set to that character. If
_s_t_r_i_n_g is the two-character sequence "^-" or
the string "undef", the control character shall
be set to {_POSIX_VDISABLE}, if it is in effect
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
730 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
for the device; if {_POSIX_VDISABLE} is not in
effect for the device, it shall be treated as
an error. In the POSIX Locale, if _s_t_r_i_n_g is a
two-character sequence beginning with
circumflex (^), and the second character is one
of those listed in the ^_c column of Table 4-10,
the control character shall be set to the
corresponding character value in the Value
column of the table.
Table 4-10 - stty Circumflex Control Characters
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
^_cccc Value ^_cccc Value ^_cccc Value
_________________________________________________________________________
a, A <SOH> l, L <FF> w, W <ETB>
b, B <STX> m, M <CR> x, X <CAN>
c, C <ETX> n, N <SO> y, Y <EM>
d, D <EOT> o, O <SI> z, Z <SUB>
e, E <ENQ> p, P <DLE> [ <ESC>
f, F <ACK> q, Q <DC1> \ <FS>
g, G <BEL> r, R <DC2> ] <GS>
h, H <BS> s, S <DC3> ^ <RS>
i, I <HT> t, T <DC4> _ <US>
j, J <LF> u, U <NAK> ? <DEL>
k, K <VT> v, V <SYN>
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
min _n_u_m_b_e_r
time _n_u_m_b_e_r Set the value of min or time to _n_u_m_b_e_r. MIN
and TIME are used in noncanonical mode input
processing (-icanon).
4.59.4.6 Combination Modes
_s_a_v_e_d _s_e_t_t_i_n_g_s Set the current terminal characteristics to the
saved settings produced by the -g option.
evenp or parity Enable parenb and cs7; disable parodd.
oddp Enable parenb, cs7, and parodd.
-parity, -evenp, or -oddp
Disable parenb, and set cs8.
nl (-nl) Enable (disable) icrnl. In addition, -nl
unsets inlcr and igncr.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.59 stty - Set the options for a terminal 731
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
ek Reset ERASE and KILL characters back to system
defaults.
sane Reset all modes to some reasonable,
unspecified, values.
4.59.5 External Influences
4.59.5.1 Standard Input
Although no input is read from standard input, standard input is used to
get the current terminal I/O characteristics and to set new terminal I/O
characteristics.
4.59.5.2 Input Files
None.
4.59.5.3 Environment Variables
The following environment variables shall affect the execution of stty:
LANG This variable shall determine the locale to use for
the locale categories when both LC_ALL and the
corresponding environment variable (beginning with
LC_) do not specify a locale. See 2.6.
LC_ALL This variable shall determine the locale to be used
to override any values for locale categories
specified by the settings of LANG or any
environment variables beginning with LC_.
LC_CTYPE This variable shall determine the locale for the
interpretation of sequences of bytes of text data
as characters (e.g., single- versus multibyte
characters in arguments) and which characters are
in the class print.
LC_MESSAGES This variable shall determine the language in which
messages should be written.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
732 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
4.59.5.4 Asynchronous Events
Default.
4.59.6 External Effects
4.59.6.1 Standard Output
If operands are specified, no output shall be produced.
If the -g option is specified, stty shall write to standard output the
current settings in a form that can be used as arguments to another
instance of stty on the same system.
If the -a option is specified, all of the information as described in
4.59.4 shall be written to standard output. Unless otherwise specified,
this information shall be written as <space>-separated tokens in an
unspecified format, on one or more lines, with an unspecified number of
tokens per line. Additional information may be written.
If no options or operands are specified, an unspecified subset of the
information written for the -a option shall be written.
If speed information is written as part of the default output, or if the
-a option is specified and if the terminal input speed and output speed
are the same, the speed information shall be written as follows:
"speed %d baud;", <_s_p_e_e_d>
Otherwise, speeds shall be written as:
"ispeed %d baud; ospeed %d baud;", <_i_s_p_e_e_d>, <_o_s_p_e_e_d>
In locales other than the POSIX Locale, the word baud may be changed to
something more appropriate in those locales.
If control characters are written as part of the default output, or if
the -a option is specified, control characters shall be written as:
"%s = %s;", <_c_o_n_t_r_o_l-_c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r _n_a_m_e>, <_v_a_l_u_e>
where _v_a_l_u_e is either the character, or some visual representation of the
character if it is nonprintable, or the string <undef> if the character
is disabled.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.59 stty - Set the options for a terminal 733
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.59.6.2 Standard Error
Used only for diagnostic messages.
4.59.6.3 Output Files
None.
4.59.7 Extended Description
None.
4.59.8 Exit Status
The stty utility shall exit with one of the following values:
0 The terminal options were read or set successfully.
>0 An error occurred.
4.59.9 Consequences of Errors
Default.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
4.59.10 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s_,__U_s_a_g_e
Since POSIX.1 {8} doesn't specify any output modes, they are not
specified in this standard either. Implementations are expected to
provide stty operands corresponding to all of the output modes they
support.
In many ways outside the scope of POSIX.2, stty is primarily used to
tailor the user interface of the terminal, such as selecting the
preferred ERASE and KILL characters. As an application programming
utility, stty can be used within shell scripts to alter the terminal
settings for the duration of the script. The -g flag is designed to
facilitate the saving and restoring of terminal state from the shell
level. For example, a program may:
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
734 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
saveterm="$(stty -g)" # save terminal state
stty (_n_e_w _s_e_t_t_i_n_g_s) # _s_e_t _n_e_w _s_t_a_t_e
... # ...
stty $saveterm # restore terminal state
Since the format is unspecified, the saved value is not portable across
systems.
Since the -a format is so loosely specified, scripts that save and
restore terminal settings should use the -g option.
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
The original stty manual page was taken directly from System V and
reflected the System V terminal driver _t_e_r_m_i_o. It has been modified to
correspond to the POSIX.1 {8} terminal driver _t_e_r_m_i_o_s.
The _t_e_r_m_i_o_s section states that individual disabling of control
characters is an option {_POSIX_VDISABLE}. If enabled, two conventions
currently exist for specifying this: System V uses "^-", and BSD uses
undef. Both are accepted by POSIX.2 stty. The other BSD convention of
using the letter u was rejected because it conflicts with the actual
letter u, which is an acceptable value for a control character.
Early drafts did not specify the mapping of ^_c to control characters
because the control characters were not specified in the POSIX Locale
character set description file requirements. The control character set
is now specified in 2.4.1, so the traditional mapping is specified. Note
that although the mapping corresponds to control-character key
assignments on many terminals that use ISO/IEC 646 {1} (or ASCII)
character encodings, the mapping specified here is to the control
characters, not their keyboard encodings.
The combination options raw and cooked (-raw) were dropped from the
standard because the exact values that should be set are not well
understood or commonly agreed on. In particular, _t_e_r_m_i_o_s has no explicit
RAW bit, and the options that should be re-enabled (-raw) _a_r_e _n_o_t _c_l_e_a_r.
_G_e_n_e_r_a_l _p_r_o_g_r_a_m_m_i_n_g _p_r_a_c_t_i_c_e _i_s _t_o _s_a_v_e _t_h_e _t_e_r_m_i_n_a_l _s_t_a_t_e, _c_h_a_n_g_e _t_h_e
_s_e_t_t_i_n_g_s _f_o_r _t_h_e _d_u_r_a_t_i_o_n _o_f _t_h_e _p_r_o_g_r_a_m, _a_n_d _t_h_e_n _r_e_s_e_t _t_h_e _s_t_a_t_e. _T_h_i_s
_i_s _e_a_s_y _t_o _d_o _w_i_t_h_i_n _a _C _p_r_o_g_r_a_m, _h_o_w_e_v_e_r _i_t _i_s _n_o_t _p_o_s_s_i_b_l_e _f_o_r _a _s_i_n_g_l_e
_i_n_v_o_c_a_t_i_o_n _o_f _s_t_t_y to restore the terminal state (-raw) without knowledge
of the prior settings. Using the -g option and two calls to stty, a
shell application could do this as described above. However, it is
impossible to implement this as a single option. Also, it is not clear
that changing word size and parity is appropriate. For example,
requiring that cooked set cs7 and parenb would be disastrous for users
working with 8-bit international character sets. In general, these
options are too ill-defined to be of any use.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.59 stty - Set the options for a terminal 735
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
Since _t_e_r_m_i_o_s supports separate speeds for input and output, two new
options were added to specify each distinctly.
The ixany input mode was removed from Draft 8 on the basis that it could
not be implemented on a POSIX.1 {8} system without extensions.
Some historical implementations use standard input to get and set
terminal characteristics; others use standard output. Since input from a
login TTY is usually restricted to the owner while output to a TTY is
frequently open to the world, using standard input provides fewer chances
of accidentally (or mischievously) altering the terminal settings of
other users. Using standard input also allows stty -a and stty -g output
to be redirected for later use. Therefore, usage of standard input is
required by this standard.
The tostop option was omitted from early drafts through an oversight. It 2
is the only option that requires job control to be effective, and thus 2
could have gone into the UPE as a modification to stty, but since all 2
other terminal control features are in the base standard, tostop was 2
included as well. 2
END_RATIONALE 2
4.60 tail - Copy the last part of a file
4.60.1 Synopsis
tail [-f] [ -c _n_u_m_b_e_r | -n _n_u_m_b_e_r ] [_f_i_l_e]
_O_b_s_o_l_e_s_c_e_n_t _v_e_r_s_i_o_n_s:
tail -[_n_u_m_b_e_r][c|l][f] [_f_i_l_e]
tail +[_n_u_m_b_e_r][c|l][f] [_f_i_l_e]
4.60.2 Description
The tail utility shall copy its input file to the standard output
beginning at a designated place.
Copying shall begin at the point in the file indicated by the -c _n_u_m_b_e_r
or -n _n_u_m_b_e_r options (or the +__n_u_m_b_e_r portion of the argument to the
obsolescent version). The option-argument _n_u_m_b_e_r shall be counted in
units of lines or bytes, according to the options -n and -c (or, in the
obsolescent version, the appended option suffixes l or c).
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
736 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
Tails relative to the end of the file may be saved in an internal buffer,
and thus may be limited in length. Implementations shall ensure that
such a buffer, if any, is no smaller than {LINE_MAX}*10 bytes.
4.60.3 Options
The tail utility shall conform to the utility argument syntax guidelines
described in standard described in 2.10.2, except that the obsolescent
version accepts multicharacter options that can preceded by a plus sign.
The following options shall be supported by the implementation in the
nonobsolescent version:
-c _n_u_m_b_e_r The _n_u_m_b_e_r option-argument shall be a decimal integer
whose sign affects the location in the file, measured in
bytes, to begin the copying:
Sign Copying Starts
____ ______________________________________
+ Relative to the beginning of the file.
- Relative to the end of the file.
_n_o_n_e Relative to the end of the file.
The origin for counting shall be 1; i.e., -c +1 represents 1
the first byte of the file, -c -1 the last. 1
-f If the input file is a regular file or if the _f_i_l_e operand
specifies a FIFO, do not terminate after the last line of
the input file has been copied, but read and copy further
bytes from the input file when they become available. If
no _f_i_l_e operand is specified and standard input is a pipe,
the -f option shall be ignored. If the input file is not
a FIFO, pipe, or regular file, it is unspecified whether
or not the -f option shall be ignored.
-n _n_u_m_b_e_r This option shall be equivalent to -c _n_u_m_b_e_r, except the
starting location in the file shall be measured in lines
instead of bytes. The origin for counting shall be 1; 1
i.e., -n +1 represents the first line of the file, -n -1 1
the last. 1
In the obsolescent version, an argument beginning with a - or + can be
used as a single option. The argument +__n_u_m_b_e_r with the letter c
specified as a suffix shall be equivalent to -c +__n_u_m_b_e_r; +__n_u_m_b_e_r with the
letter l specified as a suffix, or with neither c nor l as a suffix,
shall be equivalent to -n +__n_u_m_b_e_r. If _n_u_m_b_e_r is not specified in these
forms, 10 shall be used. The letter f specified as a suffix shall be
equivalent to specifying the -f option. If the -[_n_u_m_b_e_r]c[f] form is
used and neither _n_u_m_b_e_r nor the f suffix is specified, it shall be
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.60 tail - Copy the last part of a file 737
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
interpreted as the -c _n_u_m_b_e_r option.
In the nonobsolescent form, if neither -c nor -n is specified, -n 10
shall be assumed.
4.60.4 Operands
The following operand shall be supported by the implementation:
_f_i_l_e A pathname of an input file. If no _f_i_l_e operands are
specified, the standard input shall be used.
4.60.5 External Influences
4.60.5.1 Standard Input
The standard input shall be used only if no _f_i_l_e operands are specified.
See Input Files.
4.60.5.2 Input Files
If the -c option is specified, the input file can contain arbitrary data;
otherwise, the input file shall be a text file.
4.60.5.3 Environment Variables
The following environment variables shall affect the execution of tail:
LANG This variable shall determine the locale to use for
the locale categories when both LC_ALL and the
corresponding environment variable (beginning with
LC_) do not specify a locale. See 2.6.
LC_ALL This variable shall determine the locale to be used
to override any values for locale categories
specified by the settings of LANG or any
environment variables beginning with LC_.
LC_CTYPE This variable shall determine the locale for the
interpretation of sequences of bytes of text data
as characters (e.g., single- versus multibyte
characters in arguments and input files).
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
738 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
LC_MESSAGES This variable shall determine the language in which
messages should be written.
4.60.5.4 Asynchronous Events
Default.
4.60.6 External Effects
4.60.6.1 Standard Output
The designated portion of the input file shall be written to standard
output.
4.60.6.2 Standard Error
Used only for diagnostic messages.
4.60.6.3 Output Files
None.
4.60.7 Extended Description
None.
4.60.8 Exit Status
The tail utility shall exit with one of the following values:
0 Successful completion.
>0 An error occurred.
4.60.9 Consequences of Errors
Default.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.60 tail - Copy the last part of a file 739
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.60.10 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
_U_s_a_g_e_,__E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s
The nonobsolescent version of tail was created to allow conformance to
the Utility Syntax Guidelines. The historical -b option was omitted
because of the general nonportability of block-sized units of text. The
-c option historically meant ``characters,'' but this standard indicates
that it means ``bytes.'' This was selected to allow reasonable
implementations when multibyte characters are possible; it was not named
-b to avoid confusion with the historical -b.
Note that the -c option should be used with caution when the input is a
text file containing multibyte characters; it may produce output that
does not start on a character boundary.
The origin of counting both lines and bytes is 1, matching all widespread 1
historical implementations. 1
The restriction on the internal buffer is a compromise between the
historical System V implementation of 4K and the BSD 32K.
The -f option can be used to monitor the growth of a file that is being
written by some other process. For example, the command:
tail -f fred
prints the last ten lines of the file fred, followed by any lines that
are appended to fred between the time tail is initiated and killed. As
another example, the command:
tail -f -c 15 fred
prints the last 15 bytes of the file fred, followed by any bytes that are
appended to fred between the time tail is initiated and killed.
Although the input file to tail can be any type, the results need not be
what would be expected on some character special device files or on file
types not described by POSIX.1 {8}. Since the standard does not specify
the block size used when doing input, tail need not read all of the data
from devices that only perform block transfers.
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
The developers of the standard originally decided that tail, and its
frequent companion, head, were useful mostly to interactive users, and
not application programs. However, balloting input suggested that these
utilities actually do find significant use in scripts, such as to write
out portions of log files. The balloters also challenged the working
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
740 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
group's assumption that clever use of sed could be an appropriate
substitute for tail.
The -f option has been implemented as a loop that sleeps for one second
and copies any bytes that are available. This is sufficient, but if more
efficient methods of determining when new data are available are
developed, implementations are encouraged to use them.
Historical documentation says that tail ignores the -f option if the
input file is a pipe (pipe and FIFO on systems that support FIFOs). On
BSD-based systems, this has been true; on System V-based systems, this
was true when input was taken from standard input, but behaved as on
other files if a FIFO was named as the _f_i_l_e operand. Since the -f option
is not useful on pipes and all historical implementations ignore -f if no
_f_i_l_e operand is specified and standard input is a pipe, POSIX.2 requires
this behavior. However, since the -f option is useful on a FIFO, POSIX.2
also requires that if standard input is a FIFO or a FIFO is named, the -f
option shall not be ignored. Although historical behavior does not
ignore the -f option for other file types, this is unspecified so that
implementations are allowed to ignore the -f option if it is known that
the file cannot be extended.
An earlier draft had the synopsis line:
tail [ -c | -l ] [-f] [-n _n_u_m_b_e_r] [_f_i_l_e]
This was changed to the current form based on comments and objections
noting that -c was almost never used without specifying a number and
there was no need to specify -l if -n _n_u_m_b_e_r was given.
END_RATIONALE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.60 tail - Copy the last part of a file 741
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.61 tee - Duplicate standard input
4.61.1 Synopsis
tee [-ai] [_f_i_l_e ...]
4.61.2 Description
The tee utility shall copy standard input to standard output, making a
copy in zero or more files. The tee utility shall not buffer output.
The options determine if the specified files are overwritten or appended
to.
4.61.3 Options
The tee utility shall conform to the utility argument syntax guidelines
described in 2.10.2.
The following options shall be supported by the implementation:
-a Append the output to the files rather than overwriting
them.
-i Ignore the SIGINT signal.
4.61.4 Operands
The following operands shall be supported by the implementation:
_f_i_l_e A pathname of an output file. Implementations shall
support processing of at least 13 _f_i_l_e operands.
4.61.5 External Influences
4.61.5.1 Standard Input
The standard input can be of any type.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
742 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
4.61.5.2 Input Files
None.
4.61.5.3 Environment Variables
The following environment variables shall affect the execution of tee:
LANG This variable shall determine the locale to use for
the locale categories when both LC_ALL and the
corresponding environment variable (beginning with
LC_) do not specify a locale. See 2.6.
LC_ALL This variable shall determine the locale to be used
to override any values for locale categories
specified by the settings of LANG or any
environment variables beginning with LC_.
LC_CTYPE This variable shall determine the locale for the
interpretation of sequences of bytes of text data
as characters (e.g., single- versus multibyte
characters in arguments).
LC_MESSAGES This variable shall determine the language in which
messages should be written.
4.61.5.4 Asynchronous Events
Default, except that if the -i option was specified, SIGINT shall be
ignored.
4.61.6 External Effects
4.61.6.1 Standard Output
The standard output shall be a copy of the standard input.
4.61.6.2 Standard Error
Used only for diagnostic messages.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.61 tee - Duplicate standard input 743
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.61.6.3 Output Files
If any _f_i_l_e operands are specified, the standard input shall be copied to
each named file.
4.61.7 Extended Description
None.
4.61.8 Exit Status
0 The standard input was successfully copied to all output files.
>0 An error occurred.
4.61.9 Consequences of Errors
If a write to any successfully opened _f_i_l_e operand fails, writes to other
successfully opened _f_i_l_e operands and standard output shall continue, but
the exit status shall be nonzero. Otherwise, the default actions
specified in 2.11.9 shall apply.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
4.61.10 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s_,__U_s_a_g_e
The tee utility is usually used in a pipeline, to make a copy of the
output of some utility.
The _f_i_l_e operand is technically optional, but tee is no more useful than
cat when none is specified.
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
The buffering requirement means that tee is not allowed to use
C Standard {7} fully-buffered or line-buffered writes, not that tee has
to do one-byte reads followed by one-byte writes.
It should be noted that early versions of BSD silently ignore any invalid
options, and accept a single - as an alternative to -i. They also print
the message
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
744 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
"tee: cannot access %s\n", <_p_a_t_h_n_a_m_e>
if unable to open a file.
Historical implementations ignore write errors. This is explicitly not
permitted by this standard.
Some historical implementations use O_APPEND when providing append mode;
others just _l_s_e_e_k() to the end of file after opening the file without
O_APPEND. This standard requires functionality equivalent to using
O_APPEND; see 2.9.1.4.
END_RATIONALE
4.62 test - Evaluate expression
4.62.1 Synopsis
test [_e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n]
[ [_e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n] ]
4.62.2 Description
The test utility shall evaluate the _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n and indicate the result of 1
the evaluation by its exit status. An exit status of zero indicates that 1
the expression evaluated as true and an exit status of 1 indicates that 1
the expression evaluated as false. 1
In the second form of the utility, which uses [ ], rather than test, the
square brackets shall be separate arguments.
4.62.3 Options
The test utility shall not recognize the -- argument in the manner
specified by utility syntax guideline 10 in 2.10.2.
Implementations shall not support any options. 1
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.62 test - Evaluate expression 745
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.62.4 Operands
All operators and elements of primaries shall be presented as separate 2
arguments to the test utility.
The following primaries can be used to construct _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n:
-b _f_i_l_e True if _f_i_l_e exists and is a block special file.
-c _f_i_l_e True if _f_i_l_e exists and is a character special file.
-d _f_i_l_e True if _f_i_l_e exists and is a directory.
-e _f_i_l_e True if _f_i_l_e exists.
-f _f_i_l_e True if _f_i_l_e exists and is a regular file.
-g _f_i_l_e True if _f_i_l_e exists and its set group ID flag is set.
-n _s_t_r_i_n_g True if the length of _s_t_r_i_n_g is nonzero.
-p _f_i_l_e True if _f_i_l_e is a named pipe (FIFO).
-r _f_i_l_e True if _f_i_l_e exists and is readable.
-s _f_i_l_e True if _f_i_l_e exists and has a size greater than zero.
-t _f_i_l_e__d_e_s_c_r_i_p_t_o_r
True if the file whose file descriptor number is
_f_i_l_e__d_e_s_c_r_i_p_t_o_r is open and is associated with a
terminal.
-u _f_i_l_e True if _f_i_l_e exists and its set-user-ID flag is set.
-w _f_i_l_e True if _f_i_l_e exists and is writable. True shall indicate
only that the write flag is on. The _f_i_l_e shall not be
writable on a read-only file system even if this test
indicates true.
-x _f_i_l_e True if _f_i_l_e exists and is executable. True shall
indicate only that the execute flag is on. If _f_i_l_e is a
directory, true indicates that _f_i_l_e can be searched.
-z _s_t_r_i_n_g True if the length of string _s_t_r_i_n_g is zero.
_s_t_r_i_n_g True if the string _s_t_r_i_n_g is not the null string.
_s_1 = _s_2 True if the strings _s_1 and _s_2 are identical.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
746 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
_s_1 != _s_2 True if the strings _s_1 and _s_2 are not identical.
_n_1 -_e_q _n_2 True if the integers _n_1 and _n_2 are algebraically equal.
_n_1 -_n_e _n_2 True if the integers _n_1 and _n_2 are not algebraically
equal.
_n_1 -_g_t _n_2 True if the integer _n_1 is algebraically greater than the
integer _n_2.
_n_1 -_g_e _n_2 True if the integer _n_1 is algebraically greater than or
equal to the integer _n_2.
_n_1 -_l_t _n_2 True if the integer _n_1 is algebraically less than the
integer _n_2.
_n_1 -_l_e _n_2 True if the integer _n_1 is algebraically less than or
equal to the integer _n_2.
A primary can be preceded by the ! operator to complement its test, as 1
described below. 1
The primaries with two elements of the form: 2
-_p_r_i_m_a_r_y__o_p_e_r_a_t_o_r _p_r_i_m_a_r_y__o_p_e_r_a_n_d 2
are known as _u_n_a_r_y _p_r_i_m_a_r_i_e_s. The primaries with three elements in 2
either of the two forms: 2
_p_r_i_m_a_r_y__o_p_e_r_a_n_d -_p_r_i_m_a_r_y__o_p_e_r_a_t_o_r _p_r_i_m_a_r_y__o_p_e_r_a_n_d 2
_p_r_i_m_a_r_y__o_p_e_r_a_n_d _p_r_i_m_a_r_y__o_p_e_r_a_t_o_r _p_r_i_m_a_r_y__o_p_e_r_a_n_d 2
are known as _b_i_n_a_r_y _p_r_i_m_a_r_i_e_s. Additional implementation-defined 2
operators and _p_r_i_m_a_r_y__o_p_e_r_a_t_o_rs may be provided by implementations. They 2
shall be of the form -_o_p_e_r_a_t_o_r where the first character of _o_p_e_r_a_t_o_r is 2
not a digit. The additional implementation-defined operators ``('' and 2
``)'' may also be provided by implementations. 2
The algorithm for determining the precedence of the operators and the 1
return value that shall be generated is based on the number of arguments 1
presented to test. (However, when using the [...] form, the right- 1
bracket final argument shall not be counted in this algorithm.) In the 1
following list, $1, $2, $3, and $4 represent the arguments presented to 1
test. 1
0 arguments: 1
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.62 test - Evaluate expression 747
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
Exit false (1). 1
1 argument: 1
Exit true (0) if $1 is not null; otherwise, exit false. 1
2 arguments: 1
- If $1 is !, exit true if $2 is null, false if $2 is not null. 1
- If $1 is a unary primary, exit true if the unary test is 2
true, false if the unary test is false. 1
- Otherwise, produce unspecified results. 1
3 arguments: 1
- If $2 is a binary primary, perform the binary test of $1 and 2
$3. 2
- If $1 is !, negate the two-argument test of $2 and $3. 1
- Otherwise, produce unspecified results. 1
4 arguments: 1
- If $1 is !, negate the three-argument test of $2, $3, and $4. 1
- Otherwise, the results are unspecified. 1
>4 arguments: 1
The results are unspecified. 1
4.62.5 External Influences
4.62.5.1 Standard Input
None.
4.62.5.2 Input Files
None.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
748 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
4.62.5.3 Environment Variables
The following environment variables shall affect the execution of test:
LANG This variable shall determine the locale to use for
the locale categories when both LC_ALL and the
corresponding environment variable (beginning with
LC_) do not specify a locale. See 2.6.
LC_ALL This variable shall determine the locale to be used
to override any values for locale categories
specified by the settings of LANG or any
environment variables beginning with LC_.
LC_CTYPE This variable shall determine the locale for the
interpretation of sequences of bytes of text data
as characters (e.g., single- versus multibyte
characters in arguments).
LC_MESSAGES This variable shall determine the language in which
messages should be written.
4.62.5.4 Asynchronous Events
Default.
4.62.6 External Effects
4.62.6.1 Standard Output
None.
4.62.6.2 Standard Error
Used only for diagnostic messages.
4.62.6.3 Output Files
None.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.62 test - Evaluate expression 749
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.62.7 Extended Description
None.
4.62.8 Exit Status
The test utility shall exit with one of the following values:
0 _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n evaluated to true.
1 _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n evaluated to false or _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n was missing.
>1 An error occurred.
4.62.9 Consequences of Errors
Default.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
4.62.10 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s_,__U_s_a_g_e
_E_d_i_t_o_r'_s _N_o_t_e: _T_h_e _r_a_t_i_o_n_a_l_e _h_a_s _b_e_e_n _r_e_a_r_r_a_n_g_e_d _q_u_i_t_e _a _b_i_t. _O_n_l_y _n_e_w, 1
_n_o_t _m_o_v_e_d, _t_e_x_t _h_a_s _b_e_e_n _d_i_f_f_m_a_r_k_e_d. 1
Historical systems have supported more than four arguments, but there has 1
been a fundamental disagreement between BSD and System V on certain 1
combinations of arguments. Since no accommodation could be reached 1
between the two versions of test without breaking numerous applications, 1
the version of test in POSIX.2 specifies only the relatively simple tests 1
and relies on the syntax of the shell command language for the 1
construction of more complex expressions. Using the POSIX.2 rules 1
produces completely reliable, portable scripts, which is not always 1
possible using either of the historical forms. Some of the historical 1
behavior is described here to aid conversion of scripts with complex test 1
expressions. 1
Both BSD and System V support the combining of primaries with the 1
following constructs: 1
_e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n_1 -_a _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n_2 True if both _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n_1 and _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n_2 1
are true. 1
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
750 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
_e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n_1 -_o _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n_2 True if at least one of _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n_1 and 1
_e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n_2 are true. 1
( _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n ) True if _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n is true. 1
In evaluating these more complex combined expressions, the following 1
precedence rules are used: 1
- The unary primaries have higher precedence than the algebraic 1
binary primaries. 1
- On BSD systems, the unary primaries have higher precedence than the 1
string binary primaries. On System V systems, the unary primaries 1
have lower precedence than the string binary primaries. 1
- The unary and binary primaries have higher precedence than the 1
unary _s_t_r_i_n_g primary. 1
- The ! operator has higher precedence than the -a operator and the 1
-a operator has higher precedence than the -o operator. 1
- The -a and -o operators are left associative. 1
- The parentheses can be used to alter the normal precedence and 1
associativity. 1
The following guidance is offered for the use of the historical 1
expressions: 1
- Scripts should be careful when dealing with user-supplied input 1
that could be confused with primaries and operators. Unless the
application writer knows all the cases that produce input to the
script, invocations like:
test "$1" -a "$2"
should be written as:
test "$1" && test "$2" 1
to avoid problems if a user-supplied values such as $1 set to ! and
$2 set to the null string. That is, in cases where portability
between implementations based on BSD and System V systems is of
concern, replace:
test expr1 -a expr2
with:
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.62 test - Evaluate expression 751
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
test expr1 && test expr2
and replace:
test expr1 -o expr2
with:
test expr1 || test expr2
but note that, in test, -a has higher precedence than -o while &&
and || have equal precedence in the shell.
Parentheses or braces can be used in the shell command language to 1
effect grouping. Historical test implementations also support 1
parentheses, but they must be escaped when using sh; for example: 1
test \( expr1 -a expr2 \) -o expr3 1
This command is not always portable. The following form can be 1
used instead: 1
( test expr1 && test expr2 ) || test expr3 1
- The two commands: 1
test "$1" 1
test ! "$1" 1
could not be used reliably on historical systems. Unexpected 1
results would occur if such a _s_t_r_i_n_g expression were used and $1 1
expanded to !, (, or a known unary primary. Better constructs 1
were: 1
test -n "$1" 1
test -z "$1" 1
respectively. These suggested replacements have always worked on 1
historical BSD-based implementations, and work on historical 1
System V-based implementations as long as $1 does not expand to = 1
or !=. Using the POSIX.2 rules, any of the four forms shown will 1
work for any possible value of $1. 1
- Historical systems were also unreliable given the common construct: 1
test "$response" = "expected string" 1
One of the following was a more reliable form: 1
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
752 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
test "X$response" = "Xexpected string"
test "expected string" = "$response"
Note that the second form assumes that expected string could not be
confused with any any unary primary. If expected string starts
with -, (, !, or even =, the first form should be used instead.
Using the POSIX.2 rules, any of the three comparison forms is
reliable, given any input. (However, note that the strings are
quoted in all cases.)
The BSD and System V versions of -f are not the same. The BSD definition
was:
-f _f_i_l_e True if _f_i_l_e exists and is not a directory.
The _S_V_I_D version (true if the file exists and is a regular file) was
chosen for this standard because its use is consistent with the -b, -c,
-d, and -p operands (_f_i_l_e exists and is a specific file type).
The -e primary, possessing similar functionality to that provided by the
C-shell, was added because it provides the only way for a shell script to
find out if a file exists without trying to open the file. (Since
implementations are allowed to add additional file types, a portable
script cannot use:
test -b foo -o -c foo -o -d foo -o -f foo -o -p foo
to find out if foo is an existing file.) On historical BSD systems, the
existence of a file could be determined by:
test -f foo -o -d foo
but there was no easy way to determine that an existing file was a
regular file. An earlier draft used the KornShell -a primary (with the
same meaning), but this was changed to -e because there were concerns
about the high probability of humans confusing the -a primary with the -a
binary operator.
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
The -a and -o binary operators and the grouping parentheses were omitted 1
from POSIX.2 due to a difference between existing implementations of the 1
test utility in the precedence of the binary primaries = and != compared 1
to the unary primaries -b, -c, -d, -f, -g, -n, -p, -r, -s, -t, -u, -w, 1
-x, and -z. On BSD, Version 7, PWB, and 32V systems the unary primaries
have higher precedence than the binary operators; on System III and
System V implementations, the binary operators = and != have higher
precedence. The change was apparently made for System III so that the
construct:
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.62 test - Evaluate expression 753
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
test "$1" = "$2"
could be made to work even if $1 started with -. It is believed that
this change was a mistake because:
- It is not a complete solution; if $1 expands to ( or !, it still
will not work.
- It makes it impossible to use the unary primaries -n and -z to test
for a null string if there is any chance that the string will
expand to =.
- More importantly, there was the well known workaround of
specifying:
test X"$1" = X"$2"
that always worked.
Unfortunately, when the = and != binary primaries were given precedence
over the unary primaries, there was no workaround provided for scripts
that wanted to reliably specify something like:
test -n "$1"
because if $1 expands to =, it gives a syntax error.
There was some discussion of outlawing the System V behavior and 1
requiring the more logical precedence that originated in its predecessors 1
and remains in BSD-based systems. However, there are simply too many 1
historical applications that would break if System V were required to 1
make this change; this number dwarfed the number of scripts using 1
combination logic that would then no longer be strictly portable. 1
POSIX.2 requires that if test is called with one, two, three, or four 1
operands it correctly interprets the expression even if there is an 1
alternate syntax tree that could lead to a syntax error. It eliminates 1
the requirement that many string comparisons be protected with leading 1
characters, such as 1
test X"$1" = X"$2" 1
and allows the single-argument _s_t_r_i_n_g form to be used with all possible 1
inputs. 1
The following examples show some of the changes that are required to be
made to make historical BSD and System V-based implementations of test
conform to this standard:
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
754 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
test -d = POSIX.2 True if there is a directory named =
BSD True if there is a directory named =
System V Syntax error; = needs two operands
test -d = -f POSIX.2 False
BSD Syntax error; it expects -a or -o
after -d =
System V False
Implementations are prohibited from extending test with options because 1
it would make the ``test _s_t_r_i_n_g'' case ambiguous for inputs that might 1
match an extended option. Implementations can add primaries and 1
operators, as indicated. 1
The following options were not included in POSIX.2, although they are
provided by some historical implementations, since these facilities and
concepts are not supported by POSIX.1 {8}, nor defined in POSIX.2. These
operands should not be used by new implementations for other purposes.
-h _f_i_l_e True if _f_i_l_e exists and is a symbolic link.
-k _f_i_l_e True if _f_i_l_e exists and its sticky bit is set.
-L _f_i_l_e True if _f_i_l_e is a symbolic link. 1
-C _f_i_l_e True if _f_i_l_e is a contiguous file. 1
-S _f_i_l_e True if _f_i_l_e is a socket. 1
-V _f_i_l_e True if _f_i_l_e is a version file. 1
The following option was not included because it was undocumented in most
implementations, has been removed from some implementations (including
System V), and the functionality is provided by the shell (see 3.6.2).
-l _s_t_r_i_n_g The length of the string _s_t_r_i_n_g.
The -b, -c, -g, -p, -u, and -x operands are derived from the _S_V_I_D;
historical BSD does not provide them. The -k operand is derived from
System V; historical BSD does not provide it.
On historical BSD systems, test -w _d_i_r_e_c_t_o_r_y always returned false 1
because test tried to open the directory for writing, which always fails. 1
Some additional primaries newly invented or from the KornShell appeared
in an earlier draft as part of the Conditional Command ([[ ]]): _s_1 > _s_2,
_s_1 < _s_2, _s_t_r = _p_a_t_t_e_r_n, _s_t_r != _p_a_t_t_e_r_n, _f_1 -nt _f_2, _f_1 -ot _f_2, and _f_1 -ef 1
_f_2. They were not carried forward into the test utility when the
Conditional Command was removed from the shell because they have not been
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.62 test - Evaluate expression 755
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
included in the test utility built into historical implementations of the
sh utility.
The -t _f_i_l_e__d_e_s_c_r_i_p_t_o_r primary is shown with a mandatory argument because
the grammar is ambiguous if it can be omitted. Historical
implementations have allowed it to be omitted, providing a default of 1.
END_RATIONALE
4.63 touch - Change file access and modification times
4.63.1 Synopsis
touch [-acm] [ -r _r_e_f__f_i_l_e | -t _t_i_m_e ] _f_i_l_e ...
_O_b_s_o_l_e_s_c_e_n_t _V_e_r_s_i_o_n:
touch [-acm] [_d_a_t_e__t_i_m_e] _f_i_l_e ...
4.63.2 Description
The touch utility shall change the modification and/or access times of
files. The modification time is equivalent to the value of the _s_t__m_t_i_m_e
member of the _s_t_a_t structure for a file, as described in POSIX.1 {8}; the
access time is equivalent to the value of _s_t__a_t_i_m_e.
The time used can be specified by the -t _t_i_m_e option-argument, the
corresponding time field(s) of the file referenced by the -r _r_e_f__f_i_l_e
option-argument, or the _d_a_t_e__t_i_m_e operand, as specified in the following
subclauses. If none of these are specified, touch shall use the current
time [the value returned by the equivalent of the POSIX.1 {8} _t_i_m_e()
function].
For each _f_i_l_e operand, touch shall perform actions equivalent to the
following functions defined in POSIX.1 {8}:
(1) If _f_i_l_e does not exist, a _c_r_e_a_t() function call is made with the
_f_i_l_e operand used as the _p_a_t_h argument and the value of the
bitwise inclusive OR of S_IRUSR, S_IWUSR, S_IRGRP, S_IWGRP,
S_IROTH, and S_IWOTH used as the _m_o_d_e argument.
(2) The _u_t_i_m_e() function is called with the following arguments:
(a) The _f_i_l_e operand is used as the _p_a_t_h argument.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
756 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
(b) The _u_t_i_m_b_u_f structure members _a_c_t_i_m_e and _m_o_d_t_i_m_e are
determined as described under 4.63.3.
4.63.3 Options
The touch utility shall conform to the utility argument syntax guidelines
described in 2.10.2.
The following options shall be supported by the implementation:
-a Change the access time of _f_i_l_e. Do not change the
modification time unless -m is also specified.
-c Do not create a specified _f_i_l_e if it does not exist. Do
not write any diagnostic messages concerning this
condition.
-m Change the modification time of _f_i_l_e. Do not change the
access time unless -a is also specified.
-r _r_e_f__f_i_l_e Use the corresponding time of the file named by the
pathname _r_e_f__f_i_l_e instead of the current time.
-t _t_i_m_e Use the specified _t_i_m_e instead of the current time. The
option-argument shall be a decimal number of the form:
[[_C_C]_Y_Y]_M_M_D_D_h_h_m_m[._S_S]
where each two digits represents the following:
_M_M The month of the year (01-12).
_D_D The day of the month (01-31).
_h_h The hour of the day (00-23).
_m_m The minute of the hour (00-59).
_C_C The first two digits of the year (the
century).
_Y_Y The second two digits of the year.
_S_S The second of the minute (00-61).
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.63 touch - Change file access and modification times 757
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
Both _C_C and _Y_Y shall be optional. If neither is given,
the current year shall be assumed. If _Y_Y is specified,
but _C_C is not, _C_C shall be derived as follows:
If _Y_Y is: _C_C becomes:
_________ ___________
69-99 19
00-68 20
The resulting time shall be affected by the value of the
TZ environment variable. If the resulting time value
precedes the Epoch, touch shall exit immediately with an
error status. The range of valid times past the Epoch is
implementation defined, but shall extend to at least
midnight 1 January 2000 UTC.
The range for _S_S is (00-61) rather than (00-59) because of
leap seconds. If _S_S is 60 or 61, and the resulting time,
as affected by the TZ environment variable, does not refer
to a leap second: the resulting time shall be one or two
seconds after a time where _S_S is 59. If _S_S is not given a
value, it is assumed to be zero.
If neither the -a nor -m options were specified, touch shall behave as if
both the -a and -m options were specified.
4.63.4 Operands
The following operands shall be supported by the implementation:
_f_i_l_e A pathname of a file whose times are to be modified.
_d_a_t_e__t_i_m_e (Obsolescent.) Use the specified _d_a_t_e__t_i_m_e instead of the
current time. The operand is a decimal number of the
form:
_M_M_D_D_h_h_m_m[_y_y]
where _M_M, _D_D, _h_h, and _m_m are as described for the _t_i_m_e
option-argument to the -t option and the optional _y_y is
interpreted as follows:
If not specified, the current year shall be used.
If _y_y is in the range 69-99, the year 1969-1999,
respectively, shall be used. Otherwise, the results
are unspecified.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
758 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
If no -r option is specified, no -t option is specified,
at least two operands are specified, and the first operand
is an eight- or ten-digit decimal integer, the first
operand shall be assumed to be a _d_a_t_e__t_i_m_e operand.
Otherwise, the first operand shall be assumed to be a _f_i_l_e
operand.
4.63.5 External Influences
4.63.5.1 Standard Input
None.
4.63.5.2 Input Files
None.
4.63.5.3 Environment Variables
The following environment variables shall affect the execution of touch:
LANG This variable shall determine the locale to use for
the locale categories when both LC_ALL and the
corresponding environment variable (beginning with
LC_) do not specify a locale. See 2.6.
LC_ALL This variable shall determine the locale to be used
to override any values for locale categories
specified by the settings of LANG or any
environment variables beginning with LC_.
LC_CTYPE This variable shall determine the locale for the
interpretation of sequences of bytes of text data
as characters (e.g., single- versus multibyte
characters in arguments).
LC_MESSAGES This variable shall determine the language in which
messages should be written.
TZ If the _t_i_m_e option-argument (or operand; see above)
is specified, TZ shall be used to interpret the
time for the specified time zone.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.63 touch - Change file access and modification times 759
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.63.5.4 Asynchronous Events
Default.
4.63.6 External Effects
4.63.6.1 Standard Output
None.
4.63.6.2 Standard Error
Used only for diagnostic messages.
4.63.6.3 Output Files
None.
4.63.7 Extended Description
None.
4.63.8 Exit Status
The touch utility shall exit with one of the following values:
0 The utility executed successfully and all requested changes were
made.
>0 An error occurred.
4.63.9 Consequences of Errors
Default.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
760 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
4.63.10 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s_,__U_s_a_g_e
The functionality of touch is described almost entirely through
references to functions in POSIX.1 {8}. In this way, there is no
duplication of effort required for describing such side effects as the
relationship of user IDs to the user database, permissions, etc.
The interpretation of time is taken to be ``seconds since the Epoch,'' as
defined by 2.2.2.129. It should be noted that POSIX.1 {8} conforming
implementations do not take leap seconds into account when computing
seconds since the Epoch. When _S_S=60 is used on POSIX.1 {8} conforming
implementations, the resulting time always refers to 1 plus ``seconds
since the Epoch'' for a time when _S_S=59.
Note that although the -t _t_i_m_e option-argument and the obsolescent
_d_a_t_e__t_i_m_e operand specify values in 1969, the access time and
modification time fields are defined in terms of seconds since the Epoch
(midnight on 1 January 1970 UTC). Therefore, depending on the value of 1
TZ when touch is run, there will never be more than a few valid hours in
1969 and there need not be any valid times in 1969.
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
There are some significant differences between this touch and those in
System V and BSD systems. They are upward compatible for existing
applications from both implementations.
(1) In System V, an ambiguity exists when a pathname that is a
decimal number leads the operands; it is treated as a time
value. In BSD, no _t_i_m_e value is allowed; files may only be
touched to the current time. The [-t _t_i_m_e] construct solves
these problems for future portable applications (note that the
-t option is not existing practice).
(2) The inclusion of the century digits, _C_C, is also new. Note that
a ten-digit _t_i_m_e value is treated as if _Y_Y, and not _C_C, were
specified. The caveat about the range of dates following the
Epoch was included as recognition that some UNIX systems will
not be able to represent dates beyond the January 18, 2038,
because they use _s_i_g_n_e_d _i_n_t as a time holder.
One ambiguous situation occurs if -t _t_i_m_e is not specified, -r _r_e_f__f_i_l_e
is not specified, and the first operand is an eight- or ten-digit decimal
number. A portable script can avoid this problem by using:
touch -- file
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.63 touch - Change file access and modification times 761
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
or
touch ./file
in this case.
The -r option was added because several comments requested this
capability. This option was named -f in an earlier draft, but was
changed because the -f option is used in the BSD version of touch with a
different meaning.
At least one historical implementation of touch incremented the exit code
if -c was specified and the file did not exist. This standard requires
exit status zero if no errors occur.
END_RATIONALE
4.64 tr - Translate characters
4.64.1 Synopsis
tr [-cs] _s_t_r_i_n_g_1 _s_t_r_i_n_g_2
tr -s [-c] _s_t_r_i_n_g_1
tr -d [-c] _s_t_r_i_n_g_1
tr -ds [-c] _s_t_r_i_n_g_1 _s_t_r_i_n_g_2
4.64.2 Description
The tr utility shall copy the standard input to the standard output with
substitution or deletion of selected characters. The options specified
and the _s_t_r_i_n_g_1 and _s_t_r_i_n_g_2 operands shall control translations that
occur while copying characters and collating elements.
4.64.3 Options
The tr utility shall conform to the utility argument syntax guidelines
described in 2.10.2.
The following options shall be supported by the implementation:
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
762 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
-c Complement the set of characters specified by _s_t_r_i_n_g_1. See
4.64.7.
-d Delete all occurrences of input characters that are
specified by _s_t_r_i_n_g_1.
-s Replace instances of repeated characters with a single 1
character, as described in 4.64.7. 1
4.64.4 Operands
The following operands shall be supported by the implementation:
_s_t_r_i_n_g_1
_s_t_r_i_n_g_2 Translation control strings. Each string shall represent
a set of characters to be converted into an array of
characters used for the translation. For a detailed
description of how the strings are interpreted, see
4.64.7.
4.64.5 External Influences
4.64.5.1 Standard Input
The standard input can be any type of file.
4.64.5.2 Input Files
None.
4.64.5.3 Environment Variables
The following environment variables shall affect the execution of tr:
LANG This variable shall determine the locale to use for
the locale categories when both LC_ALL and the
corresponding environment variable (beginning with
LC_) do not specify a locale. See 2.6.
LC_ALL This variable shall determine the locale to be used
to override any values for locale categories
specified by the settings of LANG or any
environment variables beginning with LC_.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.64 tr - Translate characters 763
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
LC_COLLATE This variable shall determine the behavior of range
expressions and equivalence classes.
LC_CTYPE This variable shall determine the locale for the
interpretation of sequences of bytes of text data
as characters (e.g., single- versus multibyte
characters in arguments) and the behavior of
character classes.
LC_MESSAGES This variable shall determine the language in which
messages should be written.
4.64.5.4 Asynchronous Events
Default.
4.64.6 External Effects
4.64.6.1 Standard Output
The tr output shall be identical to the input, with the exception of the
specified transformations.
4.64.6.2 Standard Error
Used only for diagnostic messages.
4.64.6.3 Output Files
None.
4.64.7 Extended Description
The operands _s_t_r_i_n_g_1 and _s_t_r_i_n_g_2 (if specified) define two arrays of
characters or collating elements. The following conventions can be used
to specify characters or collating elements:
_c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r Any character not described by one of the conventions
below shall represent itself.
\_o_c_t_a_l Octal sequences can be used to represent characters with
specific coded values. An octal sequence shall consist
of a backslash followed by the longest sequence of one-,
two-, or three-octal-digit characters (01234567). The
sequence shall cause the character whose encoding is
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
764 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
represented by the one-, two-, or three-digit octal
integer to be placed into the array. If the size of a 1
byte on the system is greater than nine bits, the valid 1
escape sequence used to represent a byte is 1
implementation-defined. Multibyte characters require 1
multiple, concatenated escape sequences of this type, 1
including the leading \ for each byte. 1
\_c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r The backslash-escape sequences in Table 2-15 (see 2.12)
shall be supported. The results of using any other
character, other than an octal digit, following the
backslash are unspecified.
_c-_c Represents the range of collating elements between the 2
range endpoints, inclusive, as defined by the current
setting of the LC_COLLATE locale category. The starting
endpoint shall precede the second endpoint in the
current collation order. The characters or collating
elements in the range shall be placed in the array in
ascending collation sequence. No multicharacter
collating elements shall be included in the range.
[:_c_l_a_s_s:] Represents all characters belonging to the defined
character class, as defined by the current setting of
the LC_CTYPE locale category. The following character
class names shall be accepted when specified in _s_t_r_i_n_g_1:
alnum cntrl lower space
alpha digit print upper
blank graph punct xdigit
When the -d and -s options are specified together, any
of the character class names shall be accepted in
_s_t_r_i_n_g_2. Otherwise, only character class names lower or
upper shall be accepted in _s_t_r_i_n_g_2 and then only if the
corresponding character class (upper and lower,
respectively) is specified in the same relative position
in _s_t_r_i_n_g_1. Such a specification shall be interpreted as
a request for case conversion. When [:lower:] appears
in _s_t_r_i_n_g_1 and [:upper:] appears in _s_t_r_i_n_g_2, the arrays
shall contain the characters from the toupper mapping in
the LC_CTYPE category of the current locale. When
[:upper:] appears in _s_t_r_i_n_g_1 and [:lower:] appears in
_s_t_r_i_n_g_2, the arrays shall contain the characters from
the tolower mapping in the LC_CTYPE category of the
current locale. The first character from each mapping
pair shall be in the array for _s_t_r_i_n_g_1 and the second
character from each mapping pair shall be in the array
for _s_t_r_i_n_g_2 in the same relative position.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.64 tr - Translate characters 765
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
Except for case conversion, the characters specified by
a character class expression shall be placed in the
array in an unspecified order.
If the name specified for _c_l_a_s_s does not define a valid
character class in the current locale, the behavior is
undefined.
[=_e_q_u_i_v=] Represents all characters or collating elements
belonging to the same equivalence class as _e_q_u_i_v, as
defined by the current setting of the LC_COLLATE locale
category. An equivalence class expression shall be
allowed only in _s_t_r_i_n_g_1, or in _s_t_r_i_n_g_2 when it is being
used by the combined -d and -s options. The characters
belonging to the equivalence class shall be placed in
the array in an unspecified order.
[_x*_n] Represents _n repeated occurrences of the character or
collating symbol _x. Because this expression is used to
map multiple characters to one, it is only valid when it
occurs in _s_t_r_i_n_g_2. If _n is omitted or is zero, it shall
be interpreted as large enough to extend the _s_t_r_i_n_g_2-
based sequence to the length of the _s_t_r_i_n_g_1-based
sequence. If _n has a leading zero, it shall be
interpreted as an octal value. Otherwise, it shall be
interpreted as a decimal value.
When the -d option is not specified:
- Each input character or collating element found in the array
specified by _s_t_r_i_n_g_1 shall be replaced by the character or
collating element in the same relative position in the array
specified by _s_t_r_i_n_g_2. When the array specified by _s_t_r_i_n_g_2 is
shorter that the one specified by _s_t_r_i_n_g_1, the results are
unspecified.
- If the -c option is specified without -d, the complement of the
characters specified by _s_t_r_i_n_g_1--the set of all characters in the
current character set, as defined by the current setting of
LC_CTYPE, except for those actually specified in the _s_t_r_i_n_g_1
operand--shall be placed in the array in ascending collation
sequence, as defined by the current setting of LC_COLLATE.
- Because the order in which characters specified by character class
expressions or equivalence class expressions is undefined, such
expressions should only be used if the intent is to map several
characters into one. An exception is case conversion, as described
previously.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
766 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
When the -d option is specified:
- Input characters or collating elements found in the array specified
by _s_t_r_i_n_g_1 shall be deleted.
- When the -c option is specified with -d, all characters except
those specified by _s_t_r_i_n_g_1 shall be deleted. The contents of
_s_t_r_i_n_g_2 shall be ignored, unless the -s option is also specified.
- The same string cannot be used for both the -d and the -s option;
when both options are specified, both _s_t_r_i_n_g_1 (used for deletion)
and _s_t_r_i_n_g_2 (used for squeezing) shall be required.
When the -s option is specified, after any deletions or translations have
taken place, repeated sequences of the same character shall be replaced
by one occurrence of the same character, if the character is found in the
array specified by the last operand. If the last operand contains a
character class, such as the following example:
tr -s '[:space:]'
the last operand's array shall contain all of the characters in that
character class. However, in a case conversion, as described previously,
such as
tr -s '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]'
the last operand's array shall contain only those characters defined as
the second characters in each of the toupper or tolower character pairs,
as appropriate.
4.64.8 Exit Status
The tr utility shall exit with one of the following values:
0 All input was processed successfully.
>0 An error occurred.
4.64.9 Consequences of Errors
Default.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.64 tr - Translate characters 767
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.64.10 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s_,__U_s_a_g_e
If necessary, _s_t_r_i_n_g_1 and _s_t_r_i_n_g_2 can be quoted to avoid pattern matching
by the shell.
The following example creates a list of all words in _f_i_l_e_1 one per line
in _f_i_l_e_2, where a word is taken to be a maximal string of letters.
tr -cs "[:alpha:]" "[\n*]" <file1 >file2
If an ordinary digit (representing itself) is to follow an octal
sequence, the octal sequence must use the full three digits to avoid
ambiguity.
When _s_t_r_i_n_g_2 is shorter than _s_t_r_i_n_g_1, a difference results between
historical System V and BSD systems. A BSD system will pad _s_t_r_i_n_g_2 with
the last character found in _s_t_r_i_n_g_2. Thus, it is possible to do the
following:
tr 0123456789 d
which would translate all digits to the letter d. Since this area is
specifically unspecified in the standard, both the BSD and System V
behaviors are allowed, but a conforming application cannot rely on the
BSD behavior. It would have to code the example in the following way:
tr 0123456789 '[d*]'
It should be noted that, despite similarities in appearance, the string
operands used by tr are not regular expressions.
On historical System V systems, a range expression requires enclosing 2
square-brackets, such as: 2
tr '[a-z]' '[A-Z]' 2
However, BSD-based systems did not require the brackets and this 2
convention is used by POSIX.2 to avoid breaking large numbers of BSD 2
scripts: 2
tr a-z A-Z 2
The preceding System V script will continue to work because the brackets, 2
treated as regular characters, are translated to themselves. However, 2
any System V script that relied on a-z representing the three characters 2
a, -, and z will have to be rewritten as az- or a\-z. 2
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
768 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
In some earlier drafts, an explicit option, -n, was added to disable the
historical behavior of stripping NUL characters from the input. It was
felt that automatically stripping NUL characters from the input was not
correct functionality. However, the removal of -n in a later draft does
not remove the requirement that tr correctly process NUL characters in
its input stream. NUL characters can be stripped by using tr -d '\000'.
Historical implementations of tr differ widely in syntax and behavior.
For example, the BSD version has not needed the bracket characters for
the repetition sequence. The POSIX.2 tr syntax is based more closely on
the System V and XPG3 model, while attempting to accommodate historical
BSD implementations. In the case of the short _s_t_r_i_n_g_2 padding, the
decision was to unspecify the behavior and preserve System V and XPG
scripts, which might find difficulty with the BSD method. The assumption
was made that BSD users of tr will have to make accommodations to meet
the POSIX.2 syntax anyway, and since it is possible to use the repetition
sequence to duplicate the desired behavior, whereas there is no simple
way to achieve the System V method, this was the correct, if not
desirable, approach.
The use of octal values to specify control characters, while having
historical precedents, is not portable. The introduction of escape
sequences for control characters should provide the necessary
portability. It is recognized that this may cause some historical
scripts to break.
A previous draft included support for multicharacter collating elements.
Several balloters pointed out that, while tr does employ some syntactical
elements from regular expressions, the aim of tr is quite different;
ranges, for instance, do not mean the same thing (``any of the chars in
the range matches,'' versus ``translate each character in the range to
the output counterpart''). As a result, the previously included support
for multicharacter collating elements has been removed. What remains are
ranges in current collation order (to support, e.g., accented
characters), character classes, and equivalence classes.
In XPG3, the [:class:] and [=equiv=] conventions are shown with double
brackets, as in regular expression syntax. Several balloters objected to
this, pointing out that tr does not implement regular expression
principles, just borrows part of the syntax. Consequently, the [:class:]
and [=equiv=] should be regarded as syntactical elements on a par with
[x*n], which is not an RE bracket expression.
END_RATIONALE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.64 tr - Translate characters 769
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.65 true - Return true value
4.65.1 Synopsis
true
4.65.2 Description
The true utility shall return with exit code zero.
4.65.3 Options
None.
4.65.4 Operands
None.
4.65.5 External Influences
4.65.5.1 Standard Input
None.
4.65.5.2 Input Files
None.
4.65.5.3 Environment Variables
None.
4.65.5.4 Asynchronous Events
Default.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
770 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
4.65.6 External Effects
4.65.6.1 Standard Output
None.
4.65.6.2 Standard Error
None.
4.65.6.3 Output Files
None.
4.65.7 Extended Description
None.
4.65.8 Exit Status
The true utility always exits with a value of zero.
4.65.9 Consequences of Errors
Default.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
4.65.10 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s_,__U_s_a_g_e
The true utility is typically used in shell scripts. The special built-
in utility : (see 3.14.2) is sometimes more efficient than true.
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
The true utility has been retained in POSIX.2, even though the shell
special built-in : provides similar functionality, because true is widely
used in existing scripts and is less cryptic to novice human script
readers.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.65 true - Return true value 771
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
END_RATIONALE
4.66 tty - Return user's terminal name
4.66.1 Synopsis
tty
_O_b_s_o_l_e_s_c_e_n_t _V_e_r_s_i_o_n:
tty -s
4.66.2 Description
The tty utility shall write to the standard output the name of the
terminal that is open as standard input. The name that is used shall be
equivalent to the string that would be returned by the POSIX.1 {8}
_t_t_y_n_a_m_e() function.
4.66.3 Options
The tty utility shall conform to the utility argument syntax guidelines
described in 2.10.2.
The following option shall be supported by the implementation:
-s (Obsolescent.) Do not write the terminal name. Only the
exit status shall be affected by this option. The
terminal status shall be determined as if the POSIX.1 {8}
_i_s_a_t_t_y() function were used.
4.66.4 Operands
None.
4.66.5 External Influences
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
772 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
4.66.5.1 Standard Input
While no input is read from standard input, standard input shall be
examined to determine whether or not it is a terminal, and/or to
determine the name of the terminal.
4.66.5.2 Input Files
None.
4.66.5.3 Environment Variables
The following environment variables shall affect the execution of tty:
LANG This variable shall determine the locale to use for
the locale categories when both LC_ALL and the
corresponding environment variable (beginning with
LC_) do not specify a locale. See 2.6.
LC_ALL This variable shall determine the locale to be used
to override any values for locale categories
specified by the settings of LANG or any
environment variables beginning with LC_.
LC_CTYPE For the obsolescent version, this variable shall
determine the locale for the interpretation of
sequences of bytes of text data as characters
(e.g., single- versus multibyte characters in
arguments).
LC_MESSAGES This variable shall determine the language in which
messages should be written.
4.66.5.4 Asynchronous Events
Default.
4.66.6 External Effects
4.66.6.1 Standard Output
If the -s option is specified, standard output shall not be used. If the
-s option is not specified and standard input is a terminal device, a
pathname of the terminal as specified by POSIX.1 {8} _t_t_y_n_a_m_e() shall be
written in the following format:
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.66 tty - Return user's terminal name 773
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
"%s\n", <_t_e_r_m_i_n_a_l _n_a_m_e>
Otherwise, a message shall be written indicating that standard input is
not connected to a terminal. In the POSIX Locale, the tty utility shall
use the format:
"not a tty\n"
4.66.6.2 Standard Error
Used only for diagnostic messages.
4.66.6.3 Output Files
None.
4.66.7 Extended Description
None.
4.66.8 Exit Status
The tty utility shall exit with one of the following values:
0 Standard input is a terminal.
1 Standard input is not a terminal.
>1 An error occurred.
4.66.9 Consequences of Errors
Default.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
4.66.10 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s_,__U_s_a_g_e
This utility checks the status of the file open as standard input against
that of a system-defined set of files. It is possible that no match can
be found, or that the match found need not be the same file as that which
was opened for standard input (although they are the same device).
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
774 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
The -s option is useful only if the exit code is wanted. It does not
rely on the ability to form a valid pathname. The -s option was made
obsolescent because the same functionality is provided by test -t 0, but
not dropped completely because historical scripts depend on this form.
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
The definition of tty was made more explicit to explain the difference
between a tty and a pathname of a tty.
END_RATIONALE
4.67 umask - Get or set the file mode creation mask
4.67.1 Synopsis
umask [-S] [_m_a_s_k]
4.67.2 Description
The umask utility shall set the file mode creation mask of the current
shell execution environment (see 3.12) to the value specified by the _m_a_s_k
operand. This mask shall affect the initial value of the file permission
bits of subsequently created files.
If the _m_a_s_k operand is not specified, the umask utility shall write to
standard output the value of the invoking process's file mode creation
mask.
4.67.3 Options
The umask utility shall conform to the utility argument syntax guidelines
described in 2.10.2.
The following option shall be supported by the implementation:
-S Produce symbolic output.
The default output style is unspecified, but shall be recognized on a
subsequent invocation of umask on the same system as a _m_a_s_k operand to
restore the previous file mode creation mask.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.67 umask - Get or set the file mode creation mask 775
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.67.4 Operands
The following operand shall be supported by the implementation:
_m_a_s_k A string specifying the new file mode creation mask. The
string is treated in the same way as the _m_o_d_e operand
described in 4.7.7 (chmod Extended Description).
For a _s_y_m_b_o_l_i_c__m_o_d_e value, the new value of the file mode
creation mask shall be the logical complement of the file
permission bits portion of the file mode specified by the
_s_y_m_b_o_l_i_c__m_o_d_e string.
In a _s_y_m_b_o_l_i_c__m_o_d_e value, the permissions _o_p characters +
and - shall be interpreted relative to the current file
mode creation mask; + shall cause the bits for the
indicated permissions to be cleared in the mask; - shall
cause the bits for the indicated permissions to be set in
the mask.
The interpretation of _m_o_d_e values that specify file mode
bits other than the file permission bits is unspecified.
In the obsolescent octal integer form of _m_o_d_e, the
specified bits shall be set in the file mode creation
mask.
The file mode creation mask shall be set to the resulting
numeric value.
As in chmod, application use of the octal number form for
the _m_o_d_e values is obsolescent.
The default output of a prior invocation of umask on the
same system with no operand shall also be recognized as a
_m_a_s_k operand. The use of an operand obtained in this way
is not obsolescent, even if it is an octal number.
4.67.5 External Influences
4.67.5.1 Standard Input
None.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
776 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
4.67.5.2 Input Files
None.
4.67.5.3 Environment Variables
The following environment variables shall affect the execution of umask:
LANG This variable shall determine the locale to use for
the locale categories when both LC_ALL and the
corresponding environment variable (beginning with
LC_) do not specify a locale. See 2.6.
LC_ALL This variable shall determine the locale to be used
to override any values for locale categories
specified by the settings of LANG or any
environment variables beginning with LC_.
LC_CTYPE This variable shall determine the locale for the
interpretation of sequences of bytes of text data
as characters (e.g., single- versus multibyte
characters in arguments).
LC_MESSAGES This variable shall determine the language in which
messages should be written.
4.67.5.4 Asynchronous Events
Default.
4.67.6 External Effects
4.67.6.1 Standard Output
When the _m_a_s_k operand is not specified, the umask utility shall write a
message to standard output that can later be used as a umask _m_a_s_k
operand.
If -S is specified, the message shall be in the following format:
"u=%s,g=%s,o=%s\n", <_o_w_n_e_r _p_e_r_m_i_s_s_i_o_n_s>, <_g_r_o_u_p _p_e_r_m_i_s_s_i_o_n_s>,
<_o_t_h_e_r _p_e_r_m_i_s_s_i_o_n_s>
where the three values shall be combinations of letters from the set {r,
w, x}; the presence of a letter shall indicate that the corresponding bit
is clear in the file mode creation mask.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.67 umask - Get or set the file mode creation mask 777
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
If a _m_a_s_k operand is specified, there shall be no output written to
standard output.
4.67.6.2 Standard Error
Used only for diagnostic messages.
4.67.6.3 Output Files
None.
4.67.7 Extended Description
None.
4.67.8 Exit Status
The umask utility shall exit with one of the following values:
0 The file mode creation mask was successfully changed, or no _m_a_s_k
operand was supplied.
>0 An error occurred.
4.67.9 Consequences of Errors
Default.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
4.67.10 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s_,__U_s_a_g_e
Since umask affects the current shell execution environment, it is
generally provided as a shell regular built-in. If it is called in a 1
subshell or separate utility execution environment, such as one of the 1
following: 1
(umask 002) 1
nohup umask ... 1
find . -exec umask ... \; 1
it will not affect the file mode creation mask of the caller's 1
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
778 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
environment. 1
The table mapping octal mode values in 4.7.7 does not require that the
symbolic constants have those particular values.
In contrast to the negative permission logic provided by the file mode
creation mask and the octal number form of the _m_a_s_k argument, the
symbolic form of the _m_a_s_k argument specifies those permissions that are
left alone.
Either of the commands:
umask a=rx,ug+w
umask 002
sets the mode mask so that subsequently created files have their S_IWOTH
bit cleared.
After setting the mode mask with either of the above commands, the umask
command can be used to write out the current value of the mode mask:
$ umask
0002
(The output format is unspecified, but historical implementations use the
obsolescent octal integer mode format.)
$ umask -S
u=rwx,g=rwx,o=rx
Either of these outputs can be used as the mask operand to a subsequent
invocation of the umask utility.
Assuming the mode mask is set as above, the command:
umask g-w
sets the mode mask so that subsequently created files have their S_IWGRP,
and S_IWOTH bits cleared.
The command:
umask -- -w
sets the mode mask so that subsequently created files have all their
write bits cleared. Note that _m_a_s_k operands -r, -w, -x, or anything
beginning with a hyphen, must be preceded by -- to keep it from being
interpreted as an option.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.67 umask - Get or set the file mode creation mask 779
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
The description of the historical utility was modified to allow it to use
the symbolic modes of chmod. The -s option used in earlier drafts was
changed to -S because -s could be confused with a _s_y_m_b_o_l_i_c__m_o_d_e form of
mask referring to the S_ISUID and S_ISGID bits.
The default output style is implementation defined to permit implementors
to provide migration to the new symbolic style at the time most
appropriate to their users. Earlier drafts of this standard specified an
-o flag to force octal mode output. This was dropped because the octal
mode may not be sufficient to specify all of the information that may be
present in the file mode creation mask when more secure file access
permission checks are implemented.
It has been suggested that trusted systems developers might appreciate
softening the requirement that the mode mask ``affects'' the file access
permissions, since it seems access control lists might replace the mode
mask to some degree. The wording has been changed to say that it affects
the file permission bits, and leaves the details of the behavior of how
they affect the file access permissions to the description in
POSIX.1 {8}.
END_RATIONALE
4.68 uname - Return system name
4.68.1 Synopsis
uname [-amnrsv]
4.68.2 Description
By default, the uname utility shall write the operating system name to
standard output. When options are specified, symbols representing one or
more system characteristics shall be written to the standard output. The
format and contents of the symbols are implementation defined. On
systems conforming to POSIX.1 {8}, the symbols written shall be those
supported by the POSIX.1 {8} _u_n_a_m_e() function.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
780 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
4.68.3 Options
The uname utility shall conform to the utility argument syntax guidelines
described in 2.10.2.
The following options shall be supported by the implementation:
-a Behave as though all of the options -mnrsv were specified.
-m Write the name of the hardware type on which the system is
running to standard output.
-n Write the name of this node within an implementation-
specified communications network.
-r Write the current release level of the operating system
implementation.
-s Write the name of the implementation of the operating
system.
-v Write the current version level of this release of the
operating system implementation.
If no options are specified, the uname utility shall write the operating
system name, as if the -s option had been specified.
4.68.4 Operands
None.
4.68.5 External Influences
4.68.5.1 Standard Input
None.
4.68.5.2 Input Files
None.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.68 uname - Return system name 781
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.68.5.3 Environment Variables
The following environment variables shall affect the execution of uname:
LANG This variable shall determine the locale to use for
the locale categories when both LC_ALL and the
corresponding environment variable (beginning with
LC_) do not specify a locale. See 2.6.
LC_ALL This variable shall determine the locale to be used
to override any values for locale categories
specified by the settings of LANG or any
environment variables beginning with LC_.
LC_CTYPE This variable shall determine the locale for the
interpretation of sequences of bytes of text data
as characters (e.g., single- versus multibyte
characters in arguments).
LC_MESSAGES This variable shall determine the language in which
messages should be written.
4.68.5.4 Asynchronous Events
Default.
4.68.6 External Effects
4.68.6.1 Standard Output
By default, the output shall be a single line of the following form:
"%s\n", <_s_y_s_n_a_m_e>
If the -a option is specified, the output shall be a single line of the
following form:
"%s %s %s %s %s\n", <_s_y_s_n_a_m_e>, <_n_o_d_e_n_a_m_e>, <_r_e_l_e_a_s_e>, <_v_e_r_s_i_o_n>,
<_m_a_c_h_i_n_e>
Additional implementation-defined symbols may be written; all such
symbols shall be written at the end of the line of output before the
<newline>.
If options are specified to select different combinations of the symbols,
only those symbols shall be written, in the order shown above for the -a
option. If a symbol is not selected for writing, its corresponding
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
782 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
trailing <blank>s also shall not be written.
4.68.6.2 Standard Error
Used only for diagnostic messages.
4.68.6.3 Output Files
None.
4.68.7 Extended Description
None.
4.68.8 Exit Status
The uname utility shall exit with one of the following values:
0 The requested information was successfully written.
>0 An error occurred.
4.68.9 Consequences of Errors
Default.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
4.68.10 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s_,__U_s_a_g_e
The following command:
uname -sr
writes the operating system name and release level, separated by one or
more <blank>s.
Note that any of the symbols could include embedded <space>s, which may
affect parsing algorithms if multiple options are selected for output.
The node name is typically a name that the system uses to identify itself
for intersystem communication addressing.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.68 uname - Return system name 783
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
It was suggested that this utility cannot be used portably, since the
format of the symbols is implementation defined. The POSIX.1 {8} working
group could not achieve consensus on defining these formats in the
underlying _u_n_a_m_e() function and there is no expectation that POSIX.2
would be any more successful. In any event, some applications may still
find this historical utility of value. For example, the symbols could be
used for system log entries or for comparison with operator or user
input.
END_RATIONALE
4.69 uniq - Report or filter out repeated lines in a file
4.69.1 Synopsis
uniq [-c|-d|-u] [-f _f_i_e_l_d_s] [-s _c_h_a_r_s] [_i_n_p_u_t__f_i_l_e [_o_u_t_p_u_t__f_i_l_e]]
_O_b_s_o_l_e_s_c_e_n_t _V_e_r_s_i_o_n:
uniq [-c|-d|-u] [-_n] [+_m] [_i_n_p_u_t__f_i_l_e [_o_u_t_p_u_t__f_i_l_e]]
4.69.2 Description
The uniq utility shall read an input file comparing adjacent lines, and
write one copy of each input line on the output. The second and
succeeding copies of repeated adjacent input lines shall not be written.
Repeated lines in the input shall not be detected if they are not
adjacent.
4.69.3 Options
The uniq utility shall conform to the utility argument syntax guidelines
described in 2.10.2; the obsolescent version does not, as one of the
options begins with + and the -_m and +_n options do not have option
letters.
The following options shall be supported by the implementation:
-c Precede each output line with a count of the number of
times the line occurred in the input.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
784 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
-d Suppress the writing of lines that are not repeated in the
input.
-f _f_i_e_l_d_s Ignore the first _f_i_e_l_d_s fields on each input line when
doing comparisons, where _f_i_e_l_d_s shall be a positive
decimal integer. A field is the maximal string matched by
the basic regular expresssion:
[[:blank:]]*[^[:blank:]]*
If the _f_i_e_l_d_s option-argument specifies more fields than
appear on an input line, a null string shall be used for
comparison.
-s _c_h_a_r_s Ignore the first _c_h_a_r_s characters when doing comparisons,
where _c_h_a_r_s shall be a positive decimal integer. If
specified in conjunction with the -f option, the first
_c_h_a_r_s characters after the first _f_i_e_l_d_s fields shall be
ignored. If the _c_h_a_r_s option-argument specifies more
characters than remain on an input line, a null string
shall be used for comparison.
-u Suppress the writing of lines that are repeated in the
input.
-_n (Obsolescent.) Equivalent to -f _f_i_e_l_d_s with _f_i_e_l_d_s set to
_n.
+_m (Obsolescent.) Equivalent to -s _c_h_a_r_s with _c_h_a_r_s set to
_m.
4.69.4 Operands
The following operands shall be supported by the implementation:
_i_n_p_u_t__f_i_l_e A pathname of the input file. If the _i_n_p_u_t__f_i_l_e operand
is not specified, or if the _i_n_p_u_t__f_i_l_e is -, the standard
input shall be used.
_o_u_t_p_u_t__f_i_l_e A pathname of the output file. If the _o_u_t_p_u_t__f_i_l_e operand
is not specified, the standard output shall be used. The
results are unspecified if the file named by _o_u_t_p_u_t__f_i_l_e
is the file named by _i_n_p_u_t__f_i_l_e.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.69 uniq - Report or filter out repeated lines in a file 785
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.69.5 External Influences
4.69.5.1 Standard Input
The standard input shall be used only if no _i_n_p_u_t__f_i_l_e operand is
specified or if _i_n_p_u_t__f_i_l_e is -. See Input Files.
4.69.5.2 Input Files
The input file shall be a text file.
4.69.5.3 Environment Variables
The following environment variables shall affect the execution of uniq:
LANG This variable shall determine the locale to use for
the locale categories when both LC_ALL and the
corresponding environment variable (beginning with
LC_) do not specify a locale. See 2.6.
LC_ALL This variable shall determine the locale to be used
to override any values for locale categories
specified by the settings of LANG or any
environment variables beginning with LC_.
LC_CTYPE This variable shall determine the locale for the
interpretation of sequences of bytes of text data
as characters (e.g., single- versus multibyte
characters in arguments and input files) and which
characters constitute a <blank> in the current
locale.
LC_MESSAGES This variable shall determine the language in which
messages should be written.
4.69.5.4 Asynchronous Events
Default.
4.69.6 External Effects
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
786 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
4.69.6.1 Standard Output
The standard output shall be used only if no _o_u_t_p_u_t__f_i_l_e operand is
specified. See Output Files.
4.69.6.2 Standard Error
Used only for diagnostic messages.
4.69.6.3 Output Files
If the -c option is specified, the output file shall be empty or each
line will be of the form:
"%d %s", <_n_u_m_b_e_r _o_f _d_u_p_l_i_c_a_t_e_s>, <_l_i_n_e>
otherwise, the output file will be empty or each line will be of the
form:
"%s", <_l_i_n_e>
4.69.7 Extended Description
None.
4.69.8 Exit Status
The uniq utility shall exit with one of the following values:
0 The utility executed successfully.
>0 An error occurred.
4.69.9 Consequences of Errors
Default.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.69 uniq - Report or filter out repeated lines in a file 787
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.69.10 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s_,__U_s_a_g_e
Some historical implementations have limited lines to be 1080 bytes in
length, which will not meet the implied {LINE_MAX} limit.
The sort utility (see 4.58) can be used to cause repeated lines to be
adjacent in the input file.
The following input file data (but flushed left) was used for a test
series on uniq:
#01 foo0 bar0 foo1 bar1
#02 bar0 foo1 bar1 foo1
#03 foo0 bar0 foo1 bar1
#04
#05 foo0 bar0 foo1 bar1
#06 foo0 bar0 foo1 bar1
#07 bar0 foo1 bar1 foo0
What follows is a series of test invocations of the uniq utility that use
a mixture of uniq's options against the input file data. These tests
verify the meaning of _a_d_j_a_c_e_n_t. The uniq utility views the input data as
a sequence of strings delimited by \n. Accordingly, for the _f_i_e_l_d_sth
member of the sequence, uniq interprets unique or repreated adjacent
lines strictly relative to the _f_i_e_l_d_s+1th member.
This first example tests the line counting option, comparing each line of
the input file data starting from the second field:
uniq -c -f 1 uniq_0I.t
1 #01 foo0 bar0 foo1 bar1
1 #02 bar0 foo1 bar1 foo0
1 #03 foo0 bar0 foo1 bar1
1 #04
2 #05 foo0 bar0 foo1 bar1
1 #07 bar0 foo1 bar1 foo0
The number 2, prefixing the fifth line of output, signifies that the uniq
utility detected a pair of repeated lines. Given the input data, this
can only be true when uniq is run using the -f 1 option (which causes
uniq to ignore the first field on each input line).
The second example tests the option to suppress unique lines, comparing
each line of the input file data starting from the second field:
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
788 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
uniq -d -f 1 uniq_0I.t
#05 foo0 bar0 foo1 bar1
This test suppresses repeated lines, comparing each line of the input
file data starting from the second field:
uniq -u -f 1 uniq_0I.t
#01 foo0 bar0 foo1 bar1
#02 bar0 foo1 bar1 foo1
#03 foo0 bar0 foo1 bar1
#04
#07 bar0 foo1 bar1 foo0
This suppresses unique lines, comparing each line of the input file data
starting from the third character:
uniq -d -s 2 uniq_0I.t
In the last example, the uniq utility found no input matching the above
criteria.
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
The -f and -s options were added to replace the obsolescent -_n and +_m
options so that uniq could meet the syntax guidelines in an upward-
compatible way.
The output specifications in Output Files do not show a terminating
<newline> because they both specify <_l_i_n_e>, which includes its own
<newline> (because of the definition of _l_i_n_e).
END_RATIONALE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.69 uniq - Report or filter out repeated lines in a file 789
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.70 wait - Await process completion
4.70.1 Synopsis
wait [_p_i_d ...]
4.70.2 Description
When an asynchronous list (see 3.9.3.1) is started by the shell, the
process ID of the last command in each element of the asynchronous list 1
shall become known in the current shell execution environment; see 3.12.
If the wait utility is invoked with no operands, it shall wait until all
process IDs known to the invoking shell have terminated and exit with a
zero exit status.
If one or more _p_i_d operands are specified that represent known process
IDs, the wait utility shall wait until all of them have terminated. If
one or more _p_i_d operands are specified that represent unknown process
IDs, wait shall treat them as if they were known process IDs that exited
with exit status 127. The exit status returned by the wait utility shall
be the exit status of the process requested by the last _p_i_d operand.
The known process IDs are applicable only for invocations of wait in the
current shell execution environment.
4.70.3 Options
None.
4.70.4 Operands
The following operand shall be supported by the implementation:
_p_i_d The unsigned decimal integer process ID of a command, for
which the utility is to wait for the termination.
4.70.5 External Influences
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
790 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
4.70.5.1 Standard Input
None.
4.70.5.2 Input Files
None.
4.70.5.3 Environment Variables
The following environment variables shall affect the execution of wait:
LANG This variable shall determine the locale to use for
the locale categories when both LC_ALL and the
corresponding environment variable (beginning with
LC_) do not specify a locale. See 2.6.
LC_ALL This variable shall determine the locale to be used
to override any values for locale categories
specified by the settings of LANG or any
environment variables beginning with LC_.
LC_CTYPE This variable shall determine the locale for the
interpretation of sequences of bytes of text data
as characters (e.g., single- versus multibyte
characters in arguments).
LC_MESSAGES This variable shall determine the language in which
messages should be written.
4.70.5.4 Asynchronous Events
Default.
4.70.6 External Effects
4.70.6.1 Standard Output
None.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.70 wait - Await process completion 791
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.70.6.2 Standard Error
Used only for diagnostic messages.
4.70.6.3 Output Files
None.
4.70.7 Extended Description
None.
4.70.8 Exit Status
If one or more operands were specified, all of them have terminated or
were not known by the invoking shell, and the status of the last operand
specified is known, then the exit status of wait shall be the exit status
information of the command indicated by the last operand specified. If
the process terminated abnormally due to the receipt of a signal, the
exit status shall be greater than 128 and shall be distinct from the exit
status generated by other signals, but the exact value is unspecified.
(See the kill -l option in 4.32.) Otherwise, the wait utility shall exit
with one of the following values:
0 The wait utility was invoked with no operands and all process
IDs known by the invoking shell have terminated.
1-126 The wait utility detected an error.
127 The command identified by the last _p_i_d operand specified is
unknown.
4.70.9 Consequences of Errors
Default.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
4.70.10 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s_,__U_s_a_g_e
On most implementations, wait is a shell built-in. If it is called in a 1
subshell or separate utility execution environment, such as one of the 1
following: 1
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
792 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
(wait) 1
nohup wait ... 1
find . -exec wait ... \; 1
it will return immediately because there will be no known process IDs to 1
wait for in those environments. 1
Although the exact value used when a process is terminated by a signal is
unspecified, if it is known that a signal terminated a process, a script
can still reliably figure out which signal using kill as shown by the
following script:
sleep 1000&
pid=$!
kill -kill $pid
wait $pid
echo $pid was terminated by a SIG$(kill -l $?) signal.
Historical implementations of interactive shells have discarded the exit
status of terminated background processes before each shell prompt.
Therefore, the status of background processes was usually lost unless it
terminated while wait was waiting for it. This could be a serious
problem when a job that was expected to run for a long time actually
terminated quickly with a syntax or initialization error because the exit
status returned was usually zero if the requested process ID was not
found. POSIX.2 requires the implementation to keep the status of
terminated jobs available until the status is requested, so that scripts
like:
j1&
p1=$!
j2&
wait $p1
echo Job 1 exited with status $?
wait $!
echo Job 2 exited with status $?
will work without losing status on any of the jobs. The shell is allowed
to discard the status of any process that it determines the application
cannot get the process ID from the shell. It is also required to 1
remember only {CHILD_MAX} number of processes in this way. Since the 1
only way to get the process ID from the shell is by using the ! shell
parameter, the shell is allowed to discard the status of an asynchronous
list if $! was not referenced before another asynchronous list was
started. (This means that the shell only has to keep the status of the
last asynchronous list started if the application did not reference $!.
If the implementation of the shell is smart enough to determine that a
reference to $! was not ``saved'' anywhere that the application can
retrieve it later, it can use this information to trim the list of saved
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.70 wait - Await process completion 793
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
information. Note also that a successful call to wait with no operands
discards the exit status of all asynchronous lists.)
This new functionality was added because it is needed to accurately
determine the exit status of any asynchronous list. The only
compatibility problem that this change creates is for a script like:
while sleep 60
do
job&
echo Job started $(date) as $!
done
which will cause the shell to keep track of all of the jobs started until
the script terminates or runs out of memory. This would not be a problem
if the loop did not reference $! or if the script would occasionally wait
for jobs it started.
If the exit status of wait is greater than 128, there is no way for the
application to know if the waited for process exited with that value or
was killed by a signal. Since most utilities exit with small values,
there is seldom any ambiguity. Even in the ambiguous cases, most
applications just need to know that the asynchronous job failed; it does
not matter whether it detected an error and failed or was killed and did
not complete its job normally.
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
The description of wait does not refer to the _w_a_i_t_p_i_d() function from
POSIX.1 {8}, because that would needlessly overspecify this interface.
However, the wording requires that wait is required to wait for an
explicit process when it is given an argument, so that the status
information of other processes is not consumed. Historical
implementations use POSIX.1 {8} _w_a_i_t() until _w_a_i_t() returns the requested
process ID or finds that the requested process does not exist. Because
this means that a shell script could not reliably get the status of all
background children if a second background job was ever started before
the first job finished, it is recommended that the wait utility use a
method such as the functionality provided by the _w_a_i_t_p_i_d() function in
POSIX.1 {8}.
The ability to wait for multiple _p_i_d operands was adopted from the
KornShell at the request of ballot comments and objections.
Some implementations of wait support waiting for asynchronous lists
identified by the use of job identifiers. For example, wait %1 would
wait for the first background job. This standard does not address job
control issues, but allows these features to be added as extensions. Job
control facilities will be provided by the UPE.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
794 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
END_RATIONALE
4.71 wc - Word, line, and byte count
4.71.1 Synopsis
wc [-clw] [_f_i_l_e ...]
4.71.2 Description
The wc utility shall read one or more input files and, by default, write
the number of <newline>s, words, and bytes contained in each input file
to the standard output.
The utility also shall write a total count for all named files, if more
than one input file is specified.
The wc utility shall consider a _w_o_r_d to be a nonzero-length string of
characters delimited by white space.
4.71.3 Options
The wc utility shall conform to the utility argument syntax guidelines
described in 2.10.2.
The following options shall be supported by the implementation:
-c Write to the standard output the number of bytes in each
input file.
-l Write to the standard output the number of <newline>s in
each input file.
-w Write to the standard output the number of words in each
input file.
When any option is specified, wc shall report only the information
requested by the specified option(s).
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.71 wc - Word, line, and byte count 795
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.71.4 Operands
The following operand shall be supported by the implementation:
_f_i_l_e A pathname of an input file. If no _f_i_l_e operands are
specified, the standard input shall be used.
4.71.5 External Influences
4.71.5.1 Standard Input
The standard input shall be used only if no _f_i_l_e operands are specified.
See Input Files.
4.71.5.2 Input Files
The input files may be of any type.
4.71.5.3 Environment Variables
The following environment variables shall affect the execution of wc:
LANG This variable shall determine the locale to use for
the locale categories when both LC_ALL and the
corresponding environment variable (beginning with
LC_) do not specify a locale. See 2.6.
LC_ALL This variable shall determine the locale to be used
to override any values for locale categories
specified by the settings of LANG or any
environment variables beginning with LC_.
LC_CTYPE This variable shall determine the locale for the
interpretation of sequences of bytes of text data
as characters (e.g., single- versus multibyte
characters in arguments and input files) and which
characters are defined as ``white space''
characters.
LC_MESSAGES This variable shall determine the language in which
messages should be written.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
796 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
4.71.5.4 Asynchronous Events
Default.
4.71.6 External Effects
4.71.6.1 Standard Output
By default, the standard output shall contain a line for each input file
of the form:
"%d %d %d %s\n", <_n_e_w_l_i_n_e_s>, <_w_o_r_d_s>, <_b_y_t_e_s>, <_f_i_l_e>
If any options are specified and the -l option is not specified, the
number of <newline>s shall not be written.
If any options are specified and the -w option is not specified, the
number of words shall not be written.
If any options are specified and the -c option is not specified, the
number of bytes shall not be written.
If no input _f_i_l_e operands are specified, no name shall be written and no
<blank>s preceding the pathname shall be written.
If more than one input _f_i_l_e operand is specified, an additional line
shall be written, of the same format as the other lines, except that the
word total (in the POSIX Locale) shall be written instead of a pathname
and the total of each column shall be written as appropriate. Such an
additional line, if any, shall be written at the end of the output.
4.71.6.2 Standard Error
Used only for diagnostic messages.
4.71.6.3 Output Files
None.
4.71.7 Extended Description
None.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.71 wc - Word, line, and byte count 797
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.71.8 Exit Status
The wc utility shall exit with one of the following values:
0 Successful completion.
>0 An error occurred.
4.71.9 Consequences of Errors
Default.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
4.71.10 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s_,__U_s_a_g_e
None.
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
The output file format pseudo-_p_r_i_n_t_f() string was derived from the HP-UX
version of wc; the System V version:
"%7d%7d%7d %s\n"
produces possibly ambiguous and unparsable results for very large files,
as it assumes no number will exceed six digits.
Some historical implementations use only <space>, <tab>, and <newline> as
word separators. The equivalent of the C Standard {7} _i_s_s_p_a_c_e() function
is more appropriate.
The -c option stands for ``character'' count, even though it counts
bytes. This stems from the sometimes erroneous historical view that
bytes and characters are the same size.
Earlier drafts only specified the results when input files were text
files. The current specification more closely matches existing practice.
(Bytes, words, and <newline>_s are counted separately and the results are
written when an end-of-file is detected.)
Historical implementations of the wc utility only accepted one argument
to specify the options -c, -l, and -w. Some of them also had multiple
occurrences of an option cause the corresponding count to be output
multiple times and having the order of specification of the options
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
798 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
affect the order of the fields on output, but did not document either of
these. Because common usage either specifies no options or only one
option and because none of this was documented, the changes required by
this standard should not break many existing applications (and does not
break any historical portable applications.)
END_RATIONALE
4.72 xargs - Construct argument list(s) and invoke utility
4.72.1 Synopsis
xargs [-t] [-n _n_u_m_b_e_r [-x] ] [-s _s_i_z_e] [_u_t_i_l_i_t_y [_a_r_g_u_m_e_n_t ...]]
4.72.2 Description
The xargs utility shall construct a command line consisting of the
_u_t_i_l_i_t_y and _a_r_g_u_m_e_n_t operands specified followed by as many arguments
read in sequence from standard input as will fit in length and number
constraints specified by the options. The xargs utility shall then
invoke the constructed command line and wait for its completion. This
sequence shall be repeated until an end-of-file condition is detected on
standard input or an invocation of a constructed command line returns an 1
exit status of 255. 1
Arguments in the standard input shall be separated by unquoted <blank>s,
or unescaped <blank>s or <newline>s. A string of zero or more
nondouble-quote (") and non-<newline> characters can be quoted by
enclosing them in double-quotes. A string of zero or more nonapostrophe
(') and non-<newline> characters can be quoted by enclosing them in
apostrophes. Any unquoted character can be escaped by preceding it with
a backslash. The _u_t_i_l_i_t_y shall be executed one or more times until the
end-of-file is reached. The results are unspecified if the utility named
by _u_t_i_l_i_t_y attempts to read from its standard input.
The generated command line length shall be the sum of the size in bytes
of the utility name and each argument treated as strings, including a
null byte terminator for each of these strings. The xargs utility shall
limit the command line length such that when the command line is invoked,
the combined argument and environment lists (see the _e_x_e_c family of
functions in POSIX.1 {8} 3.1.2) shall not exceed {ARG_MAX}-2048 bytes.
Within this constraint, if neither the -n nor the -s option is specified,
the default command line length shall be at least {LINE_MAX}.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.72 xargs - Construct argument list(s) and invoke utility 799
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
4.72.3 Options
The xargs utility shall conform to the utility argument syntax guidelines
described in 2.10.2.
The following options shall be supported by the implementation:
-n _n_u_m_b_e_r Invoke _u_t_i_l_i_t_y using as many standard input arguments as
possible, up to _n_u_m_b_e_r (a positive decimal integer)
arguments maximum. Fewer arguments shall be used if:
- The command line length accumulated exceeds the size
specified by the -s option (or {LINE_MAX} if there is
no -s option), or
- The last iteration has fewer than _n_u_m_b_e_r, but not zero,
operands remaining.
-s _s_i_z_e Invoke _u_t_i_l_i_t_y using as many standard input arguments as
possible yielding a command line length less than _s_i_z_e (a
positive decimal integer) bytes. Fewer arguments shall be
used if:
- The total number of arguments exceeds that specified by
the -n option, or
- End of file is encountered on standard input before
_s_i_z_e bytes are accumulated.
Implementations shall support values of _s_i_z_e up to at
least {LINE_MAX} bytes, provided that the constraints
specified in 4.72.2 are met. It shall not be considered
an error if a value larger than that supported by the
implementation or exceeding the constraints specified in
4.72.2 is given; xargs shall use the largest value it
supports within the constraints.
-t Enable trace mode. Each generated command line shall be
written to standard error just prior to invocation.
-x Terminate if a command line containing _n_u_m_b_e_r arguments
(see the -n option above) will not fit in the implied or
specified size (see the -s option above).
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
800 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
4.72.4 Operands
The following operands shall be supported by the implementation:
_u_t_i_l_i_t_y The name of the utility to be invoked, found by search
path using the PATH environment variable, described in
2.6. If _u_t_i_l_i_t_y is omitted, the default shall be the echo
utility (see 4.19). If the _u_t_i_l_i_t_y operand names any of
the special built-in utilities in 3.14, the results are
undefined.
_a_r_g_u_m_e_n_t An initial option or operand for the invocation of
_u_t_i_l_i_t_y.
4.72.5 External Influences
4.72.5.1 Standard Input
The standard input shall be a text file. The results are unspecified if
an end-of-file condition is detected immediately following an escaped
<newline>.
4.72.5.2 Input Files
None.
4.72.5.3 Environment Variables
The following environment variables shall affect the execution of xargs:
LANG This variable shall determine the locale to use for
the locale categories when both LC_ALL and the
corresponding environment variable (beginning with
LC_) do not specify a locale. See 2.6.
LC_ALL This variable shall determine the locale to be used
to override any values for locale categories
specified by the settings of LANG or any
environment variables beginning with LC_.
LC_CTYPE This variable shall determine the locale for the
interpretation of sequences of bytes of text data
as characters (e.g., single- versus multibyte
characters in arguments and input files).
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.72 xargs - Construct argument list(s) and invoke utility 801
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
LC_MESSAGES This variable shall determine the language in which
messages should be written.
4.72.5.4 Asynchronous Events
Default.
4.72.6 External Effects
Any external effects are a result of the invocation of the utility
_u_t_i_l_i_t_y, in a manner specified by that utility.
4.72.6.1 Standard Output
None.
4.72.6.2 Standard Error
Used for diagnostic messages and the -t option. If the -t option is
specified, the _u_t_i_l_i_t_y and its constructed argument list shall be written
to standard error, as it will be invoked, prior to invocation.
4.72.6.3 Output Files
None.
4.72.7 Extended Description
None.
4.72.8 Exit Status
The xargs utility shall exit with one of the following values:
0 All invocations of _u_t_i_l_i_t_y returned exit status zero.
1-125 A command line meeting the specified requirements could not 1
be assembled, one or more of the invocations of _u_t_i_l_i_t_y 1
returned a nonzero exit status, or some other error occurred. 1
126 The utility specified by _u_t_i_l_i_t_y was found but could not be 1
invoked. 1
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
802 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
127 The utility specified by _u_t_i_l_i_t_y could not be found. 1
4.72.9 Consequences of Errors
If a command line meeting the specified requirements cannot be assembled,
the utility cannot be invoked, an invocation of the utility is terminated
by a signal, or an invocation of the utility exits with exit status 255,
the xargs utility shall write a diagnostic message and exit without
processing any remaining input.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
4.72.10 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s_,__U_s_a_g_e
The xargs utility is usually found only in System V-based systems; BSD
systems provide an apply utility that provides functionality similar to
xargs -n _n_u_m_b_e_r. The _S_V_I_D lists xargs as a software development
extension; POSIX.2 does not share the view that it is used only for
development, and therefore it is not optional.
Note that input is parsed as lines and <blank>_s separate arguments. If
xargs is used to bundle output of commands like find dir -print or ls
into commands to be executed, unexpected results are likely if any file
names contain any <blank>_s or <newline>_s. This can be fixed by using
find to call a script that converts each file found into a quoted string
that is then piped to xargs. Note that the quoting rules used by xargs
are not the same as in the shell. They were not made consistent here
because existing applications depend on the current rules and the shell
syntax is not fully compatible with it. An easy rule that can be used to
transform any string into a quoted form that xargs will interpret
correctly is to precede each character in the string with a backslash.
The following command will combine the output of the parenthesized
commands onto one line, which is then written to the end of file log:
(logname; date; printf "%s\n" "$0 $*") | xargs >>log
The following command will invoke diff with successive pairs of arguments
originally typed as command line arguments (assuming there are no
embedded <blank>_s in the elements of the original argument list):
printf "%s\n" "$*" | xargs -n 2 -x diff
On implementations with a large value for {ARG_MAX}, xargs may produce
command lines longer than {LINE_MAX}. For invocation of utilities, this
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.72 xargs - Construct argument list(s) and invoke utility 803
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
is not a problem. If xargs is being used to create a text file, users
should explicitly set the maximum command line length with the -s option.
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
The list of options has been scaled down extensively. As it had stood,
the xargs utility did not exhibit an economy of powerful, modular, or
extensible functionality.
The classic application of the xargs utility is in conjunction with the
find utility to reduce the number of processes launched by a simplistic
use of the find -exec combination. The xargs utility is also used to
enforce an upper limit on memory required to launch a process. With this
basis in mind, POSIX.2 selected only the minimal features required.
The -n _n_u_m_b_e_r option was classically used to evoke a utility using pairs
of operands, yet the general case has problems when _u_t_i_l_i_t_y spawns child
processes of its own. The xargs utility can sap resources from these
children, especially those sharing the parent's environment.
The command, env, nohup, and xargs utilities have been specified to use
exit code 127 if an error occurs so that applications can distinguish 1
``failure to find a utility'' from ``invoked utility exited with an error 1
indication.'' The value 127 was chosen because it is not commonly used 1
for other meanings; most utilities use small values for ``normal error
conditions'' and the values above 128 can be confused with termination
due to receipt of a signal. The value 126 was chosen in a similar manner 1
to indicate that the utility could be found, but not invoked. Some 1
scripts produce meaningful error messages differentiating the 126 and 127 1
cases. The distinction between exit codes 126 and 127 is based on 2
KornShell practice that uses 127 when all attempts to _e_x_e_c the utility 2
fail with [ENOENT], and uses 126 when any attempt to _e_x_e_c the utility 2
fails for any other reason. 2
Although the 255 exit status is mostly an accident of historical 1
implementations, it allows a utility being used by xargs to tell xargs to
terminate if it knows no further invocations using the current data
stream will succeed. Any nonzero exit status from a utility will fall 1
into the 1-125 range when xargs exits. There is no statement of how the 1
various nonzero utility exit status codes are accumulated by xargs. The 1
value could be the addition of all codes, their highest value, the last 1
one received, or a single value such as 1. Since no algorithm is 1
arguably better than the others, and since many of the POSIX.2 standard 1
utilities say little more (portably) than ``pass/fail,'' no new algorithm 1
was invented. 1
Several other xargs options were withdrawn because simple alternatives
already exist within the standard. For example, the -e_e_o_f_s_t_r option has
a sed work around. The -i_r_e_p_l_s_t_r option can be just as efficiently
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
804 4 Execution Environment Utilities
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
performed using a shell for loop. Since xargs will _e_x_e_c() with each
input line, the -i option will usually not exploit xarg'_s grouping
capabilities.
The -s option was reinstated since many of the balloters on Draft 8 felt
that it was preferable to the -r option invented for that draft that
required the implementation to use {ARG_MAX} - _s_i_z_e bytes for command
lines.
The requirement that xargs never produce command lines such that
invocation of _u_t_i_l_i_t_y is within 2048 bytes of hitting the POSIX.1 {8}
_e_x_e_c {ARG_MAX} limitations is intended to guarantee that the invoked
utility has a little bit of room to modify its environment variables and
command line arguments and still be able to invoke another utility. Note
that the minimum {ARG_MAX} allowed by POSIX.1 {8} is 4096 and the minimum
value allowed by POSIX.2 is 2048; therefore, the 2048-byte difference
seems reasonable. Note, however, that xargs may never be able to invoke
a utility if the environment passed in to xargs comes close to using
{ARG_MAX} bytes.
The version of xargs required by POSIX.2 is required to wait for the
completion of the invoked command before invoking another command. This
was done because existing scripts using xargs assumed sequential
execution. Implementations wanting to provide parallel operation of the
invoked utilities are encouraged to add an option enabling parallel
invocation, but should still wait for termination of all of the children
before xargs terminates normally.
END_RATIONALE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
4.72 xargs - Construct argument list(s) and invoke utility 805
P1003.2/D11.2
Section 5: User Portability Utilities Option
BEGIN_RATIONALE
_E_d_i_t_o_r'_s _N_o_t_e: _T_h_i_s _e_m_p_t_y _s_e_c_t_i_o_n _i_s _p_l_a_c_e_h_o_l_d_e_r _f_o_r _a _f_u_t_u_r_e _r_e_v_i_s_i_o_n
(_t_h_e _U_s_e_r _P_o_r_t_a_b_i_l_i_t_y _E_x_t_e_n_s_i_o_n, _P_1_0_0_3._2_a) _t_o _c_o_n_t_a_i_n _d_e_s_c_r_i_p_t_i_o_n_s _o_f
_u_t_i_l_i_t_i_e_s _t_h_a_t _a_r_e _s_u_i_t_a_b_l_e _f_o_r _u_s_e_r _p_o_r_t_a_b_i_l_i_t_y _o_n _a_s_y_n_c_h_r_o_n_o_u_s
_c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r _t_e_r_m_i_n_a_l_s. _P_1_0_0_3._2_a _i_s _c_u_r_r_e_n_t_l_y _b_a_l_l_o_t_i_n_g _w_i_t_h_i_n _t_h_e _I_E_E_E.
_C_o_n_t_a_c_t _t_h_e _I_E_E_E _S_t_a_n_d_a_r_d_s _O_f_f_i_c_e _t_o _o_b_t_a_i_n _a _c_o_p_y _o_f _t_h_e _l_a_t_e_s_t _d_r_a_f_t.
END_RATIONALE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
5 User Portability Utilities Option 807
P1003.2/D11.2
Section 6: Software Development Utilities Option
This section describes utilities used for the development of
applications, including compilation or translation of source code, the
creation and maintenance of library archives, and the maintenance of
groups of interdependent programs.
The utilities described in this section may be provided by the conforming
system; however, any system claiming conformance to the Software
Development Utilities Option shall provide all of the utilities described
here.
6.1 ar - Create and maintain library archives
6.1.1 Synopsis
ar -d [-v] _a_r_c_h_i_v_e _f_i_l_e ...
ar -p [-v] _a_r_c_h_i_v_e [_f_i_l_e ...]
ar -r [-cuv] _a_r_c_h_i_v_e _f_i_l_e ...
ar -t [-v] _a_r_c_h_i_v_e [_f_i_l_e ...]
ar -x [-v] _a_r_c_h_i_v_e [_f_i_l_e ...]
6.1.2 Description
The ar utility can be used to create and maintain groups of files
combined into an archive. Once an archive has been created, new files
can be added, and existing files can be extracted, deleted, or replaced.
When an archive consists entirely of valid object files, the
implementation shall format the archive so that it is usable as a library
for link editing (see A.1 and C.2). When some of the archived files are
not valid object files, the suitability of the archive for library use is
undefined.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
6.1 ar - Create and maintain library archives 809
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
All _f_i_l_e operands can be pathnames. However, files within archives shall
be named by a filename, which is the last component of the pathname used
when the file was entered into the archive. The comparison of _f_i_l_e
operands to the names of files in archives shall be performed by
comparing the last component of the operand to the name of the archive
file.
It is unspecified whether multiple files in the archive may be
identically named. In the case of such files, however, each _f_i_l_e operand
shall match only the first archive file having a name that is the same as
the last component of the _f_i_l_e operand.
6.1.3 Options
The ar utility shall conform to the utility argument syntax guidelines
described in 2.10.2.
The following options shall be supported by the implementation:
-c Suppress the diagnostic message that is written to
standard error by default when the archive file _a_r_c_h_i_v_e is
created.
-d Delete _f_i_l_e(s) from _a_r_c_h_i_v_e.
-p Write the contents of the _f_i_l_e(s) from _a_r_c_h_i_v_e to the
standard output. If no _f_i_l_e(s) are specified, the
contents of all files in the archive shall be written in
the order of the archive.
-r Replace or add _f_i_l_e(s) to _a_r_c_h_i_v_e. If the archive named by
_a_r_c_h_i_v_e does not exist, a new archive file shall be
created and a diagnostic message shall be written to
standard error (unless the -c option is specified). If no
_f_i_l_e(s) are specified and the _a_r_c_h_i_v_e exists, the results
are undefined. Files that replace existing files shall
not change the order of the archive. Files that do not
replace existing files shall be appended to the archive.
-t Write a table of contents of _a_r_c_h_i_v_e to the standard
output. The files specified by the _f_i_l_e operands shall be
included in the written list. If no _f_i_l_e operands are
specified, all files in _a_r_c_h_i_v_e shall be included in the
order of the archive.
-u Update older files. When used with the -r option, files
within the archive will be replaced only if the
corresponding _f_i_l_e has a modification time that is at
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
810 6 Software Development Utilities Option
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
least as new as the modification time of the file within
the archive.
-v Give verbose output. When used with the option characters
-d, -r, or -x, write a detailed file-by-file description
of the archive creation and maintenance activity, as
described in 6.1.6.1.
When used with -p, write the name of the file to the
standard output before writing the file itself to the
standard output, as described in 6.1.6.1.
When used with -t, include a long listing of information
about the files within the archive, as described in
6.1.6.1.
-x Extract the files named by the _f_i_l_e operands from _a_r_c_h_i_v_e.
The contents of the archive file shall not be changed. If
no _f_i_l_e operands are given, all files in the archive shall
be extracted. If the filename of a file extracted from
the archive is longer than that supported in the directory
to which it is being extracted, the results are undefined.
The modification time of each file extracted shall be set
to the time the file is extracted from the archive.
6.1.4 Operands
The following operands shall be supported by the implementation:
_a_r_c_h_i_v_e A pathname of the archive file.
_f_i_l_e A pathname. Only the last component shall be used when
comparing against the names of files in the archive. If
two or more _f_i_l_e operands have the same last pathname
component (basename), the results are unspecified. The
implementation's archive format shall not truncate valid
filenames of files added to, or replaced in, the archive.
6.1.5 External Influences
6.1.5.1 Standard Input
None.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
6.1 ar - Create and maintain library archives 811
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
6.1.5.2 Input Files
The input file named by _a_r_c_h_i_v_e shall be a file in the format created by
ar -r.
6.1.5.3 Environment Variables
The following environment variables shall affect the execution of ar:
LANG This variable shall determine the locale to use for
the locale categories when both LC_ALL and the
corresponding environment variable (beginning with
LC_) do not specify a locale. See 2.6.
LC_ALL This variable shall determine the locale to be used
to override any values for locale categories
specified by the settings of LANG or any
environment variables beginning with LC_.
LC_CTYPE This variable shall determine the locale for the
interpretation of sequences of bytes of text data
as characters (e.g., single- versus multibyte
characters in arguments).
LC_MESSAGES This variable shall determine the language in which
messages should be written.
LC_TIME This variable shall determine the format and
content for date and time strings written by ar.
6.1.5.4 Asynchronous Events
Default.
6.1.6 External Effects
6.1.6.1 Standard Output
If the -d option is used with the -v option, the standard output format
is:
"d - %s\n", <_f_i_l_e>
where _f_i_l_e is the operand specified on the command line.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
812 6 Software Development Utilities Option
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
If the -p option is used with the -v option, ar shall precede the
contents of each file with:
"\n<%s>\n\n", <_f_i_l_e>
where _f_i_l_e is the operand specified on the command line, if _f_i_l_e operands
were specified, and the name of the file in the archive if they were not.
If the -r option is used with the -v option, and _f_i_l_e is already in the
archive, the standard output format is:
"r - %s\n", <_f_i_l_e>
where _f_i_l_e is the operand specified on the command line.
If _f_i_l_e is being added to the archive with the -r option, the standard
output format is:
"a - %s\n", <_f_i_l_e>
where _f_i_l_e is the operand specified on the command line.
If the -t option is used, ar writes the names of the files to the
standard output in the format:
"%s\n", <_f_i_l_e>
where _f_i_l_e is the operand specified on the command line, if _f_i_l_e operands
were specified, or the name of the file in the archive if they were not.
If the -t option is used with the -v option, the standard output format
is:
"%s %u/%u %u %s %d %d:%d %d %s\n", <_m_e_m_b_e_r _m_o_d_e>, <_u_s_e_r _I_D>,
<_g_r_o_u_p _I_D>, <_n_u_m_b_e_r _o_f _b_y_t_e_s _i_n _m_e_m_b_e_r>, <_a_b_b_r_e_v_i_a_t_e_d _m_o_n_t_h>,
<_d_a_y-_o_f-_m_o_n_t_h>, <_h_o_u_r>, <_m_i_n_u_t_e>, <_y_e_a_r>, <_f_i_l_e>
Where:
_f_i_l_e shall be the operand specified on the command line,
if _f_i_l_e operands were specified, or the name of the
file in the archive if they were not.
<_m_e_m_b_e_r _m_o_d_e> shall be formatted the same as the <_f_i_l_e _m_o_d_e> string
defined in 4.39.6.1 (Standard Output of ls), except
that the first character, the <_e_n_t_r_y _t_y_p_e>, is not
used; the string represents the file mode of the
archive member at the time it was added to, or
replaced in, the archive.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
6.1 ar - Create and maintain library archives 813
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
The following represent the last-modification time of a file when it was
most recently added to or replaced in the archive:
<_a_b_b_r_e_v_i_a_t_e_d _m_o_n_t_h>
shall be equivalent to the %b format in date (see
4.15).
<_d_a_y-_o_f-_m_o_n_t_h> shall be equivalent to the %e format in date.
<_h_o_u_r> shall be equivalent to the %H format in date.
<_m_i_n_u_t_e> shall be equivalent to the %M format in date.
<_y_e_a_r> shall be equivalent to the %Y format in date.
When LC_TIME does not specify the POSIX Locale, a different format and
order of presentation of these fields relative to each other may be used
in a format appropriate in the specified locale.
If the -x option is used with the -v option, the standard output format
is:
"x - %s\n", <_f_i_l_e>
where _f_i_l_e is the operand specified on the command line, if _f_i_l_e operands
were specified, or the name of the file in the archive if they were not.
6.1.6.2 Standard Error
Used only for diagnostic messages. The diagnostic message about creating
a new archive when -c is not specified shall not modify the exit status.
6.1.6.3 Output Files
Archives are files with unspecified formats.
6.1.7 Extended Description
None.
6.1.8 Exit Status
The ar utility shall exit with one of the following values:
0 Successful completion.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
814 6 Software Development Utilities Option
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
>0 An error occurred.
6.1.9 Consequences of Errors
Default.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
6.1.10 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s_,__U_s_a_g_e
The archive format is not described. It is recognized that there are
several known ar formats, which are not compatible. The ar utility is
being included, however, to allow creation of archives that are intended
for use only on the same machine. The archive file is specified as a
file and it can be moved as a file. This does allow an archive to be
moved from one machine to another machine that uses the same
implementation of ar.
Utilities such as pax (and its forebears tar and cpio) also provide 1
portable ``archives.'' This is a not a duplication; the ar interface is
included in the standard to provide an interface primarily for make and
the compilers, based on a historical model.
In historical implementations, the -q option is known to execute quickly
because ar does not check whether the added members are already in the
archive. This is useful to bypass the searching otherwise done when
creating a large archive piece-by-piece. The remarks may or may not hold
true for a brand-new POSIX.2 implementation; and hence, these remarks
have been moved out of the specification and into the Rationale.
Likewise, historical implementations maintain a symbol table to speed
searches, particularly when the archive contains object files. However,
future implementors may or may not use a symbol table, and the -s option
was removed from this clause to permit implementors freedom of choice.
Instead, the requirement that archive libraries be suitable for link
editing was added to ensure the intended functionality. Systems such as
System V maintain the symbol table without requiring the use of -s, so
adding -s (even if it were worded as allowing a no-op) would essentially
require all portable applications to use it in all invocations involving
libraries.
The Operands subclause requires what might seem to be true without
specifying it: the archive cannot truncate the filenames below
{NAME_MAX}. Some historical implementations do so, however, causing
unexpected results for the application. Therefore, POSIX.2 makes the
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
6.1 ar - Create and maintain library archives 815
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
requirement explicit to avoid misunderstandings.
According to the System V documentation, the options -dmpqrtx are not
required to begin with a hyphen ( - ). POSIX.2 requires that a
conforming application use the leading hyphen.
When extracting files with long filenames into a file system that
supports only shorter filenames, an undefined condition occurs. Typical
implementation actions might be one of the following:
- Extract and truncate the filename only when an existing file would
not be overlaid.
- Extract and truncate the filename and overlay an existing file only
if some extension such as another command-line option were used to
override this safety feature.
- Refuse to extract any files unless an extension overrode the
default.
The archive format used by the 4.4BSD implementation is documented in the
rationale as an example:
A file created by ar begins with the ``magic'' string
``!<arch>\n''. The rest of the archive is made up of objects, each
of which is composed of a header for a file, a possible filename,
and the file contents. The header is portable between machine
architectures, and, if the file contents are printable, the archive
is itself printable.
The header is made up of six ASCII fields, followed by a two- 2
character trailer. The fields are the object name (16 characters),
the file last modification time (12 characters), the user and group
IDs (each 6 characters), the file mode (8 characters) and the file
size (10 characters). All numeric fields are in decimal, except
for the file mode, which is in octal.
The modification time is the file _s_t__m_t_i_m_e field. The user and
group IDs are the file _s_t__u_i_d and _s_t__g_i_d fields. The file mode is
the file _s_t__m_o_d_e field. The file size is the file _s_t__s_i_z_e field.
The two-byte trailer is the string ```<newline>''.
Only the name field has any provision for overflow. If any
filename is more than 16 characters in length or contains an
embedded space, the string ``#1/'' followed by the ASCII length of
the name is written in the name field. The file size (stored in
the archive header) is incremented by the length of the name. The
name is then written immediately following the archive header.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
816 6 Software Development Utilities Option
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
Any unused characters in any of these fields are written as <space>
characters. If any fields are their particular maximum number of
characters in length, there will be no separation between the
fields.
Objects in the archive are always an even number of bytes long;
files that are an odd number of bytes long are padded with a
<newline> character, although the size in the header does not
reflect this.
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
The ar utility description requires that (when all its members are valid
object files) ar produce an object code library, which the linkage editor
can use to extract object modules. If the linkage editor needs a symbol
table to permit random access to the archive, ar must provide it;
however, ar does not require a symbol table. The historical -m and -q
positioning options were omitted, as were the positioning modifiers
formerly associated with the -m and -r options, because the two functions
of positioning are handled by the ranlib-style (a utility found on some 1
historical systems to create symbol tables within the archive) symbol 1
tables and/or the ability of portable applications to create multiple
archives instead of loading from a single archive.
Earlier drafts had elaborate descriptions in the Asynchronous Events
subclause about how signals were caught and then resent to itself. These
were removed in favor of the default case because they are essentially
implementation details, unnecessary for the application. Similarly,
information about where (and if) temporary files are created was removed
from earlier drafts.
The BSD -o option was omitted. It is a rare portable application that
will use ar to extract object code from a library with concern for its
modification time, since this can only be of importance to make. Hence,
since this functionality is not deemed important for applications
portability, the modification time of the extracted files is set to the
current time.
There is at least one known implementation (for a small computer) that
can accommodate only object files for that system, disallowing mixed
object and other files. The ability to handle any type of file is not
only existing practice for most implementations, but is also a reasonable
expectation.
Consideration was given to changing the output format of ar -tv to the
same format as the output of ls -l. This would have made parsing the
output of ar the same as that of ls. This was rejected in part because
the current ar format is commonly used and changes would break existing
usage. Second, ar gives the user ID and group ID in numeric format
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
6.1 ar - Create and maintain library archives 817
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
separated by a slash. Changing this to be the user name and group name
would not be right if the archive were moved to a machine that contained
a different user database. Since ar cannot know whether the archive file
was generated on the same machine, it cannot tell what to report.
The text on the -ur option combination is historical practice--since one
filename can easily represent two different files (e.g., /a/foo and
/b/foo), it is reasonable to replace the member in the archive even when
the modification time in the archive is identical to that in the file
system.
END_RATIONALE
6.2 make - Maintain, update, and regenerate groups of programs
6.2.1 Synopsis
make [-einpqrst] [-f _m_a_k_e_f_i_l_e] ... [ -k | -S ] [_m_a_c_r_o=_n_a_m_e] ...
[_t_a_r_g_e_t__n_a_m_e ...]
6.2.2 Description
The make utility can be used as a part of software development to update 1
files that are derived from other files. A typical case is one where 1
object files are derived from the corresponding source files. The make 1
utility examines time relationships and updates those derived files 1
(called targets) that have modified times earlier than the modified times 1
of the files (called prerequisites) from which they are derived. A 1
description file (``makefile'') contains a description of the 1
relationships between files, and the commands that must be executed to 1
update the targets to reflect changes in their prerequisites. Each 1
specification, or rule, shall consist of a target, optional 1
prerequisites, and optional commands to be executed when a prerequisite
is newer than the target. There are two types of rules:
- Inference rules, which have one target name with at least one
period (.) and no slash (/)
- Target rules, which can have more than one target name
In addition, make shall have a collection of built-in macros and
inference rules that infer prerequisite relationships to simplify
maintenance of programs.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
818 6 Software Development Utilities Option
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
To receive exactly the behavior described in this clause, a portable
makefile shall:
- Include the special target .POSIX (see 6.2.7.3)
- Omit any special target reserved for implementations (a leading
period followed by uppercase letters) that has not been specified
by this clause.
The behavior of make is unspecified if either or both of these conditions 1
are not met. 1
6.2.3 Options
The make utility shall conform to the utility argument syntax guidelines
described in 2.10.2.
The following options shall be supported by the implementation:
-e Cause environment variables, including those with null
values, to override macro assignments within makefiles.
-f _m_a_k_e_f_i_l_e Specify a different makefile. The argument _m_a_k_e_f_i_l_e is a
pathname of a description file, which is also referred to
as the _m_a_k_e_f_i_l_e. A pathname of "-" shall denote the
standard input. There can be multiple instances of this
option, and they shall be processed in the order
specified. The effect of specifying the same option-
argument more than once is unspecified. See 6.2.7.1.
-i Ignore error codes returned by invoked commands. This
mode is the same as if the special target .IGNORE were
specified without prerequisites. See 6.2.7.2. 1
-k Continue to update other targets that do not depend on the
current target if a nonignored error occurs while
executing the commands to bring a target up to date.
-n Write commands that would be executed on standard output,
but do not execute them. However, lines with a plus-sign
(+) prefix shall be executed. In this mode, lines with an
at-sign (@) character prefix shall be written to standard
output.
-p Write to standard output the complete set of macro
definitions and target descriptions. The output format is
unspecified.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
6.2 make - Maintain, update, and regenerate groups of programs 819
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
-q Return a zero exit value if the target file is up-to-date;
otherwise, return an exit value of 1. Targets shall not
be updated if this option is specified. However, a
command line (associated with the targets) with a plus-
sign (+) prefix shall be executed.
-r Clear the suffix list and do not use the built-in rules.
-S Terminate make if an error occurs while executing the
commands to bring a target up-to-date. This shall be the
default and the opposite of -k.
-s Do not write command lines or touch messages (see -t) to
standard output before executing. This mode shall be the
same as if the special target .SILENT were specified 1
without prerequisites. See 6.2.7.2. 1
-t Update the modification time of each target as though a
touch _t_a_r_g_e_t had been executed. See touch in 4.63. 1
Targets that have prerequisites but no commands (see 1
6.2.7.3), or that are already up-to-date, shall not be 1
touched in this manner. Write messages to standard output 1
for each target file indicating the name of the file and
that it was touched. Normally, the command lines
associated with each target are not executed. However, a
command line with a plus-sign (+) prefix shall be
executed.
If the -k and -S options are both specified on the command line, by the
MAKEFLAGS environment variable, or by the MAKEFLAGS macro, the last one
evaluated shall take precedence. The MAKEFLAGS environment variable
shall be evaluated first and the command line shall be evaluated second.
Assignments to the MAKEFLAGS macro shall be evaluated as described in
6.2.5.3.
6.2.4 Operands
The following operands shall be supported by the implementation:
_t_a_r_g_e_t__n_a_m_e Target names, as defined in 6.2.7. If no target is
specified, while make is processing the makefiles, the
first target that make encounters that is not a special
target or an inference rule shall be used.
_m_a_c_r_o=_n_a_m_e Macro definitions, as defined in 6.2.7.4.
If the _t_a_r_g_e_t__n_a_m_e and _m_a_c_r_o=_n_a_m_e operands are intermixed on the command
line, the results are unspecified.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
820 6 Software Development Utilities Option
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
6.2.5 External Influences
6.2.5.1 Standard Input
The standard input shall be used only if the _m_a_k_e_f_i_l_e option-argument is
-. See Input Files.
6.2.5.2 Input Files
The input file, otherwise known as the makefile, is a text file
containing rules, macro definitions, and comments. (See 6.2.7.) 1
6.2.5.3 Environment Variables
The following environment variables shall affect the execution of make:
LANG This variable shall determine the locale to use for
the locale categories when both LC_ALL and the
corresponding environment variable (beginning with
LC_) do not specify a locale. See 2.6.
LC_ALL This variable shall determine the locale to be used
to override any values for locale categories
specified by the settings of LANG or any
environment variables beginning with LC_.
LC_CTYPE This variable shall determine the locale for the
interpretation of sequences of bytes of text data
as characters (e.g., single- versus multibyte
characters in arguments and input files).
LC_MESSAGES This variable shall determine the language in which
messages should be written.
MAKEFLAGS This variable shall be interpreted as a character
string representing a series of option characters
to be used as the default options. The
implementation shall accept both of the following
formats (but need not accept them when intermixed):
(1) The characters are option letters without the
leading hyphens or <blank> separation used on
a command line.
(2) The characters are formatted in a manner
similar to a portion of the make command
line: options are preceded by hyphens and
<blank>-separated as described in 2.10.2.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
6.2 make - Maintain, update, and regenerate groups of programs 821
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
The _m_a_c_r_o=_n_a_m_e macro definition operands can
also be included. The difference between the
contents of MAKEFLAGS and the command line is
that the contents of the variable shall not
be subjected to the word expansions (see 3.6)
associated with parsing the command line
values.
When the command-line options -f or -p are used, 1
they shall take effect regardless of whether they 1
also appear in MAKEFLAGS. If they otherwise appear 1
in MAKEFLAGS, the result is undefined. 1
The MAKEFLAGS variable shall be accessed from the
environment before the makefile is read. At that
time, all of the options (except -f and -p) and
command-line macros not already included in
MAKEFLAGS shall be added to the MAKEFLAGS macro.
The MAKEFLAGS macro shall be passed into the
environment as an environment variable for all
child processes. If the MAKEFLAGS macro is
subsequently set by the makefile, it shall replace
the MAKEFLAGS variable currently found in the
environment.
The value of the SHELL environment variable shall not be used as a macro
and shall not be modified by defining the SHELL macro in a makefile or on 1
the command line. All other environment variables, including those with 1
null values, shall be used as macros, as defined in 6.2.7.4.
6.2.5.4 Asynchronous Events
If not already ignored, make shall trap SIGHUP, SIGTERM, SIGINT, and
SIGQUIT and remove the current target unless the target is a directory or
the target is a prerequisite of the special target .PRECIOUS or unless
one of the -n, -p, or -q options was specified. Any targets removed in
this manner shall be reported in diagnostic messages of unspecified
format, written to standard error. After this cleanup process, if any, 1
make shall take the standard action for all other signals; see 2.11.5.4. 1
6.2.6 External Effects
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
822 6 Software Development Utilities Option
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
6.2.6.1 Standard Output
The make utility shall write all commands to be executed to standard
output unless the -s option was specified, the command is prefixed with
an at-sign, or the special target .SILENT has either the current target
as a prerequisite or has no prerequisites. If make is invoked without
any work needing to be done, it shall write a message to standard output
indicating that no action was taken.
6.2.6.2 Standard Error
Used only for diagnostic messages.
6.2.6.3 Output Files
None. However, utilities invoked by make may create additional files.
6.2.7 Extended Description
The make utility attempts to perform the actions required to ensure that
the specified target(s) are up-to-date. A target is considered out-of-
date if it is older than any of its prerequisites or if it does not
exist. The make utility shall treat all prerequisites as targets
themselves and recursively ensure that they are up-to-date, processing 1
them in the order in which they appear in the rule. The make utility 1
shall use the modification times of files to determine if the 1
corresponding targets are out-of-date. (See 2.9.1.6.) 1
After make has ensured that all of the prerequisites of a target are up-
to-date, and if the target is out-of-date, the commands associated with
the target entry shall be executed. If there are no commands listed for
the target, the target shall be treated as up-to-date.
6.2.7.1 Makefile Syntax
A makefile can contain rules, macro definitions (see 6.2.7.4), and 1
comments. There are two kinds of rules: inference rules (6.2.7.5) and 1
target rules (6.2.7.3). The make utility shall contain a set of built-in 1
inference rules. If the -r option is present, the built-in rules shall 1
not be used and the suffix list shall be cleared. Additional rules of 1
both types can be specified in a makefile. If a rule or macro is defined 1
more than once, the value of the rule or macro shall be that of the last 1
one specified. Comments start with a number-sign (#) and continue until 1
an unescaped <newline> is reached. 1
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
6.2 make - Maintain, update, and regenerate groups of programs 823
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
By default, the file ./makefile shall be used. If ./makefile is not 1
found, the file ./Makefile shall be tried. If neither ./makefile nor 1
./Makefile are found, other implementation-defined pathnames may also be 1
tried. 1
The -f option shall direct make to ignore ./makefile and ./Makefile (and
any implementation-defined variants) and use the specified argument as a
makefile instead. If the - argument is specified, standard input shall
be used.
The term _m_a_k_e_f_i_l_e is used to refer to any rules provided by the user
whether in ./makefile, ./Makefile, or specified by the -f option.
The rules in makefiles shall consist of the following types of lines:
target rules, including special targets (see 6.2.7.3); inference rules
(see 6.2.7.5); macro definitions (see 6.2.7.4); empty lines; and 1
comments. Comments start with a number sign (#) and continue until an
unescaped <newline> is reached.
When an escaped <newline> (one preceded by a backslash) is found anywhere
in the makefile, it shall be replaced, along with any leading white space 1
on the following line, with a single <space>. 1
6.2.7.2 Makefile Execution
Command lines shall be processed one at a time by writing the command
line to the standard output (unless one of the conditions listed below 1
under ``@'' suppresses the writing) and executing the command(s) in the 1
line. A <tab> character may precede the command to standard output.
Commands shall be executed by passing the command line to the command
interpreter in the same manner as if the string were the argument to the
function in 7.1.1 [such as the _s_y_s_t_e_m() function in the C binding].
The environment for the command being executed shall contain all of the 1
variables in the environment of make. The macros from the command line 1
to make shall be added to make'_s environment. Other implementation- 1
defined variables may also be added to make'_s environment. If any 1
command-line macro has been defined elsewhere, the command-line value 1
shall overwrite the existing value. If the MAKEFLAGS variable is not set 1
in the environment in which make was invoked, in the makefile, or on the 1
command line, it shall be created by make, and shall contain all options 1
specified on the command line except for the -f and -p options. It may 1
also contain implementation-defined options. 1
By default, when make receives a nonzero status from the execution of a
command, it terminates with an error message to standard error.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
824 6 Software Development Utilities Option
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
Command lines can have one or more of the following prefixes: a hyphen
(-), an at-sign (@), or a plus-sign (+). These modify the way in which
make processes the command. When a command is written to standard
output, the prefix shall not be included in the output.
- If the command prefix contains a hyphen, or the -i option is
present, or the special target .IGNORE has either the current
target as a prerequisite or has no prerequisites, any error found
while executing the command shall be ignored.
@ If the command prefix contains an at-sign and the command-line -n 1
option is not specified, or the -s option is present, or the 1
special target .SILENT has either the current target as a
prerequisite or has no prerequisites, the command shall not be
written to standard output before it is executed.
+ If the command prefix contains a plus-sign, this indicates a
command line that shall be executed even if -n, -q, or -t is
specified.
6.2.7.3 Target Rules
Target rules are formatted as follows:
_t_a_r_g_e_t [_t_a_r_g_e_t ...]: [_p_r_e_r_e_q_u_i_s_i_t_e ...][;_c_o_m_m_a_n_d] 1
[<tab>_c_o_m_m_a_n_d 1
<tab>_c_o_m_m_a_n_d 1
...] 1
(_l_i_n_e _t_h_a_t _d_o_e_s _n_o_t _b_e_g_i_n _w_i_t_h <_t_a_b>) 1
Target entries are specified by a <blank>-separated, nonnull list of
targets, then a colon, then a <blank>-separated, possibly empty list of
prerequisites. Text following a semicolon, if any, and all following 1
lines that begin with a <tab>, are command lines to be executed to update 1
the target. The first nonempty line that does not begin with a <tab> or 1
# shall begin a new entry. An empty or blank line, or a line beginning 1
with #, may begin a new entry. 1
Applications shall select target names from the set of characters
consisting solely of periods, underscores, digits, and alphabetics from
the portable character set (see 2.4). Implementations may allow other
characters in target names as extensions. The interpretation of targets 1
containing the characters ``%'' and ``"'' is implementation defined. 1
A target that has prerequisites, but does not have any commands, can be
used to add to the prerequisite list for that target. Only one target
rule for any given target can contain commands.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
6.2 make - Maintain, update, and regenerate groups of programs 825
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
Lines that begin with one of the following are called _s_p_e_c_i_a_l _t_a_r_g_e_t_s and
control the operation of make:
.DEFAULT If the makefile uses this special target, it shall be
specified with commands, but without prerequisites. The
commands shall be used by make if there are no other rules
available to build a target.
.IGNORE Prerequisites of this special target are targets
themselves; this shall cause errors from commands
associated with them to be ignored in the same manner as
specified by the -i option. Subsequent occurrences of
.IGNORE shall add to the list of targets ignoring command
errors. If no prerequisites are specified, make shall
behave as if the -i option had been specified and errors
from all commands associated with all targets shall be
ignored.
.POSIX This special target shall be specified without
prerequisites or commands. If it appears before the first
noncomment line in the makefile, make shall process the
makefile as specified by this clause; otherwise, the
behavior of make is unspecified.
.PRECIOUS Prerequisites of this special target shall not be removed
if make receives one of the asynchronous events explicitly
described in 6.2.5.4. Subsequent occurrences of .PRECIOUS
shall add to the list of precious files. If no
prerequisites are specified, all targets in the makefile
shall be treated as if specified with .PRECIOUS.
.SILENT Prerequisites of this special target are targets
themselves; this shall cause commands associated with them
to not be written to the standard output before they are
executed. Subsequent occurrences of .SILENT shall add to
the list of targets with silent commands. If no
prerequisites are specified, make shall behave as if the
-s option had been specified and no commands or touch
messages associated with any target shall be written to
standard output.
.SUFFIXES Prerequisites of .SUFFIXES shall be appended to the list
of known suffixes and are used in conjunction with the
inference rules (see 6.2.7.5). If .SUFFIXES does not have
any prerequisites, the list of known suffixes shall be
cleared. Makefiles shall not associate commands with
.SUFFIXES.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
826 6 Software Development Utilities Option
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
Targets with names consisting of a leading period followed by the
uppercase letters POSIX and then any other characters are reserved for
future standardization. Targets with names consisting of a leading
period followed by one or more uppercase letters are reserved for
implementation extensions.
6.2.7.4 Macros
Macro definitions are in the form:
_s_t_r_i_n_g_1 = [_s_t_r_i_n_g_2] 1
The macro named _s_t_r_i_n_g_1 is defined as having the value of _s_t_r_i_n_g_2, where
_s_t_r_i_n_g_2 is defined as all characters, if any, after the equals-sign, up 1
to a comment character (#) or an unescaped <newline> character. Any
<blank>s immediately before or after the equals-sign shall be ignored.
Subsequent appearances of $(_s_t_r_i_n_g_1) or ${_s_t_r_i_n_g_1} shall be replaced by
_s_t_r_i_n_g_2. The parentheses or braces are optional if _s_t_r_i_n_g_1 is a single
character. The macro $$ shall be replaced by the single character $.
Applications shall select macro names from the set of characters 2
consisting solely of periods, underscores, digits, and alphabetics from 2
the portable character set (see 2.4). A macro name shall not contain an 2
equals-sign. Implementations may allow other characters in macro names 2
as extensions. 2
Macros can appear anywhere in the makefile. Macros in target lines shall
be evaluated when the target line is read. Macros in command lines shall
be evaluated when the command is executed. Macros in macro definition
lines shall not be evaluated until the new macro being defined is used in
a rule or command. A macro that has not been defined shall evaluate to a
null string without causing any error condition.
The forms $(_s_t_r_i_n_g_1[:_s_u_b_s_t_1=[_s_u_b_s_t_2]]) or ${_s_t_r_i_n_g_1[:_s_u_b_s_t_1=[_s_u_b_s_t_2]]}
can be used to replace all occurrences of _s_u_b_s_t_1 with _s_u_b_s_t_2 when the 2
macro substitution is performed. The _s_u_b_s_t_1 to be replaced shall be
recognized when it is a suffix at the end of a word in _s_t_r_i_n_g_1 (where a
``word,'' in this context, is defined to be a string delimited by the
beginning of the line, a <blank>, or a <newline>).
Macro assignments shall be accepted from the sources listed below, in the
order shown. If a macro name already exists at the time it is being
processed, the newer definition shall replace the existing definition.
(1) Macros defined in make's built-in inference rules.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
6.2 make - Maintain, update, and regenerate groups of programs 827
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
(2) The contents of the environment, including the variables with
null values, in the order defined in the environment.
(3) Macros defined in the makefile(s), processed in the order
specified.
(4) Macros specified on the command line. It is unspecified whether
the internal macros defined in 6.2.7.7 are accepted from the
command line.
If the -e option is specified, the order of processing sources (2) and
(3) shall be reversed.
The SHELL macro shall be treated specially. It shall be provided by make
and set to the pathname of the shell command language interpreter (see sh
in 4.56). The SHELL environment variable shall not affect the value of
the SHELL macro. If SHELL is defined in the makefile or is specified on
the command line, it shall replace the original value of the SHELL macro,
but shall not affect the SHELL environment variable. Other effects of
defining SHELL in the makefile or on the command line are implementation
defined.
6.2.7.5 Inference Rules
Inference rules are formatted as follows:
_t_a_r_g_e_t: 1
<tab>_c_o_m_m_a_n_d 1
[<tab>_c_o_m_m_a_n_d] 1
...
(_l_i_n_e _t_h_a_t _d_o_e_s _n_o_t _b_e_g_i_n _w_i_t_h <_t_a_b> _o_r #)
The _t_a_r_g_e_t portion shall be a valid target name (see 6.2.7.3) and shall 2
be of the form ._s_2 or ._s_1._s_2 (where ._s_1 and ._s_2 are suffixes that have 2
been given as prerequisites of the .SUFFIXES special target and _s_1 and _s_2 2
do not contain any slashes or periods.) If there is only one period in 2
the target, it is a single-suffix inference rule. Targets with two
periods are double-suffix inference rules. Inference rules can have only 1
one target before the colon. 1
The makefile shall not specify prerequisites for inference rules; no
characters other than white space shall follow the colon in the first
line, except when creating the ``empty rule,'' described below. 1
Prerequisites are inferred, as described below. 1
Inference rules can be redefined. A target that matches an existing
inference rule shall overwrite the old inference rule. An ``empty rule''
can be created with a command consisting of simply a semicolon (that is,
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
828 6 Software Development Utilities Option
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
the rule still exists and is found during inference rule search, but
since it is empty, execution has no effect). The empty rule also can be
formatted as follows:
_r_u_l_e: ;
where zero or more <blank>s separate the colon and semicolon. 2
The make utility uses the suffixes of targets and their prerequisites to
infer how a target can be made up-to-date. A list of inference rules
defines the commands to be executed. By default, make contains a built-
in set of inference rules. Additional rules can be specified in the
makefile.
The special target .SUFFIXES contains as its prerequisites a list of
suffixes that are to be used by the inference rules. The order in which 1
the suffixes are specified defines the order in which the inference rules 1
for the suffixes are used. New suffixes shall be appended to the current
list by specifying a .SUFFIXES special target in the makefile. A
.SUFFIXES target with no prerequisites shall clear the list of suffixes.
An empty .SUFFIXES target followed by a new .SUFFIXES list is required to
change the order of the suffixes.
Normally, the user would provide an inference rule for each suffix. The 1
inference rule to update a target with a suffix ._s_1 from a prerequisite 1
with a suffix ._s_2 is specified as a target ._s_2._s_1. The internal macros
provide the means to specify general inference rules. (See 6.2.7.7.) 1
When no target rule is found to update a target, the inference rules
shall be checked. The suffix of the target (._s_1) to be built is compared
to the list of suffixes specified by the .SUFFIXES special targets. If
the ._s_1 suffix is found in .SUFFIXES, the inference rules shall be
searched in the order defined for the first ._s_2._s_1 rule whose
prerequisite file ($*._s_2) exists. If the target is out-of-date with
respect to this prerequisite, the commands for that inference rule shall
be executed.
If the target to be built does not contain a suffix and there is no rule
for the target, the single suffix inference rules shall be checked. The
single-suffix inference rules define how to build a target if a file is 1
found with a name that matches the target name with one of the single 1
suffixes appended. A rule with one suffix ._s_2 is the definition of how 1
to build _t_a_r_g_e_t from _t_a_r_g_e_t._s_2. The other suffix (._s_1) is treated as
null.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
6.2 make - Maintain, update, and regenerate groups of programs 829
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
6.2.7.6 Libraries
If a target or prerequisite contains parentheses, it shall be treated as
a member of an archive library. For the _l_i_b(_m_e_m_b_e_r._o) expression _l_i_b
refers to the name of the archive library and _m_e_m_b_e_r.o to the member
name. The member shall be an object file with the .o suffix. The
modification time of the expression is the modification time for the
member as kept in the archive library. See 6.1. The .a suffix refers to
an archive library. The ._s_2.a rule is used to update a member in the
library from a file with a suffix ._s_2.
6.2.7.7 Internal Macros
The make utility shall maintain five internal macros that can be used in 1
target and inference rules. In order to clearly define the meaning of 1
these macros, some clarification of the terms ``target rule,'' 1
``inference rule,'' ``target,'' and ``prerequisite'' is necessary. 1
Target rules are specified by the user in a makefile for a particular 1
target. Inference rules are user- or make-specified rules for a 1
particular class of target names. Explicit prerequisites are those 1
prerequisites specified in a makefile on target lines. Implicit 1
prerequisites are those prerequisites that are generated when inference 1
rules are used. Inference rules are applied to implicit prerequisites or 1
to explicit prerequisites that do not have target rules defined for them 1
in the makefile. Target rules are applied to targets specified in the 1
makefile. 1
Before any target in the makefile is updated, each of its prerequisites 1
(both explicit and implicit) shall be updated. This shall be 1
accomplished by recursively processing each prerequisite. Upon 1
recursion, each prequisite shall become a target itself. Its 1
prerequisites in turn shall be processed recursively until a target is 1
found that has no prerequisites, at which point the recursion shall stop. 1
The recursion then shall back up, updating each target as it goes. 1
In the definitions that follow, the word ``target'' refers to one of: 1
- A target specified in the makefile, 1
- An explicit prerequisite specified in the makefile that becomes the 1
target when make processes it during recursion, or 1
- An implicit prerequisite that becomes a target when make processes 1
it during recursion. 1
In the definitions that follow, the word ``prerequisite'' refers to 1
either: 1
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
830 6 Software Development Utilities Option
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
- An explicit prerequisite specified in the makefile for a particular 1
target, or 1
- An implicit prerequisite generated as a result of locating an 1
appropriate inference rule and corresponding file that matches the 1
suffix of the target. 1
The five internal macros are: 1
$@ The $@ macro shall evaluate to the full target name of the 1
current target, or the archive filename part of a library 1
archive target. It shall be evaluated for both target and 1
inference rules. 1
For example, in the .c.a inference rule, $@ represents the out- 1
of-date .a file to be built. Similarly, in a makefile target 1
rule to build lib.a from file.c, $@ represents the out-of-date 1
lib.a. 1
$% The $% macro shall be evaluated only when the current target is 1
an archive library member of the form _l_i_b_n_a_m_e(_m_e_m_b_e_r.o). In 1
these cases, $@ shall evaluate to _l_i_b_n_a_m_e and $% shall evaluate 1
to _m_e_m_b_e_r.o. The $% macro shall be evaluated for both target 1
and inference rules. 1
For example, in a makefile target rule to build lib.a(file.o), 1
$% represents file.o--as opposed to $@, which represents lib.a. 1
$? The $? macro shall evaluate to the list of prerequisites that 1
are newer than the current target. It shall be evaluated for 1
both target and inference rules. 1
For example, in a makefile target rule to build prog from 1
file1.o, file2.o, and file3.o, and where prog is not out of date 1
with respect to file1.o, but is out of date with respect to 1
file2.o and file3.o, $? represents file2.o and file3.o. 1
$< In an inference rule, $< shall evaluate to the file name whose 1
existence allowed the inference rule to be chosen for the 1
target. In the .DEFAULT rule, the $< macro shall evaluate to 1
the current target name. The $< macro shall be evaluated only 1
for inference rules. 1
For example, in the .c.a inference rule, $< represents the 1
prerequisite .c file. 1
$* The $* macro shall evaluate to the current target name with its 1
suffix deleted. It shall be evaluated at least for inference 2
rules. 2
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
6.2 make - Maintain, update, and regenerate groups of programs 831
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
For example, in the .c.a inference rule, $*.o represents the
out-of-date .o file that corresponds to the prerequisite .c
file.
Each of the internal macros has an alternate form. When an uppercase D
or F is appended to any of the macros, the meaning is changed to the
_d_i_r_e_c_t_o_r_y _p_a_r_t for D and _f_i_l_e_n_a_m_e _p_a_r_t for F. The directory part is the
path prefix of the file without a trailing slash; for the current
directory, the directory part is ".". When the $? macro contains more
than one prerequisite filename, the $(?D) and $(?F) [or ${?D} and ${?F}]
macros expand to a list of directory name parts and filename parts
respectively.
For the target _l_i_b(_m_e_m_b_e_r._o) and the ._s_2.a rule, the internal macros are
defined as:
$< _m_e_m_b_e_r._s_2
$* _m_e_m_b_e_r
$@ _l_i_b
$? _m_e_m_b_e_r._s_2
$% _m_e_m_b_e_r._o
6.2.7.8 Default Rules
The default rules for make shall achieve results that are the same as if
the following were used. Implementations that do not support the C
Language Development Utilities Option may omit CC, CFLAGS, YACC, YFLAGS,
LEX, LFLAGS, LDFLAGS, and the .c, .y, and .l inference rules.
Implementations that do not support the FORTRAN Language Development
Utilities Option may omit FC, FFLAGS, and the .f inference rules.
Implementations may provide additional macros and rules.
NOTE: In a future version of this standard, the default rules may be
specified separately from the make clause, such as with the language-
dependent development options.
_S_U_F_F_I_X_E_S _A_N_D _M_A_C_R_O_S
._S_U_F_F_I_X_E_S: ._o ._c ._y ._l ._a ._s_h ._f _1
_M_A_K_E=_m_a_k_e
_A_R=_a_r
_A_R_F_L_A_G_S=-_r_v
_Y_A_C_C=_y_a_c_c
_Y_F_L_A_G_S=
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
832 6 Software Development Utilities Option
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
_L_E_X=_l_e_x
_L_F_L_A_G_S=
_L_D_F_L_A_G_S=
_C_C=_c_8_9
_C_F_L_A_G_S=-_O
_F_C=_f_o_r_t_7_7
_F_F_L_A_G_S=-_O _1
_S_I_N_G_L_E _S_U_F_F_I_X _R_U_L_E_S
._c:
$(_C_C) $(_C_F_L_A_G_S) $(_L_D_F_L_A_G_S) -_o $@ $<
._f:
$(_F_C) $(_F_F_L_A_G_S) $(_L_D_F_L_A_G_S) -_o $@ $<
._s_h:
_c_p $< $@
_c_h_m_o_d _a+_x $@
_D_O_U_B_L_E _S_U_F_F_I_X _R_U_L_E_S
._c._o:
$(_C_C) $(_C_F_L_A_G_S) -_c $<
._f._o:
$(_F_C) $(_F_F_L_A_G_S) -_c $<
._y._o:
$(_Y_A_C_C) $(_Y_F_L_A_G_S) $<
$(_C_C) $(_C_F_L_A_G_S) -_c _y._t_a_b._c
_r_m -_f _y._t_a_b._c _1
_m_v _y._t_a_b._o $@
._l._o:
$(_L_E_X) $(_L_F_L_A_G_S) $<
$(_C_C) $(_C_F_L_A_G_S) -_c _l_e_x._y_y._c
_r_m -_f _l_e_x._y_y._c _1
_m_v _l_e_x._y_y._o $@
._y._c:
$(_Y_A_C_C) $(_Y_F_L_A_G_S) $<
_m_v _y._t_a_b._c $@
._l._c:
$(_L_E_X) $(_L_F_L_A_G_S) $<
_m_v _l_e_x._y_y._c $@
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
6.2 make - Maintain, update, and regenerate groups of programs 833
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
._c._a:
$(_C_C) -_c $(_C_F_L_A_G_S) $<
$(_A_R) $(_A_R_F_L_A_G_S) $@ $*._o
_r_m -_f $*._o
._f._a:
$(_F_C) -_c $(_F_F_L_A_G_S) $<
$(_A_R) $(_A_R_F_L_A_G_S) $@ $*._o
_r_m -_f $*._o
6.2.8 Exit Status
When the -q option is specified, the make utility shall exit with one of
the following values:
0 Successful completion.
1 The target was not up-to-date.
>1 An error occurred.
When the -q option is not specified, the make utility shall exit with one
of the following values:
0 Successful completion.
>0 An error occurred.
6.2.9 Consequences of Errors
Default.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
6.2.10 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
The make provided here is intended to provide the means for changing
portable source code into runnable executables on a POSIX.2 system. It
reflects the most common features present in System V and BSD makes.
Historically, the make utility has been an especially fertile ground for
vendor- and research-organization-specific syntax modifications and
extensions. Examples include:
- Syntax supporting parallel execution (Sequent, Cray, GNU, and
others)
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
834 6 Software Development Utilities Option
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
- Additional ``operators'' separating targets and their prerequisites
(System V, BSD, and others)
- Specifying that command lines containing the strings ${MAKE} and
$(MAKE) are executed when the -n option is specified (GNU and
System V)
- Modifications of the meaning of internal macros when referencing
libraries (BSD and others)
- Using a single instance of the shell for all of a target's command
lines (BSD and others)
- Allowing spaces as well as tabs to delimit command lines (BSD)
- Adding C-preprocessor-style ``include'' and ``ifdef'' constructs
(System V, GNU, BSD, and others)
- Remote execution of command lines (Sprite and others)
- Specifying additional special targets (Sun, BSD, System V, and most
others).
Additionally, many vendors and research organizations have rethought the
basic concepts of make, creating vastly extended, as well as completely
new, syntaxes. Each of these versions of ``make'' fulfills the needs of
a different community of users; it is unreasonable for this standard to
require behavior that would be incompatible (and probably inferior) to
existing practice for such a community.
In similar circumstances, when the industry has enough sufficiently
incompatible formats as to make them irreconcilable, POSIX.2 has followed
one or both of two courses of action. Commands have been renamed (cksum,
echo, and pax) and/or command-line options have been provided to select
the desired behavior (grep, od, and pax).
Because the syntax specified for the make utility is, by and large, a
subset of the syntaxes accepted by almost all versions of make, it was
decided that it would be counter-productive to change the name. And
since the makefile itself is a basic unit of portability, it would not be
completely effective to reserve a new option letter, such as make -P, to
achieve the portable behavior. Therefore, the special target .POSIX was
added to the makefile, allowing users to specify ``standard'' behavior.
This special target does not preclude extensions in the make utility, or
such extensions being used by the makefile specifying the target; it
does, however, preclude any extensions from being applied that could
alter the behavior of previously valid syntax; such extensions must be
controlled via command-line options or new special targets. It is
incumbent upon portable makefiles to specify the .POSIX special target in
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
6.2 make - Maintain, update, and regenerate groups of programs 835
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
order to guarantee that they are not affected by local extensions.
The portable version of make described in this clause is not intended to
be the state of the art software generation tool and, as such, some newer
and more leading-edge features have not been included. An attempt has
been made to describe the portable makefile in a manner that does not
preclude such extensions as long as they do not disturb the portable
behavior described here.
One use of this make and the makefile syntax is as a format that newer
versions of make can generate for portability purposes.
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s_,__U_s_a_g_e
The following command:
make
makes the first target found in the makefile.
The following command:
make junk
makes the target junk.
The following makefile says that pgm depends on two files, a.o and b.o,
and that they in turn depend on their corresponding source files (a.c and
b.c), and a common file incl.h:
pgm: a.o b.o
c89 a.o b.o -o pgm
a.o: incl.h a.c
c89 -c a.c
b.o: incl.h b.c
c89 -c b.c
An example for making optimized .o files from .c files is:
.c.o:
c89 -c -O $*.c
or:
.c.o:
c89 -c -O $<
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
836 6 Software Development Utilities Option
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
The most common use of the archive interface follows. Here, it is
assumed that the source files are all C language source:
lib: lib(file1.o) lib(file2.o) lib(file3.o)
@echo lib is now up-to-date
The .c.a rule is used to make file1.o, file2.o, and file3.o and insert 1
them into lib. 1
The -k and -S options are both present so that the relationship between
the command line, the MAKEFLAGS variable, and the makefile can be
controlled precisely. If the k flag is passed in MAKEFLAGS and a command
is of the form:
$(MAKE) -S foo
then the default behavior is restored for the child make.
When the -n option is specified, it is always added to MAKEFLAGS. This
allows a recursive make -n _t_a_r_g_e_t to be used to see all of the action
that would be taken to update _t_a_r_g_e_t.
The definition of MAKEFLAGS allows both the System V letter string and
the BSD command-line formats. The two formats are sufficiently different
to allow implementations to support both without ambiguity.
Because of widespread historical practice, interpreting a # number sign
inside a variable as the start of a comment has the unfortunate side
effect of making it impossible to place a number sign in a variable, thus
forbidding something like
CFLAGS = "-D COMMENT_CHAR='#'"
Earlier drafts stated that an ``unquoted'' number sign was treated as the
start of a comment. The make utility does not pay any attention to
quotes. A number sign starts a comment regardless of its surroundings.
The treatment of escaped <newline>s throughout the makefile is historical
practice. For example, the inference rule:
.c.o\
:
works and the macro
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
6.2 make - Maintain, update, and regenerate groups of programs 837
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
f= bar baz\
biz
a:
echo ==$f==
will echo ==bar baz biz==.
If $? were
/usr/include/stdio.h /usr/include/unistd.h foo.h
then $(?D) would be
/usr/include /usr/include .
and $(?F) would be
stdio.h unistd.h foo.h
The contents of the built-in rules can be viewed by running:
make -p -f /dev/null 2>/dev/null
Many historical makes stop chaining together inference rules when an 1
intermediate target is nonexistent. For example, it might be possible 1
for a make to determine that both .y.c and .c.o could be used to convert 1
a .y to a .o. Instead, in this case, make requires the use of a .y.o 1
rule. 1
The text about ``other implementation-defined pathnames may also be
tried'' in addition to ./makefile and ./Makefile is to allow such
extensions as SCCS/s.Makefile and other variations. It was made an
implementation-defined requirement (as opposed to unspecified behavior)
to highlight surprising implementations that might select something
unexpected like /etc/Makefile.
For inference rules, the description of $< and $? seem similar. However,
an example shows the minor difference. In a makefile containing
foo.o: foo.h
if foo.h is newer than foo.o, yet foo.c is older than foo.o, the built-in
rule to make foo.o from foo.c will be used, with $< equal to foo.c and $?
equal to foo.h. (If foo.c is also newer than foo.o, $< is equal to foo.c
and $? is equal to ``foo.h foo.c''.)
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
838 6 Software Development Utilities Option
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
Earlier drafts contained the macro NPROC as a means of specifying that
make should use _n processes to do the work required. While this feature
is a valuable extension for many systems, it is not common usage and
could require other nontrivial extensions to makefile syntax. This
extension is not required by the standard, but could be provided as a
compatible extension. The macro PARALLEL is used by some historical 1
systems with essentially the same meaning (but without using a name that 1
is a common system limit value). It is suggested that implementors 1
recognize the existing use of NPROC and/or PARALLEL as extensions to 1
make. 1
The default rules are based on System V. The default CC= value is c89
instead of cc because POSIX.2 does not standardize the utility named cc.
Thus, every conforming application would be required to define CC=c89 to
expect to run. There is no advantage conferred by the hope that the
makefile might hit the ``preferred'' compiler because there is no way
that this can be guaranteed to work. Also, since the portable makescript
can only use the c89 options, no advantage is conferred in terms of what
the script can do. It is a quality of implementation issue as to whether
c89 is as good as cc.
Since SCCS and RCS are not part of POSIX.2, all make references to SCCS
extensions have been omitted.
The -d option to make is frequently used to produce debugging
information, but is too implementation-dependent to add to the standard.
The -p option is not passed in MAKEFLAGS on most existing implementations
and to change this would cause many implementations to break without
sufficiently increased portability.
Commands that begin with a plus-sign (+) are executed even if the -n
option is present. Based on the GNU version of make, the behavior of -n
when the plus-sign prefix is encountered has been extended to apply to -q
and -t as well. However, the System V convention of forcing command
execution with -n when a target's command line contains either of the
strings $(MAKE) or ${MAKE} has not been adopted. This functionality
appeared in earlier drafts, but the danger of this approach was pointed
out with the following example of a portion of a makefile:
subdir:
cd subdir; rm all_the_files; $(MAKE)
The loss of the System V behavior in this case is well-balanced by the
safety afforded to other makefiles that were not aware of this situation.
In any event, the command-line plus-sign prefix can provide the desired
functionality.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
6.2 make - Maintain, update, and regenerate groups of programs 839
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
The double colon in the target rule format is supported in BSD systems to
allow more than one target line containing the same target name to have
commands associated with it. Since this is not functionality described
in the _S_V_I_D or XPG3, it has been allowed as an extension, but not
mandated.
The default rules are provided with text specifying that the built-in
rules are to be the same _a_s _i_f the listed set were used. The intent is
that implementations should be able to use the rules without change, but
will be allowed to alter them in ways that do not affect the primary
behavior.
The best way to provide portable makefiles is to include all of the rules
needed in the makefile itself. The rules provided use only features
provided by other parts of the standard. The default rules include rules
for optional commands in the standard. Only rules pertaining to commands
that are provided are needed in an implementation's default set.
The argument could be made to drop the default rules list from the
standard. They provide convenience, but do not enhance portability of
applications. The prime benefit is in portability of users who wish to
type make command and have the command build from a command.c file.
The historical MAKESHELL feature was omitted. In some implementations it
is used to provide a way of letting a user override the shell to be used
to run make commands. This was confusing; for a portable make, the shell
should be chosen by the makefile writer or specified on the make command
line and not by a user running make.
The make utilities in most historical implementations process the
prerequisites of a target in left-to-right order, and the POSIX.2 1
makefile format requires this. It supports the standard idiom used in 1
many makefiles that produce yacc programs, for example: 1
foo: y.tab.o lex.o main.o 1
$(CC) $(CFLAGS) -o $@ t.tab.o lex.o main.o 1
In this example, if make chose any arbitrary order, the lex.o might not 1
be made with the correct y.tab.h. Although there may be better ways to 1
express this relationship, it is widely used historically. 1
Implementations that desire to update prerequisites in parallel should 1
require an explicit extension to make or the makefile format to 1
accomplish it, as described previously. 1
The algorithm for determining a new entry for target rules is partially 1
unspecified. Some historical makes allow blank, empty, or comment lines 1
within the collection of commands marked by leading <tab>s. A conforming 1
makefile must ensure that each command starts with a <tab>, but 1
implementations are free to ignore blank, empty, and comment lines 1
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
840 6 Software Development Utilities Option
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
without triggering the start of a new entry. 1
The Asynchronous Events subclause includes having SIGTERM and SIGHUP,
along with the more traditional SIGINT and SIGQUIT, remove the current
target unless directed not to. SIGTERM and SIGHUP were added to parallel
other utilities that have historically cleaned up their work as a result
of these signals. All but SIGQUIT is required to resend itself the
signal it received to cause make to exit with a status that reflects the
signal. The results from SIGQUIT are partially unspecified because, on
systems that create core files upon receipt of SIGQUIT, the core from
make would conflict with a core file from the command that was running
when the SIGQUIT arrived. The main concern here was to prevent damaged
files from appearing up-to-date when make is rerun.
The .PRECIOUS special target was extended to globally affect all targets
(by specifying no prerequisites). The .IGNORE and .SILENT special
targets were extended to allow prerequisites; it was judged to be more
useful in some cases to be able to turn off errors or echoing for a list
of targets than for the entire makefile. These extensions to System V's
make were made to match historical practice from the BSD make.
Macros are not exported to the environment of commands to be run. This
was never the case in any historical make and would have serious
consequences. The environment is the same as the environment to make
except that MAKEFLAGS and macros defined on the make command line are
added.
Some implementations do not use _s_y_s_t_e_m() for all command lines, as
required by the POSIX.2 portable makefile format; as a performance
enhancement, they select lines without shell metacharacters for direct
execution by _e_x_e_c_v_e(). There is no requirement that _s_y_s_t_e_m() be used
specifically, but merely that the same results be achieved. The
metacharacters typically used to bypass the direct _e_x_e_c_v_e() execution
have been any of:
= | ^ ( ) ; & < > * ? [ ] : $ ` ' " \ \n
The default in some advanced versions of make is to group all the command
lines for a target and execute them using a single shell invocation; the
System V method is to pass each line individually to a separate shell.
The single-shell method has the advantages in performance and the lack of
a requirement for many continued lines. However, converting to this
newer method has caused portability problems with many historical
makefiles, so the behavior with the POSIX makefile is specified to be the
same as System V's. It is suggested that the special target .ONESHELL be
used as an implementation extension to achieve the single-shell grouping
for a target or group of targets.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
6.2 make - Maintain, update, and regenerate groups of programs 841
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
Novice users of make have had difficulty with the historical need to
start commands with a <tab> character. Since it is often difficult to
discern differences between <tab> and <space> characters on terminals or
printed listings, confusing bugs can arise. In earlier drafts, an
attempt was made to correct this problem by allowing leading <blank>_s
instead of <tab>_s. However, implementors reported many makefiles that
failed in subtle ways following this change and it is difficult to
implement a make that unambiguously can differentiate between macro and
command lines. There is extensive historical practice of allowing
leading spaces before macro definitions. Forcing macro lines into column
1 would be a significant backward compatibility problem for some
makefiles. Therefore, historical practice was restored.
The System V INCLUDE feature was considered, but not included. This
would treat a line that began in the first column and contained INCLUDE
<_f_i_l_e_n_a_m_e> as an indication to read <_f_i_l_e_n_a_m_e> at that point in the
makefile. This is difficult to use in a portable way and it raises
concerns about nesting levels and diagnostics. System V, BSD, GNU, and
others have used different methods for including files.
Macros used within other macros are evaluated when the new macro is used
rather than when the new macro is defined. Therefore:
MACRO = _v_a_l_u_e_1
NEW = $(MACRO)
MACRO = _v_a_l_u_e_2
target:
echo $(NEW)
would produce _v_a_l_u_e_2 and not _v_a_l_u_e_1 since NEW was not expanded until it
was needed in the echo command line.
The System V dynamic dependency feature was not added. It would support:
cat: $$@.c
that would expand to
cat: cat.c
This feature exists only in the new version of System V make and, while
useful, is not in wide usage. This means that macros are expanded twice
for prerequisites: once at makefile parse time and once at target update
time.
Consideration was given to adding metarules to the POSIX make. This
would make "%.o: %.c" the same as ".c.o:". This is quite useful and
available from some vendors, but it would cause too many changes to this
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
842 6 Software Development Utilities Option
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
make to support. It would have introduced rule chaining and new
substitution rules. However, the rules for target names have been set to 1
reserve the % and " characters. These are traditionally used to 1
implement metarules and quoting of target names, respectively. 1
Implementors are strongly encouraged to use these characters only for 1
these purposes. 1
A request was made to extend the suffix delimiter character from a period
to any character. The metarules in newer makes solves this problem in a
more general way. POSIX.2 is staying with the more conservative
historical definition until a clear industry consensus on make technology
might prompt a revision of this standard.
The standard output format for the -p option is not described because it
is primarily a debugging option and the format is not generally useful to
programs. In historical implementations the output is not suitable for
use in generating makefiles. The -p format has been variable across
historical implementations. Therefore, the definition of -p was only to
provide a consistently named option for obtaining make script debugging
information.
Some historical implementations have not cleared the suffix list with -r.
Implementations should be aware that some historical applications have
intermixed _t_a_r_g_e_t__n_a_m_e and _m_a_c_r_o=_n_a_m_e operands on the command line,
expecting that all of the macros will be processed before any of the
targets are dealt with. Portable applications do not do this, but some
backward compatibility support may be warranted.
Empty inference rules are specified with a semicolon command rather than
omitting all commands, as described in a previous draft. The latter case
has no traditional meaning and is reserved for implementation extensions,
such as in GNU make.
END_RATIONALE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
6.2 make - Maintain, update, and regenerate groups of programs 843
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
6.3 strip - Remove unnecessary information from executable files
6.3.1 Synopsis
strip _f_i_l_e ...
6.3.2 Description
The strip utility shall remove from executable files named by the _f_i_l_e
operands any information the implementor deems unnecessary to proper
execution of those files. The nature of that information is unspecified.
The effect of strip shall be the same as the use of the -s option to any
of the compilers defined by this standard.
6.3.3 Options
None.
6.3.4 Operands
The following operand shall be supported by the implementation:
_f_i_l_e A pathname referring to an executable file.
6.3.5 External Influences
6.3.5.1 Standard Input
None.
6.3.5.2 Input Files
The input files shall be in the form of executable files successfully
produced by any compiler defined by this standard.
6.3.5.3 Environment Variables
The following environment variables shall affect the execution of strip:
LANG This variable shall determine the locale to use for
the locale categories when both LC_ALL and the
corresponding environment variable (beginning with
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
844 6 Software Development Utilities Option
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
LC_) do not specify a locale. See 2.6.
LC_ALL This variable shall determine the locale to be used
to override any values for locale categories
specified by the settings of LANG or any
environment variables beginning with LC_.
LC_CTYPE This variable shall determine the locale for the
interpretation of sequences of bytes of text data
as characters (e.g., single- versus multibyte
characters in arguments).
LC_MESSAGES This variable shall determine the language in which
messages should be written.
6.3.5.4 Asynchronous Events
Default.
6.3.6 External Effects
6.3.6.1 Standard Output
None.
6.3.6.2 Standard Error
Used only for diagnostic messages.
6.3.6.3 Output Files
The strip utility shall produce executable files of unspecified format.
6.3.7 Extended Description
None.
6.3.8 Exit Status
The strip utility shall exit with one of the following values:
0 Successful completion.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
6.3 strip - Remove unnecessary information from executable files 845
P1003.2/D11.2
>0 An error occurred.
6.3.9 Consequences of Errors
Default.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
6.3.10 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s_,__U_s_a_g_e
None.
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
Historically, this utility has been used to remove the symbol table from
an executable file. It was included since it is known that the amount of
symbolic information can amount to several megabytes; the ability to
remove it in a portable manner was deemed important, especially for
smaller systems.
The behavior of strip is said to be the same as the -s option to a
compiler. While the end result is essentially the same it is not
required to be identical. The same effect can be achieved with either -s
during a compile or a strip on the final object file.
END_RATIONALE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
846 6 Software Development Utilities Option
P1003.2/D11.2
Section 7: Language-Independent System Services
This clause contains functional specifications for services that give
applications access to features defined elsewhere in this standard.
These services allow applications written in high-level languages to
(1) execute commands using the shell language,
(2) obtain values of environment variables,
(3) perform regular expression and pattern matching,
(4) process command arguments in a standard manner,
(5) generate pathnames from a pattern,
(6) perform shell word expansions,
(7) obtain system configuration information, and
(8) set locale control information
This clause does not define interfaces, but services that shall be
provided by the interfaces in a language-dependent binding. This clause
is optional, in that an implementation is not required to support any
language binding to these services. However, any language binding shall
support all of the services described here. Implementations therefore
provide support for services in this clause by supplying a language-
dependent binding such as the one defined in Annex B. Such a system
would specify conformance to the language-dependent binding, not to the
language-independent bindings given here.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
7 Language-Independent System Services 847
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
7.0.1 Language-Independent System Services Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s
_n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
Section 7 essentially is a metastandard, in that it specifies services
that must be in a language-dependent binding. An implementation conforms
to a specific language-dependent binding such as for the C language, in
Annex B, and the language-dependent binding must conform to the
specifications in this clause.
In this standard, the language-independent specifications have not yet
been developed. The language-independent syntax is being created in
parallel by the POSIX.1 working group. Therefore, the C language
bindings temporarily described in Annex B are actually the full interface
specifications. It is the intention of the P1003.2 working group to
rectify this situation in a later supplement by moving the majority of
the interface specifications back into this clause, leaving Annex B with
only brief descriptions of the C bindings to those services.
This clause does not attempt to include everything that would be required
of a language binding. The services here are those that are necessary to
make use of features defined elsewhere in the standard, but that are not
normally available in every language. Clearly a language that could not
open, read, and write the files manipulated by the utilities in this
standard would not be very useful, but this service is normally provided
by any language and therefore isn't called out here. The ability to
obtain values of environment variables exported from the shell, on the
other hand, is not universally available, so that service is included
here.
END_RATIONALE
7.1 Shell Command Interface
7.1.1 Execute Shell Command
Any language binding to Language-Independent System Services shall
include a facility to execute a shell command.
The language-independent specification for this facility has not been
developed. The C binding for this facility is the _s_y_s_t_e_m() function
described in B.3.1.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
848 7 Language-Independent System Services
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
7.1.2 Pipe Communications with Programs
Any language binding to Language-Independent System Services shall
include a facility to execute a shell command, and to write the standard
input or read the standard output of that command via a pipe.
The language-independent specification for this facility has not been
developed. The C binding for this facility is the _p_o_p_e_n() and _p_c_l_o_s_e()
functions described in B.3.2.
7.2 Access Environment Variables
Any language binding to Language-Independent System Services shall
include a facility to obtain values of environment variables, as
specified in POSIX.1 {8}.
The language-independent specification for this facility has not been
developed. The C binding for this facility is the _g_e_t_e_n_v() function
described in POSIX.1 {8} 4.6.1.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
7.2.1 Access Environment Variables Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a
_p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
This facility is required in POSIX.2 so that applications can obtain
values of exported shell variables.
END_RATIONALE
7.3 Regular Expression Matching
Any language binding to Language-Independent System Services shall
include a facility to interpret regular expressions as described in 2.8.
The language-independent specification for this facility has not been
developed. The C binding is the _r_e_g_c_o_m_p(), _r_e_g_e_x_e_c(), and _r_e_g_f_r_e_e()
functions described in B.5.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
7.3 Regular Expression Matching 849
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
7.3.1 Regular Expression Matching Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a
_p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
This service is important enough that it should be required by any
language binding to POSIX.2.
Regular expression parsing and pattern matching are listed separately,
since they are different services. A language binding could provide
different functions to support regular expressions and patterns, or could
combine them into a single function.
END_RATIONALE
7.4 Pattern Matching
Any language binding to Language-Independent System Services shall
include a facility to interpret patterns as described in 3.13.1 and
3.13.2. This facility shall allow the application to specify whether a
slash character in the string to be matched will be treated as a regular
character, or must be explicitly matched against a slash in the pattern.
The language-independent specification for this facility has not been
developed. The C binding is the _f_n_m_a_t_c_h() function described in B.6.
7.5 Command Option Parsing
Any language binding to Language-Independent System Services shall
include a facility to parse the options and operands from the command
line that invoked the application.
The language-independent specification for this facility has not been
developed. The C binding for this facility is the _g_e_t_o_p_t() function
described in B.7.
7.6 Generate Pathnames Matching a Pattern
Any language binding to Language-Independent System Services shall
include a facility to generate pathnames matching a pattern as described
in 3.13.
The language-independent specifications for this facility has not been
developed. The C binding is the _g_l_o_b() and _g_l_o_b_f_r_e_e() functions
described in B.8.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
850 7 Language-Independent System Services
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
7.7 Perform Word Expansions
Any language binding to Language-Independent System Services shall
include a facility to do shell word expansions as described in 3.6.
The language-independent specification for this facility has not been
developed. The C binding is the _w_o_r_d_e_x_p() and _w_o_r_d_f_r_e_e() functions
described in B.9.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
7.7.1 Perform Word Expansions Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t
_o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
See the rationale for this function in B.9.
END_RATIONALE
7.8 Get POSIX Configurable Variables
7.8.1 Get String-Valued Configurable Variables
Any language binding to Language-Independent System Services shall
include a facility to obtain string configurable variables.
The language-independent specification for this facility has not been
developed. The C binding for this facility is the _c_o_n_f_s_t_r() function
described in B.10.1.
7.8.2 Get Numeric-Valued Configurable Variables
Any language binding to Language-Independent System Services shall
include facilities to determine the current values of system and pathname
limits or options (_v_a_r_i_a_b_l_e_s), as specified by POSIX.1 {8}. The
configurable variables listed in Table 7-1, which are defined in
POSIX.1 {8}, shall be available in any POSIX.2 language-dependent
binding, with minimum values as given in POSIX.1 {8}. Other POSIX.1 {8}
configurable variables may be supported, but are not required by POSIX.2.
This facility shall also make available current values for all system
limits defined in 2.13.
The language-independent specifications for these facilities have not
been developed. The C bindings are the _s_y_s_c_o_n_f() function described in
POSIX.1 {8} 4.8, and the _p_a_t_h_c_o_n_f() and _f_p_a_t_h_c_o_n_f() functions defined in
POSIX.1 {8} 5.7.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
7.8 Get POSIX Configurable Variables 851
P1003.2/D11.2
BEGIN_RATIONALE
7.8.2.1 Get Numeric-Valued Configurable Variables Rationale. (_T_h_i_s
_s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
This description calls out specific values that _s_y_s_c_o_n_f(), _p_a_t_h_c_o_n_f(),
and _f_p_a_t_h_c_o_n_f() are required to support. Some of the POSIX.1 {8} values
are excluded from this list because they are not relevant in a POSIX.2-
only environment. Currently, only {CLK_TCK} is not required by POSIX.2.
This description does not specify the _n_a_m_e values for the arguments to
the various functions. This is because different language bindings might
use different naming conventions, or might use a completely different
scheme for obtaining the required configurable values. Specific names
for the _n_a_m_e values for the C language binding are given in B.10.2.
END_RATIONALE
7.9 Locale Control
Any language binding to Language-Independent System Services shall
include a facility to set locale control information.
The language-independent specification for this facility has not been
developed. The C binding for this facility is described in B.11.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
7.9.0.1 Locale Control Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f
_P_1_0_0_3._2)
This facility is required in POSIX.2 so that applications can control the
locale, which affects the operation of POSIX.2 utilities.
END_RATIONALE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
852 7 Language-Independent System Services
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
Table 7-1 - POSIX.1 Numeric-Valued Configurable Variables
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
{ARG_MAX} {NAME_MAX} {_POSIX_CHOWN_RESTRICTED}
{CHILD_MAX} {NGROUPS_MAX} {_POSIX_JOB_CONTROL}
{LINK_MAX} {OPEN_MAX} {_POSIX_NO_TRUNC}
{MAX_CANON} {PATH_MAX} {_POSIX_SAVED_IDS}
{MAX_INPUT} {PIPE_BUF} {_POSIX_VDISABLE}
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
7.9 Locale Control 853
P1003.2/D11.2
Annex A
(normative)
C Language Development Utilities Option
This annex describes utilities used for the development of C language
applications, including compilation or translation of C source code and
complex program generators for simple lexical tasks and processing of
context-free grammars.
The utilities described in this annex may be provided by the conforming
system; however, any system claiming conformance to the C Language
Development Utilities Option shall provide all of the utilities described
here. The utilities described in Section 6 are prerequisites to this
annex.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
A.0.1 C Language Development Utilities Option Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e
_i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
The portions of this standard that concern specific languages--currently
C and FORTRAN--have been collected to the rear of the document as
Normative Annexes. For purposes of conformance, they are no less a part
of the standard than one of the numbered sections. They were grouped as
Annexes to illustrate that the base standard is [planned to be] language
independent, giving a small degree of separation. The working group also
wished to send a message to those groups planning other language
bindings: the standard is not C-oriented, and there's plenty of room to
add more annexes for your languages as you develop them, right alongside
C and FORTRAN.
END_RATIONALE
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
Annex A C Language Development Utilities Option 855
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
A.1 c89 - Compile Standard C programs
A.1.1 Synopsis
c89 [-c] [-D _n_a_m_e[=_v_a_l_u_e]] ... [-E] [-g] [-I _d_i_r_e_c_t_o_r_y] ...
[-L _d_i_r_e_c_t_o_r_y] ... [-o _o_u_t_f_i_l_e] [-O] [-s] [-U _n_a_m_e] ... _o_p_e_r_a_n_d
...
A.1.2 Description
The c89 utility is the interface to the standard C compilation system; it
shall accept source code conforming to the C Standard {7}. The system
conceptually consists of a compiler and link editor. The files
referenced by _o_p_e_r_a_n_ds shall be compiled and linked to produce an
executable file. (It is unspecified whether the linking occurs entirely
within the operation of c89; some systems may produce objects that are
not fully resolved until the file is executed.)
If the -c option is specified, for all pathname operands of the form
_f_i_l_e.c, the files
$(basename _p_a_t_h_n_a_m_e ._c)._o
shall be created as the result of successful compilation. If the -c
option is not specified, it is unspecified whether such .o files are
created or deleted for the _f_i_l_e.c operands.
If there are no options that prevent link editing (such as -c or -E), and
all operands compile and link without error, the resulting executable
file shall be written according to the -o _o_u_t_f_i_l_e option (if present) or
to the file a.out.
The executable file shall be created as specified in 2.9.1.4, except that
the file permissions shall be set to
S_IRWXO | S_IRWXG | S_IRWXU
(see 5.6.1.2 in POSIX.1 {8}) and that the bits specified by the _u_m_a_s_k of
the process shall be cleared.
A.1.3 Options
The c89 utility shall conform to the utility argument syntax guidelines
described in 2.10.2, except that:
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
856 A C Language Development Utilities Option
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
- The -l _l_i_b_r_a_r_y operands have the format of options, but their
position within a list of operands affects the order in which
libraries are searched.
- The order of specifying the -I and -L options is significant. 1
- Conforming applications shall specify each option separately; that
is, grouping option letters (e.g., -cO) need not be recognized by
all implementations.
The following options shall be supported by the implementation:
-c Suppress the link-edit phase of the compilation, and do
not remove any object files that are produced.
-g Produce symbolic information in the object or executable
files; the nature of this information is unspecified, and
may be modified by implementation-defined interactions
with other options.
-s Produce object and/or executable files from which symbolic
and other information not required for proper execution
using _e_x_e_c (see POSIX.1 {8} 3.1.2) has been removed
(stripped). If both -g and -s options are present, the
action taken is unspecified.
-o _o_u_t_f_i_l_e Use the pathname _o_u_t_f_i_l_e, instead of the default a.out,
for the executable file produced. If the -o option is
present with -c or -E, the result is unspecified.
-D _n_a_m_e[=_v_a_l_u_e]
Define _n_a_m_e as if by a C-language #define directive. If
no =_v_a_l_u_e is given, a value of 1 shall be used. The -D
option has lower precedence than the -U option. That is,
if _n_a_m_e is used in both a -U and a -D option, _n_a_m_e shall
be undefined regardless of the order of the options.
Additional implementation-defined _n_a_m_e_s may be provided by
the compiler. Implementations shall support at least 2048
bytes of -D definitions and 256 _n_a_m_e_s.
-E Copy C-language source files to the standard output,
expanding all preprocessor directives; no compilation
shall be performed. If any operand is not a text file,
the effects are unspecified.
-I _d_i_r_e_c_t_o_r_y
Change the algorithm for searching for headers whose names
are not absolute pathnames to look in the directory named
by the _d_i_r_e_c_t_o_r_y pathname before looking in the usual
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
A.1 c89 - Compile Standard C programs 857
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
places. Thus, headers whose names are enclosed in
double-quotes ("") shall be searched for first in the
directory of the file with the #include line, then in
directories named in -I options, and last in the usual
places. For headers whose names are enclosed in angle
brackets (<>), the header shall be searched for only in
directories named in -I options and then in the usual
places. Directories named in -I options shall be searched
in the order specified. Implementations shall support at
least ten instances of this option in a single c89 command
invocation.
-L _d_i_r_e_c_t_o_r_y
Change the algorithm of searching for the libraries named
in the -l objects to look in the directory named by the
_d_i_r_e_c_t_o_r_y pathname before looking in the usual places.
Directories named in -L options shall be searched in the
order specified. Implementations shall support at least
ten instances of this option in a single c89 command
invocation. If a directory specified by a -L option
contains files named libc.a, libm.a, libl.a, or liby.a,
the results are unspecified.
-O Optimize. The nature of the optimization is unspecified.
-U _n_a_m_e Remove any initial definition of _n_a_m_e.
Multiple instances of the -D, -I, -U, and -L options can be specified.
A.1.4 Operands
An _o_p_e_r_a_n_d is either in the form of a pathname or the form -l _l_i_b_r_a_r_y.
At least one operand of the pathname form shall be specified. The
following operands shall be supported by the implementation:
_f_i_l_e._c A C-language source file to be compiled and optionally
linked. The operand shall be of this form if the -c
option is used.
_f_i_l_e._a A library of object files typically produced by ar (see
6.1), and passed directly to the link editor.
Implementations may recognize implementation-defined
suffixes other than .a as denoting object file libraries.
_f_i_l_e._o An object file produced by c89 -c, and passed directly to
the link editor. Implementations may recognize
implementation-defined suffixes other than .o as denoting
object files.
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
858 A C Language Development Utilities Option
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
The processing of other files is implementation defined.
-l _l_i_b_r_a_r_y (The letter ell.) Search the library named:
lib_l_i_b_r_a_r_y._a
A library shall be searched when its name is encountered,
so the placement of a -l operand is significant. Several
standard libraries can be specified in this manner, as
described in A.1.7. Implementations may recognize
implementation-defined suffixes other than .a as denoting
libraries.
A.1.5 External Influences
A.1.5.1 Standard Input
None.
A.1.5.2 Input Files
The input file shall be one of the following: a text file containing a
C-language source program; an object file in the format produced by
c89 -c; or a library of object files, in the format produced by archiving
zero or more object files, using ar. Implementations may supply
additional utilities that produce files in these formats. Additional
input file formats are implementation defined.
A.1.5.3 Environment Variables
The following environment variables shall affect the execution of c89:
LANG This variable shall determine the locale to use for
the locale categories when both LC_ALL and the
corresponding environment variable (beginning with
LC_) do not specify a locale. See 2.6.
LC_ALL This variable shall determine the locale to be used
to override any values for locale categories
specified by the settings of LANG or any
environment variables beginning with LC_.
LC_CTYPE This variable shall determine the locale for the
interpretation of sequences of bytes of text data
as characters (e.g., single- versus multibyte
characters in arguments and input files).
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
A.1 c89 - Compile Standard C programs 859
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
LC_MESSAGES This variable shall determine the language in which
messages should be written.
TMPDIR This variable shall be interpreted as a pathname
that should override the default directory for
temporary files, if any.
A.1.5.4 Asynchronous Events
Default.
A.1.6 External Effects
A.1.6.1 Standard Output
If more than one file operand ending in .c (or possibly other unspecified
suffixes) is given, for each such file:
"%s:\n", <_f_i_l_e>
may be written. These messages, if written, shall precede the processing
of each input file; they shall not be written to standard output if they
are written to standard error, as described in A.1.6.2.
If the -E option is specified, the standard output shall be a text file 1
that represents the results of the preprocessing stage of the language; 1
it may contain extra information appropriate for subsequent compilation 1
passes. 1
A.1.6.2 Standard Error
Used only for diagnostic messages. If more than one file operand ending
in .c (or possibly other unspecified suffixes) is given, for each such
file:
"%s:\n", <_f_i_l_e>
may be written to allow identification of the diagnostic and warning
messages with the appropriate input file. These messages, if written,
shall precede the processing of each input file; they shall not be
written to the standard error if they are written to the standard output,
as described in A.1.6.1.
This utility may produce warning messages about certain conditions that
do not warrant returning an error (nonzero) exit value.
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
860 A C Language Development Utilities Option
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
A.1.6.3 Output Files
Object files or executable files or both are produced in unspecified
formats.
A.1.7 Extended Description
A.1.7.1 Standard Libraries
The c89 utility shall recognize the following -l operands for standard
libraries:
-l c This library contains all library functions referenced in
<stdlib.h>, <stdio.h>, <time.h>, <setjmp.h>, <signal.h>,
<unistd.h>, <sys/types.h>, <string.h>, and <ctype.h>, except
for those functions referenced in <math.h>. If an invocation
of
getconf _POSIX_VERSION
exits with a status of zero, the library searched also shall
include all functions defined by POSIX.1 {8}; if the status
is nonzero, it is unspecified whether these functions are
available. If an invocation of
getconf _POSIX2_C_BIND
exits with a status of zero, the library searched also shall
include all functions specified in Annex B; if the status is
nonzero, it is unspecified whether these functions are
available. An implementation shall not require this operand
to be present to cause a search of this library.
-l m This library contains all functions referenced in <math.h>.
An implementation may search this library in the absence of
this operand.
-l l This library contains all functions required by the C-
language output of lex (see A.2) that are not made available
through the -l c operand.
-l y This library contains all functions required by the C-
language output of yacc (see A.3) that are not made available
through the -l c operand.
In the absence of options that inhibit invocation of the link editor,
such as -c or -E, the c89 utility shall cause the equivalent of a -l c
operand to be passed to the link editor as the last -l operand, causing
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
A.1 c89 - Compile Standard C programs 861
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
it to be searched after all other object files and libraries are loaded.
It is unspecified whether the libraries libc.a, libm.a, libl.a, and
liby.a exist as regular files. The implementation may accept as -l
operands names of objects that do not exist as regular files.
A.1.7.2 External Symbols
The C compiler and link editor shall support the significance of external 1
symbols up to a length of at least 31 bytes; the action taken upon 1
encountering symbols exceeding the implementation-defined maximum symbol
length is unspecified.
The compiler and link editor shall support a minimum of 511 external
symbols per source or object file, and a minimum of 4095 external symbols
total. A diagnostic message shall be written to the standard output if
the implementation-defined limit is exceeded; other actions are
unspecified.
A.1.8 Exit Status
The c89 utility shall exit with one of the following values:
0 Successful compilation or link edit.
>0 An error occurred.
A.1.9 Consequences of Errors
When c89 encounters a compilation error that causes an object file not to
be created, it shall write a diagnostic to standard error and continue to
compile other source code operands, but it shall not perform the link
phase and shall return a nonzero exit status. If the link edit is
unsuccessful, a diagnostic message shall be written to standard error and
c89 shall exit with a nonzero status.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
A.1.10 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s_,__U_s_a_g_e
Note that some implementations support a finer-grained model of
compilation than the one described above. In this model, the following
conceptual phases may exist: preprocessor, compiler, optimizer,
assembler, link editor. Such implementations may support these
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
862 A C Language Development Utilities Option
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
additional options to the c89 utility:
-P Preprocess, but do not compile, the named C programs and leave
the result on corresponding files suffixed .i.
-S Compile the named C programs into assembly language, and leave
the assembler-language output on corresponding files suffixed
.s. No object files are created.
[-W_c,_a_r_g_1[,_a_r_g_2 ...]]
Hand off the argument(s) _a_r_g_i to phase _c where _c is one of
[p02al] indicating preprocessor, compiler, optimizer, assembler,
or link editor, respectively. For example, -Wa,-m passes -m to
the assembler phase. (Note the rationale concerning -W in
2.10.1.1.)
The -fpq options have been excluded, since they use features that are not
in this standard.
In specifying that _f_i_l_e.a operands are _t_y_p_i_c_a_l_l_y produced by ar, it is
the intention of POSIX.2 to require that object libraries produced by ar
be usable by c89, but not to preclude an implementation from supplying
another utility that creates object library files.
The following are examples of usage:
c89 -o foo foo.c Compiles foo.c and creates the executable foo.
c89 -c foo.c Compiles foo.c and creates the object file foo.o.
c89 foo.c Compiles foo.c and creates the executable a.out.
c89 foo.c bar.o Compiles foo.c, links it with bar.o, and creates
the executable a.out. Also creates and leaves
foo.o.
The following examples clarify the use and interactions of -L options and
-l operands:
Consider the case in which module a.c calls function _f() in library
libQ.a, and module b.c calls function _g() in library libp.a.
Assume that both libraries reside in /a/b/c. The command line to
compile and link in the desired way is:
c89 -L /a/b/c main.o a.c -l Q b.c -l p
In this case the -l Q operand need only precede the first -l p
operand, since both libQ.a and libp.a reside in the same directory.
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
A.1 c89 - Compile Standard C programs 863
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
Multiple -L operands can be used when library name collisions
occur. Building on the previous example, suppose that we now want
to use a new libp.a, in /a/a/a, but we still want _f() from
/a/b/c/libQ.a.
c89 -L /a/a/a -L /a/b/c main.o a.c -l Q b.c -l p
In this example, the linker searches the -L options in the order
specified, and finds /a/a/a/libp.a before /a/b/c/libp.a when
resolving references for b.c. The order of the -l operands is
still important, however.
There is the possible implication that if a user supplies versions of the
standard library functions (before they would be encountered by an
implicit -l c or explicit -l m), that those versions would be used in
place of the standard versions. There are various reasons this might not
be true (functions defined as macros, manipulations for clean namespace,
etc.), so the existence of files named in the same manner as the standard
libraries within the -L directories is explicitly stated to produce
unspecified behavior.
Some historical implementations have permitted -L options to be
interspersed with -l operands on the command line; with respect to POSIX,
such behavior would be considered a vendor extension. For an application
to compile consistently on systems that do not behave like this, it is
necessary for a conforming application to supply all -L options before
any of the -l options.
Some historical implementations have created .o files when -c is not
specified and more than one source file is given. Since this area is
left unspecified, the application cannot rely on .o files being created,
but it also must be prepared for any related .o files that already exist
being deleted at the completion of the link edit.
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
The name of this utility differs from the historical cc name. The
C Standard {7} document was approved during the development of POSIX.2,
and it is clear that POSIX must support Standard C; there is no other
good way of specifying a C language. The support of the C Standard {7}
by c89 also mandates the Standard C math libraries. An alternative
approach was considered: provide an option to select the type of
compilation required. However, it was found that all available option
letters were already in use in the various historical cc utilities.
Thus, this name change is being used essentially as a switch. There was
some temptation to use the name change as an excuse to mandate a cleaner
interface (e.g., conform to the utility syntax guidelines), but this was
resisted; the majority of early c89 implementations are expected to be
satisfied with historical ccs with only minimal changes. This was
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
864 A C Language Development Utilities Option
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
decided more from the standpoint of existing applications and makefiles
than for the implementors' sake.
The -l _l_i_b_r_a_r_y operand must be capable of being interspersed with file
name operands so that the order in which libraries are searched by the
link editor can be specified.
The search algorithm for -I _d_i_r_e_c_t_o_r_y states that the directory of the
file with the #include file is searched first, rather than being
implementation defined. It is believed that this reflects most
implementations, and it disallows variations on different
implementations, since this would make it very difficult to distribute
source code in a compatible form.
The -I options are searched in the order specified (which is left to
right in English). This resolves the conflict of what header file is
used if multiple files with the same name exist in different directories
in the include path.
In a future extension or supplement to this standard, _s_h_o_u_l_d will be
changed to _s_h_a_l_l with respect to support for TMPDIR by applications.
It is unclear whether c89 requires such a large number of file
descriptors that its requirement should be documented here; POSIX.2
remains silent on the issue. It is also noted that an undocumented
feature of some C compilers is that if file descriptor 9 is open, a
linkage trace is written to it.
There is no pseudo-_p_r_i_n_t_f() specification for compile errors because no
common format could be identified. As new C compilers are written, they
are encouraged to use the following format:
"%s: %s: %d %s\n", <_c_o_m_p_i_l_e_r _p_h_a_s_e>, <_f_i_l_e _n_a_m_e>, <_l_i_n_e _n_u_m_b_e_r>,
<_e_x_p_l_a_n_a_t_i_o_n>
The following option proposals were considered and rejected:
(1) The -M option in BSD does not exist in System V, and is not seen
to enhance application portability.
(2) The -S option was not seen to enhance application portability,
and makes assumptions about the underlying architecture.
Earlier drafts included a -v option to select a compiler version. Not
only did this letter (and every other upper- and lowercase letter)
collide with one historical implementation or another, but there was no
agreement on how many compiler versions should be defined, or what they
should mean. Another choice is to specify that the cc utility invoke a
Standard C compiler. By specifying c89 instead, an installation is able
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
A.1 c89 - Compile Standard C programs 865
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
to link either a ``common usage'' or a Standard C compiler to the name
cc. Implementors are free to select implementation-defined options to
select (nonportable) extensions to their existing C compiler to aid the
transition to Standard C.
The -g and -s options are not specified as mutually exclusive.
Historically these two options have been mutually exclusive, but because
both are so loosely specified, it seemed cleaner to leave their
interaction unspecified.
The -E option was added because headers are not required to be separate
files in a POSIX.1-conformant system; these values could be hard-coded
into the compiler, or might only be accessible in a nonportable way.
Hence, while not strictly required for application portability, this
option is a practical necessity as a portable means for ascertaining the
real effects of preprocessor statements.
In BSD systems, using -c and -o in the same command causes the object
module to be stored in the specified file. In System V, this produces an
error condition. Therefore, POSIX.2 indicates that this is an
unspecified condition.
Reasonably precise specification of standard library access is required.
Implementations are not required to have /usr/lib/libc.a, etc., as many
historical implementations do, but if not they are required to recognize
c, m, l, and y as tokens. Libraries l and y can be empty if the library
functions specified for lex and yacc are accessible through the -l c
operand. Historically, these libraries have been necessary, but they are
not required for a conforming implementation.
External symbol size limits are in a normative subclause; portable
applications need to know these limits. However, the minimum maximum
symbol length should be taken as a constraint on a portable application,
not on an implementation, and consequently the action taken for a symbol
exceeding the limit is unspecified. The minimum size for the external
symbol table was added for similar reasons.
The Consequences of Errors subclause clearly specifies the compiler's
behavior when compilation or link-edit error occur. The behavior of
several historical implementations was examined, and the choice was made
to be silent on the status of the executable, or a.out, file in the face
of compiler or linker errors. If a linker writes the executable file,
then links it on disk with _l_s_e_e_k()s and _w_r_i_t_e()s, the partially-linked
executable can be left on disk and its execute bits turned off if the
link edit fails. However, if the linker links the image in memory before
writing the file to disk, it need not touch the executable file (if it
already exists) because the link edit fails. Since both approaches are
existing practice, a portable application shall rely on the exit status
of c89, rather than on the existence or mode of the executable file.
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
866 A C Language Development Utilities Option
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
The requirement that portable applications specify compiler options
separately is to reserve the multicharacter option namespace for vendor-
specific compiler options, which are known to exist in many historical
implementations. Implementations are not required to recognize, for
example -gc as if it were -g -c; nor are they forbidden from doing so.
The synopsis shows all of the options separately to highlight this
requirement on applications.
Echoing filenames to standard error is considered a diagnostic message,
because it might otherwise be difficult to associate an error message
with the erring file. The text specifies either standard error or
standard output for these messages because some historical practice uses
standard output, but there was considerable sentiment expressed for
allowing it to be on standard error instead. The rationale for using
standard output is that these are not really error message headers, but a
running progress report on which files have been processed. The messages
are described as optional because there might be different ways of
constructing the compiler's messages that should not be precluded.
END_RATIONALE
A.2 lex - Generate programs for lexical tasks
A.2.1 Synopsis
lex [-t] [ -n | -v ] [_f_i_l_e ...]
_O_b_s_o_l_e_s_c_e_n_t _V_e_r_s_i_o_n:
lex -c [-t] [ -n | -v ] [_f_i_l_e ...]
A.2.2 Description
The lex utility shall generate C programs to be used in lexical
processing of character input, and that can be used as an interface to
yacc (see A.3). The C programs shall be generated from lex source code
and conform to the C Standard {7}. Usually, the lex utility writes the
program it generates to the file lex.yy.c; the state of this file is
unspecified if lex exits with a nonzero exit status. See A.2.7 for a
complete description of the lex input language.
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
A.2 lex - Generate programs for lexical tasks 867
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
A.2.3 Options
The lex utility shall conform to the utility argument syntax guidelines
described in 2.10.2.
The following options shall be supported by the implementation:
-c (Obsolescent.) Indicate C-language action (default
option).
-n Suppress the summary of statistics usually written with
the -v option. If no table sizes are specified in the lex
source code and the -v option is not specified, then -n is
implied.
-t Write the resulting program to standard output instead of
lex.yy.c.
-v Write a summary of lex statistics to the standard output.
(See the discussion of lex table sizes in A.2.7.1.) If
the -t option is specified and -n is not specified, this
report shall be written to standard error. If table sizes
are specified in the lex source code, and if the -n option
is not specified, the -v option may be enabled.
A.2.4 Operands
The following operand shall be supported by the implementation:
_f_i_l_e A pathname of an input file. If more than one such _f_i_l_e
is specified, all files shall be concatenated to produce a
single lex program. If no _f_i_l_e operands are specified, or
if a _f_i_l_e operand is -, the standard input shall be used.
A.2.5 External Influences
A.2.5.1 Standard Input
The standard input shall be used if no _f_i_l_e operands are specified, or if
a _f_i_l_e operand is -. See Input Files.
A.2.5.2 Input Files
The input files shall be text files containing lex source code, as
described in A.2.7.
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
868 A C Language Development Utilities Option
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
A.2.5.3 Environment Variables
The following environment variables shall affect the execution of lex:
LANG This variable shall determine the locale to use for
the locale categories when both LC_ALL and the
corresponding environment variable (beginning with
LC_) do not specify a locale. See 2.6.
LC_ALL This variable shall determine the locale to be used
to override any values for locale categories
specified by the settings of LANG or any
environment variables beginning with LC_.
LC_COLLATE This variable shall determine the locale for the
behavior of ranges, equivalence classes, and
multicharacter collating elements within regular
expressions. If this variable is not set to the
POSIX Locale, the results are unspecified.
LC_CTYPE This variable shall determine the locale for the
interpretation of sequences of bytes of text data
as characters (e.g., single- versus multibyte
characters in arguments and input files) and the
behavior of character classes within extended
regular expressions. If this variable is not set
to the POSIX Locale, the results are unspecified.
LC_MESSAGES This variable shall determine the language in which
messages should be written.
A.2.5.4 Asynchronous Events
Default.
A.2.6 External Effects
A.2.6.1 Standard Output
If the -t option is specified, the text file of C source code output of
lex shall be written to standard output.
If the -t option is not specified:
(1) Implementation-defined informational, error, and warning
messages concerning the contents of lex source code input shall
be written to either the standard output or standard error.
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
A.2 lex - Generate programs for lexical tasks 869
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
(2) If the -v option is specified and the -n option is not
specified, lex statistics shall also be written to either the
standard output or standard error, in an implementation-defined
format. These statistics may also be generated if table sizes
are specified with a % operator in the _D_e_f_i_n_i_t_i_o_n_s section (see
A.2.7), as long as the -n option is not specified.
A.2.6.2 Standard Error
If the -t option is specified, implementation-defined informational,
error, and warning messages concerning the contents of lex source code
input shall be written to the standard error.
If the -t option is not specified:
(1) Implementation-defined informational, error, and warning
messages concerning the contents of lex source code input shall
be written to either the standard output or standard error.
(2) If the -v option is specified and the -n option is not
specified, lex statistics shall also be written to either the
standard output or standard error, in an implementation-defined
format. These statistics may also be generated if table sizes
are specified with a % operator in the _D_e_f_i_n_i_t_i_o_n_s section (see
A.2.7), as long as the -n option is not specified.
A.2.6.3 Output Files
A text file containing C source code shall be written to lex.yy.c, or to
the standard output if the -t option is present.
A.2.7 Extended Description
Each input file contains lex source code, which is a table of regular
expressions with corresponding actions in the form of C program
fragments.
When lex.yy.c is compiled and linked with the lex library (using the -l l
operand with c89), the resulting program reads character input from the
standard input and partitions it into strings that match the given
expressions.
When an expression is matched, these actions shall occur:
- The input string that was matched is left in _y_y_t_e_x_t as a null-
terminated string; _y_y_t_e_x_t is either an external character array or
a pointer to a character string. As explained in A.2.7.1, the type
can be explicitly selected using the %array or %pointer
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
870 A C Language Development Utilities Option
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
declarations, but the default is implementation defined.
- The external _i_n_t _y_y_l_e_n_g is set to the length of the matching
string.
- The expression's corresponding program fragment, or action, is
executed.
During pattern matching, lex shall search the set of patterns for the 1
single longest possible match. Among rules that match the same number of 1
characters, the rule given first shall be chosen.
The general format of lex source is:
_D_e_f_i_n_i_t_i_o_n_s
%%
_R_u_l_e_s
%%
_U_s_e_r _S_u_b_r_o_u_t_i_n_e_s
The first %% is required to mark the beginning of the rules (regular
expressions and actions); the second %% is required only if user
subroutines follow.
Any line in the _D_e_f_i_n_i_t_i_o_n_s section beginning with a <blank> shall be
assumed to be a C program fragment and shall be copied to the external
definition area of the lex.yy.c file. Similarly, anything in the
_D_e_f_i_n_i_t_i_o_n_s section included between delimiter lines containing only %{
and %} shall also be copied unchanged to the external definition area of
the lex.yy.c file.
Any such input (beginning with a <blank> or within %{ and %} delimiter
lines) appearing at the beginning of the _R_u_l_e_s section before any rules
are specified shall be written to lex.yy.c after the declarations of
variables for the _y_y_l_e_x() function and before the first line of code in
_y_y_l_e_x(). Thus, user variables local to _y_y_l_e_x() can be declared here, as
well as application code to execute upon entry to _y_y_l_e_x().
The action taken by lex when encountering any input beginning with a
<blank> or within %{ and %} delimiter lines appearing in the _R_u_l_e_s
section but coming after one or more rules is undefined. The presence of
such input may result in an erroneous definition of the _y_y_l_e_x() function.
_A._2._7._1 lex _D_e_f_i_n_i_t_i_o_n_s
_D_e_f_i_n_i_t_i_o_n_s appear before the first %% delimiter. Any line in this
section not contained between %{ and %} lines and not beginning with a
<blank> shall be assumed to define a lex substitution string. The format
of these lines is:
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
A.2 lex - Generate programs for lexical tasks 871
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
_n_a_m_e _s_u_b_s_t_i_t_u_t_e
If a _n_a_m_e does not meet the requirements for identifiers in the
C Standard {7}, the result is undefined. The string _s_u_b_s_t_i_t_u_t_e shall
replace the string {_n_a_m_e} when it is used in a rule. The _n_a_m_e string
shall be recognized in this context only when the braces are provided and
when it does not appear within a bracket expression or within double-
quotes.
In the _D_e_f_i_n_i_t_i_o_n_s section, any line beginning with a % (percent-sign)
character and followed by an alphanumeric word beginning with either s or
S shall define a set of start conditions. Any line beginning with a %
followed by a word beginning with either x or X shall define a set of
exclusive start conditions. When the generated scanner is in a %s state,
patterns with no state specified shall be also active; in a %x state,
such patterns shall not be active. The rest of the line, after the first
word, shall be considered to be one or more <blank>-_s_e_p_a_r_a_t_e_d names of
start conditions. Start condition names shall be constructed in the same
way as definition names. Start conditions can be used to restrict the
matching of regular expressions to one or more states as described in the
section A.2.7.4.
Implementations shall accept either of the following two mutually
exclusive declarations in the _D_e_f_i_n_i_t_i_o_n_s section:
%array Declare the type of _y_y_t_e_x_t to be a null-terminated
character array.
%pointer Declare the type of _y_y_t_e_x_t to be a pointer to a null-
terminated character string.
The default type of _y_y_t_e_x_t is implementation defined. If an application
refers to _y_y_t_e_x_t outside of the scanner source file (i.e., via an
extern), the application shall include the appropriate %array or %pointer
declaration in the scanner source file.
Implementations shall accept declarations in the _D_e_f_i_n_i_t_i_o_n_s section for
setting certain internal table sizes. The declarations are shown in
Table A-1. In the table, _n represents a positive decimal integer,
preceded by one or more <blank>s. The exact meaning of these table size
numbers is implementation defined. The implementation shall document how
these numbers affect the lex utility and how they are related to any
output that may be generated by the implementation should space
limitations be encountered during the execution of lex. It shall be
possible to determine from this output which of the table size values
needs to be modified to permit lex to successfully generate tables for
the input language. The values in the column Minimum Value represent the
lowest values conforming implementations shall provide.
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
872 A C Language Development Utilities Option
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
Table A-1 - lex Table Size Declarations
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Minimum
Declaration Description Value
______________________________________________________
%p _n Number of positions 2500
%n _n Number of states 500
%a _n Number of transitions 2000
%e _n Number of parse tree nodes 1000
%k _n Number of packed character 1000
classes
%o _n Size of the output array 3000
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
A.2.7.2 lex Rules
The rules in lex source files are a table in which the left column
contains regular expressions and the right column contains actions (C
program fragments) to be executed when the expressions are recognized.
_E_R_E _a_c_t_i_o_n
_E_R_E _a_c_t_i_o_n
...
The extended regular expression (_E_R_E) portion of a rule shall be
separated from _a_c_t_i_o_n by one or more <blank>_s. A regular expression
containing <blank>_s shall be recognized under the following conditions:
the entire expression appears within double-quotes; or, the <blank>_s
appear within double-quotes or square brackets; or, each <blank> is
preceded by a backslash character.
_A._2._7._3 lex _U_s_e_r _S_u_b_r_o_u_t_i_n_e_s
Anything in the user subroutines section shall be copied to lex.yy.c 1
following _y_y_l_e_x(). 1
_A._2._7._4 lex _R_e_g_u_l_a_r _E_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n_s
The lex utility shall support the set of extended regular expressions
(see 2.8.4), with the following additions and exceptions to the syntax:
"..." Any string enclosed in double-quotes shall represent the 1
characters within the double-quotes as themselves, except 1
that backslash escapes (which appear in Table A-2) shall 1
be recognized. Any backslash-escape sequence shall be 1
terminated by the closing quote. For example, "\01""1" 1
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
A.2 lex - Generate programs for lexical tasks 873
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
represents a single string: the octal value 1 followed by 1
the character 1. 1
<_s_t_a_t_e>_r 1
<_s_t_a_t_e_1,_s_t_a_t_e_2,...>_r 1
The regular expression _r shall be matched only when the 1
program is in one of the start conditions indicated by 1
_s_t_a_t_e, _s_t_a_t_e_1, etc.; see A.2.7.5. (As an exception to the 1
typographical conventions of the rest of this standard, in
this case <_s_t_a_t_e> does not represent a metavariable, but
the literal angle-bracket characters surrounding a
symbol.) The start condition shall be recognized as such 1
only at the beginning of a regular expression. 1
_r/_x The regular expression _r shall be matched only if it is
followed by an occurrence of regular expression _x. The
token returned in _y_y_t_e_x_t shall only match _r. If the
trailing portion of _r matches the beginning of _x, the
result is unspecified. The _r expression cannot include
further trailing context or the $ (match-end-of-line)
operator; _x cannot include the ^ (match-beginning-of-line)
operator, nor trailing context, nor the $ operator. That
is, only one occurrence of trailing context is allowed in
a lex regular expression, and the ^ operator only can be
used at the beginning of such an expression.
{_n_a_m_e} When _n_a_m_e is one of the substitution symbols from the
_D_e_f_i_n_i_t_i_o_n_s section (see A.2.7.1), the string, including
the enclosing braces, shall be replaced by the _s_u_b_s_t_i_t_u_t_e
value. The _s_u_b_s_t_i_t_u_t_e value shall be treated in the
extended regular expression as if it were enclosed in
parentheses. No substitution shall occur if {_n_a_m_e} occurs
within a bracket expression or within double-quotes.
Within an ERE, a backslash character shall be considered to begin an
escape sequence as specified in Table 2-15 (see 2.12). In addition, the
escape sequences in Table A-2 shall be recognized.
A literal <newline> character cannot occur within an ERE; the escape 1
sequence \n can be used to represent a <newline>. A <newline> shall not 2
be matched by a period operator. 2
The order of precedence given to extended regular expressions for lex 2
differs from that specified in Table 2-13. The order of precedence for
lex shall be as shown in Table A-3, from high to low.
NOTE: The escaped characters entry is not meant to imply that these are 2
operators, but they are included in the table to show their relationships 2
to the true operators. The start condition, trailing context, and 2
anchoring notations have been omitted from the table because of the 2
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
874 A C Language Development Utilities Option
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
Table A-2 - lex Escape Sequences
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Escape
Sequence Description Meaning
_________________________________________________________________________
\_d_i_g_i_t_s <backslash> followed by The character whose 111
the longest sequence of encoding is represented by 11
one, two, or three the one-, two-, or three- 11
octal-digit characters digit octal integer. If 11
(01234567). If all of the size of a byte on the 11
the digits are 0, system is greater than nine 11
(i.e., representation bits, the valid escape 11
of the NUL character), sequence used to represent 11
the behavior is a byte is implementation- 11
undefined. defined. Multibyte 11
characters require 1
multiple, concatenated 1
escape sequences of this 1
type, including the leading 1
\ for each byte. 1
\x_d_i_g_i_t_s <backslash> followed by The character whose 111
the longest sequence of encoding is represented by 11
hexadecimal-digit the hexadecimal integer. 11
characters 1
(01234567abcdefABCDEF). 1
If all of the digits 1
are 0, (i.e., 1
representation of the 1
NUL character), the 1
behavior is undefined. 1
\_c <backslash> followed by The character _c, unchanged.
any character not
described in this table
or in Table 2-15
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Table A-3 - lex ERE Precedence
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
2
_c_o_l_l_a_t_i_o_n-_r_e_l_a_t_e_d _b_r_a_c_k_e_t _s_y_m_b_o_l_s [= =] [: :] [. .]
_e_s_c_a_p_e_d _c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r_s \<_s_p_e_c_i_a_l _c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r> 1
_b_r_a_c_k_e_t _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n [ ] 1
_q_u_o_t_i_n_g "..." 1
_g_r_o_u_p_i_n_g ( ) 1
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
A.2 lex - Generate programs for lexical tasks 875
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
_d_e_f_i_n_i_t_i_o_n {_n_a_m_e} 1
_s_i_n_g_l_e-_c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r _R_E _d_u_p_l_i_c_a_t_i_o_n * + ? 1
_c_o_n_c_a_t_e_n_a_t_i_o_n 1
_i_n_t_e_r_v_a_l _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n {_m,_n}
2
_a_l_t_e_r_n_a_t_i_o_n |
2
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
placement restrictions described in this subclause; they can only appear 2
at the beginning or ending of an ERE. 2
The ERE anchoring operators (^ and $) do not appear in Table A-3. With 2
lex regular expressions, these operators are restricted in their use: 2
the ^ operator can only be used at the beginning of an entire regular 2
expression, and the $ operator only at the end. The operators apply to 2
the entire regular expression. Thus, for example, the pattern 2
(^abc)|(def$) is undefined; it can instead be written as two separate 2
rules, one with the regular expression ^abc and one with def$, which 2
share a common action via the special | action (see below). If the 2
pattern were written ^abc|def$, it would match either of abc or def on a 2
line by itself. Note also that $ is a form of trailing context (it is 2
equivalent to /\n) and as such cannot be used with regular expressions 2
containing another instance of the operator (see the preceding discussion 2
of trailing context). 2
The additional regular expressions trailing-context operator / can be 1
used as an ordinary character if presented within double-quotes, "/"; 1
preceded by a backslash, \/; or within a bracket expression, [/]. The 1
start-condition < and > operators shall be special only in a start 1
condition at the beginning of a regular expression; elsewhere in the 1
regular expression they shall be treated as ordinary characters. 1
A.2.7.5 lex Actions
The action to be taken when an _E_R_E is matched can be a C program fragment
or the special actions described below; the program fragment can contain
one or more C statements, and can also include special actions. The
empty C statement ; shall be a valid action; any string in the lex.yy.c
input that matches the pattern portion of such a rule is effectively
ignored or skipped. However, the absence of an action shall not be
valid, and the action lex takes in such a condition is undefined.
The specification for an action, including C statements and/or special
actions, can extend across several lines if enclosed in braces:
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
876 A C Language Development Utilities Option
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
_E_R_E <_b_l_a_n_k(_s)> { _p_r_o_g_r_a_m _s_t_a_t_e_m_e_n_t
_p_r_o_g_r_a_m _s_t_a_t_e_m_e_n_t }
The default action when a string in the input to a lex.yy.c program is
not matched by any expression shall be to copy the string to the output.
Because the default behavior of a program generated by lex is to read the
input and copy it to the output, a minimal lex source program that has
just %% shall generate a C program that simply copies the input to the
output unchanged.
Four special actions shall be available: ``|'', ``ECHO;'', ``REJECT;'', 1
and ``BEGIN'': 1
| The action | means that the action for the next rule is
the action for this rule. Unlike the other three actions,
| cannot be enclosed in braces or be semicolon-terminated;
it shall be specified alone, with no other actions.
ECHO; Write the contents of the string _y_y_t_e_x_t on the output. 1
REJECT; Usually only a single expression is matched by a given 1
string in the input. REJECT means ``continue to the next
expression that matches the current input,'' and causes
whatever rule was the second choice after the current rule
to be executed for the same input. Thus, multiple rules
can be matched and executed for one input string or
overlapping input strings. For example, given the regular
expressions xyz and xy and the input xyz, usually only the
regular expression xyz would match. The next attempted
match would start after z. If the last action in the xyz
rule is REJECT, both this rule and the xy rule would be
executed. The REJECT action may be implemented in such a
fashion that flow of control does not continue after it,
as if it were equivalent to a goto to another part of
_y_y_l_e_x(). The use of REJECT may result in somewhat larger
and slower scanners.
BEGIN The
BEGIN _n_e_w_s_t_a_t_e;
action switches the state (start condition) to _n_e_w_s_t_a_t_e.
If the string _n_e_w_s_t_a_t_e has not been declared previously as
a start condition in the _D_e_f_i_n_i_t_i_o_n_s section, the results
are unspecified. The initial state is indicated by the
digit 0 or the token INITIAL.
The functions or macros described below are accessible to user code
included in the lex input. It is unspecified whether they appear in the
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
A.2 lex - Generate programs for lexical tasks 877
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
C code output of lex, or are accessible only through the -l l operand to
c89 (the lex library).
int yylex(void) Performs lexical analysis on the input; this is
the primary function generated by the lex
utility. The function shall return zero when
the end of input is reached; otherwise it shall
return nonzero values (tokens) determined by the
actions that are selected.
int yymore(void) When called, indicates that when the next input
string is recognized, it is to be appended to
the current value of _y_y_t_e_x_t rather than
replacing it; the value in _y_y_l_e_n_g shall be
adjusted accordingly.
int yyless(int _n) Retains _n initial characters in _y_y_t_e_x_t, NUL-
terminated, and treats the remaining characters
as if they had not been read; the value in
_y_y_l_e_n_g shall be adjusted accordingly.
int input(void) Returns the next character from the input, or
zero on end of file. It shall obtain input from
the stream pointer _y_y_i_n, although possibly via
an intermediate buffer. Thus, once scanning has
begun, the effect of altering the value of _y_y_i_n
is undefined. The character read is removed
from the input stream of the scanner without any
processing by the scanner.
int unput(int _c) Returns the character _c to the input; _y_y_t_e_x_t and
_y_y_l_e_n_g are undefined until the next expression
is matched. The result of _u_n_p_u_tting more
characters than have been input is unspecified.
The following functions appear only in the lex library accessible through
the -l l operand; they can therefore be redefined by a portable
application:
int yywrap(void) Called by _y_y_l_e_x() at end of file; the default
_y_y_w_r_a_p() always shall return 1. If the
application requires _y_y_l_e_x() to continue
processing with another source of input, then
the application can include a function _y_y_w_r_a_p(),
which associates another file with the external
variable FILE *_y_y_i_n and shall return a value of
zero.
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
878 A C Language Development Utilities Option
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
int main(int argc, char *argv[])
Calls _y_y_l_e_x() to perform lexical analysis, then
exits. The user code can contain _m_a_i_n() to
perform application-specific operations, calling
_y_y_l_e_x() as applicable.
Except for _i_n_p_u_t(), _u_n_p_u_t(), and _m_a_i_n(), all external and static names
generated by lex shall begin with the prefix yy or YY.
A.2.8 Exit Status
The lex utility shall exit with one of the following values:
0 Successful completion.
>0 An error occurred.
A.2.9 Consequences of Errors
Default.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
A.2.10 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s_,__U_s_a_g_e
The following is an example of a lex program that implements a
rudimentary scanner for a Pascal-like syntax:
%{
/* need this for the call to atof() below */
#include <math.h>
/* need this for printf(), fopen(), and stdin below */
#include <stdio.h>
%}
DIGIT [0-9]
ID [a-z][a-z0-9]*
%%
{DIGIT}+ {
printf("An integer: %s (%d)\n", yytext,
atoi(yytext));
}
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
A.2 lex - Generate programs for lexical tasks 879
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
{DIGIT}+"."{DIGIT}* {
printf("A float: %s (%g)\n", yytext,
atof(yytext));
}
if|then|begin|end|procedure|function {
printf("A keyword: %s\n", yytext);
}
{ID} printf("An identifier: %s\n", yytext);
"+"|"-"|"*"|"/" printf("An operator: %s\n", yytext);
"{"[^}\n]*"}" /* eat up one-line comments */
[ \t\n]+ /* eat up white space */
. printf("Unrecognized character: %s\n", yytext);
%%
int main(int argc, char *argv[])
{
++argv, --argc; /* skip over program name */
if (argc > 0)
yyin = fopen(argv[0], "r");
else
yyin = stdin;
yylex();
}
The following examples have been included to clarify the differences
between lex regular expressions and regular expressions appearing
elsewhere in this document. For regular expressions of the form _r/_x, the
string matching _r is always returned; confusion may arise when the
beginning of _x matches the trailing portion of _r. For example, given the
regular expression a*b/cc and the input aaabcc, _y_y_t_e_x_t would contain the
string aaab on this match. But given the regular expression x*/xy and
the input xxxy, the token xxx, not xx, is returned by some
implementations because xxx matches x*.
In the rule ab*/bc, the b* at the end of _r will extend _r's match into the
beginning of the trailing context, so the result is unspecified. If this
rule were ab/bc, however, the rule matches the text ab when it is
followed by the text bc. In this latter case, the matching of _r cannot
extend into the beginning of _x, so the result is specified.
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
880 A C Language Development Utilities Option
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
Unlike the general ERE rules, embedded anchoring is not allowed by most 2
historical lex implementations. An example of embedded anchoring would 2
be for patterns such as (^| )foo( |$) to match foo when it exists as a 2
complete word. This functionality can be obtained using existing lex 2
features: 2
^foo/[ \n] | 2
" foo"/[ \n] /* found foo as a separate word */ 2
The precedence of regular expressions in lex does not match that of
extended regular expressions in Section 2 because of historical practice.
In System V lex and its predecessors, a regular expression of the form
ab{3} matches ababab; an ERE, such as used by egrep, would match abbb.
Changing this precedence for uniformity with egrep would have been
desirable, but too many applications would break in nonobvious ways.
Conforming applications are warned that in the _R_u_l_e_s section, an _E_R_E
without an action is not acceptable, but need not be detected as
erroneous by lex. This may result in compilation or run-time errors.
The purpose of _i_n_p_u_t() is to take characters off the input stream and
discard them as far as the lexical analysis is concerned. A common use
is to discard the body of a comment once the beginning of a comment is
recognized.
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
Even though the -c option and references to the C language are retained
in this description, lex may be generalized to other languages, as was
done at one time for EFL, Extended FORTRAN Language. Since the lex input
specification is essentially language independent, versions of this
utility could be written to produce Ada, Modula-2, or Pascal code, and
there are known historical implementations that do so.
The current description of lex bypasses the issue of dealing with
internationalized regular expressions in the lex source code or generated
lexical analyzer. If it follows the model used by awk, (the source code
is assumed to be presented in the POSIX Locale, but input and output are
in the locale specified by the environment variables), then the tables in
the lexical analyzer produced by lex would interpret regular expressions
specified in the lex source in terms of the environment variables
specified when lex was executed. The desired effect would be to have the
lexical analyzer interpret the regular expressions given in the lex
source according to the environment specified when the lexical analyzer
is executed, but this is not possible with the current lex technology.
Major international vendors believe that only limited
internationalization is required for the POSIX.2 lex. The theoretically
desirable goal of runtime-selectable locales is not feasible in the near
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
A.2 lex - Generate programs for lexical tasks 881
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
future. Furthermore, the very nature of the lexical analyzers produced
by lex must be closely tied to the lexical requirements of the input
language being described, which will frequently be locale-specific
anyway. (For example, writing an analyzer that is used for French text
will not automatically be useful for processing other languages.) The
text in the Environment Variable subclause allows locale-specific regular
expression handling, but mandates only something similar to that provided
in historical implementations.
The description of octal- and hexadecimal-digit escape sequences agrees 1
with the C Standard {7} use of escape sequences. See the rationale for 1
ed for a discussion of bytes larger than nine bits being represented by 1
octal values. Hexadecimal values can represent larger bytes and 1
multibyte characters directly, using as many digits as required. 1
There is no detailed output format specification. The observed behavior
of lex under four different historical implementations was that none of
these implementations consistently reported the line numbers for error
and warning messages. Furthermore, there was a desire that lex be
allowed to output additional diagnostic messages. Leaving message
formats unspecified sidesteps these formatting questions and also avoids
problems with internationalization.
Although the %x specifier for exclusive start conditions is not existing
practice, it is believed to be a minor change to historical
implementations, and greatly enhances the usability of lex programs since
it permits an application to obtain the expected functionality with fewer
statements.
The %array and %pointer declarations were added as a compromise between
historical systems. The System V-based lex has copied the matched text
to a _y_y_t_e_x_t array. The flex program, supported in BSD and GNU systems,
uses a pointer. In the latter case, significant performance improvements
are available for some scanners. Most existing programs should require
no change in porting from one system to another because the string being
referenced is null-terminated in both cases. (The method used by flex in
its case is to null-terminate the token in-place by remembering the
character that used to come right after the token and replacing it before
continuing on to the next scan.) Multifile programs with external
references to _y_y_t_e_x_t outside the scanner source file should continue to
operate on their existing systems, but would require one of the new
declarations to be considered strictly portable.
The description of regular expressions avoids unnecessary duplication of
regular expression details. Specifically, the | operator and {_m,_n}
interval expression are not listed in A.2.7.4 because their meanings
within a lex regular expression are the same as that for extended regular
expressions.
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
882 A C Language Development Utilities Option
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
The reason for the undefined condition associated with text beginning
with a <blank> or within %{ and %} delimiter lines appearing in the _R_u_l_e_s
section is historical practice. Both BSD and System V lex copy the
indented (or enclosed) input in the _R_u_l_e_s section (except at the
beginning) to unreachable areas of the _y_y_l_e_x() function (the code is
written directly after a break statement). In some cases, the System V
lex generates an error message or a syntax error, depending on the form
of indented input.
The intention in breaking the list of functions into those that may
appear in lex.yy.c versus those that only appear in libl.a is that only
those functions in libl.a can be reliably redefined by a portable
application.
The descriptions of Standard Output and Standard Error are somewhat
complicated because historical lex implementations chose to issue
diagnostic messages to standard output (unless -t was given). POSIX.2
allows this behavior, but leaves an opening for the more expected
behavior of using standard error for diagnostics. Also, the System V
behavior of writing the statistics when any table sizes are given is
allowed, while BSD-derived systems can avoid it. The programmer can
always precisely obtain the desired results by using either the -t or -n
options.
The Operands subclause does not mention the use of - as a synonym for
standard input; not all historical implementations support such usage for
any of the _f_i_l_e operands.
The description of the _T_r_a_n_s_l_a_t_i_o_n _T_a_b_l_e was deleted from earlier drafts
because of its relatively low usage in historical applications.
The change to the definition of the _i_n_p_u_t() function that allows
buffering of input presents the opportunity for major performance gains
in some applications.
END_RATIONALE
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
A.2 lex - Generate programs for lexical tasks 883
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
A.3 yacc - Yet another compiler compiler
A.3.1 Synopsis
yacc [-dltv] [-b _f_i_l_e__p_r_e_f_i_x] [-p _s_y_m__p_r_e_f_i_x] _g_r_a_m_m_a_r
A.3.2 Description
The yacc utility shall read a description of a context-free grammar in
_f_i_l_e and write C source code, conforming to the C Standard {7}, to a code
file, and optionally header information into a header file, in the
current directory. The C code shall define a function and related
routines and macros for an automaton that executes a parsing algorithm
meeting the requirements in A.3.7.8.
The form and meaning of the grammar is described in A.3.7.
The C source code and header file shall be produced in a form suitable as
input for the C compiler (see c89 in A.1).
A.3.3 Options
The yacc utility shall conform to the utility argument syntax guidelines
described in 2.10.2.
The following options shall be supported by the implementation:
-b _f_i_l_e__p_r_e_f_i_x
Use _f_i_l_e__p_r_e_f_i_x instead of y as the prefix for all output
filenames. The code file y.tab.c, the header file y.tab.h
(created when -d is specified), and the description file
y.output (created when -v is specified), shall be changed
to _f_i_l_e__p_r_e_f_i_x.tab.c, _f_i_l_e__p_r_e_f_i_x.tab.h, and
_f_i_l_e__p_r_e_f_i_x.output, respectively.
-d Write the header file; by default only the code file is
written.
-l Produce a code file that does not contain any #line
constructs. If this option is not present, it is
unspecified whether the code file or header file contains
#line directives.
-p _s_y_m__p_r_e_f_i_x
Use _s_y_m__p_r_e_f_i_x instead of yy as the prefix for all 2
external names produced by yacc. The names affected shall 2
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
884 A C Language Development Utilities Option
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
include the functions _y_y_p_a_r_s_e(), _y_y_l_e_x(), and _y_y_e_r_r_o_r(),
and the variables _y_y_l_v_a_l, _y_y_c_h_a_r, and _y_y_d_e_b_u_g. (In the
remainder of this clause, the six symbols cited are
referenced using their default names only as a notational
convenience.) Local names may also be affected by the -p 2
option; however, the -p option shall not affect yacc- 2
generated #define symbols. 2
-t Modify conditional compilation directives to permit
compilation of debugging code in the code file. Runtime
debugging statements shall be always contained in the code
file, but by default conditional compilation directives
prevent their compilation.
-v Write a file containing a description of the parser and a
report of conflicts generated by ambiguities in the
grammar.
A.3.4 Operands
The following operand is required:
_g_r_a_m_m_a_r A pathname of a file containing instructions, hereafter
called _g_r_a_m_m_a_r, for which a parser is to be created. The
format for the grammar is described in A.3.7.
A.3.5 External Influences
A.3.5.1 Standard Input
None.
A.3.5.2 Input Files
The file _g_r_a_m_m_a_r shall be a text file formatted as specified in A.3.7.
A.3.5.3 Environment Variables
The following environment variables shall affect the execution of yacc:
LANG This variable shall determine the locale to use for
the locale categories when both LC_ALL and the
corresponding environment variable (beginning with
LC_) do not specify a locale. See 2.6.
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
A.3 yacc - Yet another compiler compiler 885
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
LC_ALL This variable shall determine the locale to be used
to override any values for locale categories
specified by the settings of LANG or any
environment variables beginning with LC_.
LC_CTYPE This variable shall determine the locale for the
interpretation of sequences of bytes of text data
as characters (e.g., single- versus multibyte
characters in arguments and input files).
LC_MESSAGES This variable shall determine the language in which
messages should be written.
The LANG and LC_* variables shall affect the execution of the yacc
utility as stated. The _m_a_i_n() function defined in A.3.7.6 shall call
setlocale(LC_ALL, "")
and thus, the program generated by yacc shall also be affected by the the
contents of these variables at runtime.
A.3.5.4 Asynchronous Events
Default.
A.3.6 External Effects
A.3.6.1 Standard Output
None.
A.3.6.2 Standard Error
If shift/reduce or reduce/reduce conflicts are detected in _g_r_a_m_m_a_r, yacc
writes a report of those conflicts to the standard error in an
unspecified format.
Standard error is also used for diagnostic messages.
A.3.6.3 Output Files
The code file, the header file, and the description file shall be text
files. All are described in the following subclauses.
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
886 A C Language Development Utilities Option
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
A.3.6.3.1 Code file
This file shall contain the C source code for the _y_y_p_a_r_s_e() routine. It
shall contain code for the various semantic actions with macro
substitution performed on them as described in A.3.7. It shall also 2
contain a copy of the #define statements in the header file. If a %union 2
declaration is used, the declaration for YYSTYPE shall be also included 2
in this file. 2
The contents of the Program Section (see A.3.7.1.4) of the input file
shall then be included.
A.3.6.3.2 Header file
The header file shall contain #define statements that associate the token
numbers with the token names. This allows source files other than the
code file to access the token codes. If a %union declaration is used,
the declaration for YYSTYPE and an extern YYSTYPE yylval declaration
shall be also included in this file.
A.3.6.3.3 Description file
The description file shall be a text file containing a description of the
state machine corresponding to the parser, using an unspecified format. 2
Limits for internal tables (see A.3.7.9) also shall be reported, in an 2
implementation-defined manner. 2
A.3.7 Extended Description
The yacc command accepts a language that is used to define a grammar for
a target language to be parsed by the tables and code generated by yacc.
The language accepted by yacc as a grammar for the target language is
described below using the yacc input language itself.
The input _g_r_a_m_m_a_r includes rules describing the input structure of the
target language, and code to be invoked when these rules are recognized
to provide the associated semantic action. The code to be executed shall
appear as bodies of text that are intended to be C language code. The C
language inclusions are presumed to form a correct function when
processed by yacc into its output files. The code included in this way
shall be executed during the recognition of the target language.
Given a grammar, the yacc utility generates the files described in 2
A.3.6.3. The code file can be compiled and linked using c89. If the 2
declaration and programs sections of the grammar file did not include 2
definitions of _m_a_i_n(), _y_y_l_e_x(), and _y_y_e_r_r_o_r(), the compiled output 2
requires linking with externally supplied version of those functions. 2
Default versions of _m_a_i_n() and _y_y_e_r_r_o_r() are supplied in the yacc library 2
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
A.3 yacc - Yet another compiler compiler 887
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
and can be linked in by using the -l y operand to c89. The yacc library 1
interfaces need not support interfaces with other than the default yy 1
symbol prefix. The application provides the lexical analyzer function, 1
_y_y_l_e_x(); the lex utility (see A.2) is specifically designed to generate
such a routine.
2
A.3.7.1 Input Language
Every specification file shall consist of three sections: _d_e_c_l_a_r_a_t_i_o_n_s,
_g_r_a_m_m_a_r _r_u_l_e_s, and _p_r_o_g_r_a_m_s, separated by double percent-signs (%%). The
declarations and programs sections can be empty. If the latter is empty,
the preceding %% mark separating it from the rules section can be
omitted.
The input is free form text following the structure of the grammar
defined below.
A.3.7.1.1 Lexical Structure of the Grammar
The characters <blank>s, <newline>s, and <form-feed>s shall be ignored,
except that they shall not appear in names or multicharacter reserved
symbols. Comments shall be enclosed in /* ... */, and can appear
wherever a name is valid.
Names are of arbitrary length, made up of letters, periods (.),
underscores (_), and noninitial digits. Upper- and lowercase letters are
distinct. Portable applications shall not use names beginning in yy or
YY since the yacc parser uses such names. Many of the names appear in
the final output of yacc, and thus they should be chosen to conform with
any additional rules created by the C compiler to be used. In particular
they will appear in #define statements.
A literal shall consist of a single character enclosed in single-quotes
('). All of the escape sequences supported for character constants by
the C Standard {7} (3.1.3.4) shall be supported by yacc.
The relationship with the lexical analyzer is discussed in detail below.
The NUL character shall not be used in grammar rules or literals.
A.3.7.1.2 Declarations Section
The declarations section is used to define the symbols used to define the
target language and their relationship with each other. In particular,
much of the additional information required to resolve ambiguities in the
context-free grammar for the target language is provided here.
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
888 A C Language Development Utilities Option
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
Usually yacc assigns the relationship between the symbolic names it
generates and their underlying numeric value. The declarations section
makes it possible to control the assignment of these values.
It is also possible to keep semantic information associated with the
tokens currently on the parse stack in a user-defined C language union,
if the members of the union are associated with the various names in the
grammar. The declarations section provides for this as well.
The first group of declarators below all take a list of names as
arguments. That list can optionally be preceded by the name of a C union
member (called a _t_a_g below) appearing within ``<'' and ``>''. (As an
exception to the typographical conventions of the rest of this standard,
in this case <_t_a_g> does not represent a metavariable, but the literal
angle bracket characters surrounding a symbol.) The use of _t_a_g specifies
that the tokens named on this line are to be of the same C type as the
union member referenced by _t_a_g. This is discussed in more detail below.
For lists used to define tokens, the first appearance of a given token
can be followed by a positive integer (as a string of decimal digits).
If this is done, the underlying value assigned to it for lexical purposes
shall be taken to be that number.
%token [<_t_a_g>] _n_a_m_e [_n_u_m_b_e_r] [_n_a_m_e [_n_u_m_b_e_r]]...
Declares _n_a_m_e(s) to be a token. If _t_a_g is present, the C
type for all tokens on this line shall be declared to be
the type referenced by _t_a_g. If a positive integer, _n_u_m_b_e_r,
follows a _n_a_m_e, that value shall be assigned to the token.
%left [<_t_a_g>] _n_a_m_e [_n_u_m_b_e_r] [_n_a_m_e [_n_u_m_b_e_r]]...
%right [<_t_a_g>] _n_a_m_e [_n_u_m_b_e_r] [_n_a_m_e [_n_u_m_b_e_r]]...
Declares _n_a_m_e to be a token, and assigns precedence to it.
One or more lines, each beginning with one of these
symbols can appear in this section. All tokens on the
same line have the same precedence level and
associativity; the lines are in order of increasing
precedence or binding strength. %left denotes that the
operators on that line are left associative, and %right
similarly denotes right associative operators. If _t_a_g is
present, it shall declare a C type for _n_a_m_e(s) as
described for %token.
%nonassoc [<_t_a_g>] _n_a_m_e [_n_u_m_b_e_r] [_n_a_m_e [_n_u_m_b_e_r]]...
Declares _n_a_m_e to be a token, and indicates that this
cannot be used associatively. If the parser encounters
associative use of this token it shall report an error.
If _t_a_g is present, it shall declare a C type for _n_a_m_e(s)
as described for %token.
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
A.3 yacc - Yet another compiler compiler 889
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
%type <_t_a_g> _n_a_m_e...
Declares that union member _n_a_m_e(s) are nonterminals, and
thus it is required to have a _t_a_g field at its beginning.
Because it deals with nonterminals only, assigning a token
number or using a literal is also prohibited. If this
construct is present, yacc shall perform type checking; if
this construct is not present, the parse stack shall hold
only the int type.
Every name used in _g_r_a_m_m_a_r undefined by a %token, %left, %right, or
%nonassoc declaration is assumed to represent a nonterminal symbol. The
yacc utility shall report an error for any nonterminal symbol that does
not appear on the left side of at least one grammar rule.
Once the type, precedence, or token number of a name is specified, it
shall not be changed. If the first declaration of a token does not
assign a token number, yacc shall assign a token number. Once this
assignment is made, the token number shall not be changed by explicit
assignment.
The following declarators do not follow the previous pattern.
%start _n_a_m_e
Declares the nonterminal _n_a_m_e to be the _s_t_a_r_t _s_y_m_b_o_l,
which represents the largest, most general structure
described by the grammar rules. By default, it is the
left-hand side of the first grammar rule; this default can
be overridden with this declaration.
%union { _b_o_d_y _o_f _u_n_i_o_n (_i_n _C) }
Declares the yacc value stack to be a union of the various
types of values desired. By default, the values returned
by actions (see below) and the lexical analyzer shall be
integers. The yacc utility keeps track of types, and
shall insert corresponding union member names in order to
perform strict type checking of the resulting parser.
Alternatively, given that at least one <_t_a_g> construct is
used, the union can be declared in a header file (which
shall be included in the declarations section by using an
#include construct within %{ and %}), and a typedef used
to define the symbol YYSTYPE to represent this union. The
effect of %union is to provide the declaration of YYSTYPE
directly from the input.
%{ ... %} C language declarations and definitions can appear in the
declarations section, enclosed by these marks. These
statements shall be copied into the code file, and have
global scope within it so that they can be used in the
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
890 A C Language Development Utilities Option
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
rules and program sections.
The declarations section shall be terminated by the token %%.
A.3.7.1.3 Grammar Rules
The rules section defines the context-free grammar to be accepted by the
function yacc generates, and associates with those rules C language
actions and additional precedence information. The grammar is described
below, and a formal definition follows.
The rules section is comprised of one or more grammar rules. A grammar
rule has the form:
A : BODY ;
The symbol A represents a nonterminal name, and BODY represents a
sequence of zero or more _n_a_m_es, _l_i_t_e_r_a_ls, and _s_e_m_a_n_t_i_c _a_c_t_i_o_ns that can
then be followed by optional _p_r_e_c_e_d_e_n_c_e _r_u_l_es. Only the names and
literals participate in the formation of the grammar; the semantic
actions and precedence rules are used in other ways. The colon and the
semicolon are yacc punctuation. If there are several successive grammar
rules with the same left-hand side, the vertical bar | can be used to
avoid rewriting the left-hand side; in this case the semicolon appears
only after the last rule. The BODY part can be empty (or empty of names
and literals) to indicate that the nonterminal symbol matches the empty
string.
The yacc utility assigns a unique number to each rule. Rules using the
vertical bar notation are distinct rules. The number assigned to the
rule appears in the description file.
The elements comprising a BODY are:
_n_a_m_e
_l_i_t_e_r_a_l These form the rules of the grammar: _n_a_m_e is either a
_t_o_k_e_n or a _n_o_n_t_e_r_m_i_n_a_l; _l_i_t_e_r_a_l stands for itself (less
the lexically required quotation marks).
_s_e_m_a_n_t_i_c _a_c_t_i_o_n
With each grammar rule, the user can associate actions to
be performed each time the rule is recognized in the input
process. [Note that the word ``action'' can also refer to
the actions of the parser (shift, reduce, etc.).]
These actions can return values and can obtain the values
returned by previous actions. These values shall be kept
in objects of type YYSTYPE (see %union). The result value
of the action shall be kept on the parse stack with the
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
A.3 yacc - Yet another compiler compiler 891
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
left-hand side of the rule, to be accessed by other
reductions as part of their right-hand side. By using the
<_t_a_g> information provided in the declarations section,
the code generated by yacc can be strictly type checked
and contain arbitrary information. In addition, the
lexical analyzer can provide the same kinds of values for
tokens, if desired.
An action is an arbitrary C statement, and as such can do
input or output, call subprograms, and alter external
variables. An action is one or more C statements enclosed
in curly braces { and }.
Certain pseudo-variables can be used in the action. These
are macros for access to data structures known interally
to yacc.
$$ The value of the action can be set by assigning it
to $$. If type checking is enabled and the type
of the value to be assigned cannot be determined,
a diagnostic message may be generated.
$_n_u_m_b_e_r
This refers to the value returned by the component
specified by the token _n_u_m_b_e_r in the right side of
a rule, reading from left to right; _n_u_m_b_e_r can be
zero or negative. If it is, it refers to the data
associated with the name on the parser's stack
preceding the leftmost symbol of the current rule.
(That is, $0 refers to the name immediately
preceding the leftmost name in the current rule,
to be found on the parser's stack, and $-1 refers
to the symbol to _i_t_s left.) If _n_u_m_b_e_r refers to
an element past the current point in the rule, or
beyond the bottom of the stack, the result is
undefined. If type checking is enabled and the
type of the value to be assigned cannot be
determined, a diagnostic message may be generated.
$<_t_a_g>_n_u_m_b_e_r
These correspond exactly to the corresponding
symbols without the _t_a_g inclusion, but allow for
strict type checking (and preclude unwanted type
conversions). The effect is that the macro is
expanded to use _t_a_g to select an element from the
YYSTYPE union (using _d_a_t_a_n_a_m_e._t_a_g). This is
particularly useful if _n_u_m_b_e_r is not positive. 1
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
892 A C Language Development Utilities Option
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
$<_t_a_g>$
This imposes on the reference the type of the
union member referenced by _t_a_g. This construction
is applicable when a reference to a left context
value occurs in the grammar, and provides yacc
with a means for selecting a type.
Actions can occur in the middle of a rule as well as at
the end; an action can access values returned by actions
to its left, and in turn the value it returns can be
accessed by actions to its right. An action appearing in
the middle of a rule shall be equivalent to replacing the
action with a new nonterminal symbol and adding an empty
rule with that nonterminal symbol on the left-hand side.
The semantic action associated with the new rule shall be
equivalent to the original action. The use of actions
within rules might introduce conflicts that would not
otherwise exist.
By default, the value of a rule shall be the value of the
first element in it. If the first element does not have a
type (particularly in the case of a literal) and type
checking is turned on by %type an error message shall
result.
_p_r_e_c_e_d_e_n_c_e The keyword %prec can be used to change the precedence 1
level associated with a particular grammar rule. Examples 1
of this are in cases where a unary and binary operator 1
have the same symbolic representation, but need to be 1
given different precedences, or where the handling of an 1
ambiguous if-else construction is necessary. The reserved 1
symbol %prec can appear immediately after the body of the 1
grammar rule and can be followed by a token name or a
literal. It shall cause the precedence of the grammar
rule to become that of the following token name or
literal. The action for the rule as a whole can follow
%prec.
If a program section follows, the grammar rules shall be terminated by 1
%%. 1
A.3.7.1.4 Programs Section
The _p_r_o_g_r_a_m_s section can include the definition of the lexical analyzer
_y_y_l_e_x(), and any other functions, for example those used in the actions
specified in the grammar rules. This is C language code, and shall be
included in the code file after the tables and code generated by yacc.
It is unspecified whether the programs section precedes or follows the
semantic actions in the output file; therefore, if the application
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
A.3 yacc - Yet another compiler compiler 893
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
contains any macro definitions and declarations intended to apply to the
code in the semantic actions, it shall place them within %{ ... %} in
the declarations section.
A.3.7.1.5 Input Grammar
The following input to yacc yields a parser for the input to yacc. This
is to be taken as the formal specification of the grammar of yacc,
notwithstanding conflicts that may appear elsewhere.
The lexical structure is defined less precisely; the previous section on
A.3.7.1.1 defines most terms. The correspondence between the previous
terms and the tokens below is as follows.
IDENTIFIER This corresponds to the concept of _n_a_m_e, given
previously. It also includes literals as defined
previously.
C_IDENTIFIER This is a name, and additionally it is known to be
followed by a colon. A literal cannot yield this
token.
NUMBER A string of digits (a nonnegative decimal integer).
TYPE
LEFT
MARK
etc. These correspond directly to %type, %left, %%, etc.
{ ... } This indicates C language source code, with the
possible inclusion of $ macros as discussed
previously.
/* Grammar for the input to yacc */
/* Basic entries */
/* The following are recognized by the lexical analyzer */
%token IDENTIFIER /* includes identifiers and literals */
%token C_IDENTIFIER /* identifier (but not literal)
followed by a : */
%token NUMBER /* [0-9][0-9]* */
/* Reserved words : %type=>TYPE %left=>LEFT, etc. */
%token LEFT RIGHT NONASSOC TOKEN PREC TYPE START UNION
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
894 A C Language Development Utilities Option
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
%token MARK /* the %% mark */
%token LCURL /* the %{ mark */
%token RCURL /* the }% mark */
/* 8-bit character literals stand for themselves; */
/* tokens have to be defined for multibyte characters */
%start spec
%%
spec : defs MARK rules tail
;
tail : MARK
{
/* In this action, set up the rest of the file */
}
| /* empty; the second MARK is optional */
;
defs : /* empty */
| defs def
;
def : START IDENTIFIER
| UNION
{
/* Copy union definition to output */
}
| LCURL
{
/* Copy C code to output file */
}
RCURL
| rword tag nlist
;
rword : TOKEN
| LEFT
| RIGHT
| NONASSOC
| TYPE
;
tag : /* empty: union tag id optional */
| '<' IDENTIFIER '>'
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
A.3 yacc - Yet another compiler compiler 895
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
;
nlist : nmno
| nlist nmno
;
nmno : IDENTIFIER /* Note: literal invalid with % type */
| IDENTIFIER NUMBER /* Note: invalid with % type */
;
/* rule section */
rules : C_IDENTIFIER rbody prec
| rules rule
;
rule : C_IDENTIFIER rbody prec
| '|' rbody prec
;
rbody : /* empty */
| rbody IDENTIFIER
| rbody act
;
act : '{'
{
/* Copy action, translate $$, etc. */
}
'}'
;
prec : /* empty */
| PREC IDENTIFIER
| PREC IDENTIFIER act
| prec ';'
;
A.3.7.2 Conflicts
The parser produced for an input grammar may contain states in which
conflicts occur. The conflicts occur because the grammar is not LALR(1).
An ambiguous grammar always contains at least one LALR(1) conflict. The
yacc utility shall resolve all conflicts, using either default rules or
user-specified precedence rules.
Conflicts are either ``shift/reduce conflicts'' or ``reduce/reduce
conflicts.'' A shift/reduce conflict is where, for a given state and
lookahead symbol, both a shift action and a reduce action are possible.
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
896 A C Language Development Utilities Option
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
A reduce/reduce conflict is where, for a given state and lookahead
symbol, reductions by two different rules are possible.
The rules below describe how to specify what actions to take when a
conflict occurs. Not all shift/reduce conflicts can be successfully
resolved this way because the conflict may be due to something other than
ambiguity, so incautious use of these facilities can cause the language
accepted by the parser to be much different than was intended. The
description file shall contain sufficient information to understand the
cause of the conflict. Where ambiguity is the reason either the default
or explicit rules should be adequate to produce a working parser.
The declared precedences and associativities (see A.3.7.1.2) are used to
resolve parsing conflicts as follows:
(1) A precedence and associativity is associated with each grammar
rule; it is the precedence and associativity of the last token
or literal in the body of the rule. If the %prec keyword is
used, it overrides this default. Some grammar rules might not
have both precedence and associativity.
(2) If there is a shift/reduce conflict, and both the grammar rule
and the input symbol have precedence and associativity
associated with them, then the conflict is resolved in favor of
the action (shift or reduce) associated with the higher
precedence. If the precedences are the same, then the
associativity is used; left associative implies reduce, right
associative implies shift, and nonassociative implies an error
in the string being parsed.
(3) When there is a shift/reduce conflict that cannot be resolved by
rule (2), the shift is done. Conflicts resolved this way are
counted in the diagnostic output described in A.3.7.3.
(4) When there is a reduce/reduce conflict, a reduction is done by
the grammar rule that occurs earlier in the input sequence.
Conflicts resolved this way are counted in the diagnostic output
described in A.3.7.3.
Conflicts resolved by precedence or associativity shall not be counted in
the shift/reduce and reduce/reduce conflicts reported by yacc on either
standard error or in the description file.
A.3.7.3 Error Handling
The token error shall be reserved for error handling. The name error can
be used in grammar rules. It indicates places where the parser can
recover from a syntax error. The default value of error shall be 256.
Its value can be changed using a %token declaration. The lexical
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
A.3 yacc - Yet another compiler compiler 897
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
analyzer should not return the value of error.
The parser shall detect a syntax error when it is in a state where the
action associated with the lookahead symbol is error. A semantic action
can cause the parser to initiate error handling by executing the macro
YYERROR. When YYERROR is executed, the semantic action shall pass
control back to the parser. YYERROR cannot be used outside of semantic
actions.
When the parser detects a syntax error, it normally calls yyerror with
the character string "syntax error" as its argument. The call shall not
be made if the parser is still recovering from a previous error when the
error is detected. The parser is considered to be recovering from a
previous error until the parser has shifted over at least three normal
input symbols since the last error was detected or a semantic action has
executed the macro yyerrok. The parser shall not call yyerror when
YYERROR is executed.
The macro function YYRECOVERING() shall return 1 if a syntax error has
been detected and the parser has not yet fully recovered from it.
Otherwise, zero shall be returned.
When a syntax error is detected by the parser, the parser shall check if
a previous syntax error has been detected. If a previous error was
detected, and if no normal input symbols have been shifted since the
preceding error was detected, the parser checks if the lookahead symbol
is an endmarker (see A.3.7.4). If it is, the parser shall return with a
nonzero value. Otherwise, the lookahead symbol shall be discarded and
normal parsing shall resume.
When YYERROR is executed or when the parser detects a syntax error and no
previous error has been detected, or at least one normal input symbol has
been shifted since the previous error was detected, the parser shall pop
back one state at a time until the parse stack is empty or the current
state allows a shift over error. If the parser empties the parse stack,
it shall return with a nonzero value. Otherwise, it shall shift over
error and then resume normal parsing. If the parser reads a lookahead
symbol before the error was detected, that symbol shall still be the
lookahead symbol when parsing is resumed.
The macro yyerrok in a semantic action shall cause the parser to act as
if it has fully recovered from any previous errors. The macro yyclearin
shall cause the parser to discard the current lookahead token. If the
current lookahead token has not yet been read, yyclearin shall have no
effect.
The macro YYACCEPT shall cause the parser to return with the value zero.
The macro YYABORT shall cause the parser to return with a nonzero value.
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
898 A C Language Development Utilities Option
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
A.3.7.4 Interface to the Lexical Analyzer
The _y_y_l_e_x() function is an integer-valued function that returns a _t_o_k_e_n
_n_u_m_b_e_r representing the kind of token read. If there is a value
associated with the token returned by _y_y_l_e_x() (see the discussion of _t_a_g
above), it shall be assigned to the external variable _y_y_l_v_a_l.
If the parser and _y_y_l_e_x() do not agree on these token numbers, reliable
communication between them cannot occur. For (one character) literals,
the token is simply the numeric value of the character in the current
character set. The numbers for other tokens can either be chosen by
yacc, or chosen by the user. In either case, the #define construct of C
is used to allow _y_y_l_e_x() to return these numbers symbolically. The
#define statements are put into the code file, and the header file if
that file is requested. The set of characters permitted by yacc in an
identifier is larger than that permitted by C. Token names found to
contain such characters shall not be included in the #define
declarations.
If the token numbers are chosen by yacc, the tokens other than literals
shall be assigned numbers greater than 256, although no order is implied. 1
A token can be explicitly assigned a number by following its first
appearance in the declarations section with a number. Names and literals
not defined this way retain their default definition. All assigned token
numbers shall be unique and distinct from the token numbers used for
literals. If duplicate token numbers cause conflicts in parser
generation, yacc shall report an error; otherwise, it is unspecified
whether the token assignment is accepted or an error is reported.
The end of the input is marked by a special token called the _e_n_d_m_a_r_k_e_r,
which has a token number that is zero or negative. (These values are
invalid for any other token.) All lexical analyzers shall return zero or
negative as a token number upon reaching the end of their input. If the
tokens up to, but excluding, the endmarker form a structure that matches
the start symbol, the parser shall accept the input. If the endmarker is
seen in any other context, it shall be considered an error.
A.3.7.5 Completing the Program
In addition to _y_y_p_a_r_s_e() and _y_y_l_e_x(), the functions _y_y_e_r_r_o_r() and _m_a_i_n()
are required to make a complete program. The application can supply
_m_a_i_n() and _y_y_e_r_r_o_r(), or those routines can be obtained from the yacc
library.
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
A.3 yacc - Yet another compiler compiler 899
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
_A._3._7._6 yacc _L_i_b_r_a_r_y
The following functions appear only in the yacc library accessible
through the -l y operand to c89; they can therefore be redefined by a
portable application:
int main(void) 1
This function shall call _y_y_p_a_r_s_e() and exit with an
unspecified value. Other actions within this function
are unspecified.
int yyerror(const char *_s) 1
This function shall write the NUL-terminated argument
to standard error, followed by a <newline>.
The order of the -l y and -l l operands given to c89 is significant; the
application shall either provide its own _m_a_i_n() function or ensure that
-l y precedes -l l.
A.3.7.7 Debugging the Parser
The parser generated by yacc shall have diagnostic facilities in it that
can be optionally enabled at either compile time or at run time (if
enabled at compile time). The compilation of the runtime debugging code
is under the control of YYDEBUG, a preprocessor symbol. If YYDEBUG has a
nonzero value, the debugging code shall be included. If its value is
zero, the code shall not be included.
In parsers where the debugging code has been included, the external int
yydebug can be used to turn debugging on (with a nonzero value) and off
(zero value) at run time. The initial value of _y_y_d_e_b_u_g shall be zero.
When -t is specified, the code file shall be built such that, if YYDEBUG
is not already defined at compilation time (using the c89 -D YYDEBUG
option, for example), YYDEBUG shall be set explicitly to 1. When -t is
not specified, the code file shall be built such that, if YYDEBUG is not
already defined, it shall be set explicitly to zero.
The format of the debugging output is unspecified but includes at least
enough information to determine the shift and reduce actions, and the
input symbols. It also provides information about error recovery.
A.3.7.8 Algorithms
The parser constructed by yacc implements an LALR(1) parsing algorithm as
documented in the literature. It is unspecified whether the parser is
table-driven or direct-coded.
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
900 A C Language Development Utilities Option
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
A parser generated by yacc shall never request an input symbol from
_y_y_l_e_x() while in a state where the only actions other than the error
action are reductions by a single rule.
The literature of parsing theory defines these concepts.
A.3.7.9 Limits
Table A-4 - yacc Internal Limits
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Minimum
Limit Maximum Description
_________________________________________________________________________
{NTERMS} 126 Number of tokens.
{NNONTERM} 200 Number of nonterminals.
{NPROD} 300 Number of rules.
{NSTATES} 600 Number of states.
{MEMSIZE} 5200 Length of rules. The total length, in
names (tokens and nonterminals), of all
the rules of the grammar. The left-hand
side is counted for each rule, even if
it is not explicitly repeated, as
specified in A.3.7.1.3.
{ACTSIZE} 4000 Number of actions. ``Actions'' here
(and in the description file) refer to
parser actions (shift, reduce, etc.) not
to semantic actions defined in
A.3.7.1.3.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The yacc utility may have several internal tables. The minimum maximums
for these tables are shown in Table A-4. The exact meaning of these
values is implementation defined. The implementation shall define the
relationship between these values and between them and any error messages
that the implementation may generate should it run out of space for any
internal structure. An implementation may combine groups of these
resources into a single pool as long as the total available to the user
does not fall below the sum of the sizes specified by this subclause.
A.3.8 Exit Status
The yacc utility shall exit with one of the following values:
0 Successful completion.
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
A.3 yacc - Yet another compiler compiler 901
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
>0 An error occurred.
A.3.9 Consequences of Errors
If any errors are encountered, the run is aborted and yacc exits with a
nonzero status. Partial code files and header files files may be
produced. The summary information in the description file shall always
be produced if the -v flag is present.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
A.3.10 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
The references in the Bibliography may be helpful in constructing the
parser generator. The Pennello-DeRemer {B26} paper (along with the works 2
it references) describe a technique to generate parsers that conform to 2
this standard. Work in this area continues to be done, so implementors
should consult current literature before doing any new implementations. 1
The original paper by Knuth {B27} is the theoretical basis for this kind
of parser, but the tables it generates are impractically large for
reasonable grammars, and should not be used. The ``equivalent to''
wording is intentional to assure that the best tables that are LALR(1)
can be generated.
There has been confusion between the class of grammars, the algorithms
needed to generate parsers, and the algorithms needed to parse the
languages. They are all reasonably orthogonal. In particular, a parser
generator that accepts the full range of LR(1) grammars need not generate
a table any more complex than one that accepts SLR(1) (a relatively weak
class of LR grammars) for a grammar that happens to be SLR(1). Such an
implementation need not recognize the case, either; table compression can
yield the SLR(1) table (or one even smaller than that) without
recognizing that the grammar is SLR(1). The speed of a LR(1) parser for
any class is dependent more upon the table representation and compression
(or the code generation if a direct parser is generated) than upon the
class of grammar that the table generator handles.
The speed of the parser generator is somewhat dependent upon the class of
grammar it handles. However, the original Knuth {B27} algorithms for 2
constructing LR parsers was judged by its author to be impractically slow 2
at that time. Although full LR is more complex than LALR(1), as computer
speeds and algorithms improve, the difference (in terms of acceptable 2
wall-clock execution time) is becoming less significant. 2
Potential authors are cautioned that the Penello-DeRemer paper previously 2
cited identifies a bug (an oversimplification of the computation of 2
LALR(1) lookahead sets) in some of the LALR(1) algorithm statements that 2
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
902 A C Language Development Utilities Option
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
preceded it to publication. They should take the time to seek out that 2
paper, as well as current relevant work, particularly Aho's {B22}.
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s_,__U_s_a_g_e
Access to the yacc library is obtained with library search operands to
c89. To use the yacc library _m_a_i_n(),
c89 y.tab.c -l y
Both the lex library and the yacc library contain _m_a_i_n(). To access the
yacc _m_a_i_n(),
c89 y.tab.c lex.yy.c -l y -l l
This ensures that the yacc library is searched first, so that its _m_a_i_n()
is used.
The historical yacc libraries have contained two simple functions that
are normally coded by the application programmer. These library
functions are similar to the following code:
#include <locale.h> 1
int main(void) 1
{
extern int yyparse();
setlocale(LC_ALL, "");
/* If the following parser is one created by lex, the
application must be careful to ensure that LC_CTYPE
and LC_COLLATE are set to the POSIX Locale. */
(void) yyparse();
return (0);
}
#include <stdio.h>
int yyerror(const char *msg) 1
{
(void) fprintf(stderr, "%s\n", msg);
return (0);
}
Historical implementations experience name conflicts on the names
yacc.tmp, yacc.acts, yacc.debug, y.tab.c, y.tab.h, and y.output if more
than one copy of yacc is running in a single directory at one time. The
-b option was added to overcome this problem. The related problem of
allowing multiple yacc parsers to be placed in the same file was
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
A.3 yacc - Yet another compiler compiler 903
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
addressed by adding a -p option to override the previously hardcoded yy
variable prefix. (The -p option name was selected from a historical
implementation.) Implementations will also have to be cognizant of
2.11.6.3, which requires that any temporary files used by yacc also be
named to avoid collisions.
The description of the -p option specifies the minimal set of function
and variable names that cause conflict when multiple parsers are linked
together. YYSTYPE does not need to be changed. Instead, the programmer
can use -b to give the header files for different parsers different
names, and then the file with the _y_y_l_e_x() for a given parser can include
the header for that parser. Names such as _y_y_c_l_e_a_r_e_r_r don't need to be
changed because they are used only in the actions; they do not have
linkage. It is possible that an implementation will have other names,
either internal ones for implementing things such as _y_y_c_l_e_a_r_e_r_r, or
providing nonstandard features, that it wants to change with -p.
The -b option was added to provide a portable method for permitting yacc
to work on multiple separate parsers in the same directory. If a
directory contains more than one yacc grammar, and both grammars are
constructed at the same time (by, say, a parallel make program), conflict
results. While the solution is not historical practice, it corrects a
known deficiency in historical implementations. Corresponding changes
were made to all sections that referenced the filenames y.tab.c (now
``the code file''), y.tab.h (now ``the header file''), and y.output (now
``the description file'').
The grammar for yacc input is based on System V documentation. The
textual description shows there that the ; is required at the end of the 1
rule. The grammar and the implementation do not require this. (The use
of C_IDENTIFIER causes a reduce to occur in the right place.)
Also, in that implementation, the constructs such as %token can be 1
terminated by a semicolon, but this is not permitted by the grammar. The
keywords such as %token can also appear in uppercase, which is again not
discussed. In most places where % is used, \ can be substituted, and
there are alternate spellings for some of the symbols (e.g. %LEFT can be
%< or even \<).
Multibyte characters should be recognized by the lexical analyzer and 2
returned as tokens. They should not be returned as multibyte character 2
literals. The token error that is used for error recovery is normally 2
assigned the value 256 in the historical implementation. Thus, the token 2
value 256, which used in many multibyte character sets, is not available 2
for use as the value of a user-defined token. 2
Historically, <_t_a_g> can contain any characters except >, including white
space, in the implementation. However, since the _t_a_g must reference a
Standard C union member, in practice conforming implementations need only
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
904 A C Language Development Utilities Option
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
support the set of characters for Standard C identifiers in this context.
Some historical implementations are known to accept actions that are
terminated by a period. Historical implementations often allow $ in
names. A conforming implementation need support neither of these
behaviors.
Unary operators that are the same token as a binary operator in general
need their precedence adjusted. This is handled by the %prec advisory
symbol associated with the particular grammar rule defining that unary
operator. See A. Applications are not required to use this operator for
unary operators, but the grammars that do not require it are rare.
Deciding when to use %prec illustrates the difficulty in specifying the
behavior of yacc. There may be situations in which the _g_r_a_m_m_a_r is not
strictly speaking in error, and yet yacc cannot interpret it
unambiguously. The resolution of ambiguities in the grammar can in many
instances be resolved by providing additional information, such as using
%type or %union declarations. It is often easier and it usually yields a
smaller parser to take this alternative when it is appropriate.
The size and execution time of a program produced without the runtime
debugging code is usually smaller and slightly faster in historical
implementations.
There is a fair amount of material in this that appears tutorial in
nature; some of it has been moved to the Rationale in Draft 9 to simplify
the specification. It is hard to avoid because of the need to define
terms at least informally. The alternative is to bring in one of the
parser generator texts and use its terminology directly, but since there
is some variation in that terminology, it was felt that informal
definitions of the terms so that someone who understood the concepts
would be sure to understand the terms would make the standard stand alone
from any specific text.
Statistics messages from several historical implementations include the
following types of information:
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
A.3 yacc - Yet another compiler compiler 905
P1003.2/D11.2
_n/512 terminals, _n/300 nonterminals
_n/600 grammar rules, _n/1500 states
_n shift/reduce, _n reduce/reduce conflicts reported
_n/350 working sets used
memory: states,etc. _n/15000, parser _n/15000
_n/600 distinct lookahead sets
_n extra closures
_n shift entries, _n exceptions
_n goto entries
_n entries saved by goto default
Optimizer space used: input _n/15000, output _n/15000
_n table entries, _n zero
maximum spread: _n, maximum offset: _n
The report of internal tables in the description file is left 2
implementation defined because all aspects of these limits are also 2
implementation defined. Some implementations may use dynamic allocation 2
techniques and have no specific limit values to report. 2
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
The format of the y.output file is not given because specification of the
format was not seen to enhance application portability. The listing is
primarily intended to help human users understand and debug the parser;
use of y.output by a portable application script is far-fetched.
Furthermore, implementations have not produced consistent output and no
clear winner was apparent. The format selected by the implementation
should be human-readable, in addition to the requirement that it be a
text file.
Standard error reports are not specifically described because they are
seldom of use to portable applications and there was no reason to
restrict implementations.
Some implementations recognize ={ as equivalent to {, because it appears
in historical documentation. This construction was recognized and
documented as obsolete as long ago as 1978, in the original paper _Y_a_c_c:
_Y_e_t _A_n_o_t_h_e_r _C_o_m_p_i_l_e_r-_C_o_m_p_i_l_e_r by Stephen C. Johnson. POSIX.2 chose to
leave it as obsolete and omit it.
END_RATIONALE
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
906 A C Language Development Utilities Option
P1003.2/D11.2
Annex B
(normative)
C Language Bindings Option
This annex describes the C language bindings to the language-independent
services described in Section 7.
The interfaces described in this annex may be provided by the conforming
system; however, any system claiming conformance to the Language-
Independent System Services C Language Bindings Option shall provide all
of the interfaces described here.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
B.0.1 C Language Bindings Option Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a
_p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
In this version of POSIX.2, the language-independent descriptions in
Section 7 have not been developed. The language-independent syntax is
being created in parallel by the POSIX.1 working group. Therefore, the C
language bindings described in this annex are actually the full
functional specifications. It is the intention of the POSIX.2 working
group to rectify this situation in a revision to this standard, by moving
the majority of the functional specifications back into Section 7,
leaving Annex B with only brief descriptions of the C bindings to those
services.
END_RATIONALE
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
Annex B C Language Bindings Option 907
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
B.1 C Language Definitions
B.1.1 POSIX Symbols
Certain symbols in this annex are defined in headers. Some of those
headers could also define symbols other than those defined by this
standard, potentially conflicting with symbols used by the application.
Also, this standard defines symbols that other standards do not permit to
appear in those headers without some control on the visibility of those
symbols.
Symbols called _f_e_a_t_u_r_e _t_e_s_t _m_a_c_r_o_s are used to control the visibility of
symbols that might be included in a header. Implementations, future
versions of this standard, and other standards may define additional
feature test macros. The #define_s for feature test macros shall appear
in the application source code before any #include of a header where a
symbol should be visible to some, but not all, applications. If the
definition of the macro does not precede the #include, the result is
undefined.
Feature test macros shall begin with the underscore character (_) and an 1
uppercase letter, or with two underscore characters. 1
Implementations may add symbols to the headers shown in Table B-1, 1
provided the identifiers for those symbols begin with the corresponding 1
reserved prefixes in Table B-1. Similarly, implementations may add 1
symbols to the headers in Table B-1 that end in the string indicated as a 1
reserved suffix as long as the reserved suffix is in that part of the 1
name considered significant by the implementation. This shall be in 1
addition to any reservations made in the C Standard {7}. 1
After the last inclusion of a given header, an application may use any of 1
the symbol classes reserved in Table B-1 for its own purposes, as long as 1
the requirements in the note to Table B-1 are satisfied, noting that the 1
symbol declared in the header may become inaccessible. 1
Future revisions of this standard, and other POSIX standards, are likely 1
to use symbols in these same reserved spaces. 1
In addition, implementations may add members to a structure or union 1
without controlling the visibility of those members with a feature test 1
macro, as long as a user-defined macro with the same name cannot 1
interfere with the correct interpretation of the program. 1
A conforming POSIX.2 application shall define the feature test macro in
Table B-2. When an application includes a header and the _POSIX_C_SOURCE
feature test macro is defined to be the value 1 or 2, the effect shall be
the same as if _POSIX_SOURCE was defined as described in POSIX.1 {8}.
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
908 B C Language Bindings Option
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
Table B-1 - POSIX.2 Reserved Header Symbols 1
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 1
Reserved Reserved 1
Header Key Prefix Suffix 1
_______________________________________ 1
<fnmatch.h> 2 FNM_ 1
<glob.h> 1 gl_ 1
2 GLOB_ 1
<limits.h> 1 _MAX 1
<regex.h> 1 re_ 1
1 rm_ 1
2 REG_ 1
<wordexp.h> 1 we_ 1
2 WRDE_ 1
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 1
NOTE: The Key values are: 1
(1) Prefixes and suffixes of symbols that shall not be declared or 1
#defined by the application. 1
(2) Prefixes and suffixes of symbols that shall be preceded in the 1
application with a #undef of that symbol before any other use. 1
Table B-2 - _POSIX_C_SOURCE
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Name Description
_________________________________________________________________________
_POSIX_C_SOURCE Enable POSIX.1 {8} and POSIX.2 symbols; see
text.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
In addition, when the application includes any of the headers defined in 1
this standard, and _POSIX_C_SOURCE is defined to be the value 2: 1
(1) All symbols defined in POSIX.2 to appear when the header is
included shall be made visible. 1
(2) Symbols that are explicitly permitted, but not required, by
POSIX.2 to appear in the header (including those in reserved
name spaces) may be made visible.
(3) Additional symbols shall not be made visible, unless controlled
by another feature test macro.
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
B.1 C Language Definitions 909
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
The effect of defining the _POSIX_C_SOURCE macro to any other value is
unspecified.
If there are no feature test macros present in a program, only the set of
symbols defined by the C Standard {7} shall be present. For each feature
test macro present, only the symbols specified by that feature test macro
plus those of the C Standard {7} shall be defined when the header is
included.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
B.1.1.1 POSIX Symbols Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f
_P_1_0_0_3._2)
When the application defines the _POSIX_C_SOURCE feature test macro with 1
value 2, it must be aware that all of the name space from POSIX.1 {8} and 1
POSIX.2 has been reserved. This does not imply that a POSIX.2
implementation must support POSIX.1 {8}, just that the application must
not conflict with an implementation that does. The application can check
_POSIX_VERSION and _POSIX2_C_VERSION at compile time to see which 1
standards are supported, if that is necessary. This is primarily an
issue for the headers <stdio.h>, <limits.h>, <locale.h>, and <unistd.h>,
since other POSIX.1 {8} names appear in other headers not mentioned in
POSIX.2.
It is expected that C bindings to future POSIX standards and revisions
will define new values for _POSIX_C_SOURCE, with each new value reserving 1
the name space for that new standard or revision, plus all earlier POSIX
standards. Using a single feature test macro for all standards rather
than a separate macro for each standard furthers the goal of eventually
combining all of the C bindings into one standard, which will be included
in an international standard that refers to a language-independent
ISO/IEC 9945-1 {8}.
END_RATIONALE
B.1.2 Headers and Function Prototypes
Implementations shall declare function prototypes for all functions.
Each function prototype shall appear in the header included in the
synopsis of the function.
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
910 B C Language Bindings Option
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
B.1.3 Error Numbers
Some of the functions in this annex use the variable _e_r_r_n_o to report
errors. Such usage is documented in Errors in each specification. The
usage of _e_r_r_n_o and the meanings of the symbolic names shall be as defined
in POSIX.1 {8} B.1.3.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
B.1.4 C Language Definitions Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f
_P_1_0_0_3._2)
This clause clarifies the interface to the C Standard {7}. The
description was taken from POSIX.1, with one important modification. 1
Since POSIX.1 {8} and the C Standard {7} were being developed and 1
approved at about the same time, POSIX.1 {8} allowed ``Common Usage C'' 1
implementations to give system vendors time to develop Standard C 1
interfaces. Since Standard C compilers are now commonly available, 1
POSIX.2 does not explicitly describe the binding to Common Usage C.
However, such a binding would be straightforward, as long as the rules
for Common Usage C in POSIX.1 are followed.
END_RATIONALE
B.2 C Numerical Limits
The following subclauses list the names of macros that C language
applications can use to obtain minimum and current values for limits
defined in 2.13.1.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
B.2.0.1 C Numerical Limits Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f
_P_1_0_0_3._2)
This subclause was added in Draft 9 to give C applications access to
limits at compile time. Applications can use the values from the macros
without resorting to _s_y_s_c_o_n_f(). The descriptions very closely follow the
descriptions of macros and limits in POSIX.1 {8}.
This definition of the limits is specific to the C language. Other
language bindings might use different interfaces or names to provide
equivalent information to the application.
Note that there are no C bindings or interfaces that change based on the
macros in Table B-5. These macro only advertise the availability of the
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
B.2 C Numerical Limits 911
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
associated utilities.
END_RATIONALE
B.2.1 C Macros for Symbolic Limits
The macros in Table B-3 shall be defined in the header <limits.h>. They
specify values for the symbolic limits defined in 2.13.1.
Table B-3 - C Macros for Symbolic Limits
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Minimum Allowed Minimum for this
Symbolic Limit by POSIX.2 Implementation
_________________________________________________________________________
{BC_BASE_MAX} _POSIX2_BC_BASE_MAX BC_BASE_MAX
{BC_DIM_MAX} _POSIX2_BC_DIM_MAX BC_DIM_MAX
{BC_SCALE_MAX} _POSIX2_BC_SCALE_MAX BC_SCALE_MAX
{BC_STRING_MAX} _POSIX2_BC_STRING_MAX BC_STRING_MAX
{COLL_WEIGHTS_MAX} _POSIX2_COLL_WEIGHTS_MAX COLL_WEIGHTS_MAX
{EXPR_NEST_MAX} _POSIX2_EXPR_NEST_MAX EXPR_NEST_MAX
{LINE_MAX} _POSIX2_LINE_MAX LINE_MAX
{RE_DUP_MAX} _POSIX2_RE_DUP_MAX RE_DUP_MAX
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The names in the first column of Table B-3 are symbolic limits as defined
in 2.13.1. The names in the second column are C macros that define the
smallest values permitted for the symbolic limits on any POSIX.2
implementation; they shall be defined as constant expressions with the
most restrictive values specified in 2.13.1. The names in the third
column are C macros that define less restrictive values provided by the
implementation; each shall be defined as a constant that
- is not smaller than the associated macro in column 2, and
- is not larger than the smallest value that will be returned by
_s_y_s_c_o_n_f() when the application is executed.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
912 B C Language Bindings Option
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
B.2.1.1 C Macros for Symbolic Limits Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a
_p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
The macros in column 3 of Table B-3 are required to be constant
expressions.
If the C binding is to be used with POSIX.2 implementations over which
the implementor of the binding has no control, the column-3 values must
be the same as column-2. If the implementation of the C binding is
intended to be used with a POSIX.2 implementation that always supports a
larger value than one in column 2, that implementation of the binding may
use the larger value for the column-3 macro. If an application compiled
with that binding is then used with a different POSIX.2 implementation,
it is the user's fault that the application is being run in an
environment in which it was not intended.
The application can assume, for example, that the stream created by
popen("mailx user","w") will accept lines of length {LINE_MAX}, even if
this is larger than {_POSIX2_LINE_MAX}. However, if the application is
creating a data file that might be processed on another implementation,
it should use the values in column 2.
END_RATIONALE
B.2.2 Compile-Time Symbolic Constants for Portability Specifications
The macros in Table B-4 shall be defined in the header <unistd.h>. These
macros can be used by the application, at compile time, to determine
which optional facilities are present and what actions shall be taken by
the implementation.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
B.2.2.1 Compile-Time Symbolic Constants for Portability Specifications
Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
The symbolic constant _POSIX2_C_VERSION is analogous to _POSIX_VERSION,
defined in POSIX.1 {8}. It indicates the version of the C interfaces
that are supplied by the compiler and runtime library. 1
The version of the utilities is given by the {POSIX2_VERSION} limit (see
2.13.1), whose value can be obtained at runtime using _s_y_s_c_o_n_f() (see 1
B.10.2). 1
END_RATIONALE 1
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
B.2 C Numerical Limits 913
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
Table B-4 - C Compile-Time Symbolic Constants
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Macro Name Description
_________________________________________________________________________
_POSIX2_C_VERSION The integer value 199???L. This value 11
indicates the version of the interfaces in 1
this annex that are provided by the 1
implementation. It will change with each 1
published version of this standard to 1
indicate the 4-digit year and 2-digit month 1
that the standard was approved by the IEEE 1
Standards Board. 1
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
B.2.3 Execution-Time Symbolic Constants for Portability Specifications
The macros in Table B-5 can be used by the application at execution time
to determine which optional facilities are present. If a macro is
defined to have the value -1 in the header <unistd.h>, the implementation
shall never provide that feature when the application runs under that
implementation. If a macro is defined to have a value other than -1, the
implementation shall always provide that feature. If the macro is
undefined, then the _s_y_s_c_o_n_f() function (see B.10.2) can be used to
determine if the feature is provided for a particular invocation of the
application.
Table B-5 - C Execution-Time Symbolic Constants
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Macro Name Description
_________________________________________________________________________
_POSIX2_C_DEV The system supports the C Language
Development Utilities Option (see Annex A)
_POSIX2_FORT_DEV The system supports the FORTRAN Development
Utilities Option (see Annex C)
_POSIX2_FORT_RUN The system supports the FORTRAN Runtime
Utilities Option (see Annex C)
_POSIX2_LOCALEDEF The system supports the creation of locales
as described in 4.35.
_POSIX2_SW_DEV The system supports the Software
Development Utilities Option (see Section
6)
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
914 B C Language Bindings Option
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
B.2.4 POSIX.1 C Numerical Limits
The macros specified in POSIX.1 {8} to provide compile-time values for
the configurable variables in Table 7-1 (see 7.8.2) shall also be visible
in a POSIX.2 system. Other macros required by POSIX.1 {8} 2.9 (Numerical
Limits) and 2.10 (Symbolic Constants) may also be visible in a POSIX.2
system.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
B.2.4.1 POSIX.1 C Numerical Limits Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a
_p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
Subclause 7.8.2 requires that certain POSIX.1 {8} configurable variables
be visible in POSIX.2. Subclause B.2.4 ensures that POSIX.2 C
applications can obtain these variables using the same macros as
POSIX.1 {8} C applications. It also allows an implementation to make all
of the POSIX.1 {8} macros available even if _POSIX_SOURCE is not set. It 1
also allows an implementation to make all of the POSIX.1 {8} symbols 1
available even if it does not support all of POSIX.1 {8}. 1
END_RATIONALE 1
B.3 C Binding for Shell Command Interface
BEGIN_RATIONALE
B.3.0.1 C Binding for Shell Command Interface Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e
_i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
The _s_y_s_t_e_m() and _p_o_p_e_n() functions should not be used by programs that
have set user (or group) ID privileges, as defined in POSIX.1 {8}. The
_f_o_r_k() and _e_x_e_c family of functions [except _e_x_e_c_l_p() and _e_x_e_c_v_p()], also
defined in POSIX.1 {8}, should be used instead. This prevents any
unforeseen manipulation of the user's environment that could cause
execution of commands not anticipated by the calling program.
If the original and ``_p_o_p_e_n()ed'' processes both intend to read or write
or read and write a common file, and either will be using FILE-type C
functions [_f_r_e_a_d(), _f_w_r_i_t_e(), etc.], the rules in POSIX.1 {8} 8.2.3 must
be observed.
END_RATIONALE
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
B.3 C Binding for Shell Command Interface 915
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
B.3.1 C Binding for Execute Command
Function: _s_y_s_t_e_m()
B.3.1.1 Synopsis
#include <stdlib.h>
int system(const char *_c_o_m_m_a_n_d);
B.3.1.2 Description
This standard requires the _s_y_s_t_e_m() function as described in the
C Standard {7}.
The _s_y_s_t_e_m() function shall execute the command specified by the string
pointed to by _c_o_m_m_a_n_d. The environment of the executed command shall be
as if a child process were created using the POSIX.1 {8} _f_o_r_k() function,
and the child process invoked the sh utility (see 4.56) using the
POSIX.1 {8} _e_x_e_c_l() function as follows:
execl(<_s_h_e_l_l _p_a_t_h>, "_s_h", "-_c", _c_o_m_m_a_n_d, (_c_h_a_r *)_0);
where <_s_h_e_l_l _p_a_t_h> is an unspecified pathname for the sh utility.
The _s_y_s_t_e_m() function shall ignore the SIGINT and SIGQUIT signals, and
block the SIGCHLD signal, while waiting for the command to terminate. If
this might cause the application to miss a signal that would have killed
it, then the application should examine the return value from _s_y_s_t_e_m()
and take whatever action is appropriate to the application if the command
terminated due to receipt of a signal.
The _s_y_s_t_e_m() function shall not affect the termination status of any
child of the calling processes other than the process(es) it itself
creates.
The _s_y_s_t_e_m() function shall not return until the child process has
terminated.
B.3.1.3 Returns
If _c_o_m_m_a_n_d is NULL, the _s_y_s_t_e_m() function shall return nonzero.
If _c_o_m_m_a_n_d is not NULL, the _s_y_s_t_e_m() function shall return the
termination status of the command language interpreter in the format
specified by the _w_a_i_t_p_i_d() function in POSIX.1 {8}. The termination
status of the command language interpreter is as specified for the sh
utility, except that if some error prevents the command language
interpreter from executing after the child process is created, the return
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
916 B C Language Bindings Option
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
value from _s_y_s_t_e_m() shall be as if the command language interpreter had
terminated using _e_x_i_t(127) or __e_x_i_t(127). If a child process cannot be
created, or if the termination status for the command language
interpreter cannot be obtained, _s_y_s_t_e_m() shall return -1 and set _e_r_r_n_o to
indicate the error.
B.3.1.4 Errors
The _s_y_s_t_e_m() function may set _e_r_r_n_o values as described by _f_o_r_k() in
POSIX.1 {8}.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
B.3.1.5 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
The C Standard {7} specifies that when _c_o_m_m_a_n_d is NULL, _s_y_s_t_e_m() returns
nonzero if there is a command interpreter available and zero if one is
not available. At first reading, it might appear that POSIX.2 conflicts
with this, since it requires _s_y_s_t_e_m(NULL) to always return nonzero.
There is no conflict, however. A POSIX.2 implementation must always have
a command interpreter available, and is nonconforming if none is present.
It is therefore permissible for the _s_y_s_t_e_m() function on a POSIX.2 system
to implement the behavior specified by the C Standard {7} as long as it
is understood that the implementation is not POSIX.2 conforming if 1
_s_y_s_t_e_m(NULL) returns zero. 1
Note that, while _s_y_s_t_e_m() must ignore SIGINT and SIGQUIT and block
SIGCHLD while waiting for the child to terminate, the handling of signals
in the executed command is as specified by _f_o_r_k() and _e_x_e_c. For example,
if SIGINT is being caught or is set to SIG_DFL when _s_y_s_t_e_m() is called,
then the child will be started with SIGINT handling set to SIG_DFL.
Ignoring SIGINT and SIGQUIT in the parent process prevents coordination
problems (two processes reading from the same terminal, for example) when
the executed command ignores or catches one of the signals. It is also
usually the correct action when the user has given a command to the
application to be executed synchronously (as in the ``!'' command in
many interactive applications). In either case, the signal should be
delivered only to the child process, not to the application itself.
There is one situation where ignoring the signals might have less than
the desired effect. This is when the application uses _s_y_s_t_e_m() to
perform some task invisible to the user. If the user typed the interrupt
character (^C for example) while _s_y_s_t_e_m() is being used in this way, one
would expect the application to be killed, but only the executed command
will be killed. Applications that use _s_y_s_t_e_m() in this way should
carefully check the return status from _s_y_s_t_e_m() to see if the executed
command was successful, and should take appropriate action when the
command fails.
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
B.3 C Binding for Shell Command Interface 917
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
Blocking SIGCHLD while waiting for the child to terminate prevents the
application from catching the signal and obtaining status from _s_y_s_t_e_m()'s
child process before _s_y_s_t_e_m() can get the status itself.
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s_,__U_s_a_g_e
The context in which the utility is ultimately executed may differ from
that in which the _s_y_s_t_e_m() function was called. For example, file
descriptors that have the FD_CLOEXEC flag set will be closed, and the
process ID and parent process ID will be different. Also, if the
executed utility changes its environment variables or its current working
directory, that change will not be reflected in the caller's context.
Earlier drafts of this standard required, or allowed, _s_y_s_t_e_m() to return
with _e_r_r_n_o [EINTR] if it was interrupted with a signal. This error
return was removed, and a requirement that _s_y_s_t_e_m() not return until the
child has terminated was added. This means that if a _w_a_i_t_p_i_d() call in
_s_y_s_t_e_m() exits with _e_r_r_n_o [EINTR], _s_y_s_t_e_m() must re-issue the _w_a_i_t_p_i_d().
This change was made for two reasons:
(1) There is no way for an application to clean up if _s_y_s_t_e_m()
returns [EINTR], short of calling _w_a_i_t(), and that could have
the undesirable effect of returning status of children other
than the one started by _s_y_s_t_e_m().
(2) While it might require a change in some historical
implementations, those implementations already have to be
changed because they use _w_a_i_t() instead of _w_a_i_t_p_i_d().
Note that if the application is catching SIGCHLD signals, it will receive 1
such a signal before a successful _s_y_s_t_e_m() call returns. 1
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
The C Standard {7} requires that a call to _s_y_s_t_e_m() with a NULL will
return a nonzero value, indicating the presence of a command language
interpreter available to the system. It was explicitly decided that when
_c_o_m_m_a_n_d is NULL, _s_y_s_t_e_m() should not be required to check to make sure
that the command language interpreter actually exists with the correct
mode, that there are enough processes to execute it, etc. The call
_s_y_s_t_e_m(NULL) could, theoretically, check for such problems as too many
existing child processes, and return zero. However, it would be
inappropriate to return zero due to such a (presumably) transient
condition. If some condition exists that is not under the control of
this application and that would cause _a_n_y _s_y_s_t_e_m() call to fail, that
system has been rendered nonconformant.
Modified in Draft 6 to reflect the availability of the _w_a_i_t_p_i_d() function
in POSIX.1 {8}. To conform to this standard, _s_y_s_t_e_m() must use
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
918 B C Language Bindings Option
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
_w_a_i_t_p_i_d(), or some similar function, instead of _w_a_i_t().
Figure B-1 illustrates how _s_y_s_t_e_m() might be implemented on a POSIX.1 {8}
implementation.
Note that, while a particular implementation of _s_y_s_t_e_m() (such as the one
above) can assume a particular path for the shell, such a path is not
necessarily valid on another system. The above example is not portable,
and is not intended to be. There is no defined way for an application to
find the specific path for the shell. However, _c_o_n_f_s_t_r() can provide a
value for PATH that is guaranteed to find the sh utility.
One reviewer suggested that an implementation of _s_y_s_t_e_m() might want to
use an environment variable such as SHELL to determine which command
interpreter to use. The supposed implementation would use the default
command interpreter if the one specified by the environment variable was
not available. This would allow a user, when using an application that
prompts for command lines to be processed using _s_y_s_t_e_m(), to specify a
different command interpreter. Such an implementation is discouraged.
If the alternate command interpreter did not follow the command line
syntax specified in POSIX.2, then changing SHELL would render _s_y_s_t_e_m()
nonconformant. This would affect applications that expected the
specified behavior from _s_y_s_t_e_m(), and since this standard does not
mention that SHELL affects _s_y_s_t_e_m(), the application would not know that
it needed to unset SHELL.
END_RATIONALE
B.3.2 C Binding for Pipe Communications with Programs
Functions: _p_o_p_e_n(), _p_c_l_o_s_e()
B.3.2.1 Synopsis
#include <stdio.h>
FILE *popen(const char *_c_o_m_m_a_n_d, const char *_m_o_d_e);
int pclose(FILE *_s_t_r_e_a_m);
B.3.2.2 Description
The _p_o_p_e_n() function shall execute the command specified by the string
_c_o_m_m_a_n_d. It shall create a pipe between the calling program and the
executed command, and return a pointer to a C Standard {7} stream that
can be used to either read from or write to the pipe. The _p_c_l_o_s_e()
function shall close the stream, wait for the command to terminate, and
return the termination status from the command language interpreter.
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
B.3 C Binding for Shell Command Interface 919
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
_________________________________________________________________________
#include <signal.h>
int system(const char *cmd) 1
{
int stat;
pid_t pid;
struct sigaction sa, savintr, savequit;
sigset_t saveblock;
if (cmd == NULL)
return(1);
sa.sa_handler = SIG_IGN;
sigemptyset(&sa.sa_mask);
sa.sa_flags = 0;
sigemptyset(&savintr.sa_mask); 1
sigemptyset(&savequit.sa_mask); 1
sigaction(SIGINT, &sa, &savintr);
sigaction(SIGQUIT, &sa, &savequit);
sigaddset(&sa.sa_mask, SIGCHLD); 1
sigprocmask(SIG_BLOCK, &sa.sa_mask, &saveblock);
if ((pid = fork()) == 0) {
sigaction(SIGINT, &savintr, (struct sigaction *)0);
sigaction(SIGQUIT, &savequit, (struct sigaction *)0);
sigprocmask(SIG_SETMASK, &saveblock, (sigset_t *)0);
execl("/bin/sh", "sh", "-c", cmd, (char *)0);
_exit(127);
}
if (pid == -1) {
stat = -1; /* errno comes from fork() */
} else {
while (waitpid(pid, &stat, 0) == -1) {
if (errno != EINTR) {
stat = -1;
break;
}
}
}
sigaction(SIGINT, &savintr, (struct sigaction *)0);
sigaction(SIGQUIT, &savequit, (struct sigaction *)0);
sigprocmask(SIG_SETMASK, &saveblock, (sigset_t *)0);
return(stat);
}
_________________________________________________________________________
Figure B-1 - Sample _ssss_yyyy_ssss_tttt_eeee_mmmm() Implementation
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
920 B C Language Bindings Option
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
The environment of the executed command shall be as if a child process
were created within the _p_o_p_e_n() call using the _f_o_r_k() function, and the
child invoked the sh utility using the call:
execl(<_s_h_e_l_l _p_a_t_h>, "sh", "-c", _c_o_m_m_a_n_d, (_c_h_a_r *)_0);
where <_s_h_e_l_l _p_a_t_h> is an unspecified pathname for the sh utility. 1
However, _p_o_p_e_n() shall ensure that any streams from previous _p_o_p_e_n() 1
calls that remain open in the parent process are closed in the new child 1
process. 1
The _m_o_d_e argument to _p_o_p_e_n() is a string that specifies I/O mode:
(1) If _m_o_d_e is "r", when the child process is started its file
descriptor STDOUT_FILENO shall be the writable end of the pipe,
and the file descriptor _f_i_l_e_n_o(_s_t_r_e_a_m) in the calling process,
where _s_t_r_e_a_m is the stream pointer returned by _p_o_p_e_n(), shall be
the readable end of the pipe.
(2) If _m_o_d_e is "w", when the child process is started its file
descriptor STDIN_FILENO shall be the readable end of the pipe,
and the file descriptor _f_i_l_e_n_o(_s_t_r_e_a_m) in the calling process,
where _s_t_r_e_a_m is the stream pointer returned by _p_o_p_e_n(), shall be
the writable end of the pipe.
(3) If _m_o_d_e is any other value, the result is undefined.
A stream opened by _p_o_p_e_n() should be closed by _p_c_l_o_s_e(). As stated
above, _p_c_l_o_s_e() shall return the termination status from the command
language interpreter. However, if the application has called any of the
following:
(1) _w_a_i_t(),
(2) _w_a_i_t_p_i_d() with a _p_i_d argument less than or equal to zero or
equal to the process ID of the command line interpreter, or
(3) any other function not defined in POSIX.1 {8} or POSIX.2 that
could do one of the above
and one of those calls caused the termination status to be unavailable to
_p_c_l_o_s_e(), then _p_c_l_o_s_e() shall return -1 with _e_r_r_n_o set to [ECHILD] to
report this situation. In any case, _p_c_l_o_s_e() shall not return before the
child process created by _p_o_p_e_n() has terminated.
If the command language interpreter cannot be executed, the child
termination status returned by _p_c_l_o_s_e() shall be as if the command
language interpreter terminated using _e_x_i_t(127) or __e_x_i_t(127). If it can
be executed, the _e_x_i_t() value shall be as described for the sh utility.
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
B.3 C Binding for Shell Command Interface 921
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
The _p_c_l_o_s_e() function shall not affect the termination status of any
child of the calling process other than the one created by _p_o_p_e_n() for
the associated stream.
If the argument _s_t_r_e_a_m to _p_c_l_o_s_e() is not a pointer to a stream created
by _p_o_p_e_n(), the result of _p_c_l_o_s_e() is undefined.
After _p_o_p_e_n(), both the parent and the child process shall be capable of
executing independently before either terminates. See 2.9.1.2.
B.3.2.3 Returns
The _p_o_p_e_n() function shall return a NULL pointer if the pipe or
subprocess cannot be created. Otherwise, it shall return a stream
pointer as described above.
Upon successful return, _p_c_l_o_s_e() shall return the termination status of
the command language interpreter. Otherwise, _p_c_l_o_s_e() shall return -1
and set _e_r_r_n_o to indicate the error.
B.3.2.4 Errors
If any of the following conditions are detected, the _p_o_p_e_n() function
shall return NULL and set _e_r_r_n_o to the corresponding value:
[EINVAL] The _m_o_d_e argument is invalid.
The _p_o_p_e_n() function may also set _e_r_r_n_o values as described by the
POSIX.1 {8} _f_o_r_k() or _p_i_p_e() functions.
If any of the following conditions are detected, the _p_c_l_o_s_e() function
shall return -1 and set _e_r_r_n_o to the corresponding value:
[ECHILD] The status of the child process could not be obtained, as
described above.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
B.3.2.5 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s_,__U_s_a_g_e
Because open files are shared, a mode "r" command can be used as an input
filter and a mode "w" command as an output filter.
The behavior of _p_o_p_e_n() is specified for _m_o_d_es of "r" and "w". Other
modes such as "rb" and "wb" might be supported by specific
implementations, but these would not be portable features. Note that
historical implementations of _p_o_p_e_n() only check to see if the first
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
922 B C Language Bindings Option
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
character of _m_o_d_e is r. Thus, a _m_o_d_e of "robert the robot" would be
treated as _m_o_d_e "r", and a _m_o_d_e of "anything else" would be treated as
_m_o_d_e "w".
If the application calls _w_a_i_t_p_i_d() with a _p_i_d argument greater than zero,
and it still has a _p_o_p_e_n()ed stream open, it must ensure that _p_i_d does
not refer to the process started by _p_o_p_e_n().
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
There is a requirement that _p_c_l_o_s_e() not return before the child process
terminates. This is intended to disallow implementations that return
[EINTR] if a signal is received while waiting. If _p_c_l_o_s_e() returned
before the child terminated, there would be no way for the application to
discover which child used to be associated with the stream, and it could
not do the cleanup itself.
If the stream pointed to by _s_t_r_e_a_m was not created by _p_o_p_e_n(), historical
implementations of _p_c_l_o_s_e() return -1 without setting _e_r_r_n_o. To avoid
requiring _p_c_l_o_s_e() to set _e_r_r_n_o in this case, this standard makes the
behavior undefined. An application should not use _p_c_l_o_s_e() to close any
stream that wasn't created by _p_o_p_e_n().
Wording was added in Draft 10 requiring that the parent and child
processes be able to execute independently. This behavior has been the
intent all along, and the specific words were taken from the current
draft of the POSIX.1a revision to POSIX.1 {8}. Rationale about this
wording appears in B.3.1.1 of POSIX.1a.
Some historical implementations either block or ignore the signals
SIGINT, SIGQUIT, and SIGHUP while waiting for the child process to
terminate. Since this behavior is not described in POSIX.2, such
implementations are not conforming. Also, some historical
implementations return [EINTR] if a signal is received, even though the
child process has not terminated. Such implementations are also
considered nonconforming.
Consider, for example, an application that uses
popen("command", "r")
to start _c_o_m_m_a_n_d, which is part of the same application. The parent
writes a prompt to its standard output (presumably the terminal) and then
reads from the _p_o_p_e_n_e_d stream. The child reads the response from the
user, does some transformation on the response (pathname expansion,
perhaps) and writes the result to its standard output. The parent
process reads the result from the pipe, does something with it, and
prints another prompt. The cycle repeats. Assuming that both processes
do appropriate buffer flushing, this would be expected to work.
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
B.3 C Binding for Shell Command Interface 923
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
Modified in Draft 6 to reflect the availability of the _w_a_i_t_p_i_d() function
in POSIX.1 {8}. To conform to this standard, _p_c_l_o_s_e() must use
_w_a_i_t_p_i_d(), or some similar function, instead of _w_a_i_t().
Figure B-2 illustrates how the _p_c_l_o_s_e() function might be implemented on
a POSIX.1 {8} system.
_________________________________________________________________________
int pclose(FILE *stream) 1
{
int stat;
pid_t pid;
pid = <_p_i_d _f_o_r _p_r_o_c_e_s_s _c_r_e_a_t_e_d _f_o_r _s_t_r_e_a_m _b_y _p_o_p_e_n()>
(void) fclose(stream);
while (waitpid(pid, &stat, 0) == -1) {
if (errno != EINTR) {
stat = -1;
break;
}
}
return(stat);
}
_________________________________________________________________________
Figure B-2 - Sample _pppp_cccc_llll_oooo_ssss_eeee() Implementation
END_RATIONALE
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
924 B C Language Bindings Option
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
B.4 C Binding for Access Environment Variables
Function: _g_e_t_e_n_v()
The C language binding to the service described in 7.2 shall be the
POSIX.1 {8} _g_e_t_e_n_v() function.
B.5 C Binding for Regular Expression Matching
Functions: _r_e_g_c_o_m_p(), _r_e_g_e_x_e_c(), _r_e_g_f_r_e_e(), _r_e_g_e_r_r_o_r()
B.5.1 Synopsis
#include <sys/types.h>
#include <regex.h>
int regcomp(regex_t *_p_r_e_g, const char *_p_a_t_t_e_r_n, int _c_f_l_a_g_s);
int regexec(const regex_t *_p_r_e_g, const char *_s_t_r_i_n_g,
size_t _n_m_a_t_c_h, regmatch_t _p_m_a_t_c_h[], int _e_f_l_a_g_s);
size_t regerror(int _e_r_r_c_o_d_e, const regex_t *_p_r_e_g,
char *_e_r_r_b_u_f, size_t _e_r_r_b_u_f__s_i_z_e);
void regfree(regex_t *_p_r_e_g);
B.5.2 Description
These functions shall interpret basic and extended regular expressions,
as described in 2.8.
The header <regex.h> shall define the structure types _r_e_g_e_x__t and
_r_e_g_m_a_t_c_h__t. The structure type _r_e_g_e_x__t shall include at least the member
shown in Table B-6.
The structure type _r_e_g_m_a_t_c_h__t shall contain at least the members shown in
Table B-7. The type _r_e_g_o_f_f__t, which shall be defined in <regex.h>, shall 1
be a signed arithmetic type that can hold the largest value that can be 1
stored in either an _o_f_f__t or a _s_s_i_z_e__t. 1
The _r_e_g_c_o_m_p() function shall compile the regular expression contained in 1
the string pointed to by the _p_a_t_t_e_r_n argument and place the results in 1
the structure pointed to by _p_r_e_g. The _c_f_l_a_g_s argument shall be the
bitwise inclusive OR of zero or more of the flags shown in Table B-8,
which shall be defined in the header <regex.h>.
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
B.5 C Binding for Regular Expression Matching 925
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
Table B-6 - Structure Type _rrrr_eeee_gggg_eeee_xxxx______tttt
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Member Member
Type Name Description
_________________________________________________________________________
_s_i_z_e__t _r_e__n_s_u_b Number of parenthesized subexpressions.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Table B-7 - Structure Type _rrrr_eeee_gggg_mmmm_aaaa_tttt_cccc_hhhh______tttt
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Member Member
Type Name Description
_________________________________________________________________________
_r_e_g_o_f_f__t _r_m__s_o Byte offset from start of _s_t_r_i_n_g to start 11
of substring. 1
_r_e_g_o_f_f__t _r_m__e_o Byte offset from start of _s_t_r_i_n_g of the 11
first character after the end of substring. 1
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Table B-8 - _rrrr_eeee_gggg_cccc_oooo_mmmm_pppp() _cccc_ffff_llll_aaaa_gggg_ssss Argument
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_ffff_llll_aaaa_gggg Description
_________________________________________________________________________
REG_EXTENDED Use Extended Regular Expressions.
REG_ICASE Ignore case in match. See 2.8.2.
REG_NOSUB Report only success/fail in _r_e_g_e_x_e_c().
REG_NEWLINE Change the handling of <newline>, as
described in the text.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Table B-9 - _rrrr_eeee_gggg_eeee_xxxx_eeee_cccc() _eeee_ffff_llll_aaaa_gggg_ssss Argument
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_ffff_llll_aaaa_gggg Description
_________________________________________________________________________
REG_NOTBOL The first character of the string pointed
to by _s_t_r_i_n_g is not the beginning of the
line. Therefore, the circumflex character
(^), when taken as a special character,
shall not match the beginning of _s_t_r_i_n_g.
The last character of the string pointed to
by _s_t_r_i_n_g is not the end of the line.
Therefore, the dollar sign ($), when taken
as a special character, shall not match the
end of _s_t_r_i_n_g.
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
926 B C Language Bindings Option
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
REG_NOTEOL
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The default regular expression type for _p_a_t_t_e_r_n shall be a Basic Regular
Expression. The application can specify Extended Regular Expressions
using the REG_EXTENDED _c_f_l_a_g_s flag.
If the function _r_e_g_c_o_m_p() succeeds, it shall return zero; otherwise it
shall return nonzero, and the content of _p_r_e_g shall be undefined.
If the REG_NOSUB flag was not set in _c_f_l_a_g_s, then _r_e_g_c_o_m_p() shall set
_r_e__n_s_u_b to the number of parenthesized subexpressions [delimited by \( \)
in basic regular expressions or ( ) in extended regular expressions]
found in _p_a_t_t_e_r_n.
The _r_e_g_e_x_e_c() function shall compare the null-terminated string specified
by _s_t_r_i_n_g against the compiled regular expression _p_r_e_g initialized by a
previous call to _r_e_g_c_o_m_p(). If it finds a match, _r_e_g_e_x_e_c() shall return
zero; otherwise it shall return nonzero indicating either no match or an
error. The _e_f_l_a_g_s argument shall be the bitwise inclusive OR of zero or
more of the flags shown in Table B-9, which shall be defined in the
header <regex.h>.
If _n_m_a_t_c_h is zero or REG_NOSUB was set in the _c_f_l_a_g_s argument to
_r_e_g_c_o_m_p(), then _r_e_g_e_x_e_c() shall ignore the _p_m_a_t_c_h argument. Otherwise,
the _p_m_a_t_c_h argument shall point to an array with at least _n_m_a_t_c_h
elements, and _r_e_g_e_x_e_c() shall fill in the elements of that array with
offsets of the substrings of _s_t_r_i_n_g that correspond to the parenthesized
subexpressions of _p_a_t_t_e_r_n: _p_m_a_t_c_h[_i]._r_m__s_o shall be the byte offset of
the beginning and _p_m_a_t_c_h[_i]._r_m__e_o shall be one greater than the byte
offset of the end of substring _i. (Subexpression _i begins at the _ith
matched open parenthesis, counting from 1.) Offsets in _p_m_a_t_c_h[0] shall
identify the substring that corresponds to the entire regular expression.
Unused elements of _p_m_a_t_c_h up to _p_m_a_t_c_h[_n_m_a_t_c_h-1] shall be filled with -1.
If there are more than _n_m_a_t_c_h subexpressions in _p_a_t_t_e_r_n (_p_a_t_t_e_r_n itself
counts as a subexpression), then _r_e_g_e_x_e_c() shall still do the match, but
shall record only the first _n_m_a_t_c_h substrings.
When matching a basic or extended regular expression, any given
parenthesized subexpression of _p_a_t_t_e_r_n might participate in the match of
several different substrings of _s_t_r_i_n_g, or it might not match any
substring even though the pattern as a whole did match. The following
rules shall be used to determine which substrings to report in _p_m_a_t_c_h
when matching regular expressions:
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
B.5 C Binding for Regular Expression Matching 927
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
(1) If subexpression _i in a regular expression is not contained 1
within another subexpression, and it participated in the match 1
several times, then the byte offsets in _p_m_a_t_c_h[_i] shall delimit
the last such match.
(2) If subexpression _i is not contained within another 1
subexpression, and it did not participate in an otherwise 1
successful match, then the byte offsets in _p_m_a_t_c_h[_i] shall be 1
-1. A subexpression shall not participate in the match when: 1
(a) * or \{ \} appears immediately after the subexpression in 1
a basic regular expression, or *, ?, or { } appears 1
immediately after the subexpression in an extended regular 1
expression, and the subexpression did not match (matched 1
zero times), or 1
(b) | is used in an extended regular expression to select this 1
subexpression or another, and the other subexpression 1
matched. 1
(3) If subexpression _i is contained within another subexpression _j, 1
and _i is not contained within any other subexpression that is 1
contained within _j, and a match of subexpression _j is reported 1
in _p_m_a_t_c_h[_j], then the match or nonmatch of subexpression _i 1
reported in _p_m_a_t_c_h[_i] shall be as described in (1) and (2) 1
above, but within the substring reported in _p_m_a_t_c_h[_j] rather 1
than the whole string. 1
(4) If subexpression _i is contained in subexpression _j, and the byte
offsets in _p_m_a_t_c_h[_j] are -1, then the byte offsets in _p_m_a_t_c_h[_i] 1
also shall be -1. 1
(5) If subexpression _i matched a zero-length string, then both byte
offsets in _p_m_a_t_c_h[_i] shall be the byte offset of the character
or null terminator immediately following the zero-length string.
If, when _r_e_g_e_x_e_c() is called, the locale is different than when the 1
regular expression was compiled, the result is undefined. 1
If REG_NEWLINE is not set in _c_f_l_a_g_s, then a <newline> character in
_p_a_t_t_e_r_n or _s_t_r_i_n_g shall be treated as an ordinary character. If
REG_NEWLINE is set, then <newline> shall be treated as an ordinary
character except as follows:
(1) A <newline> in _s_t_r_i_n_g shall not be matched by a period outside
of a bracket expression (see 2.8.3.1.3) or by any form of a
nonmatching list (see 2.8.3.2).
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
928 B C Language Bindings Option
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
(2) A circumflex (^) in _p_a_t_t_e_r_n, when used to specify expression
anchoring (see 2.8.4.4 and 2.8.4.6), shall match the zero-length
string immediately after a <newline> in _s_t_r_i_n_g, regardless of
the setting of REG_NOTBOL.
(3) A dollar-sign ($) in _p_a_t_t_e_r_n, when used to specify expression
anchoring, shall match the zero-length string immediately before
a <newline> in _s_t_r_i_n_g, regardless of the setting of REG_NOTEOL.
The _r_e_g_f_r_e_e() function shall free any memory allocated by _r_e_g_c_o_m_p()
associated with _p_r_e_g.
The _r_e_g_e_r_r_o_r() function provides a mapping from error codes returned by
_r_e_g_c_o_m_p() and _r_e_g_e_x_e_c() to unspecified printable strings. It shall
generate a string corresponding to the value of the _e_r_r_c_o_d_e argument,
which shall be the last nonzero value returned by _r_e_g_c_o_m_p() or _r_e_g_e_x_e_c()
with the given value of _p_r_e_g. If _e_r_r_c_o_d_e is not such a value, the content
of the generated string is unspecified. If _p_r_e_g is (_r_e_g_e_x_e_c__t)0, but 1
_e_r_r_c_o_d_e is a value returned by a previous call to _r_e_g_e_x_e_c() or _r_e_g_c_o_m_p(), 1
then _r_e_g_e_r_r_o_r() still shall generate an error string corresponding to the 1
value of _e_r_r_c_o_d_e, but it might not be as detailed under some 1
implementations. 1
If the _e_r_r_b_u_f__s_i_z_e argument is not zero, _r_e_g_e_r_r_o_r() shall place the
generated string into the _e_r_r_b_u_f__s_i_z_e-byte buffer pointed to by _e_r_r_b_u_f.
If the string (including the terminating null) cannot fit in the buffer,
_r_e_g_e_r_r_o_r() shall truncate the string and null-terminate the result.
If _e_r_r_b_u_f__s_i_z_e is zero, _r_e_g_e_r_r_o_r() shall ignore the _e_r_r_b_u_f argument, but
shall return the integer value described below.
If the _p_r_e_g argument to _r_e_g_e_x_e_c() or _r_e_g_f_r_e_e() is not a compiled regular
expression returned by _r_e_g_c_o_m_p(), the result is undefined. A _p_r_e_g shall
no longer be treated as a compiled regular expression after it is given
to _r_e_g_f_r_e_e().
B.5.3 Returns
On successful completion, the _r_e_g_c_o_m_p() function shall return zero. On
successful completion, the _r_e_g_e_x_e_c() function shall return zero to
indicate that _s_t_r_i_n_g matched _p_a_t_t_e_r_n, or REG_NOMATCH (which shall be
defined in <regex.h>) to indicate no match.
The _r_e_g_e_r_r_o_r() function shall return the size of the buffer needed to
hold the entire generated string, including the null termination. If the
return value is greater than _e_r_r_b_u_f__s_i_z_e, the string returned in the
buffer pointed to by _e_r_r_b_u_f has been truncated.
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
B.5 C Binding for Regular Expression Matching 929
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
Table B-10 - _rrrr_eeee_gggg_cccc_oooo_mmmm_pppp(), _rrrr_eeee_gggg_eeee_xxxx_eeee_cccc() Return Values
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Error Code Description
_________________________________________________________________________
REG_NOMATCH _r_e_g_e_x_e_c() failed to match
REG_BADPAT Invalid regular expression
REG_ECOLLATE Invalid collating element referenced
REG_ECTYPE Invalid character class type referenced
REG_EESCAPE Trailing \ in pattern
REG_ESUBREG Number in \_d_i_g_i_t invalid or in error
REG_EBRACK [ ] imbalance
REG_EPAREN \( \) or ( ) imbalance
REG_EBRACE \{ \} imbalance
REG_BADBR Content of \{ \} invalid: Not a number,
number too large, more than two numbers,
first larger than second
REG_ERANGE Invalid endpoint in range expression
REG_ESPACE Out of memory
REG_BADRPT ?, *, or + not preceded by valid regular
expression
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
B.5.4 Errors
If _r_e_g_c_o_m_p() or _r_e_g_e_x_e_c() fails, it shall return a nonzero value
indicating the type of failure. Table B-10 contains the names of macros
for error codes that may be returned. If a code is returned, the
interpretation shall be as given in the table. The implementation shall
define the macros in Table B-10 in <regex.h>, and may define additional
macros beginning with ``REG_'' for other error codes.
If _r_e_g_c_o_m_p() detects an illegal regular expression, it may return
REG_BADPAT, or it may return one of the error codes that more precisely
describes the error.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
B.5.5 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s_,__U_s_a_g_e
An example of using the functions is shown in Figure B-3
The following demonstrates how the REG_NOTBOL flag could be used with
_r_e_g_e_x_e_c() to find all substrings in a line that match a pattern supplied
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
930 B C Language Bindings Option
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
_________________________________________________________________________
#include <regex.h>
/*
* Match string against the extended regular expression in
* pattern, treating errors as no match.
* 1
* Return 1 for match, 0 for no match.
*/
int
match(const char *string, const char *pattern) 1
{
int status;
regex_t re;
if (regcomp(&re, pattern, REG_EXTENDED|REG_NOSUB) != 0) {
return(0); /* report error */
}
status = regexec(&re, string, (size_t) 0, NULL, 0);
regfree(&re);
if (status != 0) {
return(0); /* report error */
}
return status == 0; 1
}
_________________________________________________________________________
Figure B-3 - Example Regular Expression Matching
by a user. (For simplicity of the example, very little error checking is
done.)
(void) regcomp (&re, pattern, 0);
/* this call to regexec() finds the first match on the line */
error = regexec (&re, &buffer[0], 1, &pm, 0);
while (error == 0) { /* while matches found */
<_s_u_b_s_t_r_i_n_g _f_o_u_n_d _b_e_t_w_e_e_n _p_m._r_m__s_p _a_n_d _p_m._r_m__e_p>
/* This call to regexec() finds the next match */
error = regexec (&re, pm.rm_ep, 1, &pm, REG_NOTBOL);
}
An application could use regerror(code,preg,NULL,(size_t)0) to find out
how big a buffer is needed for the generated string, _m_a_l_l_o_c() a buffer to
hold the string, and then call _r_e_g_e_r_r_o_r() again to get the string.
Alternately, it could allocate a fixed, static buffer that is big enough
to hold most strings (perhaps 128 bytes), and then _m_a_l_l_o_c() a larger
buffer if it finds that this is too small.
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
B.5 C Binding for Regular Expression Matching 931
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
The _r_e_g_m_a_t_c_h() function must fill in all _n_m_a_t_c_h elements of _p_m_a_t_c_h, where 1
_n_m_a_t_c_h and _p_m_a_t_c_h are supplied by the application, even if some elements 1
of _p_m_a_t_c_h do not correspond to subexpressions in _p_a_t_t_e_r_n. The application 1
writer should note that there is probably no reason for using a value of 1
_n_m_a_t_c_h that is larger than _p_r_e_g->_r_e__n_s_u_b. 1
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
The REG_ICASE flag supports the operations taken by the grep -i option
and the historical implementations of ex and vi. Including this flag
will make it easier for application code to be written that does the same
thing as these utilities.
The substrings reported in _p_m_a_t_c_h[] are defined using offsets from the
start of the string rather than pointers. Since this is a new interface,
there should be no impact on historical implementations or applications,
and offsets should be just as easy to use as pointers. The change to
offsets was made to facilitate future extensions in which the string to
be searched is presented to _r_e_g_e_x_e_c() in blocks, allowing a string to be
searched that is not all in memory at once.
A new type _r_e_g_o_f_f__t is used for the elements of _p_m_a_t_c_h[] to ensure that 1
the application can represent either the largest possible array in memory 1
(important for a POSIX.2-conforming application) or the largest possible 1
file (important for an application using the extension where a file is 1
searched in chunks). 1
The working group has rejected, at least for now, the inclusion of a
_r_e_g_s_u_b() function that would be used to do substitutions for a matched
regular expression. While such a routine would be useful to some
applications, its utility would be much more limited than the matching
function described here. Both regular expression parsing and
substitution are possible to implement without support other than that
required by the C Standard {7}, but matching is much more complex than
substituting. The only ``difficult'' part of substitution, given the
information supplied by _r_e_g_e_x_e_c(), is finding the next character in a
string when there can be multibyte characters. That is a much wider
issue, and one that needs a more general solution.
The _e_r_r_n_o variable has not been used for error returns to avoid
cluttering up the _e_r_r_n_o namespace for this feature.
In Draft 9, the interface was modified so that the matched substrings
_r_m__s_p and _r_m__e_p are in a separate _r_e_g_m_a_t_c_h__t structure instead of in
_r_e_g_e_x__t. This allows a single compiled regular expression to be used
simultaneously in several contexts; in _m_a_i_n() and a signal handler,
perhaps, or in multiple threads of lightweight processes. (The _p_r_e_g
argument to _r_e_g_e_x_e_c() is declared with type const, so the implementation
is not permitted to use the structure to store intermediate results.) It
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
932 B C Language Bindings Option
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
also allows an application to request an arbitrary number of substrings
from a regular expression. (Previous versions reported only ten
substrings.) The number of subexpressions in the regular expression is
reported in _r_e__n_s_u_b in _p_r_e_g. With this change to _r_e_g_e_x_e_c(), consideration
was given to dropping the REG_NOSUB flag, since the user can now specify
this with a zero _n_m_a_t_c_h argument to _r_e_g_e_x_e_c(). However, keeping
REG_NOSUB allows an implementation to use a different (perhaps more
efficient) algorithm if it knows in _r_e_g_c_o_m_p() that no subexpressions need
be reported. The implementation is only required to fill in _p_m_a_t_c_h if
_n_m_a_t_c_h is not zero and if REG_NOSUB is not specified. Note that the
_s_i_z_e__t type, as defined in the C Standard {7}, is unsigned, so the
description of _r_e_g_e_x_e_c() does not need to address negative values of
_n_m_a_t_c_h.
The rules for reporting substrings of extended regular expressions are
consistent with those used by Henry Spencer's ``almost public domain''
version of _r_e_g_e_x_e_c().
The REG_NOTBOL and REG_NOTEOL flags were added to _r_e_g_e_x_e_c() in Draft 9.
REG_NOTBOL was added to allow an application to do repeated searches for
the same pattern in a line. If the pattern contains a circumflex
character that should match the beginning of a line, then the pattern
should only match when matched against the beginning of the line.
Without the REG_NOTBOL flag, the application could rewrite the expression
for subsequent matches, but in the general case this would require
parsing the expression. The need for REG_NOTEOL is not as clear; it was
added for symmetry.
The addition of the _r_e_g_e_r_r_o_r() function addresses the historical need for
portable application programs to have access to error information more
than ``Function failed to compile/match your regular expression for 1
unknown reasons.'' 1
This interface provides for two different methods of dealing with error
conditions. The specific error codes (REG_EBRACE, for example), defined
in <regex.h>, allow an application to recover from an error if it is so
able. Many applications, especially those that use patterns supplied by
a user, will not try to deal with specific error cases, but will just use
_r_e_g_e_r_r_o_r() to obtain a human-readable error message to present to the
user.
The _r_e_g_e_r_r_o_r() function uses a scheme similar to _c_o_n_f_s_t_r() to deal with
the problem of allocating memory to hold the generated string. The
scheme used by _s_t_r_e_r_r_o_r() in the C Standard {7} was considered
unacceptable since it creates difficulties for multithreaded
applications. (POSIX.4a, a standard for threads, started balloting in 1
January 1991.) A different scheme used by _r_e_g_e_r_r_o_r() in one draft of 1
this standard was eliminated to improve internal consistency, and because
the current interface produced greater consensus than the other.
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
B.5 C Binding for Regular Expression Matching 933
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
The _p_r_e_g argument is provided to _r_e_g_e_r_r_o_r() to allow an implementation to
generate a more descriptive message than would be possible with _e_r_r_c_o_d_e
alone. An implementation might, for example, save the character offset
of the offending character of the pattern in a field of _p_r_e_g, and then
include that in the generated message string. The implementation may
also ignore _p_r_e_g.
A REG_FILENAME flag was considered, but omitted. This flag caused
_r_e_g_e_x_e_c() to match patterns as described in 3.13 instead of regular
expressions. This service is now provided by the _f_n_m_a_t_c_h() function [see
B.6].
END_RATIONALE
B.6 C Binding for Match Filename or Pathname
Function: _f_n_m_a_t_c_h()
B.6.1 Synopsis
#include <fnmatch.h>
int fnmatch(const char *_p_a_t_t_e_r_n, const char *_s_t_r_i_n_g, int _f_l_a_g_s);
B.6.2 Description
The _f_n_m_a_t_c_h() function shall match patterns as described in 3.13.1 and
3.13.2. It checks the string specified by the _s_t_r_i_n_g argument to see if
it matches the pattern specified by the _p_a_t_t_e_r_n argument.
The _f_l_a_g_s argument modifies the interpretation of _p_a_t_t_e_r_n and _s_t_r_i_n_g. It
is the bitwise inclusive OR of zero or more of the flags shown in
Table B-11, which are defined in the header <fnmatch.h>. If the
FNM_PATHNAME flag is set in _f_l_a_g_s, then a slash character in _s_t_r_i_n_g shall
be explicitly matched by a slash in _p_a_t_t_e_r_n; it shall not be matched by
either the asterisk or question-mark special characters, nor by a bracket
expression. If the FNM_PATHNAME flag is not set, the slash character
shall be treated as an ordinary character.
If FNM_NOESCAPE is not set in _f_l_a_g_s, a backslash character (\) in _p_a_t_t_e_r_n 1
followed by any other character shall match that second character in
_s_t_r_i_n_g. In particular, '\\' shall match a backslash in _s_t_r_i_n_g. If 1
FNM_NOESCAPE is set, a backslash character shall be treated as an
ordinary character.
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
934 B C Language Bindings Option
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
Table B-11 - _ffff_nnnn_mmmm_aaaa_tttt_cccc_hhhh() _ffff_llll_aaaa_gggg_ssss Argument
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_f_l_a_g_s Description
_________________________________________________________________________
FNM_NOESCAPE Disable backslash escaping 1
FNM_PATHNAME Slash in _s_t_r_i_n_g only matches slash in
_p_a_t_t_e_r_n
FNM_PERIOD Leading period in _s_t_r_i_n_g must be exactly
matched by period in _p_a_t_t_e_r_n
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
If FNM_PERIOD is set in _f_l_a_g_s, then a leading period in _s_t_r_i_n_g shall
match a period in _p_a_t_t_e_r_n as described by rule (2) in 3.13.2, where the 1
location of ``leading'' is indicated by the value of FNM_PATHNAME: 1
- If FNM_PATHNAME is set, a period is ``leading'' if it is the first
character in _s_t_r_i_n_g or if it immediately follows a slash.
- If FNM_PATHNAME is not set, a period is ``leading'' only if it is
the first character of _s_t_r_i_n_g.
If FNM_PERIOD is not set, then no special restrictions shall be placed on
matching a period.
B.6.3 Returns
If _s_t_r_i_n_g matches the pattern specified by _p_a_t_t_e_r_n, then _f_n_m_a_t_c_h() shall
return zero. If there is no match, _f_n_m_a_t_c_h() shall return FNM_NOMATCH,
which shall be defined in the header <fnmatch.h>. If an error occurs,
_f_n_m_a_t_c_h() shall return another nonzero value.
B.6.4 Errors
This standard does not specify any error conditions that are required to
be detected by the _f_n_m_a_t_c_h() function. Some errors may be detected under
unspecified conditions.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
B.6 C Binding for Match Filename or Pathname 935
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
B.6.5 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s_,__U_s_a_g_e
The _f_n_m_a_t_c_h() function has two major uses. It could be used by an
application or utility that needs to read a directory and apply a pattern
against each entry. The find utility is an example of this. It can also
be used by the pax utility to process its _p_a_t_t_e_r_n operands, or by
applications that need to match strings in a similar manner.
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
This function replaces the REG_FILENAME flag of _r_e_g_c_o_m_p() in early
drafts. It provides virtually the same functionality as the _r_e_g_c_o_m_p()
and _r_e_g_e_x_e_c() functions using the REG_FILENAME and REG_FSLASH flags [the
REG_FSLASH flag was proposed for _r_e_g_c_o_m_p(), and would have had the
opposite effect from FMN_PATHNAME], but with a simpler interface and less
overhead.
The name _f_n_m_a_t_c_h() is intended to imply _f_i_l_e_n_a_m_e match, rather than
_p_a_t_h_n_a_m_e match. The default action of this function is to match
filenames, rather than pathnames, since it gives no special significance
to the slash character. With the FNM_PATHNAME flag, _f_n_m_a_t_c_h() does match
pathnames, but without tilde expansion, parameter expansion, or special
treatment for period at the beginning of a filename.
END_RATIONALE
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
936 B C Language Bindings Option
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
B.7 C Binding for Command Option Parsing
Function: _g_e_t_o_p_t()
B.7.1 Synopsis
#include <unistd.h>
int getopt(int _a_r_g_c, char * const _a_r_g_v[], const char *_o_p_t_s_t_r_i_n_g); 1
extern char *optarg;
extern int optind, opterr, optopt;
B.7.2 Description
The _g_e_t_o_p_t() function is a command-line parser that can be used by
applications that follow Utility Syntax Guidelines 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, and
10 in 2.10.2. The remaining guidelines are not addressed by _g_e_t_o_p_t() and
are the responsibility of the application.
The parameters _a_r_g_c and _a_r_g_v are the argument count and argument array as
passed to _m_a_i_n(). The argument _o_p_t_s_t_r_i_n_g is a string of recognized
option characters; if a character is followed by a colon, the option
takes an argument. All option characters allowed by Utility Syntax
Guideline 3 are allowed in _o_p_t_s_t_r_i_n_g. The implementation may accept other
characters as an extension.
The variable _o_p_t_i_n_d is the index of the next element of the _a_r_g_v[] vector
to be processed. It is initialized to 1 by the system, and _g_e_t_o_p_t()
updates it when it finishes with each element of _a_r_g_v[]. When an element
of _a_r_g_v[] contains multiple option characters, it is unspecified how
_g_e_t_o_p_t() determines which options have already been processed.
The _g_e_t_o_p_t() function shall return the next option character from _a_r_g_v
that matches a character in _o_p_t_s_t_r_i_n_g, if there is one that matches. If 1
the option takes an argument, _g_e_t_o_p_t() shall set the variable _o_p_t_a_r_g to
point to the option-argument as follows:
(1) If the option was the last character in the string pointed to by
an element of _a_r_g_v, then _o_p_t_a_r_g contains the next element of
_a_r_g_v, and _o_p_t_i_n_d shall be incremented by 2. If the resulting
value of _o_p_t_i_n_d is not less than _a_r_g_c, this indicates a missing
option argument, and _g_e_t_o_p_t() shall return an error indication.
(2) Otherwise, _o_p_t_a_r_g points to the string following the option
character in that element of _a_r_g_v, and _o_p_t_i_n_d shall be
incremented by 1.
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
B.7 C Binding for Command Option Parsing 937
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
If, when _g_e_t_o_p_t() is called, _a_r_g_v[_o_p_t_i_n_d] is NULL, *_a_r_g_v[_o_p_t_i_n_d] is not
the character -, or _a_r_g_v[_o_p_t_i_n_d] points to the string "-", _g_e_t_o_p_t() shall
return -1 without changing _o_p_t_i_n_d. If _a_r_g_v[_o_p_t_i_n_d] points to the string
"--", _g_e_t_o_p_t() shall return -1 after incrementing _o_p_t_i_n_d.
If _g_e_t_o_p_t() encounters an option character that is not contained in
_o_p_t_s_t_r_i_n_g, it shall return the question-mark (?) character. If it
detects a missing option argument, it shall return the colon character
(:) if the first character of _o_p_t_s_t_r_i_n_g was a colon, or a question-mark
character otherwise. In either case, _g_e_t_o_p_t() shall set the variable
_o_p_t_o_p_t to the option character that caused the error. If the application
has not set the variable _o_p_t_e_r_r to zero and the first character of
_o_p_t_s_t_r_i_n_g is not a colon, _g_e_t_o_p_t() shall also print a diagnostic message
to standard error using the formatting rules specified for the getopts 1
utility (see 4.27.6.2). 1
B.7.3 Returns
The _g_e_t_o_p_t() function shall return the next option character specified on
the command line. The value -1 shall be returned when all command line
options have been parsed.
B.7.4 Errors
If an invalid option is encountered, _g_e_t_o_p_t() shall return a question-
mark character. If an option with a missing option argument is
encountered, _g_e_t_o_p_t() shall return either a question-mark or a colon, as
described previously.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
B.7.5 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s_,__U_s_a_g_e
The _g_e_t_o_p_t() function is only required to support option characters
included in Guideline 3. Many historical implementations of _g_e_t_o_p_t()
support other characters as options. This is an allowed extension, but
applications that use extensions are not maximally portable. Note that
support for multibyte option characters is only possible when such
characters can be represented as type _i_n_t.
The code fragment in Figure B-4 shows how one might process the arguments
for a utility that can take the mutually exclusive options a and b and
the options f and o, both of which require arguments.
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
938 B C Language Bindings Option
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
_________________________________________________________________________
#include <unistd.h>
int main (int argc, char *argv[ ]) 1
{ 1
int c, bflg, aflg, errflg = 0; 1
char *ifile, *ofile; 1
extern char *optarg;
extern int optind, optopt;
. . .
while ((c = getopt(argc, argv, ":abf:o:")) != -1) {
switch (c) {
case 'a':
if (bflg)
errflg = 1; 1
else
aflg = 1; 1
break;
case 'b':
if (aflg)
errflg = 1; 1
else
bflg = 1; 1
bproc( );
break;
case 'f':
ifile = optarg;
break;
case 'o':
ofile = optarg;
break;
case ':': /* -f or -o without option-arg */ 1
fprintf (stderr, 1
"Option -%c requires an option-argument\n",1
optopt); 1
errflg = 1; 1
break;
case '?':
fprintf (stderr,
"Unrecognized option: -%c\n", optopt);
errflg = 1; 1
break;
}
}
if (errflg) {
fprintf(stderr, "usage: . . . ");
exit(2);
}
for ( ; optind < argc; optind++) {
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
B.7 C Binding for Command Option Parsing 939
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
if (access(argv[optind], R_OK)) {
. . .
}
_________________________________________________________________________
Figure B-4 - Argument Processing with _gggg_eeee_tttt_oooo_pppp_tttt()
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
940 B C Language Bindings Option
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
The code in Figure B-4 accepts any of the following as equivalent:
cmd -ao arg path path
cmd -a -o arg path path
cmd -o arg -a path path
cmd -a -o arg -- path path
cmd -a -oarg path path
cmd -aoarg path path
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
Support for the _o_p_t_o_p_t variable was added in Draft 9. This documents
historical practice, and allows the application to obtain the identity of
the invalid option.
The description was extensively rewritten in Draft 9 to be more explicit
about how _o_p_t_a_r_g and _o_p_t_i_n_d are set, and to recognize that this routine
deals with a vector of string pointers, not directly with a shell command
line.
The description was modified in Draft 9 to make it clear that _g_e_t_o_p_t(),
like the getopts utility, shall deal with option-arguments whether
separated from the option by <blank>_s or not. Note that the requirements
on _g_e_t_o_p_t() and getopts are more stringent than the Utility Syntax
Guidelines.
The _g_e_t_o_p_t() function has been changed to return -1, rather than EOF, so
that <_s_t_d_i_o._h> is not required.
The special significance of a colon as the first character of _o_p_t_s_t_r_i_n_g 1
was added in Draft 11 to make _g_e_t_o_p_t() consistent with the getopts 1
utility. It allows an application to make a distinction between a 1
missing argument and an incorrect option letter without having to examine 1
the option letter. It is true that a missing argument can only be 1
detected in one case, but that is a case that has to be considered. 1
END_RATIONALE 1
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
B.7 C Binding for Command Option Parsing 941
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
B.8 C Binding for Generate Pathnames Matching a Pattern
Functions: _g_l_o_b(), _g_l_o_b_f_r_e_e()
B.8.1 Synopsis
#include <glob.h>
int glob(const char *_p_a_t_t_e_r_n, int _f_l_a_g_s,
int (*_e_r_r_f_u_n_c)(const char *_e_p_a_t_h, int _e_e_r_r_n_o), glob_t *_p_g_l_o_b);
void globfree(glob_t *_p_g_l_o_b);
B.8.2 Description
The _g_l_o_b() function is a pathname generator that implements the rules
defined in 3.13, with optional support for rule (3) in 3.13.3.
The header <glob.h> defines the structure type _g_l_o_b__t, which includes at
least the members shown in Table B-12.
Table B-12 - Structure Type _gggg_llll_oooo_bbbb______tttt
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Member Member
Type Name Description
_________________________________________________________________________
_s_i_z_e__t _g_l__p_a_t_h_c Count of paths matched by _p_a_t_t_e_r_n. 11
_c_h_a_r ** _g_l__p_a_t_h_v Pointer to a list of matched pathnames.
_s_i_z_e__t _g_l__o_f_f_s Slots to reserve at the beginning of 11
_g_l__p_a_t_h_v. 1
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The argument _p_a_t_t_e_r_n is a pointer to a pathname pattern to be expanded.
The _g_l_o_b() function shall match all accessible pathnames against this
pattern and develop a list of all pathnames that match. In order to have
access to a pathname, _g_l_o_b() requires search permission on every
component of a path except the last and read permission on each directory
of any filename component of _p_a_t_t_e_r_n that contains any of the special
characters *, ? or [. The _g_l_o_b() function stores the number of matched
pathnames into _p_g_l_o_b->_g_l__p_a_t_h_c and a pointer to a list of pointers to
pathnames into _p_g_l_o_b->_g_l__p_a_t_h_v. The pathnames are in sort order as
defined by 2.2.2.30. The first pointer after the last pathname shall be
NULL. If the pattern does not match any pathnames, the returned number
of matched paths is set to zero.
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
942 B C Language Bindings Option
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
It is the caller's responsibility to create the structure pointed to by
_p_g_l_o_b. The _g_l_o_b() function shall allocate other space as needed,
including the memory pointed to by _g_l__p_a_t_h_v. The _g_l_o_b_f_r_e_e() function
shall free any space associated with _p_g_l_o_b from a previous call to
_g_l_o_b().
The argument _f_l_a_g_s is used to control the behavior of _g_l_o_b(). The value
of _f_l_a_g_s is the bitwise inclusive OR of any of the constants shown in
Table B-13, which are defined in <glob.h>.
Table B-13 - _gggg_llll_oooo_bbbb() _ffff_llll_aaaa_gggg_ssss Argument
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Name Description
_________________________________________________________________________
GLOB_APPEND Append pathnames generated to the ones from
a previous call to _g_l_o_b().
GLOB_DOOFFS Make use of _p_g_l_o_b->_g_l__o_f_f_s. If this flag is
set, _p_g_l_o_b->_g_l__o_f_f_s is used to specify how
many NULL pointers to add to the beginning
of _p_g_l_o_b->_g_l__p_a_t_h_v. In other words,
_p_g_l_o_b->_g_l__p_a_t_h_v shall point to
_p_g_l_o_b->_g_l__o_f_f_s NULL pointers, followed by
_p_g_l_o_b->_g_l__p_a_t_h_c pathname pointers, followed
by a NULL pointer.
GLOB_ERR Causes _g_l_o_b() to return when it encounters
a directory that it cannot open or read.
Ordinarily, _g_l_o_b() continues to find
matches.
GLOB_MARK Each pathname that is a directory that
matches _p_a_t_t_e_r_n has a slash appended.
GLOB_NOCHECK Support rule (3) in 3.13.3. If _p_a_t_t_e_r_n
does not match any pathname, then _g_l_o_b()
shall return a list consisting of only
_p_a_t_t_e_r_n, and the number of matched
pathnames is 1.
GLOB_NOESCAPE Disable backslash escaping. 1
GLOB_NOSORT Ordinarily, _g_l_o_b() sorts the matching
pathnames according to the definition of
_c_o_l_l_a_t_i_o_n _s_e_q_u_e_n_c_e in 2.2.2.30. When this
flag is used the order of pathnames
returned is unspecified.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The GLOB_APPEND flag can be used to append a new set of words to those
generated by a previous call to _g_l_o_b(). The following rules apply when 1
two or more calls to _g_l_o_b() are made with the same value of _p_g_l_o_b and 1
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
B.8 C Binding for Generate Pathnames Matching a Pattern 943
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
without intervening calls to _g_l_o_b_f_r_e_e(): 1
(1) The first such call shall not set GLOB_APPEND. All subsequent 1
calls shall set it. 1
(2) All of the calls shall set GLOB_DOOFFS, or all shall not set it. 1
(3) After the second call, _p_g_l_o_b->_g_l__p_a_t_h_v shall point to a list
containing the following:
(a) Zero or more NULLs, as specified by GLOB_DOOFFS and
_p_g_l_o_b->_g_l__o_f_f_s.
(b) Pointers to the pathnames that were in the _p_g_l_o_b->_g_l__p_a_t_h_v
list before the call, in the same order as before.
(c) Pointers to the new pathnames generated by the second
call, in the specified order.
(4) The count returned in _p_g_l_o_b->_g_l__p_a_t_h_c shall be the total number
of pathnames from the two calls.
The application can change any of the fields in Table B-12 after a call 1
to _g_l_o_b(), but if it does it shall reset them to the original value 1
before a subsequent call, using the same _p_g_l_o_b value, to _g_l_o_b_f_r_e_e() or 1
_g_l_o_b() with the GLOB_APPEND flag. 1
If, during the search, a directory is encountered that cannot be opened
or read and _e_r_r_f_u_n_c is not NULL, _g_l_o_b() shall call (*_e_r_r_f_u_n_c)() with two
arguments:
(1) The _e_p_a_t_h argument is a pointer to the path that failed.
(2) The _e_e_r_r_n_o argument is the value of _e_r_r_n_o from the failure, as
set by the POSIX.1 {8} _o_p_e_n_d_i_r(), _r_e_a_d_d_i_r(), or _s_t_a_t()
functions. (Other values may be used to report other errors not
explicitly documented for those functions.)
If (*_e_r_r_f_u_n_c)() is called and returns nonzero, or if the GLOB_ERR flag is
set in _f_l_a_g_s, _g_l_o_b() shall stop the scan and return GLOB_ABORTED after
setting _g_l__p_a_t_h_c and _g_l__p_a_t_h_v in _p_g_l_o_b to reflect the paths already
scanned. If GLOB_ERR is not set and either _e_r_r_f_u_n_c is NULL or
(*_e_r_r_f_u_n_c)() returns zero, the error shall be ignored.
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
944 B C Language Bindings Option
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
B.8.3 Returns
On successful completion, _g_l_o_b() shall return zero. The argument
_p_g_l_o_b->_g_l__p_a_t_h_c shall return the number of matched pathnames and the
argument _p_g_l_o_b->_g_l__p_a_t_h_v shall contain a pointer to a null-terminated
list of matched and sorted pathnames. However, if _p_g_l_o_b->_g_l__p_a_t_h_c is
zero, the content of _p_g_l_o_b->_g_l__p_a_t_h_v is undefined.
Table B-14 - _gggg_llll_oooo_bbbb() Error Return Values
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Name Description
_________________________________________________________________________
GLOB_ABORTED The scan was stopped because GLOB_ERR was
set or (*_e_r_r_f_u_n_c)() returned nonzero.
GLOB_NOMATCH The _p_a_t_t_e_r_n does not match any exiting 11
pathname, and GLOB_NOCHECK was not set in 1
_f_l_a_g_s. 1
GLOB_NOSPACE An attempt to allocate memory failed.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
B.8.4 Errors
If _g_l_o_b() terminates due to an error, it shall return one of the nonzero
constants shown in Table B-14, which are defined in <glob.h>. The
arguments _p_g_l_o_b->_g_l__p_a_t_h_c and _p_g_l_o_b->_g_l__p_a_t_h_v are still set as defined
above in Returns.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
B.8.5 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s_,__U_s_a_g_e
This function is not provided for the purpose of enabling utilities to
perform pathname expansion on their arguments, as this operation is
performed by the shell, and utilities are explicitly not expected to redo
this. Instead, it is provided for applications that need to do pathname
expansion on strings obtained from other sources, such as a pattern typed
by a user or read from a file.
If a utility needs to see if a pathname matches a given pattern, it can
use _f_n_m_a_t_c_h().
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
B.8 C Binding for Generate Pathnames Matching a Pattern 945
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
Note that _g_l__p_a_t_h_c and _g_l__p_a_t_h_v have meaning even if _g_l_o_b() fails. This
allows _g_l_o_b() to report partial results in the event of an error.
However, if _g_l__p_a_t_h_c is zero, _g_l__p_a_t_h_v is unspecified even if _g_l_o_b() did
not return an error.
The GLOB_NOCHECK option could be used when an application wants to expand
a pathname if wildcards are specified, but wants to treat the pattern as
just a string otherwise. The sh utility might use this for option-
arguments, for example.
One use of the GLOB_DOOFFS flag is by applications that build an argument
list for use with the POSIX.1 {8} _e_x_e_c_v(), _e_x_e_c_v_e(), or _e_x_e_c_v_p()
functions. Suppose, for example, that an application wants to do the
equivalent of ls -l *.c, but for some reason system("ls -l *.c") is not
acceptable. The application could obtain (_a_p_p_r_o_x_i_m_a_t_e_l_y) the same result
using the sequence:
globbuf.gl_offs = 2;
glob ("*.c", GLOB_DOOFFS, NULL, &globbuf);
globbuf.gl_pathv[0] = "ls";
globbuf.gl_pathv[1] = "-l";
execvp ("ls", &globbuf.gl_pathv[0]);
Using the same example, ls -l *.c *.h could be approximately simulated
using GLOB_APPEND as follows:
globbuf.gl_offs = 2;
glob ("*.c", GLOB_DOOFFS, NULL, &globbuf);
glob ("*.h", GLOB_DOOFFS|GLOB_APPEND, NULL, &globbuf);
... etc. ...
The new pathnames generated by a subsequent call with GLOB_APPEND are not
sorted together with the previous pathnames. This mirrors the way that
the shell handles pathname expansion when multiple expansions are done on
a command line.
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
The interface was simplified to a useful, but less complex, subset. The
_e_r_r_f_u_n_c argument was added to allow errors to be reported.
A reviewer claimed that the GLOB_DOOFFS flag is unnecessary because it
could be simulated using:
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
946 B C Language Bindings Option
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
new = (char **)malloc((n + pglob->gl_pathc + 1)
* sizeof (char *));
(void) memcpy (new+n, pglob->gl_pathv,
pglob->gl_pathc * sizeof(char *));
(void) memset (new, 0, n * sizeof (char *));
free (pglob->gl_pathv);
pglob->gl_pathv = new;
However, this assumes that the memory pointed to by _g_l__p_a_t_h_v is a block
that was separately created using _m_a_l_l_o_c(). This is not necessarily the
case. An application should make no assumptions about how the memory
referenced by fields in _p_g_l_o_b was allocated. It might have been obtained
from _m_a_l_l_o_c() in a large chunk, and then carved up within _g_l_o_b(), or it
might have been created using a different memory allocator. It is not
the intent of this standard to specify or imply how the memory used by
_g_l_o_b() is managed.
The structure elements _g_l__p_a_t_h_c and _g_l__p_a_t_h_v were renamed from _g_l__a_r_g_c
and _g_l__a_r_g_v in Draft 9. The old names implied an association with the
parameters to _m_a_i_n() that does not necessarily exist.
The GLOB_APPEND flag was added in Draft 9 at the request of a reviewer.
This flag would be used when an application wants to expand several
different patterns into a single list.
Tilde and parameter expansion were removed from _g_l_o_b() in Draft 9.
Applications that need these expansions should use the _w_o_r_d_e_x_p() function
[see B.9].
END_RATIONALE
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
B.8 C Binding for Generate Pathnames Matching a Pattern 947
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
B.9 C Binding for Perform Word Expansions
Functions: _w_o_r_d_e_x_p(), _w_o_r_d_f_r_e_e()
B.9.1 Synopsis
#include <wordexp.h>
int wordexp(const char *_w_o_r_d_s, wordexp_t *_p_w_o_r_d_e_x_p, int _f_l_a_g_s);
void wordfree(wordexp_t *_p_w_o_r_d_e_x_p);
B.9.2 Description
The _w_o_r_d_e_x_p() function shall perform word expansions as described in 3.6,
subject to quoting as in 3.2, and place the list of expanded words into
_p_w_o_r_d_e_x_p. The expansions shall be the same as would be performed by the
shell if _w_o_r_d_s were the part of a command line representing the arguments
to a utility. Therefore, _w_o_r_d_s shall not contain an unquoted <newline>
or any of the unquoted shell special characters |, &, ;, <, or >, except
in the context of command substitution as specified in 3.6.3. It also
shall not contain unquoted parentheses or braces, except in the context
of command or variable substitution. If _w_o_r_d_s contains an unquoted
comment character (number sign) that is the beginning of a token,
_w_o_r_d_e_x_p() may treat the comment character as a regular character, or may
interpret it as a comment indicator and ignore the remainder of _w_o_r_d_s.
The header <wordexp.h> defines the structure type _w_o_r_d_e_x_p__t, which
includes at least the members shown in Table B-15.
Table B-15 - Structure Type _wwww_oooo_rrrr_dddd_eeee_xxxx_pppp______tttt
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Member Member
Type Name Description
_________________________________________________________________________
_s_i_z_e__t _w_e__w_o_r_d_c Count of words matched by _w_o_r_d_s. 11
_c_h_a_r ** _w_e__w_o_r_d_v Pointer to list of expanded words.
_s_i_z_e__t _w_e__o_f_f_s Slots to reserve at the beginning of 11
_w_e__w_o_r_d_v. 1
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The argument _w_o_r_d_s is a pointer to a string containing one or more words
to be expanded. The _w_o_r_d_e_x_p() function shall store the number of
generated words into _w_e__w_o_r_d_c and a pointer to a list of pointers to
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
948 B C Language Bindings Option
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
words in _w_e__w_o_r_d_v. Each individual field created during field splitting
(see 3.6.5) or pathname expansion (see 3.6.6) is a separate word in the
_w_e__w_o_r_d_v list. The words are in order as described in 3.6. The first
pointer after the last word pointer shall be NULL. The expansion of
special parameters described in 3.5.2 is unspecified.
It is the caller's responsibility to create the structure pointed to by
_p_w_o_r_d_e_x_p. The _w_o_r_d_e_x_p() function allocates other space as needed,
including memory pointed to by _w_e__w_o_r_d_v. The _w_o_r_d_f_r_e_e() function shall
free any memory associated with _p_w_o_r_d_e_x_p from a previous call to
_w_o_r_d_e_x_p().
The argument _f_l_a_g_s is used to control the behavior of _w_o_r_d_e_x_p(). The
value of _f_l_a_g_s is the bitwise inclusive OR of any of the constants in
Table B-16, which are defined in <wordexp.h>.
Table B-16 - _wwww_oooo_rrrr_dddd_eeee_xxxx_pppp() _ffff_llll_aaaa_gggg_ssss Argument
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Name Description
_________________________________________________________________________
WRDE_APPEND Append words generated to the ones from a
previous call to _w_o_r_d_e_x_p().
WRDE_DOOFFS Make use of _w_e__o_f_f_s. If this flag is set,
_w_e__o_f_f_s is used to specify how many NULL
pointers to add to the beginning of
_w_e__w_o_r_d_v. In other words, _w_e__w_o_r_d_v shall
point to _w_e__o_f_f_s NULL pointers, followed by
_w_e__w_o_r_d_c word pointers, followed by a NULL
pointer.
WRDE_NOCMD Fail if command substitution, as specified
in 3.6.3, is requested.
WRDE_REUSE The _p_w_o_r_d_e_x_p argument was passed to a
previous successful call to _w_o_r_d_e_x_p(), and
has not been passed to _w_o_r_d_f_r_e_e(). The
result shall be the same as if the
application had called _w_o_r_d_f_r_e_e() and then
called _w_o_r_d_e_x_p() without WRDE_REUSE.
WRDE_SHOWERR Do not redirect standard error to
/dev/null.
WRDE_UNDEF Report error on an attempt to expand an
undefined shell variable.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The WRDE_APPEND flag can be used to append a new set of words to those
generated by a previous call to _w_o_r_d_e_x_p(). The following rules apply
when two or more calls to _w_o_r_d_e_x_p() are made with the same value of
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
B.9 C Binding for Perform Word Expansions 949
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
_p_w_o_r_d_e_x_p and without intervening calls to _w_o_r_d_f_r_e_e():
(1) The first such call shall not set WRDE_APPEND. All subsequent
calls shall set it.
(2) All of the calls shall set WRDE_DOOFFS, or all shall not set it.
(3) After the second and each subsequent call, _w_e__w_o_r_d_v shall point
to a list containing the following:
(a) Zero or more NULLs, as specified by WRDE_DOOFFS and
_w_e__o_f_f_s.
(b) Pointers to the words that were in the _w_e__w_o_r_d_v list
before the call, in the same order as before.
(c) Pointers to the new words generated by the latest call, in
the specified order.
(4) The count returned in _w_e__w_o_r_d_c shall be the total number of
words from all of the calls.
The application can change any of the fields in Table B-15 after a call 1
to _w_o_r_d_e_x_p(), but if it does it shall reset them to the original value 1
before a subsequent call, using the same _p_w_o_r_d_e_x_p value, to _w_o_r_d_f_r_e_e() or 1
_w_o_r_d_e_x_p() with the WRDE_APPEND or WRDE_REUSE flag. 1
If _w_o_r_d_s contains an unquoted <newline>, |, &, ;, <, >, parenthesis, or
brace in an inappropriate context, _w_o_r_d_e_x_p() shall fail, and the number
of expanded words shall be zero.
Unless WRDE_SHOWERR is set in _f_l_a_g_s, _w_o_r_d_e_x_p() shall redirect standard
error to /dev/null for any utilities executed as a result of command
substitution while expanding _w_o_r_d_s. If WRDE_SHOWERR is set, _w_o_r_d_e_x_p() may
write messages to standard error if syntax errors are detected while
expanding _w_o_r_d_s.
If WRDE_DOOFFS is set, then _w_e__o_f_f_s shall have the same value for each 1
_w_o_r_d_e_x_p() call and the _w_o_r_d_f_r_e_e() call using a given _p_g_l_o_b. 1
B.9.3 Returns
If no errors are encountered while expanding _w_o_r_d_s, _w_o_r_d_e_x_p() shall
return zero. Otherwise it shall return a nonzero value.
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
950 B C Language Bindings Option
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
B.9.4 Errors
Table B-17 - _wwww_oooo_rrrr_dddd_eeee_xxxx_pppp() Return Values
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Name Description
_________________________________________________________________________
WRDE_BADCHAR One of the unquoted characters |, &, ;, <,
>, parentheses, or braces appears in _w_o_r_d_s
in an inappropriate context.
WRDE_BADVAL Reference to undefined shell variable when
WRDE_UNDEF is set in _f_l_a_g_s.
WRDE_CMDSUB Command substitution requested when
WRDE_NOCMD was set in flags.
WRDE_NOSPACE Attempt to allocate memory failed
WRDE_SYNTAX Shell syntax error, such as unbalanced
parentheses or unterminated string.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
If _w_o_r_d_e_x_p() terminates due to an error, it shall return one of the
nonzero constants shown in Table B-17, which shall be defined in
<wordexp.h>. The implementation may define additional error returns
beginning with WRDE_.
If _w_o_r_d_e_x_p() returns the error value WRDE_NOSPACE, then
_p_w_o_r_d_e_x_p->_w_e__w_o_r_d_c and _p_w_o_r_d_e_x_p->_w_e__w_o_r_d_v shall be updated to reflect any
words that were successfully expanded. In other cases, they shall not be
modified.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
B.9.5 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s_,__U_s_a_g_e
This function is intended to be used by an application that wants to do
all of the shell's expansions on a word or words obtained from a user.
For example, if the application prompts for a file name (or list of file
names) and then used _w_o_r_d_e_x_p() to process the input, the user could
respond with anything that would be valid as input to the shell.
The WRDE_NOCMD flag is provided for applications that, for security or
other reasons, want to prevent a user from executing shell commands.
Disallowing unquoted shell special characters also prevents unwanted side
effects such as executing a command or writing a file.
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
B.9 C Binding for Perform Word Expansions 951
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
This function was added in Draft 9 as an alternative to _g_l_o_b(). There
has been continuing controversy over exactly what features should be
included in _g_l_o_b(). It is hoped that providing _w_o_r_d_e_x_p() (which provides
all of the shell's word expansions, but will probably be slow to
execute), and _g_l_o_b() (which is faster but does only expansion of
pathnames, without tilde or parameter expansion), will satisfy the
majority of reviewers.
While _w_o_r_d_e_x_p() could be implemented entirely as a library routine, it is 1
expected that most implementations will run a shell in a subprocess to do
the expansion.
Two different approaches have been proposed for how the required
information might be presented to the shell and the results returned.
They are presented here as examples.
One proposal is to extend the echo utility by adding a -q option. This
option would cause echo to add a backslash before each backslash and each
<blank> that occurs within an argument. The _w_o_r_d_e_x_p() function could
then invoke the shell as follows:
(void) strcpy (buffer, "echo -q ");
(void) strcat (buffer, _w_o_r_d_s);
if ((flags & WRDE_SHOWERR) == 0)
(void) strcat (buffer, " 2>/dev/null");
f = popen (buffer, "r");
The _w_o_r_d_e_x_p() function would read the resulting output, remove unquoted
backslashes, and break into words at unquoted <blank>_s. If the
WRDE_NOCMD flag was set, _w_o_r_d_e_x_p() would have to scan _w_o_r_d_s before
starting the subshell to make sure that there would be no command
substitution. In any case, it would have to scan _w_o_r_d_s for unquoted
special characters.
Another proposal is to add the following options to sh:
-w _w_o_r_d_l_i_s_t This option provides a wordlist expansion service to
applications. The words in _w_o_r_d_l_i_s_t are expanded, and the
following is written to standard output:
(1) The count of the number of words after expansion, in
decimal, followed by a null byte.
(2) The number of bytes needed to represent the expanded
words (not including null separators), in decimal,
followed by a null byte.
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
952 B C Language Bindings Option
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
(3) The expanded words, each terminated by a null byte.
If an error is encountered during word expansion, sh exits
with a nonzero status after writing the above to report
any words successfully expanded
-P Run in ``protected'' mode. If specified with the -w
option, no command substitution is performed.
With these options, _w_o_r_d_e_x_p() could be implemented fairly simply by
creating a subprocess using _f_o_r_k(), and executing sh using the line:
execl(<_s_h_e_l_l _p_a_t_h>, "_s_h", "-_P", "-_w", _w_o_r_d_s, (_c_h_a_r *)_0);
after directing standard error to /dev/null.
It seemed objectionable for a library routine to write messages to
standard error, unless explicitly requested, so _w_o_r_d_e_x_p() is required to
redirect standard error to /dev/null to ensure that no messages are
generated, even for commands executed for command substitution. The new
WRDE_SHOWERR flag can be specified to request that error messages be
written.
The WRDE_REUSE flag allows the implementation to avoid the expense of
freeing and reallocating memory, if that is possible. A minimal
implementation can just call _w_o_r_d_f_r_e_e() when WRDE_REUSE is set.
END_RATIONALE
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
B.9 C Binding for Perform Word Expansions 953
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
B.10 C Binding for Get POSIX Configurable Variables
B.10.1 C Binding for Get String-Valued Configurable Variables
Function: _c_o_n_f_s_t_r()
B.10.1.1 Synopsis
#include <unistd.h>
size_t confstr(int _n_a_m_e, char *_b_u_f, size_t _l_e_n);
B.10.1.2 Description
The _c_o_n_f_s_t_r() function provides a method for applications to get
configuration-defined string values. Its use and purpose are similar to
the _s_y_s_c_o_n_f() function defined in POSIX.1 {8}, but it is used where
string values rather than numeric values are returned.
The _n_a_m_e argument represents the system variable to be queried. The
implementation shall support all of the _n_a_m_e values shown in Table B-18,
which are defined in <unistd.h>. It may support others.
Table B-18 - confstr() _nnnn_aaaa_mmmm_eeee Values
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_nnnn_aaaa_mmmm_eeee Value String returned by confstr()
_________________________________________________________________________
_CS_PATH A value for the PATH environment variable
that finds all standard utilities.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
If _l_e_n is not zero, and if _n_a_m_e has a configuration-defined value,
_c_o_n_f_s_t_r() shall copy that value into the _l_e_n-byte buffer pointed to by
_b_u_f. If the string to be returned is longer than _l_e_n bytes, including the
terminating null, then _c_o_n_f_s_t_r() shall truncate the string to _l_e_n-1 bytes
and null-terminate the result. The application can detect that the
string was truncated by comparing the value returned by _c_o_n_f_s_t_r() with
_l_e_n.
If _l_e_n is zero and _b_u_f is NULL, then _c_o_n_f_s_t_r() still shall return the
integer value as defined below, but shall not return a string. If _l_e_n is
zero but _b_u_f is not NULL, the result is unspecified.
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
954 B C Language Bindings Option
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
B.10.1.3 Returns
If _n_a_m_e does not have a configuration-defined value, _c_o_n_f_s_t_r() shall
return zero and leave _e_r_r_n_o unchanged.
If _n_a_m_e has a configuration-defined value, the _c_o_n_f_s_t_r() function shall
return the size of buffer that would be needed to hold the entire
configuration-defined value. If this return value is greater than _l_e_n,
the string returned in _b_u_f has been truncated.
B.10.1.4 Errors
If any of the following conditions occur, _c_o_n_f_s_t_r() shall return zero and
set _e_r_r_n_o to the corresponding value:
[EINVAL] The value of the _n_a_m_e argument is invalid.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
B.10.1.5 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s_,__U_s_a_g_e
An application can distinguish between an invalid _n_a_m_e parameter value
and one that corresponds to a configurable variable that has no
configuration-defined value by checking if _e_r_r_n_o has been modified. This
mirrors the behavior of _s_y_s_c_o_n_f() in POSIX.1 {8}.
The original need for this function was to provide a way of finding the
configuration-defined default value for the environment variable PATH.
Since PATH can be modified by the user to include directories that could
contain utilities replacing POSIX.2 standard utilities, applications need
a way to determine the system-supplied PATH environment variable value
that contains the correct search path for the POSIX.2 standard utilities.
An application could use confstr(name,NULL,(size_t) 0) to find out how
big a buffer is needed for the string value, _m_a_l_l_o_c() a buffer to hold
the string, and call _c_o_n_f_s_t_r() again to get the string. Alternately, it
could allocate a fixed, static buffer that is big enough to hold most
answers (512 bytes, maybe, or 1024), but then _m_a_l_l_o_c() a larger buffer if
it finds that this is too small.
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
In Draft 7, these values and _s_y_s_c_o_n_f() values defined in POSIX.1 {8} were
obtained using a function named _p_o_s_i_x_c_o_n_f(). However, that routine was
dropped in favor of _c_s_y_s_c_o_n_f(). There did not seem to be any reason to
provide the redundant interface to POSIX.1 {8} functions, nor to return
values as strings when numeric values are really what are needed.
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
B.10 C Binding for Get POSIX Configurable Variables 955
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
_c_s_y_s_c_o_n_f() could be extended to return strings for other related
standards or features.
In Draft 9, _c_s_y_s_c_o_n_f() has been replaced by _c_o_n_f_s_t_r(). The name was
changed because too many people were confused by the name; they thought
that the `c' referred to the C language, rather than characters (as
distinct from integers). The _c_o_n_f_s_t_r() function also copies the returned
string into a buffer supplied by the application instead of returning a
pointer to a string. This allows a cleaner interface in some
implementations (lightweight processes were mentioned), and resolves
questions about when the application must copy the string returned.
END_RATIONALE
B.10.2 C Binding for Get Numeric-Valued Configurable Variables
Functions: _s_y_s_c_o_n_f(), _p_a_t_h_c_o_n_f(), _f_p_a_t_h_c_o_n_f()
A system that supports the C Language Bindings Option shall support the C
language bindings defined in POSIX.1 {8} for the _s_y_s_c_o_n_f(), _p_a_t_h_c_o_n_f(),
and _f_p_a_t_h_c_o_n_f() functions. Of the _n_a_m_e values defined in POSIX.1 {8},
only those that correspond to numeric-valued configuration values listed
in Table 7-1, are required by POSIX.2. In addition, the _s_y_s_c_o_n_f()
function shall support the _n_a_m_e values in Table B-19, defined in
<unistd.h>, to provide values for values in 2.13.1.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
B.10.3 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
In Draft 9, the _n_a_m_e values corresponding to the _POSIX2_* symbolic
limits were changed to more closely follow the convention used in
POSIX.1 {8}. In POSIX.1 {8}, for example, the _n_a_m_e value for
{_POSIX_VERSION} is _SC_VERSION. The POSIX.2 _n_a_m_e value for
{_POSIX2_C_DEV} (actually, it was {_POSIX_C_DEV} in Draft 8) was
_SC_POSIX_C_DEV, and is now _SC_2_C_DEV.
If sysconf(_SC_2_VERSION) is not equal to the value of the
{_POSIX2_VERSION} symbolic constant (see B.2.2), the utilities available
via _s_y_s_t_e_m() or _p_o_p_e_n() might not behave as described in this standard.
This would mean that the application is not running in an environment
that conforms to POSIX.2. Some applications might be able to deal with
this, others might not. However, the interfaces defined in Annex B shall
continue to operate as specified, even if sysconf(_SC_2_VERSION) reports
that the utilities no longer perform as specified.
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
956 B C Language Bindings Option
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
Table B-19 - C Bindings for Numeric-Valued Configurable Variables
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Symbolic Limit _n_a_m_e Value
_________________________________________
{BC_BASE_MAX} _SC_BC_BASE_MAX
{BC_DIM_MAX} _SC_BC_DIM_MAX
{BC_SCALE_MAX} _SC_BC_SCALE_MAX
{BC_STRING_MAX} _SC_BC_STRING_MAX
{COLL_WEIGHTS_MAX} _SC_COLL_WEIGHTS_MAX
{EXPR_NEST_MAX} _SC_EXPR_NEST_MAX
{LINE_MAX} _SC_LINE_MAX
{RE_DUP_MAX} _SC_RE_DUP_MAX
{POSIX2_VERSION} _SC_2_VERSION
{POSIX2_C_DEV} _SC_2_C_DEV
{POSIX2_FORT_DEV} _SC_2_FORT_DEV
{POSIX2_FORT_RUN} _SC_2_FORT_RUN
{POSIX2_LOCALEDEF} _SC_2_LOCALEDEF
{POSIX2_SW_DEV} _SC_2_SW_DEV
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
END_RATIONALE
B.11 C Binding for Locale Control
The C binding to the services described in 7.9 shall be the _s_e_t_l_o_c_a_l_e()
function defined in POSIX.1 {8} 8.1.2. In addition to the category
values defined in POSIX.1 {8}, _s_e_t_l_o_c_a_l_e() shall also accept the value
LC_MESSAGES, which shall be defined in <locale.h>.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
B.11.1 C Binding for Locale Control Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a
_p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
The order in which the various locale categories are processed by
_s_e_t_l_o_c_a_l_e() is not specified by POSIX.1 {8}, so the place for LC_MESSAGES
in that order is also unspecified.
END_RATIONALE
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
B.11 C Binding for Locale Control 957
P1003.2/D11.2
Annex C
(normative)
FORTRAN Development and Runtime Utilities Options
This annex describes utilities used for the development of FORTRAN
language applications, including compilation or translation of FORTRAN
source code, and the execution of certain FORTRAN applications at
runtime.
The utilities described in this annex may be provided by the conforming
system; however, any system claiming conformance to the FORTRAN
Development Utilities Option shall provide the fort77 utility and any
system claiming conformance to the FORTRAN Runtime Utilities Option shall
provide the asa utility.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
C.0.1 FORTRAN Development and Runtime Utilities Options Rationale. (_T_h_i_s
_s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
This clause is included in this standard as a temporary measure to
accommodate existing FORTRAN developers. It is the intention of the
POSIX.2 working group that this annex be moved from this standard to the
emerging standard being developed by the POSIX.9 working group, which
will specify FORTRAN-specific interfaces to the basic services provided
by this standard and POSIX.1. The movement of this annex should occur in
a later version of this standard.
See the rationale for asa for a description of the FORTRAN Runtime
Utilities Option and why it was split off from the FORTRAN Development
Utilities Option.
END_RATIONALE
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
Annex C FORTRAN Development and Runtime Utilities Options 959
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
C.1 asa - Interpret carriage-control characters
This utility is optional. It shall be provided on systems that support
the FORTRAN Runtime Utilities Option.
C.1.1 Synopsis
asa [_f_i_l_e ...]
C.1.2 Description
The asa utility shall write its input files to standard output, mapping
carriage-control characters from the text files to line-printer control
sequences in an implementation-defined manner.
The first character of every line shall be removed from the input, and
the following actions shall be performed:
If the character removed is:
<space> The rest of the line shall be output without change.
0 A <newline> shall be output, then the rest of the input
line.
1 One or more implementation-defined characters that causes
an advance to the next page shall be output, followed by
the rest of the input line.
+ The <newline> of the previous line shall be replaced with
one or more implementation-defined characters that causes
printing to return to column position 1, followed by the
rest of the input line. If the + is the first character
in the input, it shall have the same effect as <space>.
The action of the asa utility is unspecified upon encountering any
character other than those listed above as the first character in a line.
C.1.3 Options
None.
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
960 C FORTRAN Development and Runtime Utilities Options
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
C.1.4 Operands
_f_i_l_e A pathname of a text file used for input. If no _f_i_l_e
operands are specified, the standard input shall be used.
C.1.5 External Influences
C.1.5.1 Standard Input
The standard input shall be used only if no _f_i_l_e operands are specified.
See Input Files.
C.1.5.2 Input Files
The input files shall be text files.
C.1.5.3 Environment Variables
The following environment variables shall affect the execution of asa:
LANG This variable shall determine the locale to use for
the locale categories when both LC_ALL and the
corresponding environment variable (beginning with
LC_) do not specify a locale. See 2.6.
LC_ALL This variable shall determine the locale to be used
to override any values for locale categories
specified by the settings of LANG or any
environment variables beginning with LC_.
LC_CTYPE This variable shall determine the locale for the
interpretation of sequences of bytes of text data
as characters (e.g., single- versus multibyte
characters in arguments and input files).
LC_MESSAGES This variable shall determine the language in which
messages should be written.
C.1.5.4 Asynchronous Events
Default.
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
C.1 asa - Interpret carriage-control characters 961
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
C.1.6 External Effects
C.1.6.1 Standard Output
The standard output shall be the text from the input file modified as
described in C.1.2.
C.1.6.2 Standard Error
None.
C.1.6.3 Output Files
None.
C.1.7 Extended Description
None.
C.1.8 Exit Status
The asa utility shall exit with one of the following values:
0 All input files were output successfully.
>0 An error occurred.
C.1.9 Consequences of Errors
Default.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
C.1.10 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s_,__U_s_a_g_e
The asa utility is needed to map ``standard'' FORTRAN 77 output into a
form acceptable to contemporary printers. Usually asa is used to pipe
data to the lp utility (see lp in 4.38.)
The following command:
asa file
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
962 C FORTRAN Development and Runtime Utilities Options
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
permits the viewing of file (created by a program using FORTRAN-style
carriage control characters) on a terminal.
The following command:
a.out | asa | lp
formats the FORTRAN output of a.out and directs it to the printer.
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
This utility is generally used only by FORTRAN programs. It was moved to
this annex in response to multiple ballot objections requesting its
removal. The working group decided to retain asa to avoid breaking the
existing large base of FORTRAN applications that put carriage control
characters in their output files. This is a compromise position to
achieve balloting acceptance: the overhead of maintaining a separate
option in POSIX.2 for just this one utility is seen to be small in
comparison to the benefit achieved for FORTRAN applications. Since it is
a separate option, there is no requirement that a system have a FORTRAN
compiler in order to run applications that need asa.
Historical implementations have used an ASCII <form-feed> character in
response to a '1', and an ASCII <carriage-return> in response to a '+'.
It is suggested that implementations treat characters other than '0',
'1', and '+' as <space> in the absence of any compelling reason to do
otherwise. However, the action is listed here as ``unspecified,''
permitting an implementation to provide extensions to access fast
multiple line slewing and channel seeking in a nonportable manner.
END_RATIONALE
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
C.1 asa - Interpret carriage-control characters 963
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
C.2 fort77 - FORTRAN compiler
This utility is optional. It shall be provided on systems that support
the FORTRAN Development Utilities Option.
C.2.1 Synopsis
fort77 [-c] [-g] [-L _d_i_r_e_c_t_o_r_y] ... [-O _o_p_t_l_e_v_e_l] [-o _o_u_t_f_i_l_e] [-s]
[-w] _o_p_e_r_a_n_d ...
C.2.2 Description
The fort77 utility is the interface to the FORTRAN compilation system; it
shall accept the full FORTRAN language defined by ISO 1539 {2}. The
system conceptually consists of a compiler and link editor. The files
referenced by _o_p_e_r_a_n_ds are compiled and linked to produce an executable
file. (It is unspecified whether the linking occurs entirely within the
operation of fort77; some systems may produce objects that are not fully
resolved until the file is executed.)
If the -c option is present, for all pathname operands of the form
_f_i_l_e.f, the files
$(basename _p_a_t_h_n_a_m_e ._f)._o
shall be created or overwritten as the result of successful compilation.
If the -c option is not specified, it is unspecified whether such .o
files are created or deleted for the _f_i_l_e.f operands.
If there are no options that prevent link editing (such as -c) and all
operands compile and link without error, the resulting executable file
shall be written into the file named by the -o option (if present) or to
the file a.out. The executable file shall be created as specified in
2.9.1.4, except that the file permissions shall be set to
S_IRWXO | S_IRWXG | S_IRWXU
(see POSIX.1 {8} 5.6.1.2) and that the bits specified by the _u_m_a_s_k of the
process shall be cleared.
C.2.3 Options
The fort77 utility shall conform to the utility argument syntax
guidelines described in 2.10.2, except that:
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
964 C FORTRAN Development and Runtime Utilities Options
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
- The -l _l_i_b_r_a_r_y operands have the format of options, but their
position within a list of operands affects the order in which
libraries are searched.
- The order of specifying the multiple -L options is significant.
- Conforming applications shall specify each option separately; that
is, grouping option letters (e.g., -cg) need not be recognized by
all implementations.
The following options shall be supported by the implementation:
-c Suppress the link-edit phase of the compilation, and do
not remove any object files that are produced.
-g Produce symbolic information in the object or executable
files; the nature of this information is unspecified, and
may be modified by implementation-defined interactions
with other options.
-s Produce object and/or executable files from which symbolic
and other information not required for proper execution
using the POSIX.1 {8} _e_x_e_c family has been removed
(stripped). If both -g and -s options are present, the
action taken is unspecified.
-o _o_u_t_f_i_l_e Use the pathname _o_u_t_f_i_l_e, instead of the default a.out,
for the executable file produced. If the -o option is
present with -c, the result is unspecified.
-L _d_i_r_e_c_t_o_r_y
Change the algorithm of searching for the libraries named
in -l operands to look in the directory named by the
_d_i_r_e_c_t_o_r_y pathname before looking in the usual places.
Directories named in -L options shall be searched in the
specified order. Implementations shall support at least
ten instances of this option in a single fort77 command
invocation. If a directory specified by a -L option
contains a file named libf.a, the results are unspecified.
-O _o_p_t_l_e_v_e_l Specify the level of code optimization. If the _o_p_t_l_e_v_e_l
option-argument is the digit 0, all special code
optimizations shall be disabled. If it is the digit 1,
the nature of the optimization is unspecified. If the -O
option is omitted, the nature of the system's default
optimization is unspecified. It is unspecified whether
code generated in the presence of the -O 0 option is the
same as that generated when -O is omitted. Other _o_p_t_l_e_v_e_l
values may be supported.
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
C.2 fort77 - FORTRAN compiler 965
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
-w Suppress warnings.
Multiple instances of -L options can be specified.
C.2.4 Operands
An _o_p_e_r_a_n_d is either in the form of a pathname or the form -l _l_i_b_r_a_r_y.
At least one operand of the pathname form shall be specified. The
following operands shall be supported by the implementation:
_f_i_l_e._f The pathname of a FORTRAN source file to be compiled and
optionally passed to the link editor. The file name
operand shall be of this form if the -c option is used.
_f_i_l_e._a A library of object files typically produced by ar (see
6.1), and passed directly to the link editor.
Implementations may recognize implementation-defined
suffixes other than .a as denoting object file libraries.
_f_i_l_e._o An object file produced by fort77 -c, and passed directly
to the link editor. Implementations may recognize
implementation-defined suffixes other than .o as denoting
object files.
The processing of other files is implementation defined.
-l _l_i_b_r_a_r_y (The letter ell.) Search the library named:
lib_l_i_b_r_a_r_y._a
A library is searched when its name is encountered, so the
placement of a -l operand is significant. Several
standard libraries can be specified in this manner, as
described in C.2.7. Implementations may recognize
implementation-defined suffixes other than .a as denoting
libraries.
C.2.5 External Influences
C.2.5.1 Standard Input
None.
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
966 C FORTRAN Development and Runtime Utilities Options
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
C.2.5.2 Input Files
The input file shall be one of the following: a text file containing
FORTRAN source code; an object file in the format produced by fort77 -c;
or a library of object files, in the format produced by archiving zero or
more object files, using ar. Implementations may supply additional
utilities that produce files in these formats. Additional input files
are implementation defined.
A <tab> character encountered within the first six characters on a line
of source code shall cause the compiler to interpret the following
character as if it were the seventh character on the line (i.e., in
column 7).
C.2.5.3 Environment Variables
The following environment variables shall affect the execution of fort77:
LANG This variable shall determine the locale to use for
the locale categories when both LC_ALL and the
corresponding environment variable (beginning with
LC_) do not specify a locale. See 2.6.
LC_ALL This variable shall determine the locale to be used
to override any values for locale categories
specified by the settings of LANG or any
environment variables beginning with LC_.
LC_CTYPE This variable shall determine the locale for the
interpretation of sequences of bytes of text data
as characters (e.g., single- versus multibyte
characters in arguments and input files).
LC_MESSAGES This variable shall determine the language in which
messages should be written.
TMPDIR This variable shall be interpreted as a pathname
that should override the default directory for
temporary files, if any.
C.2.5.4 Asynchronous Events
Default.
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
C.2 fort77 - FORTRAN compiler 967
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
C.2.6 External Effects
C.2.6.1 Standard Output
None.
C.2.6.2 Standard Error
Used only for diagnostic messages. If more than one file operand ending
in .f (or possibly other unspecified suffixes) is given, for each such
file:
"%s:\n", <_f_i_l_e>
may be written to allow identification of the diagnostic message with the
appropriate input file.
This utility may produce warning messages about certain conditions that
do not warrant returning an error (nonzero) exit value.
C.2.6.3 Output Files
Object files, listing files, and/or executable files shall be produced in
unspecified formats.
C.2.7 Extended Description
C.2.7.1 Standard Libraries
The fort77 utility shall recognize the following -l operand for the
standard library:
-l f This library contains all library functions referenced in
ISO 1539 {2}. An implementation shall not require this
operand to be present to cause a search of this library.
In the absence of options that inhibit invocation of the link editor,
such as -c, the fort77 utility shall cause the equivalent of a -l f
operand to be passed to the link editor as the last -l operand, causing
it to be searched after all other object files and libraries are loaded.
It is unspecified whether the library libf.a exists as a regular file.
The implementation may accept as -l operands names of objects that do not
exist as regular files.
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
968 C FORTRAN Development and Runtime Utilities Options
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
C.2.7.2 External Symbols
The FORTRAN compiler and link editor shall support the significance of 1
external symbols up to a length of at least 31 bytes. The compiler may 1
fold case (i.e., may ignore uppercase/lowercase distinctions between 1
identifiers). The action taken upon encountering symbols exceeding the 1
implementation-defined maximum symbol length is unspecified.
The compiler and link editor shall support a minimum of 511 external
symbols per source or object file, and a minimum of 4095 external symbols
total. A diagnostic message is written to standard output if the
implementation-defined limit is exceeded; other actions are unspecified.
C.2.8 Exit Status
The fort77 utility shall exit with one of the following values:
0 Successful compilation or link edit.
>0 An error occurred.
C.2.9 Consequences of Errors
When fort77 encounters a compilation error, it shall write a diagnostic
to standard error and continue to compile other source code operands. It
shall return a nonzero exit status, but it is implementation defined
whether an object module is created. If the link edit is unsuccessful, a
diagnostic message shall be written to standard error, and fort77 shall
exit with a nonzero status.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
C.2.10 Rationale. (_T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _n_o_t _a _p_a_r_t _o_f _P_1_0_0_3._2)
_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s_,__U_s_a_g_e
The following are examples of usage:
fort77 -o foo xyz.f Compiles xyz.f and creates the executable
foo.
fort77 -c xyz.f Compiles xyz.f and creates the object file
xyz.o.
fort77 xyz.f Compiles xyz.f and creates the executable
a.out.
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
C.2 fort77 - FORTRAN compiler 969
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
fort77 xyz.f b.o Compiles xyz.f, links it with b.o, and
creates the executable a.out.
_H_i_s_t_o_r_y__o_f__D_e_c_i_s_i_o_n_s__M_a_d_e
The file inclusion and symbol definition (#define) mechanisms used by the
c89 utility were not included in POSIX.2--even though they are commonly
implemented--since there is no requirement that the FORTRAN compiler use
the C preprocessor.
The -onetrip option was not included in this specification, even though
many historical compilers support it, because it is a relic from
FORTRAN-66; it is an anachronism that should not be perpetuated.
Some implementations produce compilation listings. This aspect of
FORTRAN has been left unspecified because there was opposition within the
balloting group to the various methods proposed for implementing it: a
-V option overlapped with historical vendor practice and a naming
convention of creating files with .l suffixes collided with historical
lex file naming practice.
There is no -I option in this version of POSIX.2 to specify a directory
for file inclusion. An INCLUDE directive has been a part of the
FORTRAN-8X discussions, but it is not clear whether it will be retained.
It is noted that many FORTRAN compilers produce an object module even
when compilation errors occur; during a subsequent compilation, the
compiler may patch the object module rather than recompiling all the
code. Consequently, it is left to the implementor whether or not an
object file is created.
The name of this utility was changed to fort77 in Draft 9 to parallel the
renaming of the C compiler. The name f77 was not chosen to avoid
collision with historical implementations.
A reference to MIL-STD-1753 was removed from an earlier draft in response
to a request from the POSIX.9 working group. It was not the intention of
this document to require certification of the FORTRAN compiler and the
forthcoming POSIX.9 standard does not specify the military standard or
any special preprocessing requirements. Furthermore, use of that
document would have been inappropriate for an international standard.
The specification of optimization has been subject to changes through
early drafts. At one time, -O and -N were Booleans: optimize and do not
optimize (with an unspecified default). Some historical practice lead
this to be changed to:
-O 0 No optimization.
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
970 C FORTRAN Development and Runtime Utilities Options
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
-O 1 Some level of optimization.
-O _n Other, unspecified levels of optimization.
It is not always clear whether ``good code generation'' is the same thing
as optimization. Simple optimizations of local actions do not usually
affect the semantics of a program. The -O 0 option has been included to
accommodate the very fussy nature of scientific calculations in a highly
optimized environment; compilers make errors. Some degree of
optimization is expected, even if it is not documented here, and the
ability to shut it off completely could be important when porting an
application. An implementation may treat -O 0 as ``do less than normal''
if it wishes, but this is only meaningful if any of the operations it
performs can affect the semantics of a program. It is highly dependent
on the implementation whether doing less than normal makes sense. It is
not the intent of this to ask for sloppy code generation, but rather to
assure that any semantically visible optimization is suppressed.
The specification of standard library access is consistent with the C
compiler specification. Implementations are not required to have
/usr/lib/libf.a, as many historical implementations do, but if not they
are required to recognize 'f' as a token.
External symbol size limits are in a normative subclause; portable
applications need to know these limits. However, the minimum maximum
symbol length should be taken as a constraint on a portable application,
not on an implementation, and consequently the action taken for a symbol
exceeding the limit is unspecified. The minimum size for the external
symbol table was added for similar reasons.
The Consequences of Errors subclause clearly specifies the compiler's
behavior when compilation or link-edit error occur. The behavior of
several historical implementations was examined, and the choice was made
to be silent on the status of the executable, or a.out, file in the face
of compiler or linker errors. If a linker writes the executable file,
then links it on disk with _l_s_e_e_k()s and _w_r_i_t_e()s, the partially-linked
executable can be left on disk and its execute bits turned off if the
link edit fails. However, if the linker links the image in memory before
writing the file to disk, it need not touch the executable file (if it
already exists) because the link edit fails. Since both approaches are
existing practice, a portable application shall rely on the exit status
of fort77, rather than on the existence or mode of the executable file.
The -g and -s options are not specified as mutually exclusive.
Historically these two options have been mutually exclusive, but because
both are so loosely specified, it seemed cleaner to leave their
interaction unspecified.
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
C.2 fort77 - FORTRAN compiler 971
P1003.2/D11.2
The requirement that portable applications specify compiler options
separately is to reserve the multicharacter option namespace for vendor-
specific compiler options, which are known to exist in many historical
implementations. Implementations are not required to recognize, for
example, -gc as if it were -g -c; nor are they forbidden from doing so.
The synopsis shows all of the options separately to highlight this
requirement on applications.
Echoing filenames to standard error is considered a diagnostic message,
because it would otherwise difficult to associate an error message with
the erring file. They are describing with ``may'' to allow
implementations to use other methods of identifying files and to parallel
the description in c89.
END_RATIONALE
Copyright (c) 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
972 C FORTRAN Development and Runtime Utilities Options
P1003.2/D11.2
Annex D
(informative)
Bibliography
BEGIN_RATIONALE
BEGIN_RATIONALE
{B1} ISO 639: 1988, _C_o_d_e _f_o_r _t_h_e _r_e_p_r_e_s_e_n_t_a_t_i_o_n _o_f _n_a_m_e_s _o_f _l_a_n_g_u_a_g_e_s.1)
{B2} ISO 2022: 1986, _I_n_f_o_r_m_a_t_i_o_n _p_r_o_c_e_s_s_i_n_g--_I_S_O _7-_b_i_t _a_n_d _8-_b_i_t _c_o_d_e_d
_c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r _s_e_t_s--_C_o_d_e _e_x_t_e_n_s_i_o_n _t_e_c_h_n_i_q_u_e_s.
{B3} ISO 2047: 1975, _I_n_f_o_r_m_a_t_i_o_n _p_r_o_c_e_s_s_i_n_g--_G_r_a_p_h_i_c_a_l _r_e_p_r_e_s_e_n_t_a_t_i_o_n_s
_f_o_r _t_h_e _c_o_n_t_r_o_l _c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r_s _o_f _t_h_e _7-_b_i_t _c_o_d_e_d _c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r _s_e_t.
{B4} ISO 3166: 1988, _C_o_d_e _f_o_r _t_h_e _r_e_p_r_e_s_e_n_t_a_t_i_o_n _o_f _n_a_m_e_s _o_f _c_o_u_n_t_r_i_e_s.
{B5} ISO 6429: 1988, _I_n_f_o_r_m_a_t_i_o_n _p_r_o_c_e_s_s_i_n_g--_C_o_n_t_r_o_l _f_u_n_c_t_i_o_n_s _f_o_r _7-_b_i_t
_a_n_d _8-_b_i_t _c_o_d_e_d _c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r _s_e_t_s.
{B6} ISO 6937-2: 1983, _I_n_f_o_r_m_a_t_i_o_n _p_r_o_c_e_s_s_i_n_g--_C_o_d_e_d _c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r _s_e_t_s _f_o_r
_t_e_x_t _c_o_m_m_u_n_i_c_a_t_i_o_n--_P_a_r_t _2: _L_a_t_i_n _a_l_p_h_a_b_e_t_i_c _a_n_d _n_o_n-_a_l_p_h_a_b_e_t_i_c
_g_r_a_p_h_i_c _c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r_s.
{B7} ISO 8802-3: 1989, _I_n_f_o_r_m_a_t_i_o_n _p_r_o_c_e_s_s_i_n_g _s_y_s_t_e_m_s--_L_o_c_a_l _a_r_e_a
_n_e_t_w_o_r_k_s--_P_a_r_t _3: _C_a_r_r_i_e_r _s_e_n_s_e _m_u_l_t_i_p_l_e _a_c_c_e_s_s _w_i_t_h _c_o_l_l_i_s_i_o_n
_d_e_t_e_c_t_i_o_n (_C_S_M_A/_C_D) _a_c_c_e_s_s _m_e_t_h_o_d _a_n_d _p_h_y_s_i_c_a_l _l_a_y_e_r _s_p_e_c_i_f_i_c_a_t_i_o_n.
{B8} ISO 8806: 1988, _D_a_t_a _e_l_e_m_e_n_t_s _a_n_d _i_n_t_e_r_c_h_a_n_g_e _f_o_r_m_a_t_s--_I_n_f_o_r_m_a_t_i_o_n
_i_n_t_e_r_c_h_a_n_g_e --_R_e_p_r_e_s_e_n_t_a_t_i_o_n _o_f _d_a_t_e_s _a_n_d _t_i_m_e_s.
{B9} ISO 8859, _I_n_f_o_r_m_a_t_i_o_n _p_r_o_c_e_s_s_i_n_g--_8-_b_i_t _s_i_n_g_l_e-_b_y_t_e _c_o_d_e_d _g_r_a_p_h_i_c
_c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r _s_e_t_s. (Parts 1 to 8 published.)
__________
1) ISO documents can be obtained from the ISO office, 1, rue de Varembe',
Case Postale 56, CH-1211, Gene`ve 20, Switzerland/Suisse.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
Annex D Bibliography 973
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
{B10} ISO/IEC 10367: ...,2) _I_n_f_o_r_m_a_t_i_o_n _p_r_o_c_e_s_s_i_n_g--_R_e_p_e_r_t_o_i_r_e _o_f
_s_t_a_n_d_a_r_d_i_z_e_d _c_o_d_e_d _g_r_a_p_h_i_c _c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r _s_e_t_s _f_o_r _u_s_e _i_n _8-_b_i_t _c_o_d_e_s.
{B11} ISO/IEC 10646: ...,3) _I_n_f_o_r_m_a_t_i_o_n _t_e_c_h_n_o_l_o_g_y--_U_n_i_v_e_r_s_a_l _C_o_d_e_d
_C_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r _S_e_t (_U_C_S).
{B12} International Organization for Standardization/Association
Franc,aise de Normalisation. _D_i_c_t_i_o_n_a_r_y _o_f _C_o_m_p_u_t_e_r
_S_c_i_e_n_c_e/_D_i_c_t_i_o_n_n_a_i_r_e _d_e _L'_I_n_f_o_r_m_a_t_i_q_u_e. Geneva/Paris: ISO/AFNOR,
1989.
{B13} ANSI X3.43-1986,4) _R_e_p_r_e_s_e_n_t_a_t_i_o_n_s _f_o_r _L_o_c_a_l _T_i_m_e_s _o_f _t_h_e _D_a_y _f_o_r
_I_n_f_o_r_m_a_t_i_o_n _I_n_t_e_r_c_h_a_n_g_e.
{B14} GB 2312-1980, Chinese Association for Standardization. _C_o_d_e_d
_C_h_i_n_e_s_e _G_r_a_p_h_i_c _C_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r _S_e_t _f_o_r _I_n_f_o_r_m_a_t_i_o_n _I_n_t_e_r_c_h_a_n_g_e.
{B15} JIS X0208-1990, Japanese National Committee on ISO/IEC JTC1/SC2.
_J_a_p_a_n_e_s_e _G_r_a_p_h_i_c _C_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r _S_e_t _f_o_r _I_n_f_o_r_m_a_t_i_o_n _I_n_t_e_r_c_h_a_n_g_e.
{B16} JIS X0212-1990, Japanese National Committee on ISO/IEC JTC1/SC2.
_S_u_p_p_l_e_m_e_n_t_a_r_y _J_a_p_a_n_e_s_e _G_r_a_p_h_i_c _C_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r _S_e_t _f_o_r _I_n_f_o_r_m_a_t_i_o_n
_I_n_t_e_r_c_h_a_n_g_e.
{B17} KS C 5601-1987, Korean Bureau of Standards. _K_o_r_e_a_n _G_r_a_p_h_i_c
_C_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r _S_e_t _f_o_r _I_n_f_o_r_m_a_t_i_o_n _I_n_t_e_r_c_h_a_n_g_e.
{B18} IEEE Std 100-1988, _I_E_E_E _S_t_a_n_d_a_r_d _D_i_c_t_i_o_n_a_r_y _o_f _E_l_e_c_t_r_i_c_a_l _a_n_d
_E_l_e_c_t_r_o_n_i_c_s _T_e_r_m_s.
{B19} IEEE P1003.3,5) _S_t_a_n_d_a_r_d _f_o_r _I_n_f_o_r_m_a_t_i_o_n _T_e_c_h_n_o_l_o_g_y--_T_e_s_t _M_e_t_h_o_d_s
_f_o_r _M_e_a_s_u_r_i_n_g _C_o_n_f_o_r_m_a_n_c_e _t_o _P_O_S_I_X
{B20} IEEE P1003.3.2,6) _S_t_a_n_d_a_r_d _f_o_r _I_n_f_o_r_m_a_t_i_o_n _T_e_c_h_n_o_l_o_g_y--_T_e_s_t _M_e_t_h_o_d_s
_f_o_r _M_e_a_s_u_r_i_n_g _C_o_n_f_o_r_m_a_n_c_e _t_o _P_O_S_I_X._2
{B21} Aho, Alfred V., Kernighan, Brian W., Weinberger, Peter J., _T_h_e _A_W_K
_P_r_o_g_r_a_m_m_i_n_g _L_a_n_g_u_a_g_e, Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, 1988.
__________
2) To be approved and published.
3) To be approved and published.
4) ANSI documents can be obtained from the Sales Department, American
National Standards Institute, 1430 Broadway, New York, NY 10018.
5) To be approved and published.
6) To be approved and published.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
974 D Bibliography
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
{B22} Aho, Alfred V., Sethi, Ravi, Ullman, Jeffrey D., _C_o_m_p_i_l_e_r_s,
_P_r_i_n_c_i_p_l_e_s, _T_e_c_h_n_i_q_u_e_s, _a_n_d _T_o_o_l_s, Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley,
1986.
{B23} Aho, Alfred V., Ullman, Jeffrey D., _P_r_i_n_c_i_p_l_e_s _o_f _C_o_m_p_i_l_e_r _D_e_s_i_g_n,
Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, 1977.
{B24} American Telephone and Telegraph Company. _S_y_s_t_e_m _V _I_n_t_e_r_f_a_c_e
_D_e_f_i_n_i_t_i_o_n (_S_V_I_D), _I_s_s_u_e_s _2 _a_n_d _3. Morristown, NJ: UNIX Press,
1986, 1989.7)
{B25} Bolsky, Morris I., Korn, David G., _T_h_e _K_o_r_n_S_h_e_l_l _C_o_m_m_a_n_d _a_n_d
_P_r_o_g_r_a_m_m_i_n_g _L_a_n_g_u_a_g_e, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1988.
{B26} DeRemer, Frank, and Thomas J. Pennello, ``Efficient Computation of
LALR(1) Look-ahead Sets.'' _S_i_g_P_l_a_n _N_o_t_i_c_e_s 15:8, 176-187, August,
1979.
{B27} Knuth, D. E. ``On the translation of languages from left to
right.'' _I_n_f_o_r_m_a_t_i_o_n _a_n_d _C_o_n_t_r_o_l 8:6, 607-639.
{B28} University of California at Berkeley--Computer Science Research
Group. _4._3 _B_e_r_k_e_l_e_y _S_o_f_t_w_a_r_e _D_i_s_t_r_i_b_u_t_i_o_n, _V_i_r_t_u_a_l _V_A_X-_1_1 _V_e_r_s_i_o_n.
Berkeley, CA: The Regents of the University of California, April
1986.
{B29} /usr/group Standards Committee. _1_9_8_4 /_u_s_r/_g_r_o_u_p _S_t_a_n_d_a_r_d. Santa
Clara, CA: UniForum, 1984.
{B30} X/Open Company, Ltd. _X/_O_p_e_n _P_o_r_t_a_b_i_l_i_t_y _G_u_i_d_e, _I_s_s_u_e _2.
Amsterdam: Elsevier Science Publishers, 1987.
{B31} X/Open Company, Ltd. _X/_O_p_e_n _P_o_r_t_a_b_i_l_i_t_y _G_u_i_d_e, _I_s_s_u_e _3. Englewood
Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1989.
END_RATIONALE
END_RATIONALE
__________
7) This is one of several documents that represent an industry
specification in an area related to POSIX.2. The creators of such
documents may be able to identify newer versions that may be
interesting.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
Annex D Bibliography 975
P1003.2/D11.2
Annex E
(informative)
Rationale and Notes
BEGIN_RATIONALE
This annex summarizes the deliberations of the IEEE P1003.2 Working
Group, the committee charged by the IEEE Computer Society's Technical
Committee on Operating Systems and Operational Environments with devising
an interface standard for a shell and related utilities to support and
extend POSIX.1.
The annex is being published along with the standard to assist in the
process of review. It contains historical information concerning the
contents of the standard and why features were included or discarded by
the Working Group. It also contains notes of interest to application
programmers on recommended programming practices, emphasizing the
consequences of some aspects of the standard that may not be immediately
apparent.
Just as this standard relies on the knowledge of architecture, history,
and definitions from the POSIX.1, so does this annex. The reader is
referred to the Rationale and Notes appendix of POSIX.1 for background
material and bibliographic information about UNIX systems in general and
POSIX specifically, which will not be duplicated here.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
E.1 General
_E_d_i_t_o_r'_s _N_o_t_e: _T_h_e _t_e_x_t _o_f _t_h_e _R_a_t_i_o_n_a_l_e _f_o_r _t_h_i_s _s_e_c_t_i_o_n _h_a_s _b_e_e_n
_t_e_m_p_o_r_a_r_i_l_y _l_o_c_a_t_e_d _i_n _S_e_c_t_i_o_n _1, _a_d_j_a_c_e_n_t _t_o _t_h_e _t_e_x_t _i_t _i_s _e_x_p_l_a_i_n_i_n_g.
_T_h_e _t_e_x_t _w_i_l_l _r_e_t_u_r_n _t_o _t_h_i_s _a_n_n_e_x _a_f_t_e_r _t_h_e _c_o_m_p_l_e_t_i_o_n _o_f _b_a_l_l_o_t_i_n_g.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
E.1 General 977
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
E.1.1 Scope
E.1.2 Normative References
E.1.3 Conformance
BEGIN_RATIONALE
E.2 Terminology and General Requirements
_E_d_i_t_o_r'_s _N_o_t_e: _T_h_e _t_e_x_t _o_f _t_h_e _R_a_t_i_o_n_a_l_e _f_o_r _t_h_i_s _s_e_c_t_i_o_n _h_a_s _b_e_e_n
_t_e_m_p_o_r_a_r_i_l_y _l_o_c_a_t_e_d _i_n _S_e_c_t_i_o_n _2, _a_d_j_a_c_e_n_t _t_o _t_h_e _t_e_x_t _i_t _i_s _e_x_p_l_a_i_n_i_n_g.
_T_h_e _t_e_x_t _w_i_l_l _r_e_t_u_r_n _t_o _t_h_i_s _a_n_n_e_x _a_f_t_e_r _t_h_e _c_o_m_p_l_e_t_i_o_n _o_f _b_a_l_l_o_t_i_n_g.
E.2.1 Conventions
E.2.2 Definitions
E.2.3 Built-in Utilities
E.2.4 Character Set
E.2.5 Locale
E.2.6 Environment Variables
E.2.7 Required Files
E.2.8 Regular Expression Notation
E.2.9 Dependencies on Other Standards
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
978 E Rationale and Notes
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
E.2.10 Utility Conventions
E.2.11 Utility Description Defaults
E.2.12 File Format Notation
E.2.13 Configuration Values
BEGIN_RATIONALE
E.3 Shell Command Language
_E_d_i_t_o_r'_s _N_o_t_e: _T_h_e _t_e_x_t _o_f _t_h_e _R_a_t_i_o_n_a_l_e _f_o_r _t_h_i_s _s_e_c_t_i_o_n _h_a_s _b_e_e_n
_t_e_m_p_o_r_a_r_i_l_y _l_o_c_a_t_e_d _i_n _S_e_c_t_i_o_n _3, _a_d_j_a_c_e_n_t _t_o _t_h_e _t_e_x_t _i_t _i_s _e_x_p_l_a_i_n_i_n_g.
_T_h_e _t_e_x_t _w_i_l_l _r_e_t_u_r_n _t_o _t_h_i_s _a_n_n_e_x _a_f_t_e_r _t_h_e _c_o_m_p_l_e_t_i_o_n _o_f _b_a_l_l_o_t_i_n_g.
E.3.1 Shell Definitions
E.3.2 Quoting
E.3.3 Token Recognition
E.3.4 Reserved Words
E.3.5 Parameters and Variables
E.3.6 Word Expansions
E.3.7 Redirection
E.3.8 Exit Status for Commands
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
E.3 Shell Command Language 979
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
E.3.9 Shell Commands
E.3.10 Shell Grammar
E.3.11 Signals and Error Handling
E.3.12 Shell Execution Environment
E.3.13 Pattern Matching Notation
E.3.14 Special Built-in Utilities
BEGIN_RATIONALE
E.4 Execution Environment Utilities
_E_d_i_t_o_r'_s _N_o_t_e: _T_h_e _t_e_x_t _o_f _t_h_e _R_a_t_i_o_n_a_l_e _f_o_r _t_h_i_s _s_e_c_t_i_o_n _h_a_s _b_e_e_n
_t_e_m_p_o_r_a_r_i_l_y _l_o_c_a_t_e_d _i_n _S_e_c_t_i_o_n _4, _a_d_j_a_c_e_n_t _t_o _t_h_e _t_e_x_t _i_t _i_s _e_x_p_l_a_i_n_i_n_g.
_T_h_e _t_e_x_t _w_i_l_l _r_e_t_u_r_n _t_o _t_h_i_s _a_n_n_e_x _a_f_t_e_r _t_h_e _c_o_m_p_l_e_t_i_o_n _o_f _b_a_l_l_o_t_i_n_g.
_N_o_t_a_t_i_o_n_s _r_e_g_a_r_d_i_n_g _u_t_i_l_i_t_i_e_s _p_r_o_b_a_b_l_y _i_n_c_l_u_d_e_d _i_n _t_h_e _U_P_E _h_a_v_e _b_e_e_n
_u_p_d_a_t_e_d, _w_i_t_h_o_u_t _d_i_f_f _m_a_r_k_s, _b_a_s_e_d _o_n _t_h_e _c_u_r_r_e_n_t _w_o_r_k_i_n_g _d_r_a_f_t _o_f
_1_0_0_3._2_a.
Many utilities were evaluated by the working group; more utilities were
excluded from the standard than included. The following list contains
many common UNIX system utilities that were not included as Execution
Environment Utilities or in one of the Software Development Environment
groups. It is logistically difficult for this Rationale to correctly
distribute the reasons for not including a utility among the various
utility environment sections. Therefore, this section covers the reasons
for all utilities not included in Sections 4 and 6 and Annexes A and C.
The working group started its deliberations with a recommended list of
utilities provided by the X/Open group of companies. This list was a
subset of the utilities in the _X/_O_p_e_n _P_o_r_t_a_b_i_l_i_t_y _G_u_i_d_e, _I_s_s_u_e _I_I, so it
was very closely related to System V. The list had already been purged
of purely administrative utilities, such as those found in System V's
Administered System Extension. Then, the working group applied its scope
as a filter and substantially pruned the remaining list as well.
The following list of ``rejected'' utilities is limited by its historical
roots; since the selected utilities emerged from primarily a System V
base, this list does not include sometimes familiar entries from BSD.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
980 E Rationale and Notes
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
The working group received substantial input from representatives of the
University of California at Berkeley and from companies that are firmly
allied with BSD versions of the UNIX system, enough so that some BSD-
derived utilities are included in the standard. However, this Rationale
is now limited to a discussion of only those utilities actively or
indirectly evaluated by the working group, rather than the list of all
known UNIX utilities from all its variants. This list will most likely
be augmented during the balloting process as balloters request specific
rationales for their favorite commands.
In the list, the notation [_P_O_S_I_X._2_a] is used to identify utilities that
are being evaluated for inclusion in the forthcoming User Portability
Extension to this standard. Similarly, [_P_O_S_I_X._7] is used for those that
may be appropriate for the working group evaluating system administration
and [_P_O_S_I_X._N_e_t] for networking standards.
adb The intent of the various software development utilities
was to assist in the installation (rather than the actual
development and debugging) of applications. This utility
is primarily a debugging tool. Furthermore, many useful
aspects of adb are very hardware-specific.
admin The intent of the various software development utilities
was to assist in the installation (rather than the actual
development and debugging) of applications. This SCCS
utility is primarily a development tool.
as Assemblers are hardware-specific and are included
implicitly as part of the compilers in the standard.
at The at and cron family of utilities were omitted because
portable applications could not rely on their behavior.
[_P_O_S_I_X._2_a]
banner The only known use of this command is as part of the LP
printer header pages. It was decided that the format of
the header is implementation defined, so this utility is
superfluous to application portability.
batch The at and cron family of utilities were omitted because
portable applications could not rely on their behavior.
[_P_O_S_I_X._2_a]
cal This calendar printing program is not useful to portable
applications.
calendar This reminder service program is not useful to portable
applications.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
E.4 Execution Environment Utilities 981
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
cancel The LP (line printer spooling) system specified is the
most basic possible and did not need this level of
application control. [_P_O_S_I_X._7]
cflow The intent of the various software development utilities
was to assist in the installation (rather than the actual
development and debugging) of applications. This utility
is primarily a debugging tool.
chroot This is primarily of administrative use, requiring super-
user privileges. [_P_O_S_I_X._7]
col No utilities defined in this standard produce output
requiring such a filter. The nroff text formatter is
present on many historical systems and will continue to
remain as an extension; col is expected to be shipped by
all the systems that ship nroff.
cpio This has been replaced by pax, for reasons explained in
its own Rationale.
cpp Can be subsumed by c89.
crontab The at and cron family of utilities were omitted because
portable applications could not rely on their behavior.
[_P_O_S_I_X._2_a]
csplit This utility's functionality can sometimes be provided by
the dd or sed utilities (i.e., although these utilities
cannot easily provide all of csplit'_s features in one
package, they can frequently be used for the type of task
that csplit is being used for). [_P_O_S_I_X._2_a]
cu Terminal oriented-not useful from shell scripts or typical
application programs. [_P_O_S_I_X._N_e_t]
cxref The intent of the various software development utilities
was to assist in the installation (rather than the actual
development and debugging) of applications. This utility
is primarily a debugging tool.
dc This utility's functionality can be provided by the bc
utility; bc was selected because it was easier to use and
had superior functionality. Although the historical
versions of bc are implemented using dc as a base, this
standard prescribes the interface and not the underlying
mechanism used to implement it.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
982 E Rationale and Notes
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
delta The intent of the various software development utilities
was to assist in the installation (rather than the actual
development and debugging) of applications. This SCCS
utility is primarily a development tool.
df As the standard does not address the concept or nature of
file systems, this command could not be specified in a
manner useful to portable applications. [_P_O_S_I_X._2_a]
dircmp Although a useful concept, the traditional output of this
directory comparison program is not suitable for
processing in applications programs. Also, the diff -r
command gives equivalent functionality.
dis Disassemblers are hardware-specific.
du Because of differences between systems in measuring disk
usage, this utility could not be used reliably by a
portable application. [_P_O_S_I_X._2_a]
egrep Marked obsolescent and replaced by the new version of
grep.
ex This is typically a link to the vi terminal-oriented
editor-not useful from shell scripts or typical
application programs. The nonterminal oriented facilities
of ex are provided by ed. [_P_O_S_I_X._2_a]
fgrep Marked obsolescent and replaced by the new version of
grep.
file Determining the type of file is generally accomplished
with test or find. The added information available with
file is of little use to a portable application,
particularly since there is considerable variation in its
output contents. [_P_O_S_I_X._2_a]
get The intent of the various software development utilities
was to assist in the installation (rather than the actual
development and debugging) of applications. This SCCS
utility is primarily a development tool.
ld Is subsumed by c89.
line The functionality of line can be provided with read.
lint The intent of the various software development utilities
was to assist in the installation (rather than the actual
development and debugging) of applications. This utility
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
E.4 Execution Environment Utilities 983
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
is primarily a debugging tool.
login Terminal oriented-not useful from shell scripts or typical
application programs.
lorder This utility is an aid in creating an implementation-
specific detail of object libraries that the working group
did not feel required standardization.
lpstat The LP system specified is the most basic possible and did
not need this level of application control. [_P_O_S_I_X._7]
m4 The working group did not find that this macro processor
had sufficiently wide usage for standardization.
mail This utility was omitted in favor of mailx, because there
was a considerable functionality overlap between the two.
The mail-sending aspects of mailx are covered in this
standard, the mail-reading in the UPE. [_P_O_S_I_X._2_a]
mesg Terminal oriented-not useful from shell scripts or typical
application programs. [_P_O_S_I_X._2_a]
mknod This was omitted in favor of mkfifo, as mknod has too many
implementation-defined functions. [_P_O_S_I_X._7]
newgrp Terminal oriented-not useful from shell scripts or typical
application programs. [_P_O_S_I_X._2_a]
news Terminal oriented-not useful from shell scripts or typical
application programs.
nice Due to historical variations in usage, and in the lack of
underlying support from possible POSIX.1 {8} base systems,
this cannot be used by applications to achieve reliable
results. [_P_O_S_I_X._2_a]
nl The useful functionality of nl can be provided with pr.
nm The intent of the various software development utilities
was to assist in the installation (rather than the actual
development and debugging) of applications. This utility
is primarily a debugging tool. [_P_O_S_I_X._2_a]
pack The working group found little interest in a portable data
compression program (and there are others that are
probably more widely used anyway).
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
984 E Rationale and Notes
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
passwd Terminal oriented-not useful from shell scripts or typical
application programs. (There was also sentiment to avoid
security-related utilities until requirements of 1003.6
are known.)
pcat The working group found little interest in a portable data
compression program (and there are others that are
probably more widely used anyway).
pg Terminal oriented-not useful from shell scripts or typical
application programs.
prof The intent of the various software development utilities
was to assist in the installation (rather than the actual
development and debugging) of applications. This utility
is primarily a debugging tool.
prs The intent of the various software development utilities
was to assist in the installation (rather than the actual
development and debugging) of applications. This SCCS
utility is primarily a development tool.
ps This utility has historically been difficult to specify
portably due to the many implementation-defined aspects of
processes. Furthermore, a portable application can rarely
rely on information about what other processes are doing,
as security mechanisms may prevent it. A process
requiring one of its children's process IDs (such as for
use with the kill command) will have to record the IDs at
the time of creation. [_P_O_S_I_X._2_a]
red Restricted editor. This was not considered by the working
group because it never provided the level of security
restriction required.
rmdel The intent of the various software development utilities
was to assist in the installation (rather than the actual
development and debugging) of applications. This SCCS
utility is primarily a development tool.
rsh Restricted shell. This was not considered by the working
group because it does not provide the level of security 1
restriction that is implied by historical documentation. 1
sact The intent of the various software development utilities
was to assist in the installation (rather than the actual
development and debugging) of applications. This SCCS
utility is primarily a development tool.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
E.4 Execution Environment Utilities 985
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
sdb The intent of the various software development utilities
was to assist in the installation (rather than the actual
development and debugging) of applications. This utility
is primarily a debugging tool. Furthermore, some useful
aspects of sdb are very hardware-specific.
sdiff The ``side-by-side diff'' utility from System V was
omitted because it is used infrequently, and even less so
by portable applications. Despite being in System V, it
is not in the _S_V_I_D or _X_P_G.
shar Utilities with this type of functionality (``shell-based
archivers'') are in wide use, despite not being included
in System V or BSD systems. However, the working group
felt this sort of program was more widely used by human
users than portable applications.
shl Terminal oriented-not useful from shell scripts or typical
application programs. The job control aspects of the
Shell Command Language are generally more useful and are
being evaluated for the UPE.
size The intent of the various software development utilities
was to assist in the installation (rather than the actual
development and debugging) of applications. This utility
is primarily a debugging tool.
spell Not useful from shell scripts or typical application
programs.
split The functionality can sometimes be provided by the dd,
sed, or (for some uses) xargs utilities (i.e., although
these utilities cannot easily provide all of split'_s
features in one package, they can sometimes be used for
the type of task that split is being used for).
[_P_O_S_I_X._2_a]
strings This is normally used by human users during debugging,
rather than by applications. [_P_O_S_I_X._2_a]
su Not useful from shell scripts or typical application
programs. (There was also sentiment to avoid security-
related utilities until requirements of POSIX.6 are
known.)
sum This utility was renamed cksum.
tabs Terminal oriented-not useful from shell scripts or typical
application programs. [_P_O_S_I_X._2_a]
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
986 E Rationale and Notes
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
time Not necessary for portable applications. It is frequently
used by human users in debugging or for informal
benchmarks. It is doubtful whether any standardized
definitions of the output could be agreed upon.
tsort This utility is an aid in creating an implementation-
specific detail of object libraries that the working group
did not feel required standardization.
unget The intent of the various software development utilities
was to assist in the installation (rather than the actual
development and debugging) of applications. This SCCS
utility is primarily a development tool.
unpack The working group found little interest in a portable data
compression program (and there are others that are
probably more widely used anyway).
uucp
uulog
uupick
uustat
uuto The UUCP utilities and their protocol description were 1
removed from an early draft because responsibility for 1
them was officially requested by the POSIX group 1
developing networking interfaces. 1
val The intent of the various software development utilities
was to assist in the installation (rather than the actual
development and debugging) of applications. This SCCS
utility is primarily a development tool.
vi Terminal oriented-not useful from shell scripts or typical
application programs. [_P_O_S_I_X._2_a]
wall Terminal oriented-not useful from shell scripts or typical
application programs. It is generally used by system
administrators, as well. [_P_O_S_I_X._7]
what The intent of the various software development utilities
was to assist in the installation (rather than the actual
development and debugging) of applications. This SCCS
utility is primarily a development tool.
who The ability to determine other users on the system was
felt to be at risk in a trusted implementation, so its use
could not be considered by a portable application.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
E.4 Execution Environment Utilities 987
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
[_P_O_S_I_X._2_a]
write Terminal oriented-not useful from shell scripts or typical
application programs. [_P_O_S_I_X._2_a]
_E._4._1 awk - _P_a_t_t_e_r_n _s_c_a_n_n_i_n_g _a_n_d _p_r_o_c_e_s_s_i_n_g _l_a_n_g_u_a_g_e
_E._4._2 basename - _R_e_t_u_r_n _n_o_n_d_i_r_e_c_t_o_r_y _p_o_r_t_i_o_n _o_f _p_a_t_h_n_a_m_e
_E._4._3 bc - _A_r_b_i_t_r_a_r_y-_p_r_e_c_i_s_i_o_n _a_r_i_t_h_m_e_t_i_c _l_a_n_g_u_a_g_e
_E._4._4 cat - _C_o_n_c_a_t_e_n_a_t_e _a_n_d _p_r_i_n_t _f_i_l_e_s
_E._4._5 cd - _C_h_a_n_g_e _w_o_r_k_i_n_g _d_i_r_e_c_t_o_r_y
_E._4._6 chgrp - _C_h_a_n_g_e _f_i_l_e _g_r_o_u_p _o_w_n_e_r_s_h_i_p
_E._4._7 chmod - _C_h_a_n_g_e _f_i_l_e _m_o_d_e_s
_E._4._8 chown - _C_h_a_n_g_e _f_i_l_e _o_w_n_e_r_s_h_i_p
_E._4._9 cksum - _W_r_i_t_e _f_i_l_e _c_h_e_c_k_s_u_m_s _a_n_d _b_l_o_c_k _c_o_u_n_t_s
_E._4._1_0 cmp - _C_o_m_p_a_r_e _t_w_o _f_i_l_e_s
_E._4._1_1 comm - _S_e_l_e_c_t _o_r _r_e_j_e_c_t _l_i_n_e_s _c_o_m_m_o_n _t_o _t_w_o _f_i_l_e_s
_E._4._1_2 command - _S_e_l_e_c_t _o_r _r_e_j_e_c_t _l_i_n_e_s _c_o_m_m_o_n _t_o _t_w_o _f_i_l_e_s
_E._4._1_3 cp - _C_o_p_y _f_i_l_e_s
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
988 E Rationale and Notes
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
_E._4._1_4 cut - _C_u_t _o_u_t _s_e_l_e_c_t_e_d _f_i_e_l_d_s _o_f _e_a_c_h _l_i_n_e _o_f _a _f_i_l_e
_E._4._1_5 date - _W_r_i_t_e _t_h_e _d_a_t_e _a_n_d _t_i_m_e
_E._4._1_6 dd - _C_o_n_v_e_r_t _a_n_d _c_o_p_y _a _f_i_l_e
_E._4._1_7 diff - _C_o_m_p_a_r_e _t_w_o _f_i_l_e_s
_E._4._1_8 dirname - _R_e_t_u_r_n _d_i_r_e_c_t_o_r_y _p_o_r_t_i_o_n _o_f _p_a_t_h_n_a_m_e
_E._4._1_9 echo - _W_r_i_t_e _a_r_g_u_m_e_n_t_s _t_o _s_t_a_n_d_a_r_d _o_u_t_p_u_t
_E._4._2_0 ed - _E_d_i_t _t_e_x_t
_E._4._2_1 env - _S_e_t _e_n_v_i_r_o_n_m_e_n_t _f_o_r _c_o_m_m_a_n_d _i_n_v_o_c_a_t_i_o_n
_E._4._2_2 expr - _E_v_a_l_u_a_t_e _a_r_g_u_m_e_n_t_s _a_s _a_n _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n
_E._4._2_3 false - _R_e_t_u_r_n _f_a_l_s_e _v_a_l_u_e
_E._4._2_4 find - _F_i_n_d _f_i_l_e_s
_E._4._2_5 fold - _F_i_l_t_e_r _f_o_r _f_o_l_d_i_n_g _l_i_n_e_s
_E._4._2_6 getconf - _G_e_t _c_o_n_f_i_g_u_r_a_t_i_o_n _v_a_l_u_e_s
_E._4._2_7 getopts - _P_a_r_s_e _u_t_i_l_i_t_y _o_p_t_i_o_n_s
_E._4._2_8 grep - _F_i_l_e _p_a_t_t_e_r_n _s_e_a_r_c_h_e_r
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
E.4 Execution Environment Utilities 989
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
_E._4._2_9 head - _C_o_p_y _t_h_e _f_i_r_s_t _p_a_r_t _o_f _f_i_l_e_s
_E._4._3_0 id - _R_e_t_u_r_n _u_s_e_r _i_d_e_n_t_i_t_y
_E._4._3_1 join - _R_e_l_a_t_i_o_n_a_l _d_a_t_a_b_a_s_e _o_p_e_r_a_t_o_r
_E._4._3_2 kill - _T_e_r_m_i_n_a_t_e _o_r _s_i_g_n_a_l _p_r_o_c_e_s_s_e_s
_E._4._3_3 ln - _L_i_n_k _f_i_l_e_s
_E._4._3_4 locale - _G_e_t _l_o_c_a_l_e-_s_p_e_c_i_f_i_c _i_n_f_o_r_m_a_t_i_o_n
_E._4._3_5 localedef - _D_e_f_i_n_e _l_o_c_a_l_e _e_n_v_i_r_o_n_m_e_n_t
_E._4._3_6 logger - _L_o_g _m_e_s_s_a_g_e_s
_E._4._3_7 logname - _R_e_t_u_r_n _u_s_e_r'_s _l_o_g_i_n _n_a_m_e
_E._4._3_8 lp - _S_e_n_d _f_i_l_e_s _t_o _a _p_r_i_n_t_e_r
_E._4._3_9 ls - _L_i_s_t _d_i_r_e_c_t_o_r_y _c_o_n_t_e_n_t_s
_E._4._4_0 mailx - _P_r_o_c_e_s_s _m_e_s_s_a_g_e_s
_E._4._4_1 mkdir - _M_a_k_e _d_i_r_e_c_t_o_r_i_e_s
_E._4._4_2 mkfifo - _M_a_k_e _F_I_F_O _s_p_e_c_i_a_l _f_i_l_e_s
_E._4._4_3 mv - _M_o_v_e _f_i_l_e_s
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
990 E Rationale and Notes
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
_E._4._4_4 nohup - _I_n_v_o_k_e _a _u_t_i_l_i_t_y _i_m_m_u_n_e _t_o _h_a_n_g_u_p_s
_E._4._4_5 od - _D_u_m_p _f_i_l_e_s _i_n _v_a_r_i_o_u_s _f_o_r_m_a_t_s
_E._4._4_6 paste - _M_e_r_g_e _c_o_r_r_e_s_p_o_n_d_i_n_g _o_r _s_u_b_s_e_q_u_e_n_t _l_i_n_e_s _o_f _f_i_l_e_s
_E._4._4_7 pathchk - _C_h_e_c_k _p_a_t_h_n_a_m_e_s
_E._4._4_8 pax - _P_o_r_t_a_b_l_e _a_r_c_h_i_v_e _i_n_t_e_r_c_h_a_n_g_e
_E._4._4_9 pr - _P_r_i_n_t _f_i_l_e_s
_E._4._5_0 printf - _W_r_i_t_e _f_o_r_m_a_t_t_e_d _o_u_t_p_u_t
_E._4._5_1 pwd - _R_e_t_u_r_n _w_o_r_k_i_n_g _d_i_r_e_c_t_o_r_y _n_a_m_e
_E._4._5_2 read - _R_e_a_d _a _l_i_n_e _f_r_o_m _s_t_a_n_d_a_r_d _i_n_p_u_t
_E._4._5_3 rm - _R_e_m_o_v_e _d_i_r_e_c_t_o_r_y _e_n_t_r_i_e_s
_E._4._5_4 rmdir - _R_e_m_o_v_e _d_i_r_e_c_t_o_r_i_e_s
_E._4._5_5 sed - _S_t_r_e_a_m _e_d_i_t_o_r
_E._4._5_6 sh - _S_h_e_l_l, _t_h_e _s_t_a_n_d_a_r_d _c_o_m_m_a_n_d _l_a_n_g_u_a_g_e _i_n_t_e_r_p_r_e_t_e_r
_E._4._5_7 sleep - _S_u_s_p_e_n_d _e_x_e_c_u_t_i_o_n _f_o_r _a_n _i_n_t_e_r_v_a_l
_E._4._5_8 sort - _S_o_r_t, _m_e_r_g_e, _o_r _s_e_q_u_e_n_c_e _c_h_e_c_k _t_e_x_t _f_i_l_e_s
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
E.4 Execution Environment Utilities 991
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
_E._4._5_9 stty - _S_e_t _t_h_e _o_p_t_i_o_n_s _f_o_r _a _t_e_r_m_i_n_a_l
_E._4._6_0 tail - _C_o_p_y _t_h_e _l_a_s_t _p_a_r_t _o_f _a _f_i_l_e
_E._4._6_1 tee - _D_u_p_l_i_c_a_t_e _s_t_a_n_d_a_r_d _i_n_p_u_t
_E._4._6_2 test - _E_v_a_l_u_a_t_e _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n
_E._4._6_3 touch - _C_h_a_n_g_e _f_i_l_e _a_c_c_e_s_s _a_n_d _m_o_d_i_f_i_c_a_t_i_o_n _t_i_m_e_s
_E._4._6_4 tr - _T_r_a_n_s_l_a_t_e _c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r_s
_E._4._6_5 true - _R_e_t_u_r_n _t_r_u_e _v_a_l_u_e
_E._4._6_6 tty - _R_e_t_u_r_n _u_s_e_r'_s _t_e_r_m_i_n_a_l _n_a_m_e
_E._4._6_7 umask - _G_e_t _o_r _s_e_t _t_h_e _f_i_l_e _m_o_d_e _c_r_e_a_t_i_o_n _m_a_s_k
_E._4._6_8 uname - _R_e_t_u_r_n _s_y_s_t_e_m _n_a_m_e
_E._4._6_9 uniq - _R_e_p_o_r_t _o_r _f_i_l_t_e_r _o_u_t _r_e_p_e_a_t_e_d _l_i_n_e_s _i_n _a _f_i_l_e
_E._4._7_0 wait - _A_w_a_i_t _p_r_o_c_e_s_s _c_o_m_p_l_e_t_i_o_n
_E._4._7_1 wc - _W_o_r_d, _l_i_n_e, _a_n_d _b_y_t_e _c_o_u_n_t
_E._4._7_2 xargs - _C_o_n_s_t_r_u_c_t _a_r_g_u_m_e_n_t _l_i_s_t(_s) _a_n_d _i_n_v_o_k_e _u_t_i_l_i_t_y
BEGIN_RATIONALE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
992 E Rationale and Notes
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
E.5 User Portability Utilities Option
_E_d_i_t_o_r'_s _N_o_t_e: _T_h_i_s _s_e_c_t_i_o_n _i_s _u_n_u_s_e_d _i_n _t_h_i_s _r_e_v_i_s_i_o_n _o_f _t_h_e _s_t_a_n_d_a_r_d.
BEGIN_RATIONALE
E.6 Software Development Utilities Option
_E_d_i_t_o_r'_s _N_o_t_e: _T_h_e _t_e_x_t _o_f _t_h_e _R_a_t_i_o_n_a_l_e _f_o_r _t_h_i_s _s_e_c_t_i_o_n _h_a_s _b_e_e_n
_t_e_m_p_o_r_a_r_i_l_y _l_o_c_a_t_e_d _i_n _S_e_c_t_i_o_n _6, _a_d_j_a_c_e_n_t _t_o _t_h_e _t_e_x_t _i_t _i_s _e_x_p_l_a_i_n_i_n_g.
_T_h_e _t_e_x_t _w_i_l_l _r_e_t_u_r_n _t_o _t_h_i_s _a_n_n_e_x _a_f_t_e_r _t_h_e _c_o_m_p_l_e_t_i_o_n _o_f _b_a_l_l_o_t_i_n_g.
This is the first of the optional utility environments. The working
group decided there were two basic classes of systems to be supported:
general application execution and software development. The first is
widely used and is the primary reason for the development of this
standard. The second, however, represents only a (small?) subset of the
first; the users are generally only those who are developing or
installing C or FORTRAN applications.
Therefore, all the development environments are optional, giving users
the option of specifying a smaller, (presumably) less expensive system.
There are three separate optional environments, so that C-only or
FORTRAN-only users do not have to specify unneeded components. As
further languages are supported by this standard, their environments will
also be optional.
An implementation must provide all three of these utilities to claim
conformance to this section.
See section E.4 for a discussion of utilities excluded from this group.
E.6.1 ar - Create and maintain library archives
E.6.2 make - Maintain, update, and regenerate groups of programs
E.6.3 strip - Remove unnecessary information from executable files
BEGIN_RATIONALE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
E.6 Software Development Utilities Option 993
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
E.7 Language-Independent System Services
_E_d_i_t_o_r'_s _N_o_t_e: _T_h_e _t_e_x_t _o_f _t_h_e _R_a_t_i_o_n_a_l_e _f_o_r _t_h_i_s _s_e_c_t_i_o_n _h_a_s _b_e_e_n
_t_e_m_p_o_r_a_r_i_l_y _l_o_c_a_t_e_d _i_n _S_e_c_t_i_o_n _7, _a_d_j_a_c_e_n_t _t_o _t_h_e _t_e_x_t _i_t _i_s _e_x_p_l_a_i_n_i_n_g.
_T_h_e _t_e_x_t _w_i_l_l _r_e_t_u_r_n _t_o _t_h_i_s _a_n_n_e_x _a_f_t_e_r _t_h_e _c_o_m_p_l_e_t_i_o_n _o_f _b_a_l_l_o_t_i_n_g.
E.7.1 Shell Command Interface
E.7.2 Access Environment Variables
E.7.3 Regular Expression Matching
E.7.4 Pattern Matching
E.7.5 Command Option Parsing
E.7.6 Generate Pathnames Matching a Pattern
E.7.7 Perform Word Expansions
E.7.8 Get POSIX Configurable Variables
E.7.9 Locale Control
BEGIN_RATIONALE
E.8 C Language Development Utilities Option
_E_d_i_t_o_r'_s _N_o_t_e: _T_h_e _t_e_x_t _o_f _t_h_e _R_a_t_i_o_n_a_l_e _f_o_r _t_h_i_s _s_e_c_t_i_o_n _h_a_s _b_e_e_n
_t_e_m_p_o_r_a_r_i_l_y _l_o_c_a_t_e_d _i_n _A_n_n_e_x _A, _a_d_j_a_c_e_n_t _t_o _t_h_e _t_e_x_t _i_t _i_s _e_x_p_l_a_i_n_i_n_g.
_T_h_e _t_e_x_t _w_i_l_l _r_e_t_u_r_n _t_o _t_h_i_s _a_n_n_e_x _a_f_t_e_r _t_h_e _c_o_m_p_l_e_t_i_o_n _o_f _b_a_l_l_o_t_i_n_g.
This is the second of the optional utility environments.
An implementation must provide all three of these utilities to claim
conformance to this section.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
994 E Rationale and Notes
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
See section E.4 for a discussion of utilities excluded from this group.
E.8.1 c89 - Compile Standard C programs
E.8.2 lex - Generate programs for lexical tasks
E.8.3 yacc - Yet another compiler compiler
BEGIN_RATIONALE
E.9 C Language Bindings Option
_E_d_i_t_o_r'_s _N_o_t_e: _T_h_e _t_e_x_t _o_f _t_h_e _R_a_t_i_o_n_a_l_e _f_o_r _t_h_i_s _s_e_c_t_i_o_n _h_a_s _b_e_e_n
_t_e_m_p_o_r_a_r_i_l_y _l_o_c_a_t_e_d _i_n _A_n_n_e_x _B, _a_d_j_a_c_e_n_t _t_o _t_h_e _t_e_x_t _i_t _i_s _e_x_p_l_a_i_n_i_n_g.
_T_h_e _t_e_x_t _w_i_l_l _r_e_t_u_r_n _t_o _t_h_i_s _a_n_n_e_x _a_f_t_e_r _t_h_e _c_o_m_p_l_e_t_i_o_n _o_f _b_a_l_l_o_t_i_n_g.
E.9.1 C Language Definitions
E.9.2 C Numerical Limits
E.9.3 C Binding for Shell Command Interface
E.9.4 C Binding for Access Environment Variables
E.9.5 C Binding for Regular Expression Matching
E.9.6 C Binding for Match Filename or Pathname
E.9.7 C Binding for Command Option Parsing
E.9.8 C Binding for Generate Pathnames Matching a Pattern
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
E.9 C Language Bindings Option 995
P1003.2/D11.2
E.9.9 C Binding for Perform Word Expansions
E.9.10 C Binding for Get POSIX Configurable Variables
E.9.11 C Binding for Locale Control
BEGIN_RATIONALE
E.10 FORTRAN Development and Runtime Utilities Options
_E_d_i_t_o_r'_s _N_o_t_e: _T_h_e _t_e_x_t _o_f _t_h_e _R_a_t_i_o_n_a_l_e _f_o_r _t_h_i_s _s_e_c_t_i_o_n _h_a_s _b_e_e_n
_t_e_m_p_o_r_a_r_i_l_y _l_o_c_a_t_e_d _i_n _A_n_n_e_x _C, _a_d_j_a_c_e_n_t _t_o _t_h_e _t_e_x_t _i_t _i_s _e_x_p_l_a_i_n_i_n_g.
_T_h_e _t_e_x_t _w_i_l_l _r_e_t_u_r_n _t_o _t_h_i_s _a_n_n_e_x _a_f_t_e_r _t_h_e _c_o_m_p_l_e_t_i_o_n _o_f _b_a_l_l_o_t_i_n_g.
This is the third and fourth of the optional utility environments.
See section E.4 for a discussion of utilities excluded from this group.
E.10.1 asa - Interpret carriage control characters
E.10.2 fort77 - FORTRAN compiler
END_RATIONALE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
996 E Rationale and Notes
P1003.2/D11.2
Annex F
(informative)
Sample National Profile
BEGIN_RATIONALE
BEGIN_RATIONALE
_E_d_i_t_o_r'_s _N_o_t_e: _A_l_l _u_s_e_s _o_f _t_h_e _t_e_r_m ``_c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r _s_e_t'' _t_h_i_s _a_n_n_e_x _h_a_v_e _1
_b_e_e_n _c_h_a_n_g_e_d _t_o ``_c_o_d_e_d _c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r _s_e_t'' _w_i_t_h_o_u_t _f_u_r_t_h_e_r _d_i_f_f _m_a_r_k_s. _1
This annex is an example of a country's needs with respect to this
standard and how those needs relate to other international standards as
well as national standards. The example provided is included here for
informative purposes and is not a formal standard in the country in
question. It is provided by the Danish Standards Association1) and is as
accurate as possible with regards to Danish needs.
__________
1) Further information may be obtained from the Danish Standards
Association, Attn: S142u22A8 Baunegaardsvej 73, DK-2900 Hellerup, 2
Denmark; FAX: +45 39 77 02 02; Email: u22a8@dkuug.dk 2
The data is also available electronically by anonymous FTP or FTAM at
the site dkuug.dk in the directory i18n, where some other example
national profiles, locales, and _c_h_a_r_m_a_p_s may also be found. They are
also available by an archive server reached at archive@dkuug.dk; use
``Subject: help'' for further information.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
Annex F Sample National Profile 997
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
F.1 (Example) Danish National Profile 2
This is the definition of the Danish Standards Association POSIX.2 2
profile. The subset of conforming implementations that provide the 2
required characteristics below is referred to as conforming to the 2
``Danish Standards Association (DS) Environment Profile'' for this 2
standard. 2
This profile specifies the following requirements on implementations: 2
(1) In POSIX.2 section 2.13.1, the limit {COLL_WEIGHTS_MAX} shall be 2
provided with a value of 4. All other limits shall conform to 2
at least the minimum values shown in Table 2-16. 2
(2) The following options shall be supported according to POSIX.2 2
section 2.13.2: 2
POSIX2_C_BIND Optional. 2
POSIX2_C_DEV Optional. 2
POSIX2_FORT_DEV Optional. 2
POSIX2_FORT_RUN Optional. 2
POSIX2_LOCALEDEF Required; the system shall support the 2
creation of locales as described in 2
4.35. 2
POSIX2_SW_DEV Optional. 2
F.1.1 Danish Locale Model
_E_d_i_t_o_r'_s _N_o_t_e: _T_h_i_s _s_u_b_c_l_a_u_s_e _i_s _o_f_f_e_r_e_d _a_s _r_a_t_i_o_n_a_l_e _f_o_r _t_h_e _c_u_r_r_e_n_t
_s_t_a_t_e _o_f _t_h_i_s _e_x_a_m_p_l_e _a_n_n_e_x. _I_t _w_i_l_l _n_o_t _n_e_c_e_s_s_a_r_i_l_y _a_p_p_e_a_r _i_n _t_h_i_s _f_o_r_m
_i_n _a_n_y _f_i_n_a_l _v_e_r_s_i_o_n _o_f _t_h_e _a_n_n_e_x.
Creating a national locale for Denmark has been a quite elaborate effort.
Time and again, we thought we had reached an agreement on the locale, but
then some aspect disrupted the entire work, and we more or less had to
start all over.
We think we have identified the cause of these problems to a general
uncertainty regarding the exact purpose of a ``national'' locale. If we
look at the Danish situation (which we know pretty well by now), we have
identified several levels of locales, depending on the ``complexity'' of
the collating sequence (or more generally sorting different kinds of
text):
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
998 F Sample National Profile
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
(1) _B_y_t_e/_m_a_c_h_i_n_e _l_e_v_e_l. Here everything is sorted according to the
character's byte value.
(2) _C_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r/_u_t_i_l_i_t_y _l_e_v_e_l. Here we want to work almost on the
same level as (1), i.e., character by character, but obeying a
(simple) collating sequence that ensures that, for example,
upper- and lowercase letters are equivalent, or that national
characters are sorted correctly. The characters still do not
have any ``implicit'' meaning, and the comparison of two strings
is still deterministic; i.e., strings that are different at
level 1 are still different at level 2.
(3) _T_e_x_t/_a_p_p_l_i_c_a_t_i_o_n _l_e_v_e_l. Here we want to be able to search in
text looking for specific words or items. The comparison is
still performed on a character-by-character basis, but possibly
ignoring some characters that are not important, and determinism
is not important either.
(4) _S_e_m_a_n_t_i_c/_d_i_c_t_i_o_n_a_r_y/_l_i_b_r_a_r_y/_p_h_o_n_e-_b_o_o_k _l_e_v_e_l. Entire words like
``the'' are omitted from comparisons; maybe soundex is required.
This probably requires specially developed software.
Our problem has been the conflicting requirements from each of these
levels, which we optimistically have tried to combine into a single
national locale (ignoring level 4, however). The POSIX Locale is aimed
at level 2; i.e., at a rather low level. Many of our attempts to write a
national Danish locale have failed because we have actually tried to
write a level 3 locale, and finding that it did not work as an
alternative to the default POSIX locale at level 2.
The locale we now provide is the final compromise between level 2 and
level 3, by taking our latest attempt aimed at level 3, and make the
comparison completely deterministic, and thus bring it down to level 2.
We also have found that we may need to include some more information in
the identification of a specific locale than just the country code, the
language code, and the coded character set, since what we have had most
problems with was the purpose or scope of a specific locale; i.e., is it
just a nationalized version of the POSIX Locale (e.g., extended with
<ae>, <o/>, and <aa> at the proper positions), is it aimed at text search
(ignoring certain characters), or is it on an even higher level? Many
such alternative locales would certainly be useful for various classes of
problems or applications, so our model for the locale name identification
string includes a <_v_e_r_s_i_o_n> parameter.
We hope by providing these comments to have clarified our intention with
the locale definitions to save other countries from doing our mistakes
all over.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
F.1 (Example) Danish National Profile 999
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
F.2 Locale String Definition Guideline
The following guideline is used for specifying the locale identification
string:2)
"%2.2s_%2.2s.%s,%s", <_l_a_n_g_u_a_g_e>, <_t_e_r_r_i_t_o_r_y>, <_c_o_d_e_d-_c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r-
_s_e_t>, <_v_e_r_s_i_o_n>
where <_l_a_n_g_u_a_g_e> shall be taken from ISO 639 {B1} and <_t_e_r_r_i_t_o_r_y> shall
be the two-letter country code of ISO 3166 {B4}, if possible. The
<_l_a_n_g_u_a_g_e> shall be specified with lowercase letters only, and the
<_t_e_r_r_i_t_o_r_y> shall be specified in uppercase letters only. An optional
<_c_o_d_e_d-_c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r-_s_e_t> specification may follow after a <period> for the
name of the coded character set; if just a numeric specification is
present, this shall represent the number of the international standard
describing the coded character set. If the <_c_o_d_e_d-_c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r-_s_e_t>
specification is not present, the encoded character-set-specific locale
shall be determined by the CHARSET environment variable, and if this is
unset or null, the encoding of ISO 8859-1 {5} shall be assumed. A
parameter specifying a <_v_e_r_s_i_o_n> of the locale may be placed after the
optional <_c_o_d_e_d-_c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r-_s_e_t> specification, delimited by <comma>. This
may be used to discriminate between different cultural needs; for
instance, dictionary order versus a more systems-oriented collating
order.
F.3 Scope of Danish National Locale
This national locale covers the Danish language in Denmark. In addition,
Faroese and Greenlandic LC_TIME and LC_MESSAGES specifications have been
defined; the rest of the Danish national locale shall be used for these
locales as well.
This locale is designed to be coded character-set independent. It
completely specifies the behavior of systems based on ISO/IEC 10646 {B11}
(with ISO 6429 {B5} control character encoding) together with many 7-bit
and 8-bit encoded character sets, including ISO 8859 character sets and
major vendor-specific 8-bit character sets (with ISO 6429 {B5} or
ISO/IEC 646 {1} control character encoding when applicable).
This locale is portable as long as the character naming in the charmap
description file ISO_10646 for ISO/IEC 10646 {B11} is followed. Examples
of such charmap files for ISO/IEC 10646 {B11} and ISO 8859-1 {5} are
shown in F.5.1 and F.5.2.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
1000 F Sample National Profile
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
The collating sequence is completely deterministic and is aimed for usage
in system tools. Other Danish collation sequences with nondeterministic
properties, which may be needed for some application programs, are not
covered by this locale.
The LC_TYPE category of the locale is quite general and may be useful for
other locales; also the LC_COLLATE category, though specifically Danish,
may be a good template from which to generate other locales.
Following the preceding guidelines for locale names, the national Danish
locale string shall be:
da_DK
F.3.1 da_DK - (Example) Danish National Locale
escape_char /
comment_char % 1
% Danish example national locale for the language Danish 1
% Source: Danish Standards Association 1
% Revision 1.7 1991-05-07 1
LC_CTYPE 1
digit <0>;<1>;<2>;<3>;<4>;<5>;<6>;<7>;<8>;<9> 1
xdigit <0>;<1>;<2>;<3>;<4>;<5>;<6>;<7>;<8>;<9>;/ 1
<A>;<B>;<C>;<D>;<E>;<F>;<a>;<b>;<c>;<d>;<e>;<f> 1
blank <SP>;<HT>;<NS> 1
space <SP>;<LF>;<VT>;<FF>;<CR>;<HT>;<NS> 1
upper <A>;<B>;<C>;<D>;<E>;<F>;<G>;<H>;<I>;<J>;/ 1
<K>;<L>;<M>;<N>;<O>;<P>;<Q>;<R>;<S>;<T>;/ 1
<U>;<V>;<W>;<X>;<Y>;<Z>;<A!>;<A'>;<A/>>;<A?>;/ 1
<A:>;<AA>;<AE>;<C,>;<E!>;<E'>;<E/>>;<E:>;<I!>;<I'>;/ 1
<I/>>;<I:>;<D->;<N?>;<O!>;<O'>;<O/>>;<O?>;<O:>;<O//>;/ 1
<U!>;<U'>;<U/>>;<U:>;<Y'>;<TH>;<A->;<C/>>;<C.>;<E->;/ 1
<E.>;<G/>>;<G(>;<G.>;<G,>;<H/>>;<I?>;<I->;<I.>;<I;>;/ 1
<J/>>;<K,>;<H//>;<IJ>;<L.>;<L,>;<N,>;<OE>;<O->;<T//>;/ 1
<NG>;<A;>;<L//>;<L<>;<S'>;<S/>>;<S<>;<S,>;<T<>;<Z'>;/ 1
<Z<>;<Z.>;<R'>;<R,>;<A(>;<L'>;<C'>;<C<>;<E;>;<E<>;/ 1
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
F.3 Scope of Danish National Locale 1001
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
<D<>;<D//>;<N'>;<N<>;<U?>;<O">;<U->;<U(>;<R<>;<U0>;/ 1
<U;>;<U">;<W/>>;<Y/>>;<T,>;<Y:>;<A<>;<A_>;<'A>;<A1>;/
<A2>;<A3>;<B.>;<B_>;<D_>;<D.>;<D;>;<E(>;<E_>;<E?>;/
<F.>;<G<>;<G->;<G//>;<H:>;<H.>;<H,>;<H;>;<I<>;<I(>;/
<J(>;<K'>;<K<>;<K_>;<K.>;<K;>;<L_>;<M'>;<M.>;<N.>;/
<N_>;<O<>;<O(>;<O_>;<O;>;<O1>;<P'>;<R.>;<R_>;<S.>;/
<S;>;<T_>;<T.>;<U<>;<V?>;<W'>;<W.>;<W:>;<X.>;<X:>;/
<Y!>;<Y.>;<Z/>>;<Z(>;<Z_>;<Z//>;<EZ>;<G'>;<'B>;<'D>;/
<'G>;<'J>;<'Y>;<ED>;<IO>;<D%>;<G%>;<IE>;<DS>;<II>;/
<YI>;<J%>;<LJ>;<NJ>;<Ts>;<KJ>;<V%>;<DZ>;<A=>;<B=>;/
<V=>;<G=>;<D=>;<E=>;<Z%>;<Z=>;<I=>;<J=>;<K=>;<L=>;/
<M=>;<N=>;<O=>;<P=>;<R=>;<S=>;<T=>;<U=>;<F=>;<H=>;/
<C=>;<C%>;<S%>;<Sc>;<=">;<Y=>;<%">;<JE>;<JU>;<JA>;/
<I3>;<A%>;<E%>;<Y%>;<I%>;<O%>;<U%>;<W%>;<A*>;<B*>;/
<G*>;<D*>;<E*>;<Z*>;<Y*>;<H*>;<I*>;<K*>;<L*>;<M*>;/
<N*>;<C*>;<O*>;<P*>;<R*>;<S*>;<T*>;<U*>;<F*>;<X*>;/
<Q*>;<W*>;<J*>;<V*>
lower <a>;<b>;<c>;<d>;<e>;<f>;<g>;<h>;<i>;<j>;/
<k>;<l>;<m>;<n>;<o>;<p>;<q>;<r>;<s>;<t>;/
<u>;<v>;<w>;<x>;<y>;<z>;<ss>;<a!>;<a'>;<a/>>;/
<a?>;<a:>;<aa>;<ae>;<c,>;<e!>;<e'>;<e/>>;<e:>;<i!>;/
<i'>;<i/>>;<i:>;<d->;<n?>;<o!>;<o'>;<o/>>;<o?>;<o:>;/
<o//>;<u!>;<u'>;<u/>>;<u:>;<y'>;<th>;<y:>;<a->;<c/>>;/
<c.>;<e->;<e.>;<g/>>;<g(>;<g.>;<g,>;<h/>>;<i?>;<i->;/
<'n>;<kk>;<i;>;<j/>>;<k,>;<h//>;<i.>;<ij>;<l.>;<l,>;/
<n,>;<oe>;<o->;<t//>;<ng>;<a;>;<l//>;<l<>;<s'>;<s/>>;/
<s<>;<s,>;<t<>;<z'>;<z<>;<z.>;<r'>;<r,>;<a(>;<l'>;/
<c'>;<c<>;<e;>;<e<>;<d<>;<d//>;<n'>;<n<>;<u?>;<o">;/
<u->;<u(>;<r<>;<u0>;<u;>;<u">;<w/>>;<y/>>;<t,>;<a<>;/ 1
<a_>;<'a>;<a1>;<a2>;<a3>;<b.>;<b_>;<d_>;<d.>;<d;>;/
<e(>;<e_>;<e?>;<f.>;<g<>;<g->;<g//>;<h:>;<h.>;<h,>;/
<h;>;<i<>;<i(>;<j(>;<k'>;<k<>;<k_>;<k.>;<k;>;<l_>;/
<m'>;<m.>;<n.>;<n_>;<o<>;<o(>;<o_>;<o;>;<o1>;<p'>;/
<r.>;<r_>;<s.>;<s;>;<t_>;<t.>;<u<>;<v?>;<w'>;<w.>;/
<w:>;<x.>;<x:>;<y!>;<y.>;<z/>>;<z(>;<z_>;<z//>;<ez>;/
<g'>;<'b>;<'d>;<'g>;<'j>;<'y>;<ed>;<nS>;<sB>;<a=>;/
<b=>;<v=>;<g=>;<d=>;<e=>;<z%>;<z=>;<i=>;<j=>;<k=>;/
<l=>;<m=>;<n=>;<o=>;<p=>;<r=>;<s=>;<t=>;<u=>;<f=>;/
<h=>;<c=>;<c%>;<s%>;<sc>;<='>;<y=>;<%'>;<je>;<ju>;/
<ja>;<io>;<d%>;<g%>;<ie>;<ds>;<ii>;<yi>;<j%>;<lj>;/
<nj>;<ts>;<kj>;<v%>;<dz>;<a%>;<e%>;<y%>;<i%>;<a*>;/
<b*>;<g*>;<d*>;<e*>;<z*>;<y*>;<h*>;<i*>;<k*>;<l*>;/
<m*>;<n*>;<c*>;<o*>;<p*>;<r*>;<*s>;<s*>;<t*>;<u*>;/
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
1002 F Sample National Profile
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
<f*>;<x*>;<q*>;<w*>;<j*>;<v*>;<o%>;<u%>;<w%>;<A5>;/
<I5>;<U5>;<E5>;<O5>;<tU>;<yA>;<yU>;<yO>;<wA>;<a6>;/
<i6>;<u6>;<e6>;<o6>;<TU>;<YA>;<YU>;<YO>;<WA>;<KA>;/
<KE>;<ff>;<fi>;<fl>;<ft>;<st>
alpha <A>;<B>;<C>;<D>;<E>;<F>;<G>;<H>;<I>;<J>;/
<K>;<L>;<M>;<N>;<O>;<P>;<Q>;<R>;<S>;<T>;/
<U>;<V>;<W>;<X>;<Y>;<Z>;<a>;<b>;<c>;<d>;/
<e>;<f>;<g>;<h>;<i>;<j>;<k>;<l>;<m>;<n>;/
<o>;<p>;<q>;<r>;<s>;<t>;<u>;<v>;<w>;<x>;/
<y>;<z>;<-->;<A!>;<A'>;<A/>>;<A?>;<A:>;<AA>;<AE>;/
<C,>;<E!>;<E'>;<E/>>;<E:>;<I!>;<I'>;<I/>>;<I:>;<D->;/
<N?>;<O!>;<O'>;<O/>>;<O?>;<O:>;<O//>;<U!>;<U'>;<U/>>;/
<U:>;<Y'>;<TH>;<ss>;<a!>;<a'>;<a/>>;<a?>;<a:>;<aa>;/
<ae>;<c,>;<e!>;<e'>;<e/>>;<e:>;<i!>;<i'>;<i/>>;<i:>;/
<d->;<n?>;<o!>;<o'>;<o/>>;<o?>;<o:>;<o//>;<u!>;<u'>;/
<u/>>;<u:>;<y'>;<th>;<y:>;<A->;<C/>>;<C.>;<E->;<E.>;/
<G/>>;<G(>;<a->;<c/>>;<c.>;<e->;<e.>;<g/>>;<g(>;<G.>;/
<G,>;<H/>>;<I?>;<I->;<I.>;<g.>;<g,>;<h/>>;<i?>;<i->;/
<I;>;<J/>>;<K,>;<H//>;<IJ>;<L.>;<L,>;<N,>;<OE>;<O->;/
<T//>;<NG>;<'n>;<kk>;<i;>;<j/>>;<k,>;<h//>;<i.>;<ij>;/
<l.>;<l,>;<n,>;<oe>;<o->;<t//>;<ng>;<A;>;<L//>;<L<>;/
<S'>;<S/>>;<S<>;<S,>;<T<>;<Z'>;<Z<>;<Z.>;<a;>;<l//>;/
<l<>;<s'>;<s/>>;<s<>;<s,>;<t<>;<z'>;<z<>;<z.>;<R'>;/
<R,>;<A(>;<L'>;<C'>;<C<>;<E;>;<E<>;<D<>;<D//>;<N'>;/
<N<>;<U?>;<O">;<U->;<U(>;<R<>;<U0>;<U;>;<U">;<W/>>;/ 1
<Y/>>;<T,>;<Y:>;<r'>;<r,>;<a(>;<l'>;<c'>;<c<>;<e;>;/
<e<>;<d<>;<d//>;<n'>;<n<>;<u?>;<o">;<u->;<u(>;<r<>;/
<u0>;<u;>;<u">;<w/>>;<y/>>;<t,>;<a<>;<A<>;<a_>;<A_>;/ 1
<'a>;<'A>;<a1>;<A1>;<a2>;<A2>;<a3>;<A3>;<b.>;<B.>;/
<b_>;<B_>;<d_>;<D_>;<d.>;<D.>;<d;>;<D;>;<e(>;<E(>;/
<e_>;<E_>;<e?>;<E?>;<f.>;<F.>;<g<>;<G<>;<g->;<G->;/
<g//>;<G//>;<h:>;<H:>;<h.>;<H.>;<h,>;<H,>;<h;>;<H;>;/
<i<>;<I<>;<i(>;<I(>;<j(>;<J(>;<k'>;<K'>;<k<>;<K<>;/
<k_>;<K_>;<k.>;<K.>;<k;>;<K;>;<l_>;<L_>;<m'>;<M'>;/
<m.>;<M.>;<n.>;<N.>;<n_>;<N_>;<o<>;<O<>;<o(>;<O(>;/
<o_>;<O_>;<o;>;<O;>;<o1>;<O1>;<p'>;<P'>;<r.>;<R.>;/
<r_>;<R_>;<s.>;<S.>;<s;>;<S;>;<t_>;<T_>;<t.>;<T.>;/
<u<>;<U<>;<v?>;<V?>;<w'>;<W'>;<w.>;<W.>;<w:>;<W:>;/
<x.>;<X.>;<x:>;<X:>;<y!>;<Y!>;<y.>;<Y.>;<z/>>;<Z/>>;/
<z(>;<Z(>;<z_>;<Z_>;<z//>;<Z//>;<ez>;<EZ>;<g'>;<G'>;/
<'b>;<'B>;<'d>;<'D>;<'g>;<'G>;<'j>;<'J>;<'y>;<'Y>;/
<ed>;<ED>;<nS>;<IO>;<D%>;<G%>;<IE>;<DS>;<II>;<YI>;/
<J%>;<LJ>;<NJ>;<Ts>;<KJ>;<V%>;<DZ>;<A=>;<B=>;<V=>;/
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
F.3 Scope of Danish National Locale 1003
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
<G=>;<D=>;<E=>;<Z%>;<Z=>;<I=>;<J=>;<K=>;<L=>;<M=>;/
<N=>;<O=>;<P=>;<R=>;<S=>;<T=>;<U=>;<F=>;<H=>;<C=>;/
<C%>;<S%>;<Sc>;<=">;<Y=>;<%">;<JE>;<JU>;<JA>;<a=>;/
<b=>;<v=>;<g=>;<d=>;<e=>;<z%>;<z=>;<i=>;<j=>;<k=>;/
<l=>;<m=>;<n=>;<o=>;<p=>;<r=>;<s=>;<t=>;<u=>;<f=>;/
<h=>;<c=>;<c%>;<s%>;<sc>;<='>;<y=>;<%'>;<je>;<ju>;/
<ja>;<io>;<d%>;<g%>;<ie>;<ds>;<ii>;<yi>;<j%>;<lj>;/
<nj>;<ts>;<kj>;<v%>;<dz>;<I3>;<A%>;<E%>;<Y%>;<I%>;/
<O%>;<U%>;<W%>;<A*>;<B*>;<G*>;<D*>;<E*>;<Z*>;<Y*>;/
<H*>;<I*>;<K*>;<L*>;<M*>;<N*>;<C*>;<O*>;<P*>;<R*>;/
<S*>;<T*>;<U*>;<F*>;<X*>;<Q*>;<W*>;<J*>;<V*>;<a%>;/
<e%>;<y%>;<i%>;<a*>;<b*>;<g*>;<d*>;<e*>;<z*>;<y*>;/
<h*>;<i*>;<k*>;<l*>;<m*>;<n*>;<c*>;<o*>;<p*>;<r*>;/
<*s>;<s*>;<t*>;<u*>;<f*>;<x*>;<q*>;<w*>;<j*>;<v*>;/
<o%>;<u%>;<w%>;<p+>;<v+>;<gf>;<H'>;<aM>;<aH>;<wH>;/
<ah>;<yH>;<a+>;<b+>;<tm>;<t+>;<tk>;<g+>;<hk>;<x+>;/
<d+>;<dk>;<r+>;<z+>;<s+>;<sn>;<c+>;<dd>;<tj>;<zH>;/
<e+>;<i+>;<f+>;<q+>;<k+>;<l+>;<m+>;<n+>;<h+>;<w+>;/
<j+>;<y+>;<A+>;<B+>;<G+>;<D+>;<H+>;<W+>;<Z+>;<X+>;/
<Tj>;<J+>;<K%>;<K+>;<L+>;<M%>;<M+>;<N%>;<N+>;<S+>;/
<E+>;<P%>;<P+>;<Zj>;<ZJ>;<Q+>;<R+>;<Sh>;<T+>;<b4>;/
<p4>;<m4>;<f4>;<d4>;<t4>;<n4>;<l4>;<g4>;<k4>;<h4>;/
<j4>;<q4>;<x4>;<zh>;<ch>;<sh>;<r4>;<z4>;<c4>;<s4>;/
<a4>;<o4>;<e4>;<eh>;<ai>;<ei>;<au>;<ou>;<an>;<en>;/
<aN>;<eN>;<er>;<i4>;<u4>;<iu>;<A5>;<a5>;<I5>;<i5>;/
<U5>;<u5>;<E5>;<e5>;<O5>;<o5>;<ka>;<ga>;<ki>;<gi>;/
<ku>;<gu>;<ke>;<ge>;<ko>;<go>;<sa>;<za>;<si>;<zi>;/
<su>;<zu>;<se>;<ze>;<so>;<zo>;<ta>;<da>;<ti>;<di>;/
<tU>;<tu>;<du>;<te>;<de>;<to>;<do>;<na>;<ni>;<nu>;/
<ne>;<no>;<ha>;<ba>;<pa>;<hi>;<bi>;<pi>;<hu>;<bu>;/
<pu>;<he>;<be>;<pe>;<ho>;<bo>;<po>;<ma>;<mi>;<mu>;/
<me>;<mo>;<yA>;<ya>;<yU>;<yu>;<yO>;<yo>;<ra>;<ri>;/
<ru>;<re>;<ro>;<wA>;<wa>;<wi>;<we>;<wo>;<n5>;<a6>;/
<A6>;<i6>;<I6>;<u6>;<U6>;<e6>;<E6>;<o6>;<O6>;<Ka>;/
<Ga>;<Ki>;<Gi>;<Ku>;<Gu>;<Ke>;<Ge>;<Ko>;<Go>;<Sa>;/
<Za>;<Si>;<Zi>;<Su>;<Zu>;<Se>;<Ze>;<So>;<Zo>;<Ta>;/
<Da>;<Ti>;<Di>;<TU>;<Tu>;<Du>;<Te>;<De>;<To>;<Do>;/
<Na>;<Ni>;<Nu>;<Ne>;<No>;<Ha>;<Ba>;<Pa>;<Hi>;<Bi>;/ 1
<Pi>;<Hu>;<Bu>;<Pu>;<He>;<Be>;<Pe>;<Ho>;<Bo>;<Po>;/ 1
<Ma>;<Mi>;<Mu>;<Me>;<Mo>;<YA>;<Ya>;<YU>;<Yu>;<YO>;/
<Yo>;<Ra>;<Ri>;<Ru>;<Re>;<Ro>;<WA>;<Wa>;<Wi>;<We>;/
<Wo>;<N6>;<Vu>;<KA>;<KE>;<ff>;<fi>;<fl>;<ft>;<st>;/
<yf>
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
1004 F Sample National Profile
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
cntrl <NU>;<SH>;<SX>;<EX>;<ET>;<EQ>;<AK>;<BL>;<BS>;<HT>;/
<LF>;<VT>;<FF>;<CR>;<SO>;<SI>;<DL>;<D1>;<D2>;<D3>;/
<D4>;<NK>;<SY>;<EB>;<CN>;<EM>;<SB>;<EC>;<FS>;<GS>;/
<RS>;<US>;<DT>;<PA>;<HO>;<BH>;<NH>;<IN>;<NL>;<SA>;/
<ES>;<HS>;<HJ>;<VS>;<PD>;<PU>;<RI>;<S2>;<S3>;<DC>;/
<P1>;<P2>;<TS>;<CC>;<MW>;<SG>;<EG>;<SS>;<GC>;<SC>;/
<CI>;<ST>;<OC>;<PM>;<AC>
punct <!>;<">;<Nb>;<DO>;<%>;<&>;<'>;<(>;<)>;<*>;/
<+>;<,>;<->;<.>;<//>;<:>;<;>;<<>;<=>;</>>;/
<?>;<At>;<<(>;<////>;<)/>>;<'/>>;<_>;<'!>;<(!>;<!!>;/
<!)>;<'?>;<!I>;<Ct>;<Pd>;<Cu>;<Ye>;<BB>;<SE>;<':>;/
<Co>;<-a>;<<<>;<NO>;<Rg>;<'->;<DG>;<+->;<2S>;<3S>;/
<''>;<My>;<PI>;<.M>;<',>;<1S>;<-o>;</>/>>;<14>;<12>;/
<34>;<?I>;<*X>;<-:>;<'6>;<"6>;<<->;<-!>;<-/>>;<-v>;/
<'9>;<"9>;<'0>;<HB>;<TM>;<Md>;<18>;<38>;<58>;<78>;/
<Om>;<'(>;<';>;<'<>;<'">;<'.>;<;S>;<Vs>;<1M>;<1N>;/
<3M>;<4M>;<6M>;<1H>;<1T>;<-1>;<-N>;<-2>;<-M>;<-3>;/
<'1>;<'2>;<'3>;<9'>;<9">;<.9>;<:9>;<<1>;</>1>;<<//>;/
<///>>;<15>;<25>;<35>;<45>;<16>;<13>;<23>;<56>;<*->;/
<//->;<//=>;<-X>;<%0>;<co>;<PO>;<Rx>;<AO>;<oC>;<Ml>;/
<Fm>;<Tl>;<TR>;<MX>;<Mb>;<Mx>;<XX>;<OK>;<M2>;<!2>;/
<=2>;<Ca>;<..>;<.3>;<:3>;<.:>;<:.>;<-+>;<!=>;<=3>;/
<?1>;<?2>;<?->;<?=>;<=<>;</>=>;<0(>;<00>;<PP>;<-T>;/
<-L>;<-V>;<AN>;<OR>;<.P>;<dP>;<f(>;<In>;<Io>;<RT>;/
<*P>;<+Z>;<FA>;<TE>;<GF>;<DE>;<NB>;<(U>;<)U>;<(C>;/
<)C>;<(_>;<)_>;<(->;<-)>;<</>>;<UD>;<Ub>;<<=>;<=/>>;/
<==>;<//0>;<OL>;<0u>;<0U>;<SU>;<0:>;<OS>;<fS>;<Or>;/
<SR>;<uT>;<UT>;<dT>;<Dt>;<PL>;<PR>;<*1>;<*2>;<VV>;/
<HH>;<DR>;<LD>;<UR>;<UL>;<VR>;<VL>;<DH>;<UH>;<VH>;/
<TB>;<LB>;<FB>;<sB>;<EH>;<vv>;<hh>;<dr>;<dl>;<ur>;/
<ul>;<vr>;<vl>;<dh>;<uh>;<vh>;<.S>;<:S>;<?S>;<lB>;/
<RB>;<cC>;<cD>;<Dr>;<Dl>;<Ur>;<Ul>;<Vr>;<Vl>;<dH>;/
<uH>;<vH>;<Ob>;<Sb>;<Sn>;<Pt>;<NI>;<cH>;<cS>;<dR>;/
<dL>;<uR>;<uL>;<vR>;<vL>;<Dh>;<Uh>;<Vh>;<0m>;<0M>;/
<Ic>;<SM>;<CG>;<Ci>;<(A>;</>V>;<!<>;<<*>;<!/>>;<*/>>;/
<<7>;<7<>;</>7>;<7/>>;<I2>;<0.>;<HI>;<::>;<FD>;<LZ>;/
<BD>;<1R>;<2R>;<3R>;<4R>;<5R>;<6R>;<7R>;<8R>;<9R>;/
<aR>;<bR>;<cR>;<N0>;<i3>;<;;>;<,,>;<!*>;<?*>;<;'>;/
<,'>;<;!>;<,!>;<?;>;<?,>;<!:>;<?:>;<'%>;<,+>;<;+>;/
<?+>;<++>;<:+>;<"+>;<=+>;<//+>;<'+>;<1+>;<3+>;<0+>;/
<IS>;<,_>;<._>;<+">;<+_>;<*_>;<;_>;<0_>;<<+>;</>+>;/
<<'>;</>'>;<<">;</>">;<(">;<)">;<=//>;<=_>;<('>;<)'>;/
<KM>;<"5>;<05>;<*5>;<+5>;<-6>;<*6>;<+6>;<Iu>;<Il>;/
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
F.3 Scope of Danish National Locale 1005
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
<__>;<"!>;<"'>;<"/>>;<"?>;<"->;<"(>;<".>;<":>;<"//>;/ 1
<"0>;<",>;<"_>;<"">;<"<>;<";>;<"=>;<"1>;<"2>;<Fd>;/
<Bd>;<Fl>;<Li>;<//f>;<0s>;<1s>;<2s>;<3s>;<4s>;<5s>;/
<6s>;<7s>;<8s>;<9s>;<0S>;<4S>;<5S>;<6S>;<7S>;<8S>;/
<9S>;<+S>;<-S>;<1h>;<2h>;<3h>;<4h>;<1j>;<2j>;<3j>;/
<4j>;<UA>;<UB>;<yr>;<.6>;<<6>;</>6>;<,6>;<&6>;<(S>;/
<)S>
tolower (<'A>,<'a>); (<'B>,<'b>); (<'D>,<'d>); (<'G>,<'g>); (<'J>,<'j>);/
(<'Y>,<'y>); (<A>,<a>); (<A!>,<a!>); (<A'>,<a'>); (<A(>,<a(>);/ 1
(<A->,<a->); (<A1>,<a1>); (<A2>,<a2>); (<A3>,<a3>); (<A:>,<a:>);/
(<A;>,<a;>); (<A<>,<a<>); (<A/>>,<a/>>); (<A?>,<a?>); (<AA>,<aa>);/
(<AE>,<ae>); (<A_>,<a_>); (<B>,<b>); (<B.>,<b.>); (<B_>,<b_>);/
(<C>,<c>); (<C'>,<c'>); (<C,>,<c,>); (<C.>,<c.>); (<C<>,<c<>);/
(<C/>>,<c/>>); (<D>,<d>); (<D->,<d->); (<D.>,<d.>); (<D//>,<d//>);/
(<D;>,<d;>); (<D<>,<d<>); (<D_>,<d_>); (<E>,<e>); (<E!>,<e!>);/
(<E'>,<e'>); (<E(>,<e(>); (<E->,<e->); (<E.>,<e.>); (<E:>,<e:>);/
(<E;>,<e;>); (<E<>,<e<>); (<E/>>,<e/>>); (<E?>,<e?>); (<ED>,<ed>);/
(<EZ>,<ez>); (<E_>,<e_>); (<F>,<f>); (<F.>,<f.>);/
(<G>,<ft>); (<G'>,<g'>); (<G(>,<g(>); (<G,>,<g,>);/
(<G->,<g->); (<G.>,<g.>); (<G//>,<g//>); (<G<>,<g<>); (<G/>>,<g/>>);/
(<H>,<h>); (<H,>,<h,>); (<H.>,<h.>); (<H//>,<h//>); (<H:>,<h:>);/
(<H;>,<h;>); (<H/>>,<h/>>); (<I>,<i>); (<I!>,<i!>); (<I'>,<i'>);/
(<I(>,<i(>); (<I->,<i->); (<I.>,<i.>); (<I:>,<i:>); (<I;>,<i;>);/
(<I<>,<i<>); (<I/>>,<i/>>); (<I?>,<i?>); (<IJ>,<ij>); (<J>,<j>);/
(<J(>,<j(>); (<J/>>,<j/>>); (<K>,<k>); (<K'>,<k'>); (<K,>,<k,>);/
(<K.>,<k.>); (<K;>,<k;>); (<K<>,<k<>); (<K_>,<k_>);/
(<L>,<l>); (<L'>,<l'>); (<L,>,<l,>); (<L.>,<l.>); (<L//>,<l//>);/
(<L<>,<l<>); (<L_>,<l_>); (<M>,<m>); (<M'>,<m'>); (<M.>,<m.>);/
(<N>,<n>); (<N'>,<n'>); (<N,>,<n,>); (<N.>,<n.>); (<N<>,<n<>);/
(<N?>,<n?>); (<NG>,<ng>); (<N_>,<n_>); (<O>,<o>); (<O!>,<o!>);/
(<O">,<o">); (<O'>,<o'>); (<O(>,<o(>); (<O->,<o->); (<O//>,<o//>);/
(<O1>,<o1>); (<O:>,<o:>); (<O;>,<o;>); (<O<>,<o<>); (<O/>>,<o/>>);/
(<O?>,<o?>); (<OE>,<oe>); (<O_>,<o_>); (<P>,<p>); (<P'>,<p'>);/
(<Q>,<q>); (<R>,<r>); (<R'>,<r'>); (<R,>,<r,>); (<R.>,<r.>);/
(<R<>,<r<>); (<R_>,<r_>); (<S>,<s>); (<S'>,<s'>); (<S,>,<s,>);/
(<S.>,<s.>); (<S;>,<s;>); (<S<>,<s<>); (<S/>>,<s/>>); (<T>,<st>);/
(<T,>,<t>); (<T.>,<t.>); (<T//>,<t//>); (<T<>,<t<>);/
(<TH>,<th>); (<T_>,<t_>); (<U>,<u>); (<U!>,<u!>); (<U">,<u">);/
(<U'>,<u'>); (<U(>,<u(>); (<U->,<u->); (<U0>,<u0>); (<U:>,<u:>);/ 1
(<U;>,<u;>); (<U<>,<u<>); (<U/>>,<u/>>); (<U?>,<u?>); (<V>,<v>);/
(<V?>,<v?>); (<W>,<w>); (<W'>,<w'>); (<W.>,<w.>); (<W:>,<w:>);/
(<W/>>,<w/>>); (<X>,<x>); (<X.>,<x.>); (<X:>,<x:>); (<Y>,<y>);/
(<Y!>,<y!>); (<Y'>,<y'>); (<Y.>,<y.>); (<Y:>,<y:>); (<Y/>>,<y/>>);/
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
1006 F Sample National Profile
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
(<Z>,<z>); (<Z'>,<z'>); (<Z(>,<z(>); (<Z.>,<z.>); (<Z//>,<z//>);/
(<Z<>,<z<>); (<Z/>>,<z/>>); (<Z_>,<z_>); (<%">,<%'>); (<=">,<='>);/
(<A=>,<a=>); (<B=>,<b=>); (<C%>,<c%>); (<C=>,<c=>); (<D%>,<d%>);/
(<D=>,<d=>); (<DS>,<ds>); (<DZ>,<dz>); (<E=>,<e=>); (<F=>,<f=>);/
(<G%>,<g%>); (<G=>,<g=>); (<H=>,<h=>); (<I=>,<i=>); (<IE>,<ie>);/
(<II>,<ii>); (<IO>,<io>); (<J%>,<j%>); (<J=>,<j=>); (<JA>,<ja>);/
(<JE>,<je>); (<JU>,<ju>); (<K=>,<k=>); (<KJ>,<kj>); (<L=>,<l=>);/
(<LJ>,<lj>); (<M=>,<m=>); (<N=>,<n=>); (<NJ>,<nj>); (<O=>,<o=>);/
(<P=>,<p=>); (<R=>,<r=>); (<S%>,<s%>); (<S=>,<s=>); (<Sc>,<sc>);/
(<T=>,<t=>); (<Ts>,<ts>); (<U=>,<u=>); (<V=>,<v=>); (<Y=>,<y=>);/
(<YI>,<yi>); (<Z%>,<z%>); (<Z=>,<z=>); (<A%>,<a%>); (<A*>,<a*>);/
(<B*>,<b*>); (<C*>,<c*>); (<D*>,<d*>); (<E%>,<e%>); (<E*>,<e*>);/
(<F*>,<f*>); (<G*>,<g*>); (<H*>,<h*>); (<I%>,<i%>); (<I*>,<i*>);/
(<J*>,<j*>); (<K*>,<k*>); (<L*>,<l*>); (<M*>,<m*>); (<N*>,<n*>);/
(<O%>,<o%>); (<O*>,<o*>); (<P*>,<p*>); (<Q*>,<q*>); (<R*>,<r*>);/
(<S*>,<s*>); (<T*>,<t*>); (<U%>,<u%>); (<U*>,<u*>); (<V*>,<v*>);/
(<W%>,<w%>); (<W*>,<w*>); (<X*>,<x*>); (<Y%>,<y%>); (<Y*>,<y*>);/
(<Z*>,<z*>)
toupper (<'a>,<'A>); (<'b>,<'B>); (<'d>,<'D>); (<'g>,<'G>); (<'j>,<'J>);/
(<'y>,<'Y>); (<a>,<A>); (<a!>,<A!>); (<a'>,<A'>); (<a(>,<A(>);/ 1
(<a->,<A->); (<a1>,<A1>); (<a2>,<A2>); (<a3>,<A3>); (<a:>,<A:>);/
(<a;>,<A;>); (<a<>,<A<>); (<a/>>,<A/>>); (<a?>,<A?>); (<aa>,<AA>);/
(<ae>,<AE>); (<a_>,<A_>); (<b>,<B>); (<b.>,<B.>); (<b_>,<B_>);/
(<c>,<C>); (<c'>,<C'>); (<c,>,<C,>); (<c.>,<C.>); (<c<>,<C<>);/
(<c/>>,<C/>>); (<d>,<D>); (<d->,<D->); (<d.>,<D.>); (<d//>,<D//>);/
(<d;>,<D;>); (<d<>,<D<>); (<d_>,<D_>); (<e>,<E>); (<e!>,<E!>);/
(<e'>,<E'>); (<e(>,<E(>); (<e->,<E->); (<e.>,<E.>); (<e:>,<E:>);/
(<e;>,<E;>); (<e<>,<E<>); (<e/>>,<E/>>); (<e?>,<E?>); (<ed>,<ED>);/
(<ez>,<EZ>); (<e_>,<E_>); (<f>,<F>); (<f.>,<F.>);/
(<ft>,<G>); (<g'>,<G'>); (<g(>,<G(>); (<g,>,<G,>);/
(<g->,<G->); (<g.>,<G.>); (<g//>,<G//>); (<g<>,<G<>); (<g/>>,<G/>>);/
(<h>,<H>); (<h,>,<H,>); (<h.>,<H.>); (<h//>,<H//>); (<h:>,<H:>);/
(<h;>,<H;>); (<h/>>,<H/>>); (<i>,<I>); (<i!>,<I!>); (<i'>,<I'>);/
(<i(>,<I(>); (<i->,<I->); (<i.>,<I.>); (<i:>,<I:>); (<i;>,<I;>);/
(<i<>,<I<>); (<i/>>,<I/>>); (<i?>,<I?>); (<ij>,<IJ>); (<j>,<J>);/
(<j(>,<J(>); (<j/>>,<J/>>); (<k>,<K>); (<k'>,<K'>); (<k,>,<K,>);/
(<k.>,<K.>); (<k;>,<K;>); (<k<>,<K<>); (<k_>,<K_>);/
(<l>,<L>); (<l'>,<L'>); (<l,>,<L,>); (<l.>,<L.>); (<l//>,<L//>);/
(<l<>,<L<>); (<l_>,<L_>); (<m>,<M>); (<m'>,<M'>); (<m.>,<M.>);/
(<n>,<N>); (<n'>,<N'>); (<n,>,<N,>); (<n.>,<N.>); (<n<>,<N<>);/
(<n?>,<N?>); (<ng>,<NG>); (<n_>,<N_>); (<o>,<O>); (<o!>,<O!>);/
(<o">,<O">); (<o'>,<O'>); (<o(>,<O(>); (<o->,<O->); (<o//>,<O//>);/
(<o1>,<O1>); (<o:>,<O:>); (<o;>,<O;>); (<o<>,<O<>); (<o/>>,<O/>>);/
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
F.3 Scope of Danish National Locale 1007
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
(<o?>,<O?>); (<oe>,<OE>); (<o_>,<O_>); (<p>,<P>); (<p'>,<P'>);/
(<q>,<Q>); (<r>,<R>); (<r'>,<R'>); (<r,>,<R,>); (<r.>,<R.>);/
(<r<>,<R<>); (<r_>,<R_>); (<s>,<S>); (<s'>,<S'>); (<s,>,<S,>);/
(<s.>,<S.>); (<s;>,<S;>); (<s<>,<S<>); (<s/>>,<S/>>); (<st>,<T>);/
(<t>,<T,>); (<t.>,<T.>); (<t//>,<T//>); (<t<>,<T<>);/
(<th>,<TH>); (<t_>,<T_>); (<u>,<U>); (<u!>,<U!>); (<u">,<U">);/
(<u'>,<U'>); (<u(>,<U(>); (<u->,<U->); (<u0>,<U0>); (<u:>,<U:>);/ 1
(<u;>,<U;>); (<u<>,<U<>); (<u/>>,<U/>>); (<u?>,<U?>); (<v>,<V>);/
(<v?>,<V?>); (<w>,<W>); (<w'>,<W'>); (<w.>,<W.>); (<w:>,<W:>);/
(<w/>>,<W/>>); (<x>,<X>); (<x.>,<X.>); (<x:>,<X:>); (<y>,<Y>);/
(<y!>,<Y!>); (<y'>,<Y'>); (<y.>,<Y.>); (<y:>,<Y:>); (<y/>>,<Y/>>);/
(<z>,<Z>); (<z'>,<Z'>); (<z(>,<Z(>); (<z.>,<Z.>); (<z//>,<Z//>);/
(<z<>,<Z<>); (<z/>>,<Z/>>); (<z_>,<Z_>); (<%'>,<%">); (<='>,<=">);/
(<a=>,<A=>); (<b=>,<B=>); (<c%>,<C%>); (<c=>,<C=>); (<d%>,<D%>);/
(<d=>,<D=>); (<ds>,<DS>); (<dz>,<DZ>); (<e=>,<E=>); (<f=>,<F=>);/
(<g%>,<G%>); (<g=>,<G=>); (<h=>,<H=>); (<i=>,<I=>); (<ie>,<IE>);/
(<ii>,<II>); (<io>,<IO>); (<j%>,<J%>); (<j=>,<J=>); (<ja>,<JA>);/
(<je>,<JE>); (<ju>,<JU>); (<k=>,<K=>); (<kj>,<KJ>); (<l=>,<L=>);/
(<lj>,<LJ>); (<m=>,<M=>); (<n=>,<N=>); (<nj>,<NJ>); (<o=>,<O=>);/
(<p=>,<P=>); (<r=>,<R=>); (<s%>,<S%>); (<s=>,<S=>); (<sc>,<Sc>);/
(<t=>,<T=>); (<ts>,<Ts>); (<u=>,<U=>); (<v=>,<V=>); (<y=>,<Y=>);/
(<yi>,<YI>); (<z%>,<Z%>); (<z=>,<Z=>); (<a%>,<A%>); (<a*>,<A*>);/
(<b*>,<B*>); (<c*>,<C*>); (<d*>,<D*>); (<e%>,<E%>); (<e*>,<E*>);/
(<f*>,<F*>); (<g*>,<G*>); (<h*>,<H*>); (<i%>,<I%>); (<i*>,<I*>);/
(<j*>,<J*>); (<k*>,<K*>); (<l*>,<L*>); (<m*>,<M*>); (<n*>,<N*>);/
(<o%>,<O%>); (<o*>,<O*>); (<p*>,<P*>); (<q*>,<Q*>); (<r*>,<R*>);/
(<s*>,<S*>); (<*s>,<S*>); (<t*>,<T*>); (<u%>,<U%>); (<u*>,<U*>);/ 1
(<v*>,<V*>); (<w%>,<W%>); (<w*>,<W*>); (<x*>,<X*>); (<y%>,<Y%>);/ 1
(<y*>,<Y*>); (<z*>,<Z*>) 1
END LC_CTYPE
LC_COLLATE
% Ordering algorithm: 1
% 1. Spaces and hyphen (but not soft hyphen) before punctuation 1
% characters, punctuation characters before numbers, 1
% numbers before letters. 1
% 2. Letters with diacritical marks are members of equivalence classes 1
% 3. Upper case letters before corresponding lower case letter. 1
% 4. Specials are ignored when comparing letters, but then they are considered1
% 5. The alphabets are sorted in the order of appearance in ISO 10646: 1
% Latin, Cyrillic, Greek, Arabic and Hebrew. 1
% 6. In Danish, the letter combination `aa' is equivalent to `<aa>' 1
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
1008 F Sample National Profile
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
% 1
% The ordering algorithm is in accordance with Danish Standard DS 377 1
% and the Danish Orthography Dictionary (Retskrivningsordbogen, 1986). 1
% It is also in accordance with Faroese and Greenlandic orthography. 1
collating-element <A-A> from <A><A> 1
collating-element <a-a> from <a><a> 1
collating-element <A-a> from <A><a> 1
collating-element <s-s> from <s><s> 1
collating-element <i-j> from <i><j> 1
collating-element <I-J> from <I><J> 1
collating-element <o-e> from <o><e> 1
collating-element <O-E> from <O><E> 1
collating-element <t-h> from <t><h> 1
collating-element <T-H> from <T><H> 1
collating-element <n-g> from <n><g> 1
collating-element <N-G> from <N><G> 1
% collating symbols, <CAPITAL> or <SMALL> letters first 1
% <CAPITAL> letters before <SMALL> letters 1
collating-symbol <CAPITAL>
collating-symbol <BOTH>
collating-symbol <SMALL>
collating-symbol <NO-ACCENT>
collating-symbol <ACUTE>
collating-symbol <GRAVE>
collating-symbol <CIRCUMFLEX>
collating-symbol <TILDE>
collating-symbol <MACRON>
collating-symbol <BREVE>
collating-symbol <DOT>
collating-symbol <DIAERESIS>
collating-symbol <CEDILLA>
collating-symbol <UNDERLINE>
collating-symbol <STROKE>
collating-symbol <DOUBLE-ACUTE>
collating-symbol <OGONEK>
collating-symbol <CARON>
collating-symbol <CYRILLIC>
collating-symbol <GREEK>
collating-symbol <ALPHA-1>
collating-symbol <ALPHA-2>
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
F.3 Scope of Danish National Locale 1009
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
collating-symbol <PRECEDED-BY-APOSTROPHE>
collating-symbol <SPECIAL>
collating-symbol <ACC0>
collating-symbol <ACC1>
collating-symbol <ACC2>
collating-symbol <ACC3>
collating-symbol <ACC11>
collating-symbol <ACC12>
% letter;accent;case;specials 1
order_start forward;backward;forward;forward
<CAPITAL>
<BOTH>
<SMALL>
<NO-ACCENT>
<ACUTE>
<GRAVE>
<CIRCUMFLEX>
<TILDE>
<MACRON>
<BREVE>
<DOT>
<DIAERESIS>
<CEDILLA>
<UNDERLINE>
<STROKE>
<DOUBLE-ACUTE>
<OGONEK>
<CARON>
<CYRILLIC>
<GREEK>
<ALPHA-1>
<ALPHA-2>
<PRECEDED-BY-APOSTROPHE>
<SPECIAL>
<ACC0>
<ACC1>
<ACC2>
<ACC3>
<ACC11>
<ACC12>
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
1010 F Sample National Profile
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
<SP> <SP>
<NS> <SP>
<HT> <SP>
<VT> <SP>
<CR> <SP>
<LF> <SP>
<FF> <SP>
<-> <SP>
<//> <SP>
<!> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<"> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<Nb> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<DO> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<%> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<&> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<'> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<(> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<)> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<*> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<+> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<,> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<.> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<:> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<;> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<<> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<=> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
</>> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<?> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<At> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<<(> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<////> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<)/>> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<'/>> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<_> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<'!> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<(!> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<!!> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<!)> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<'?> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<!I> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<Ct> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<Pd> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<Cu> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<Ye> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
F.3 Scope of Danish National Locale 1011
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
<BB> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<SE> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<':> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<Co> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<-a> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<<<> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<NO> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<Rg> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<'-> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<DG> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<+-> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<''> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<My> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<PI> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<.M> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<',> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<-o> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
</>/>> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<14> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<12> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<34> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<?I> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<*X> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<-:> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<'6> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<"6> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<-!> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<-v> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<'9> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<"9> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<'0> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<HB> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<TM> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<Md> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<18> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<38> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<58> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<78> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<Om> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<'(> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<';> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<'<> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<'"> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<'.> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
1012 F Sample National Profile
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
<;S> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<Vs> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<1M> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<1N> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<3M> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<4M> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<6M> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<1H> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<1T> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<-1> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<-N> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<-2> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<-M> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<-3> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<'1> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<'2> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<'3> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<9'> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<9"> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<.9> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<:9> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<<1> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
</>1> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<15> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<25> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<35> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<45> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<16> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<13> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<23> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<56> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<*-> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<//-> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<//=> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<-X> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<%0> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<co> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<PO> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<Rx> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<AO> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<oC> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<Ml> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<Fm> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<Tl> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
F.3 Scope of Danish National Locale 1013
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
<TR> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<MX> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<Mb> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<Mx> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<XX> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<OK> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<M2> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<!2> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<=2> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<Ca> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<..> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<.3> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<:3> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<.:> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<:.> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<-+> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<!=> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<=3> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<?1> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<?2> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<?-> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<?=> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<=<> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
</>=> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<0(> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<00> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<PP> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<-T> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<-L> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<-V> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<AN> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<OR> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<.P> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<dP> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<f(> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<In> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<Io> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<RT> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<*P> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<+Z> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<FA> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<TE> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<GF> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<DE> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
1014 F Sample National Profile
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
<NB> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<(U> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<)U> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<(C> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<)C> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<(_> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<)_> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<(-> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<-)> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<</>> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<UD> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<Ub> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<<=> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<=/>> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<==> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<//0> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<OL> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<0u> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<0U> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<SU> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<0:> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<OS> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<fS> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<Or> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<SR> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<uT> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<UT> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<dT> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<Dt> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<PL> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<PR> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<*1> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<*2> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<VV> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<HH> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<DR> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<LD> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<UR> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<UL> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<VR> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<VL> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<DH> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<UH> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<VH> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
F.3 Scope of Danish National Locale 1015
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
<TB> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<LB> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<FB> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<sB> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<EH> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<vv> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<hh> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<dr> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<dl> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<ur> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<ul> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<vr> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<vl> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<dh> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<uh> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<vh> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<.S> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<:S> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<?S> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<lB> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<RB> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<cC> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<cD> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<Dr> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<Dl> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<Ur> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<Ul> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<Vr> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<Vl> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<dH> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<uH> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<vH> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<Ob> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<Sb> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<Sn> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<Pt> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<NI> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<cH> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<cS> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<dR> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<dL> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<uR> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<uL> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<vR> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
1016 F Sample National Profile
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
<vL> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<Dh> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<Uh> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<Vh> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<0m> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<0M> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<Ic> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<SM> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<CG> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<Ci> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<(A> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
</>V> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<!<> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<<*> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<!/>> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<*/>> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<<7> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<7<> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
</>7> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<7/>> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<I2> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<0.> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<HI> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<::> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<FD> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<LZ> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<BD> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<1R> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<2R> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<3R> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<4R> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<5R> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<6R> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<7R> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<8R> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<9R> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<aR> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<bR> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<cR> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<N0> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<i3> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<;;> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<,,> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<!*> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
F.3 Scope of Danish National Locale 1017
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
<?*> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<;'> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<,'> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<;!> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<,!> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<?;> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<?,> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<!:> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<?:> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<'%> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<,+> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<;+> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<?+> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<++> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<:+> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<"+> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<=+> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<//+> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<'+> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<1+> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<3+> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<0+> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<IS> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<,_> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<._> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<+"> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<+_> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<*_> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<;_> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<0_> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<<+> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
</>+> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<<'> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
</>'> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<<"> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
</>"> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<("> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<)"> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<=//> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<=_> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<('> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<)'> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<KM> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<"5> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
1018 F Sample National Profile
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
<05> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<*5> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<+5> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<-6> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<*6> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<+6> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<Iu> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<Il> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<NU> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<SH> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<SX> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<EX> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<ET> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<EQ> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<AK> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<BL> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<BS> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<SO> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<SI> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<DL> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<D1> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<D2> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<D3> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<D4> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<NK> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<SY> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<EB> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<CN> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<EM> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<SB> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<EC> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<FS> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<GS> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<RS> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<US> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<DT> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<PA> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<HO> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<BH> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<NH> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<IN> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<NL> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<SA> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<ES> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
F.3 Scope of Danish National Locale 1019
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
<HS> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<HJ> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<VS> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<PD> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<PU> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<RI> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<S2> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<S3> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<DC> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<P1> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<P2> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<TS> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<CC> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<MW> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<SG> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<EG> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<SS> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<GC> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<SC> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<CI> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<ST> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<OC> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<PM> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<AC> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<__> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE 1
<"!> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<"'> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<"/>> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<"?> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<"-> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<"(> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<".> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<":> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<"//> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<"0> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<",> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<"_> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<""> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<"<> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<";> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<"=> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<"1> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<"2> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<Fd> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
1020 F Sample National Profile
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
<Bd> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<Fl> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<Li> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<//f> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<0s> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<1s> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<2s> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<3s> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<4s> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<5s> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<6s> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<7s> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<8s> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<9s> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<0S> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<4S> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<5S> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<6S> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<7S> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<8S> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<9S> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<+S> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<-S> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<1h> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<2h> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<3h> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<4h> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<1j> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<2j> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<3j> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<4j> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<UA> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<UB> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<yr> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<.6> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<<6> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
</>6> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<,6> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<&6> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<(S> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<)S> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<UNDEFINED> IGNORE;IGNORE;IGNORE
<0>
<1> <1>
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
F.3 Scope of Danish National Locale 1021
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
<1S> <1>
<2> <2>
<2S> <2>
<3> <3>
<3S> <3>
<4>
<5>
<6>
<7>
<8>
<9>
<A> <A>;<NO-ACCENT>;<CAPITAL>
<a> <A>;<NO-ACCENT>;<SMALL>
<A'> <A>;<ACUTE>;<CAPITAL>
<a'> <A>;<ACUTE>;<SMALL>
<A!> <A>;<GRAVE>;<CAPITAL>
<a!> <A>;<GRAVE>;<SMALL>
<A/>> <A>;<CIRCUMFLEX>;<CAPITAL>
<a/>> <A>;<CIRCUMFLEX>;<SMALL>
<A?> <A>;<TILDE>;<CAPITAL>
<a?> <A>;<TILDE>;<SMALL>
<A-> <A>;<MACRON>;<CAPITAL>
<a-> <A>;<MACRON>;<SMALL>
<A(> <A>;<BREVE>;<CAPITAL>
<a(> <A>;<BREVE>;<SMALL>
<A_> <A>;<UNDERLINE>;<CAPITAL>
<a_> <A>;<UNDERLINE>;<SMALL>
<A;> <A>;<OGONEK>;<CAPITAL>
<a;> <A>;<OGONEK>;<SMALL>
<A<> <A>;<CARON>;<CAPITAL>
<a<> <A>;<CARON>;<SMALL>
<'A> <A>;<PRECEDED-BY-APOSTROPHE>;<CAPITAL>
<'a> <A>;<PRECEDED-BY-APOSTROPHE>;<SMALL>
<A1> <A>;<ACC1>;<CAPITAL>
<a1> <A>;<ACC1>;<SMALL>
<A2> <A>;<ACC2>;<CAPITAL>
<a2> <A>;<ACC2>;<SMALL>
<B> <B>;<NO-ACCENT>;<CAPITAL>
<b> <B>;<NO-ACCENT>;<SMALL>
<B.> <B>;<DOT>;<CAPITAL>
<b.> <B>;<DOT>;<SMALL>
<B_> <B>;<UNDERLINE>;<CAPITAL>
<b_> <B>;<UNDERLINE>;<SMALL>
<'B> <B>;<PRECEDED-BY-APOSTROPHE>;<CAPITAL>
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
1022 F Sample National Profile
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
<'b> <B>;<PRECEDED-BY-APOSTROPHE>;<SMALL>
<C> <C>;<NO-ACCENT>;<CAPITAL>
<c> <C>;<NO-ACCENT>;<SMALL>
<C'> <C>;<ACUTE>;<CAPITAL>
<c'> <C>;<ACUTE>;<SMALL>
<C/>> <C>;<CIRCUMFLEX>;<CAPITAL>
<c/>> <C>;<CIRCUMFLEX>;<SMALL>
<C.> <C>;<DOT>;<CAPITAL>
<c.> <C>;<DOT>;<SMALL>
<C,> <C>;<CEDILLA>;<CAPITAL>
<c,> <C>;<CEDILLA>;<SMALL>
<C<> <C>;<CARON>;<CAPITAL>
<c<> <C>;<CARON>;<SMALL>
<D> <D>;<NO-ACCENT>;<CAPITAL>
<d> <D>;<NO-ACCENT>;<SMALL>
<D.> <D>;<DOT>;<CAPITAL>
<d.> <D>;<DOT>;<SMALL>
<D_> <D>;<UNDERLINE>;<CAPITAL>
<d_> <D>;<UNDERLINE>;<SMALL>
<D//> <D>;<STROKE>;<CAPITAL>
<d//> <D>;<STROKE>;<SMALL>
<D;> <D>;<OGONEK>;<CAPITAL>
<d;> <D>;<OGONEK>;<SMALL>
<D<> <D>;<CARON>;<CAPITAL>
<d<> <D>;<CARON>;<SMALL>
<'D> <D>;<PRECEDED-BY-APOSTROPHE>;<CAPITAL>
<'d> <D>;<PRECEDED-BY-APOSTROPHE>;<SMALL>
<D-> <D>;<SPECIAL>;<CAPITAL>
<d-> <D>;<SPECIAL>;<SMALL>
<E> <E>;<NO-ACCENT>;<CAPITAL>
<e> <E>;<NO-ACCENT>;<SMALL>
<E'> <E>;<ACUTE>;<CAPITAL>
<e'> <E>;<ACUTE>;<SMALL>
<E!> <E>;<GRAVE>;<CAPITAL>
<e!> <E>;<GRAVE>;<SMALL>
<E/>> <E>;<CIRCUMFLEX>;<CAPITAL>
<e/>> <E>;<CIRCUMFLEX>;<SMALL>
<E?> <E>;<TILDE>;<CAPITAL>
<e?> <E>;<TILDE>;<SMALL>
<E-> <E>;<MACRON>;<CAPITAL>
<e-> <E>;<MACRON>;<SMALL>
<E(> <E>;<BREVE>;<CAPITAL>
<e(> <E>;<BREVE>;<SMALL>
<E.> <E>;<DOT>;<CAPITAL>
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
F.3 Scope of Danish National Locale 1023
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
<e.> <E>;<DOT>;<SMALL>
<E:> <E>;<DIAERESIS>;<CAPITAL>
<e:> <E>;<DIAERESIS>;<SMALL>
<E_> <E>;<UNDERLINE>;<CAPITAL>
<e_> <E>;<UNDERLINE>;<SMALL>
<E;> <E>;<OGONEK>;<CAPITAL>
<e;> <E>;<OGONEK>;<SMALL>
<E<> <E>;<CARON>;<CAPITAL>
<e<> <E>;<CARON>;<SMALL>
<F> <F>;<NO-ACCENT>;<CAPITAL>
<f> <F>;<NO-ACCENT>;<SMALL>
<F.> <F>;<DOT>;<CAPITAL>
<f.> <F>;<DOT>;<SMALL>
<ff> <FF+>;<SPECIAL>;<SMALL>
<fi> <FI+>;<SPECIAL>;<SMALL>
<fl> <FL+>;<SPECIAL>;<SMALL>
<ft> <FT+>;<SPECIAL>;<SMALL>
<G> <G>;<NO-ACCENT>;<CAPITAL>
<g> <G>;<NO-ACCENT>;<SMALL>
<G'> <G>;<ACUTE>;<CAPITAL>
<g'> <G>;<ACUTE>;<SMALL>
<G/>> <G>;<CIRCUMFLEX>;<CAPITAL>
<g/>> <G>;<CIRCUMFLEX>;<SMALL>
<G-> <G>;<MACRON>;<CAPITAL>
<g-> <G>;<MACRON>;<SMALL>
<G(> <G>;<BREVE>;<CAPITAL>
<g(> <G>;<BREVE>;<SMALL>
<G.> <G>;<DOT>;<CAPITAL>
<g.> <G>;<DOT>;<SMALL>
<G,> <G>;<CEDILLA>;<CAPITAL>
<g,> <G>;<CEDILLA>;<SMALL>
<G//> <G>;<STROKE>;<CAPITAL>
<g//> <G>;<STROKE>;<SMALL>
<G<> <G>;<CARON>;<CAPITAL>
<g<> <G>;<CARON>;<SMALL>
<'G> <G>;<PRECEDED-BY-APOSTROPHE>;<CAPITAL>
<'g> <G>;<PRECEDED-BY-APOSTROPHE>;<SMALL>
<H> <H>;<NO-ACCENT>;<CAPITAL>
<h> <H>;<NO-ACCENT>;<SMALL>
<H/>> <H>;<CIRCUMFLEX>;<CAPITAL>
<h/>> <H>;<CIRCUMFLEX>;<SMALL>
<H.> <H>;<DOT>;<CAPITAL>
<h.> <H>;<DOT>;<SMALL>
<H:> <H>;<DIAERESIS>;<CAPITAL>
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
1024 F Sample National Profile
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
<h:> <H>;<DIAERESIS>;<SMALL>
<H,> <H>;<CEDILLA>;<CAPITAL>
<h,> <H>;<CEDILLA>;<SMALL>
<H//> <H>;<STROKE>;<CAPITAL>
<h//> <H>;<STROKE>;<SMALL>
<H;> <H>;<OGONEK>;<CAPITAL>
<h;> <H>;<OGONEK>;<SMALL>
<I> <I>;<NO-ACCENT>;<CAPITAL>
<i> <I>;<NO-ACCENT>;<SMALL>
<I'> <I>;<ACUTE>;<CAPITAL>
<i'> <I>;<ACUTE>;<SMALL>
<I!> <I>;<GRAVE>;<CAPITAL>
<i!> <I>;<GRAVE>;<SMALL>
<I/>> <I>;<CIRCUMFLEX>;<CAPITAL>
<i/>> <I>;<CIRCUMFLEX>;<SMALL>
<I?> <I>;<TILDE>;<CAPITAL>
<i?> <I>;<TILDE>;<SMALL>
<I-> <I>;<MACRON>;<CAPITAL>
<i-> <I>;<MACRON>;<SMALL>
<I(> <I>;<BREVE>;<CAPITAL>
<i(> <I>;<BREVE>;<SMALL>
<I.> <I>;<DOT>;<CAPITAL>
<i.> <I>;<DOT>;<SMALL>
<I:> <I>;<DIAERESIS>;<CAPITAL>
<i:> <I>;<DIAERESIS>;<SMALL>
<I;> <I>;<OGONEK>;<CAPITAL>
<i;> <I>;<OGONEK>;<SMALL>
<I<> <I>;<CARON>;<CAPITAL>
<i<> <I>;<CARON>;<SMALL>
<I-J> <I><J>;<I-J><I-J>;<CAPITAL><CAPITAL>
<i-j> <I><J>;<I-J><I-J>;<SMALL><SMALL>
<IJ> <I><J>;<IJ><IJ>;<CAPITAL><CAPITAL>
<ij> <I><J>;<IJ><IJ>;<SMALL><SMALL>
<J> <J>;<NO-ACCENT>;<CAPITAL>
<j> <J>;<NO-ACCENT>;<SMALL>
<J/>> <J>;<CIRCUMFLEX>;<CAPITAL>
<j/>> <J>;<CIRCUMFLEX>;<SMALL>
<J(> <J>;<BREVE>;<CAPITAL>
<j(> <J>;<BREVE>;<SMALL>
<'J> <J>;<PRECEDED-BY-APOSTROPHE>;<CAPITAL>
<'j> <J>;<PRECEDED-BY-APOSTROPHE>;<SMALL>
<K> <K>;<NO-ACCENT>;<CAPITAL>
<k> <K>;<NO-ACCENT>;<SMALL>
<K'> <K>;<ACUTE>;<CAPITAL>
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
F.3 Scope of Danish National Locale 1025
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
<k'> <K>;<ACUTE>;<SMALL>
<K.> <K>;<DOT>;<CAPITAL>
<k.> <K>;<DOT>;<SMALL>
<K,> <K>;<CEDILLA>;<CAPITAL>
<k,> <K>;<CEDILLA>;<SMALL>
<K_> <K>;<UNDERLINE>;<CAPITAL>
<k_> <K>;<UNDERLINE>;<SMALL>
<K;> <K>;<OGONEK>;<CAPITAL>
<k;> <K>;<OGONEK>;<SMALL>
<K<> <K>;<CARON>;<CAPITAL>
<k<> <K>;<CARON>;<SMALL>
<L> <L>;<NO-ACCENT>;<CAPITAL>
<l> <L>;<NO-ACCENT>;<SMALL>
<L'> <L>;<ACUTE>;<CAPITAL>
<l'> <L>;<ACUTE>;<SMALL>
<L.> <L>;<DOT>;<CAPITAL>
<l.> <L>;<DOT>;<SMALL>
<L,> <L>;<CEDILLA>;<CAPITAL>
<l,> <L>;<CEDILLA>;<SMALL>
<L_> <L>;<UNDERLINE>;<CAPITAL>
<l_> <L>;<UNDERLINE>;<SMALL>
<L//> <L>;<STROKE>;<CAPITAL>
<l//> <L>;<STROKE>;<SMALL>
<L<> <L>;<CARON>;<CAPITAL>
<l<> <L>;<CARON>;<SMALL>
<M> <M>;<NO-ACCENT>;<CAPITAL>
<m> <M>;<NO-ACCENT>;<SMALL>
<M'> <M>;<ACUTE>;<CAPITAL>
<m'> <M>;<ACUTE>;<SMALL>
<M.> <M>;<DOT>;<CAPITAL>
<m.> <M>;<DOT>;<SMALL>
<N> <N>;<NO-ACCENT>;<CAPITAL>
<n> <N>;<NO-ACCENT>;<SMALL>
<N'> <N>;<ACUTE>;<CAPITAL>
<n'> <N>;<ACUTE>;<SMALL>
<N?> <N>;<TILDE>;<CAPITAL>
<n?> <N>;<TILDE>;<SMALL>
<N.> <N>;<DOT>;<CAPITAL>
<n.> <N>;<DOT>;<SMALL>
<N,> <N>;<CEDILLA>;<CAPITAL>
<n,> <N>;<CEDILLA>;<SMALL>
<N_> <N>;<UNDERLINE>;<CAPITAL>
<n_> <N>;<UNDERLINE>;<SMALL>
<N<> <N>;<CARON>;<CAPITAL>
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
1026 F Sample National Profile
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
<n<> <N>;<CARON>;<SMALL>
<'n> <N>;<PRECEDED-BY-APOSTROPHE>;<SMALL>
<N-G> <N><G>;<N-G><N-G>;<CAPITAL><CAPITAL>
<n-g> <N><G>;<N-G><N-G>;<SMALL><SMALL>
<NG> <N><G>;<NG><NG>;<CAPITAL><CAPITAL>
<ng> <N><G>;<NG><NG>;<SMALL><SMALL>
<O> <O>;<NO-ACCENT>;<CAPITAL>
<o> <O>;<NO-ACCENT>;<SMALL>
<O'> <O>;<ACUTE>;<CAPITAL>
<o'> <O>;<ACUTE>;<SMALL>
<O!> <O>;<GRAVE>;<CAPITAL>
<o!> <O>;<GRAVE>;<SMALL>
<O/>> <O>;<CIRCUMFLEX>;<CAPITAL>
<o/>> <O>;<CIRCUMFLEX>;<SMALL>
<O?> <O>;<TILDE>;<CAPITAL>
<o?> <O>;<TILDE>;<SMALL>
<O-> <O>;<MACRON>;<CAPITAL>
<o-> <O>;<MACRON>;<SMALL>
<O(> <O>;<BREVE>;<CAPITAL>
<o(> <O>;<BREVE>;<SMALL>
<O_> <O>;<UNDERLINE>;<CAPITAL>
<o_> <O>;<UNDERLINE>;<SMALL>
<O;> <O>;<OGONEK>;<CAPITAL>
<o;> <O>;<OGONEK>;<SMALL>
<O<> <O>;<CARON>;<CAPITAL>
<o<> <O>;<CARON>;<SMALL>
<O1> <O>;<ACC1>;<CAPITAL>
<o1> <O>;<ACC1>;<SMALL>
<O-E> <O><E>;<O-E><O-E>;<CAPITAL><CAPITAL>
<o-e> <O><E>;<O-E><O-E>;<SMALL><SMALL>
<OE> <O><E>;<OE><OE>;<CAPITAL><CAPITAL>
<oe> <O><E>;<OE><OE>;<SMALL><SMALL>
<P> <P>;<NO-ACCENT>;<CAPITAL>
<p> <P>;<NO-ACCENT>;<SMALL>
<P'> <P>;<ACUTE>;<CAPITAL>
<p'> <P>;<ACUTE>;<SMALL>
<Q> <Q>;<NO-ACCENT>;<CAPITAL>
<q> <Q>;<NO-ACCENT>;<SMALL>
<kk> <Q>;<SPECIAL>;<SMALL>
<R> <R>;<NO-ACCENT>;<CAPITAL>
<r> <R>;<NO-ACCENT>;<SMALL>
<R'> <R>;<ACUTE>;<CAPITAL>
<r'> <R>;<ACUTE>;<SMALL>
<R.> <R>;<DOT>;<CAPITAL>
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
F.3 Scope of Danish National Locale 1027
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
<r.> <R>;<DOT>;<SMALL>
<R,> <R>;<CEDILLA>;<CAPITAL>
<r,> <R>;<CEDILLA>;<SMALL>
<R_> <R>;<UNDERLINE>;<CAPITAL>
<r_> <R>;<UNDERLINE>;<SMALL>
<R<> <R>;<CARON>;<CAPITAL>
<r<> <R>;<CARON>;<SMALL>
<S> <S>;<NO-ACCENT>;<CAPITAL>
<s> <S>;<NO-ACCENT>;<SMALL>
<S'> <S>;<ACUTE>;<CAPITAL>
<s'> <S>;<ACUTE>;<SMALL>
<S/>> <S>;<CIRCUMFLEX>;<CAPITAL>
<s/>> <S>;<CIRCUMFLEX>;<SMALL>
<S.> <S>;<DOT>;<CAPITAL>
<s.> <S>;<DOT>;<SMALL>
<S,> <S>;<CEDILLA>;<CAPITAL>
<s,> <S>;<CEDILLA>;<SMALL>
<S;> <S>;<OGONEK>;<CAPITAL>
<s;> <S>;<OGONEK>;<SMALL>
<S<> <S>;<CARON>;<CAPITAL>
<s<> <S>;<CARON>;<SMALL>
<ss> <S><S>;<ss><ss>;<SMALL><SMALL> 1
<s-s> <S><S>;<s-s><s-s>;<SMALL><SMALL> 1
<st> <ST+>;<SPECIAL>;<SMALL>
<T> <T>;<NO-ACCENT>;<CAPITAL>
<t> <T>;<NO-ACCENT>;<SMALL>
<T.> <T>;<DOT>;<CAPITAL>
<t.> <T>;<DOT>;<SMALL>
<T,> <T>;<CEDILLA>;<CAPITAL>
<t,> <T>;<CEDILLA>;<SMALL>
<T_> <T>;<UNDERLINE>;<CAPITAL>
<t_> <T>;<UNDERLINE>;<SMALL>
<T//> <T>;<STROKE>;<CAPITAL>
<t//> <T>;<STROKE>;<SMALL>
<T<> <T>;<CARON>;<CAPITAL>
<t<> <T>;<CARON>;<SMALL>
<T-H> <T><H>;<T-H><T-H>;<CAPITAL><CAPITAL>
<t-h> <T><H>;<T-H><T-H>;<SMALL><SMALL>
<TH> <T><H>;<TH><TH>;<CAPITAL><CAPITAL>
<th> <T><H>;<TH><TH>;<SMALL><SMALL>
<U> <U>;<NO-ACCENT>;<CAPITAL>
<u> <U>;<NO-ACCENT>;<SMALL>
<U'> <U>;<ACUTE>;<CAPITAL>
<u'> <U>;<ACUTE>;<SMALL>
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
1028 F Sample National Profile
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
<U!> <U>;<GRAVE>;<CAPITAL>
<u!> <U>;<GRAVE>;<SMALL>
<U/>> <U>;<CIRCUMFLEX>;<CAPITAL>
<u/>> <U>;<CIRCUMFLEX>;<SMALL>
<U?> <U>;<TILDE>;<CAPITAL>
<u?> <U>;<TILDE>;<SMALL>
<U-> <U>;<MACRON>;<CAPITAL>
<u-> <U>;<MACRON>;<SMALL>
<U(> <U>;<BREVE>;<CAPITAL>
<u(> <U>;<BREVE>;<SMALL>
<U;> <U>;<OGONEK>;<CAPITAL> 1
<u;> <U>;<OGONEK>;<SMALL>
<U<> <U>;<CARON>;<CAPITAL>
<u<> <U>;<CARON>;<SMALL>
<U0> <U>;<RING>;<CAPITAL> 1
<u0> <U>;<RING>;<SMALL> 1
<V> <V>;<NO-ACCENT>;<CAPITAL>
<v> <V>;<NO-ACCENT>;<SMALL>
<V?> <V>;<TILDE>;<CAPITAL>
<v?> <V>;<TILDE>;<SMALL>
<W> <W>;<NO-ACCENT>;<CAPITAL>
<w> <W>;<NO-ACCENT>;<SMALL>
<W'> <W>;<ACUTE>;<CAPITAL>
<w'> <W>;<ACUTE>;<SMALL>
<W/>> <W>;<CIRCUMFLEX>;<CAPITAL>
<w/>> <W>;<CIRCUMFLEX>;<SMALL>
<W.> <W>;<DOT>;<CAPITAL>
<w.> <W>;<DOT>;<SMALL>
<W:> <W>;<DIAERESIS>;<CAPITAL>
<w:> <W>;<DIAERESIS>;<SMALL>
<X> <X>;<NO-ACCENT>;<CAPITAL>
<x> <X>;<NO-ACCENT>;<SMALL>
<X.> <X>;<DOT>;<CAPITAL>
<x.> <X>;<DOT>;<SMALL>
<X:> <X>;<DIAERESIS>;<CAPITAL>
<x:> <X>;<DIAERESIS>;<SMALL>
<Y> <Y>;<NO-ACCENT>;<CAPITAL>
<y> <Y>;<NO-ACCENT>;<SMALL>
<Y'> <Y>;<ACUTE>;<CAPITAL>
<y'> <Y>;<ACUTE>;<SMALL>
<Y!> <Y>;<GRAVE>;<CAPITAL>
<y!> <Y>;<GRAVE>;<SMALL>
<Y/>> <Y>;<CIRCUMFLEX>;<CAPITAL>
<y/>> <Y>;<CIRCUMFLEX>;<SMALL>
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
F.3 Scope of Danish National Locale 1029
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
<Y.> <Y>;<DOT>;<CAPITAL>
<y.> <Y>;<DOT>;<SMALL>
<'Y> <Y>;<PRECEDED-BY-APOSTROPHE>;<CAPITAL>
<'y> <Y>;<PRECEDED-BY-APOSTROPHE>;<SMALL>
% <U:> and <U"> are treated as <Y> in Danish 1
<U:> <Y>;<ACC11>;<CAPITAL>
<u:> <Y>;<ACC11>;<SMALL>
<U"> <Y>;<ACC12>;<CAPITAL>
<u"> <Y>;<ACC12>;<SMALL>
<Z> <Z>;<NO-ACCENT>;<CAPITAL>
<z> <Z>;<NO-ACCENT>;<SMALL>
<Z'> <Z>;<ACUTE>;<CAPITAL>
<z'> <Z>;<ACUTE>;<SMALL>
<Z/>> <Z>;<CIRCUMFLEX>;<CAPITAL>
<z/>> <Z>;<CIRCUMFLEX>;<SMALL>
<Z(> <Z>;<BREVE>;<CAPITAL>
<z(> <Z>;<BREVE>;<SMALL>
<Z.> <Z>;<DOT>;<CAPITAL>
<z.> <Z>;<DOT>;<SMALL>
<Z_> <Z>;<UNDERLINE>;<CAPITAL>
<z_> <Z>;<UNDERLINE>;<SMALL>
<Z//> <Z>;<STROKE>;<CAPITAL>
<z//> <Z>;<STROKE>;<SMALL>
<Z<> <Z>;<CARON>;<CAPITAL>
<z<> <Z>;<CARON>;<SMALL>
% <AE> is treated as a separate letter in Danish 1
<AE> <AE>;<NO-ACCENT>;<CAPITAL>
<ae> <AE>;<NO-ACCENT>;<SMALL>
<A:> <AE>;<DIAERESIS>;<CAPITAL>
<a:> <AE>;<DIAERESIS>;<SMALL>
<A3> <AE>;<ACC3>;<CAPITAL>
<a3> <AE>;<ACC3>;<SMALL>
% <O//> is treated as a separate letter in Danish 1
<O//> <O//>;<NO-ACCENT>;<CAPITAL>
<o//> <O//>;<NO-ACCENT>;<SMALL>
<O:> <O//>;<DIAERESIS>;<CAPITAL>
<o:> <O//>;<DIAERESIS>;<SMALL>
<O"> <O//>;<DOUBLE-ACUTE>;<CAPITAL>
<o"> <O//>;<DOUBLE-ACUTE>;<SMALL>
% <AA> is treated as a separate letter in Danish 1
<AA> <AA>;<NO-ACCENT>;<CAPITAL>
<aa> <AA>;<NO-ACCENT>;<SMALL>
<A-A> <AA>;<ACC1>;<CAPITAL>
<A-a> <AA>;<ACC1>;<BOTH>
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
1030 F Sample National Profile
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
<a-a> <AA>;<ACC1>;<SMALL>
<A=> <A=>;<CYRILLIC>;<CAPITAL>
<a=> <A=>;<CYRILLIC>;<SMALL>
<B=> <B=>;<CYRILLIC>;<CAPITAL>
<b=> <B=>;<CYRILLIC>;<SMALL>
<V=> <V=>;<CYRILLIC>;<CAPITAL>
<v=> <V=>;<CYRILLIC>;<SMALL>
<G=> <G=>;<CYRILLIC>;<CAPITAL>
<g=> <G=>;<CYRILLIC>;<SMALL>
<G%> <G=>;<ALPHA-1>;<CAPITAL>
<g%> <G=>;<ALPHA-1>;<SMALL>
<D=> <D=>;<CYRILLIC>;<CAPITAL>
<d=> <D=>;<CYRILLIC>;<SMALL>
<D%> <D%>;<ALPHA-1>;<CAPITAL>
<d%> <D%>;<ALPHA-1>;<SMALL>
<E=> <E=>;<CYRILLIC>;<CAPITAL>
<e=> <E=>;<CYRILLIC>;<SMALL>
<IO> <E=>;<SPECIAL>;<CAPITAL>
<io> <E=>;<SPECIAL>;<SMALL>
<IE> <IE>;<SPECIAL>;<CAPITAL>
<ie> <IE>;<SPECIAL>;<SMALL>
<Z%> <Z%>;<ALPHA-1>;<CAPITAL>
<z%> <Z%>;<ALPHA-1>;<SMALL>
<Z=> <Z=>;<CYRILLIC>;<CAPITAL>
<z=> <Z=>;<CYRILLIC>;<SMALL>
<DS> <DS>;<SPECIAL>;<CAPITAL> 1
<ds> <DS>;<SPECIAL>;<SMALL> 1
<I=> <I=>;<CYRILLIC>;<CAPITAL>
<i=> <I=>;<CYRILLIC>;<SMALL>
<II> <II>;<SPECIAL>;<CAPITAL>
<ii> <II>;<SPECIAL>;<SMALL>
<YI> <II>;<ALPHA-1>;<CAPITAL>
<yi> <II>;<ALPHA-1>;<SMALL>
<J%> <J%>;<ALPHA-1>;<CAPITAL>
<j%> <J%>;<ALPHA-1>;<SMALL>
<J=> <J=>;<CYRILLIC>;<CAPITAL>
<j=> <J=>;<CYRILLIC>;<SMALL>
<K=> <K=>;<CYRILLIC>;<CAPITAL>
<k=> <K=>;<CYRILLIC>;<SMALL>
<KJ> <K=>;<SPECIAL>;<CAPITAL>
<kj> <K=>;<SPECIAL>;<SMALL>
<L=> <L=>;<CYRILLIC>;<CAPITAL>
<l=> <L=>;<CYRILLIC>;<SMALL>
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
F.3 Scope of Danish National Locale 1031
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
<LJ> <LJ>;<SPECIAL>;<CAPITAL>
<lj> <LJ>;<SPECIAL>;<SMALL>
<M=> <M=>;<CYRILLIC>;<CAPITAL>
<m=> <M=>;<CYRILLIC>;<SMALL>
<N=> <N=>;<CYRILLIC>;<CAPITAL>
<n=> <N=>;<CYRILLIC>;<SMALL>
<NJ> <NJ>;<SPECIAL>;<CAPITAL>
<nj> <NJ>;<SPECIAL>;<SMALL>
<O=> <O=>;<CYRILLIC>;<CAPITAL>
<o=> <O=>;<CYRILLIC>;<SMALL>
<P=> <P=>;<CYRILLIC>;<CAPITAL>
<p=> <P=>;<CYRILLIC>;<SMALL>
<R=> <R=>;<CYRILLIC>;<CAPITAL>
<r=> <R=>;<CYRILLIC>;<SMALL>
<S=> <S=>;<CYRILLIC>;<CAPITAL>
<s=> <S=>;<CYRILLIC>;<SMALL>
<T=> <T=>;<CYRILLIC>;<CAPITAL>
<t=> <T=>;<CYRILLIC>;<SMALL>
<Ts> <Ts>;<SPECIAL>;<CAPITAL>
<ts> <Ts>;<SPECIAL>;<SMALL>
<U=> <U=>;<CYRILLIC>;<CAPITAL>
<u=> <U=>;<CYRILLIC>;<SMALL>
<V%> <V%>;<ALPHA-1>;<CAPITAL>
<v%> <V%>;<ALPHA-1>;<SMALL>
<F=> <F=>;<CYRILLIC>;<CAPITAL>
<f=> <F=>;<CYRILLIC>;<SMALL>
<H=> <H=>;<CYRILLIC>;<CAPITAL>
<h=> <H=>;<CYRILLIC>;<SMALL>
<C=> <C=>;<CYRILLIC>;<CAPITAL>
<c=> <C=>;<CYRILLIC>;<SMALL>
<C%> <C%>;<ALPHA-1>;<CAPITAL>
<c%> <C%>;<ALPHA-1>;<SMALL>
<DZ> <DZ>;<SPECIAL>;<CAPITAL>
<dz> <DZ>;<SPECIAL>;<SMALL>
<S%> <S%>;<ALPHA-1>;<CAPITAL>
<s%> <S%>;<ALPHA-1>;<SMALL>
<Sc> <Sc>;<SPECIAL>;<CAPITAL>
<sc> <Sc>;<SPECIAL>;<SMALL>
<='> <='>;<ACUTE>;<SMALL>
<="> <='>;<DOUBLE-ACUTE>;<CAPITAL>
<Y=> <Y=>;<CYRILLIC>;<CAPITAL>
<y=> <Y=>;<CYRILLIC>;<SMALL>
<%'> <%'>;<ACUTE>;<SMALL>
<%"> <%'>;<DOUBLE-ACUTE>;<CAPITAL>
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
1032 F Sample National Profile
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
<JE> <JE>;<SPECIAL>;<CAPITAL>
<je> <JE>;<SPECIAL>;<SMALL>
<JU> <JU>;<SPECIAL>;<CAPITAL>
<ju> <JU>;<SPECIAL>;<SMALL>
<JA> <JA>;<SPECIAL>;<CAPITAL>
<ja> <JA>;<SPECIAL>;<SMALL>
<A*> <A*>;<GREEK>;<CAPITAL> 1
<a*> <A*>;<GREEK>;<SMALL>
<A%> <A*>;<ALPHA-1>;<CAPITAL>
<a%> <A*>;<ALPHA-1>;<SMALL>
<B*> <B*>;<GREEK>;<CAPITAL>
<b*> <B*>;<GREEK>;<SMALL>
<G*> <G*>;<GREEK>;<CAPITAL>
<g*> <G*>;<GREEK>;<SMALL>
<D*> <D*>;<GREEK>;<CAPITAL>
<d*> <D*>;<GREEK>;<SMALL>
<E*> <E*>;<GREEK>;<CAPITAL>
<e*> <E*>;<GREEK>;<SMALL>
<E%> <E*>;<ALPHA-1>;<CAPITAL>
<e%> <E*>;<ALPHA-1>;<SMALL>
<Z*> <Z*>;<GREEK>;<CAPITAL>
<z*> <Z*>;<GREEK>;<SMALL>
<Y*> <Y*>;<GREEK>;<CAPITAL>
<y*> <Y*>;<GREEK>;<SMALL>
<Y%> <Y*>;<ALPHA-1>;<CAPITAL>
<y%> <Y*>;<ALPHA-1>;<SMALL>
<H*> <H*>;<GREEK>;<CAPITAL>
<h*> <H*>;<GREEK>;<SMALL>
<I*> <I*>;<GREEK>;<CAPITAL> 1
<J*> <I*>;<GREEK>;<CAPITAL> 1
<i*> <I*>;<GREEK>;<SMALL> 1
<j*> <I*>;<GREEK>;<SMALL> 1
<I%> <I*>;<ALPHA-1>;<CAPITAL> 1
<i%> <I*>;<ALPHA-1>;<SMALL> 1
<K*> <K*>;<GREEK>;<CAPITAL> 1
<k*> <K*>;<GREEK>;<SMALL> 1
<L*> <L*>;<GREEK>;<CAPITAL> 1
<l*> <L*>;<GREEK>;<SMALL> 1
<M*> <M*>;<GREEK>;<CAPITAL> 1
<m*> <M*>;<GREEK>;<SMALL> 1
<N*> <N*>;<GREEK>;<CAPITAL> 1
<n*> <N*>;<GREEK>;<SMALL> 1
<C*> <C*>;<GREEK>;<CAPITAL> 1
<c*> <C*>;<GREEK>;<SMALL> 1
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
F.3 Scope of Danish National Locale 1033
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
<O*> <O*>;<GREEK>;<CAPITAL>
<o*> <O*>;<GREEK>;<SMALL>
<O%> <O*>;<ALPHA-1>;<CAPITAL>
<o%> <O*>;<ALPHA-1>;<SMALL>
<P*> <P*>;<GREEK>;<CAPITAL>
<p*> <P*>;<GREEK>;<SMALL>
<R*> <R*>;<GREEK>;<CAPITAL>
<r*> <R*>;<GREEK>;<SMALL>
<S*> <S*>;<GREEK>;<CAPITAL>
<s*> <S*>;<GREEK>;<SMALL>
<*s> <S*>;<SPECIAL>;<SMALL>
<T*> <T*>;<GREEK>;<CAPITAL>
<t*> <T*>;<GREEK>;<SMALL>
<U*> <U*>;<GREEK>;<CAPITAL>
<V*> <U*>;<GREEK>;<CAPITAL>
<u*> <U*>;<GREEK>;<SMALL>
<v*> <U*>;<GREEK>;<SMALL>
<U%> <U*>;<ALPHA-1>;<CAPITAL>
<u%> <U*>;<ALPHA-1>;<SMALL>
<F*> <F*>;<GREEK>;<CAPITAL>
<f*> <F*>;<GREEK>;<SMALL>
<X*> <X*>;<GREEK>;<CAPITAL>
<x*> <X*>;<GREEK>;<SMALL>
<Q*> <Q*>;<GREEK>;<CAPITAL>
<q*> <Q*>;<GREEK>;<SMALL>
<W*> <W*>;<GREEK>;<CAPITAL>
<w*> <W*>;<GREEK>;<SMALL>
<W%> <W*>;<ALPHA-1>;<CAPITAL>
<w%> <W*>;<ALPHA-1>;<SMALL>
<p+>
<v+>
<gf>
<H'>
<aM>
<aH>
<wH>
<ah>
<yH>
<a+>
<b+>
<tm>
<t+>
<tk>
<g+>
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
1034 F Sample National Profile
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
<hk>
<x+>
<d+>
<dk>
<r+>
<z+>
<s+>
<sn>
<c+>
<dd>
<tj>
<zH>
<e+>
<i+>
<f+>
<q+>
<k+>
<l+>
<m+>
<n+>
<h+>
<w+>
<j+>
<y+>
<yf>
<A+>
<B+>
<G+>
<D+>
<H+>
<W+>
<Z+>
<X+>
<Tj>
<J+>
<K%>
<K+>
<L+>
<M%>
<M+>
<N%>
<N+>
<S+>
<E+>
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
F.3 Scope of Danish National Locale 1035
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
<P%>
<P+>
<Zj>
<ZJ>
<Q+>
<R+>
<Sh>
<T+>
<b4>
<p4>
<m4>
<f4>
<d4>
<t4>
<n4>
<l4>
<g4>
<k4>
<h4>
<j4>
<q4>
<x4>
<zh>
<ch>
<sh>
<r4>
<z4>
<c4>
<s4>
<a4>
<o4>
<e4>
<eh>
<ai>
<ei>
<au>
<ou>
<an>
<en>
<aN>
<eN>
<er>
<i4>
<u4>
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
1036 F Sample National Profile
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
<iu>
<A5>
<a5>
<I5>
<i5>
<U5>
<u5>
<E5>
<e5>
<O5>
<o5>
<ka>
<ga>
<ki>
<gi>
<ku>
<gu>
<ke>
<ge>
<ko>
<go>
<sa>
<za>
<si>
<zi>
<su>
<zu>
<se>
<ze>
<so>
<zo>
<ta>
<da>
<ti>
<di>
<tU>
<tu>
<du>
<te>
<de>
<to>
<do>
<na>
<ni>
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
F.3 Scope of Danish National Locale 1037
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
<nu>
<ne>
<no>
<ha>
<ba>
<pa>
<hi>
<bi>
<pi>
<hu>
<bu>
<pu>
<he>
<be>
<pe>
<ho>
<bo>
<po>
<ma>
<mi>
<mu>
<me>
<mo>
<yA>
<ya>
<yU>
<yu>
<yO>
<yo>
<ra>
<ri>
<ru>
<re>
<ro>
<wA>
<wa>
<wi>
<we>
<wo>
<n5>
<a6>
<A6>
<i6>
<I6>
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
1038 F Sample National Profile
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
<u6>
<U6>
<e6>
<E6>
<o6>
<O6>
<Ka>
<Ga>
<Ki>
<Gi>
<Ku>
<Gu>
<Ke>
<Ge>
<Ko>
<Go>
<Sa>
<Za>
<Si>
<Zi>
<Su>
<Zu>
<Se>
<Ze>
<So>
<Zo>
<Ta>
<Da>
<Ti>
<Di>
<TU>
<Tu>
<Du>
<Te>
<De>
<To>
<Do>
<Na>
<Ni>
<Nu>
<Ne>
<No>
<Ha>
<Ba>
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
F.3 Scope of Danish National Locale 1039
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
<Pa>
<Hi>
<Bi> 1
<Pi> 1
<Hu>
<Bu>
<Pu>
<He>
<Be>
<Pe>
<Ho>
<Bo>
<Po>
<Ma>
<Mi>
<Mu>
<Me>
<Mo>
<YA>
<Ya>
<YU>
<Yu>
<YO>
<Yo>
<Ra>
<Ri>
<Ru>
<Re>
<Ro>
<WA>
<Wa>
<Wi>
<We>
<Wo>
<N6>
<Vu>
<KA>
<KE>
order_end
END LC_COLLATE
LC_MONETARY
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
1040 F Sample National Profile
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
% int_curr_symbol according to ISO 4217 1
int_curr_symbol "DKK " 1
currency_symbol "kr." 1
mon_decimal_point <,>
mon_thousands_sep <.>
mon_grouping 3;0
positive_sign ""
negative_sign <->
int_frac_digits 2
frac_digits 2
p_cs_precedes 1
p_sep_by_space 1
n_cs_precedes 1
n_sep_by_space 1
p_sign_posn 4
n_sign_posn 4
END LC_MONETARY
LC_NUMERIC
decimal_point <,>
thousands_sep <.>
grouping 3;0
END LC_NUMERIC
LC_TIME
abday "s<o//>n";"man";"tir";"ons";"tor";"fre";"l<o//>r" 1
day "s<o//>ndag";"mandag";"tirsdag";"onsdag";/ 1
"torsdag";"fredag";"l<o//>rdag" 1
abmon "jan";"feb";"mar";"apr";"maj";"jun";/ 1
"jul";"aug";"sep";"okt";"nov";"dec" 1
mon "januar";"februar";"marts";"april";"maj";"juni";/ 1
"juli";"august";"september";"oktober";"november";"december" 1
d_t_fmt "%a %d %b %Y %T %Z" 1
d_fmt "%d %b %Y" 1
t_fmt "%T" 1
% The AM/PM notation is not used in Denmark and thus not allowed. 1
am_pm "";""
t_fmt_ampm ""
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
F.3 Scope of Danish National Locale 1041
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
END LC_TIME
LC_MESSAGES
% Must be careful to avoid interpreting "nej" (no) as "ja" (yes). 1
% yesexpr "^[[:blank:]]*[JjYy][[:alpha:]]*" 1
% noexpr "^[[:blank:]]*[Nn][[:alpha:]]*" 1
yesexpr "<'//><<(><<(>:blank:<)//><)//>*<<(>JjYy<)//>/ 1
<<(><<(>:alpha:<)//><)//>*" 1
noexpr "<'//><<(><<(>:blank:<)//><)//>*<<(>Nn<)//>/ 1
<<(><<(>:alpha:<)//><)//>*" 1
END LC_MESSAGES
F.3.2 fo_DK - (Example) Faroese LC_TIME and LC_MESSAGES
escape_char / 1
comment_char % 1
% Danish example national locale for the Faroese language 1
% Source: Danish Standards Association 1
% Revision: 1.7 1991-04-26 1
% 1
% Only LC_TIME and LC_MESSAGES are specified here, else use the da_DK locale1
LC_CTYPE
copy da_DK 1
END LC_CTYPE
LC_COLLATE 1
copy da_DK 1
END LC_COLLATE
LC_MONETARY 1
copy da_DK 1
END LC_MONETARY
LC_NUMERIC 1
copy da_DK 1
END LC_NUMERIC
LC_TIME 1
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
1042 F Sample National Profile
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
abday "sun";"m<a'>n";"t<y'>s";"mik";"h<o'>s";"fr<i'>";"ley" 1
day "sunnudagur";"m<a'>nadagur";"t<y'>sdagur";/ 1
"mikudagur";"h<o'>sdagur";"fr<i'>ggjadagur";"leygardagur" 1
abmon "jan";"feb";"mar";"apr";"mai";"jun";/ 1
"jul";"aug";"sep";"okt";"nov";"des" 1
mon "januar";"februar";"mars";"apr<i'>l";"mai";"juni";/ 1
"juli";"august";"september";"oktober";"november";"desember" 1
d_t_fmt "%a %d %b %Y %T %Z" 1
d_fmt "%d %b %Y" 1
t_fmt "%T" 1
am_pm "";""
t_fmt_ampm ""
END LC_TIME
LC_MESSAGES
% Must be careful to avoid interpreting "nej"/"nei" (no) as "ja" (yes). 1
% yesexpr "^[[:blank:]]*[JjYy][[:alpha:]]*" 1
% noexpr "^[[:blank:]]*[Nn][[:alpha:]]*" 1
yesexpr "<'/>><<(><<(>:blank:<)/>><)/>>*<<(>JjYy<)/>>/ 1
<<(><<(>:alpha:<)/>><)/>>*" 1
noexpr "<'/>><<(><<(>:blank:<)/>><)/>>*<<(>Nn<)/>>/ 1
<<(><<(>:alpha:<)/>><)/>>*" 1
END LC_MESSAGES
F.3.3 kl_DK - (Example) Greenlandic LC_TIME and LC_MESSAGES
escape_char / 1
comment_char % 1
% Danish example national locale for the Greenlandic language 1
% Source: Danish Standards Association 1
% Revision: 1.7 1991-04-26 1
% 1
% Only LC_TIME and LC_MESSAGES are specified here, else use the da_DK locale1
LC_CTYPE
copy da_DK 1
END LC_CTYPE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
F.3 Scope of Danish National Locale 1043
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
LC_COLLATE 1
copy da_DK 1
END LC_COLLATE
LC_MONETARY 1
copy da_DK 1
END LC_MONETARY
LC_NUMERIC 1
copy da_DK 1
END LC_NUMERIC
LC_TIME 1
abday "sab";"ata";"mar";"pin";"sis";"tal";"arf" 1
day "sabaat";"ataasinngorneq";"marlunngorneq";"pingasunngorneq";/ 1
"sisamanngorneq";"tallimanngorneq";"arfininngorneq" 1
abmon "jan";"feb";"mar";"apr";"maj";"jun";/ 1
"jul";"aug";"sep";"okt";"nov";"dec" 1
mon "januari";"februari";"martsi";"aprili";"maji";"juni";/ 1
"juli";"augustusi";"septemberi";"oktoberi";"novemberi";"decemberi"1
d_t_fmt "%a %d %b %Y %T %Z" 1
d_fmt "%d %b %Y" 1
t_fmt "%T" 1
am_pm "";""
t_fmt_ampm ""
END LC_TIME
LC_MESSAGES
% Must be careful to avoid interpreting "namik"/"nej" (no) as "aap"/"ja" (yes).1
% yesexpr "^[[:blank:]]*[JjYyAa][[:alpha:]]*" 1
% noexpr "^[[:blank:]]*[Nn][[:alpha:]]*" 1
yesexpr "<'/>><<(><<(>:blank:<)/>><)/>>*<<(>JjYyAa<)/>>/ 1
<<(><<(>:alpha:<)/>><)/>>*" 1
noexpr "<'/>><<(><<(>:blank:<)/>><)/>>*<<(>Nn<)/>>/ 1
<<(><<(>:alpha:<)/>><)/>>*" 1
END LC_MESSAGES
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
1044 F Sample National Profile
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
F.4 Character Mnemonics Guidelines
This clause presents guidelines for character mnemonics in a minimal
coded character set. These guidelines are used within this sample annex
and are recommended for other national profiles.
F.4.1 Aim of Character Mnemonics
The aim of the mnemonics is to be able to represent all characters in all
standard coded character sets in any standard coded character set.
The usage of the character mnemonics is primarily intended within
computer operating systems, programming languages, and applications and
this work with character mnemonics is the current state of work that has
been presented to the ISO working group responsible for these computer
related issues, namely the ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC22 special working group on
coded character set usage.
F.4.2 Covered Coded Character Sets
All characters in the standard coded character sets will be given a
mnemonic to be represented in the minimal character set. The minimal
coded character set is defined as the basic character set of ISO 646 {1},
where 12 positions are left undefined. The standard coded character sets
are taken as the sum of all ISO-defined or ISO-registered coded character
sets.
The most significant ISO coded character set is the ISO 10646 {B11} coded
character set, whose aim is to code in 32 bits all characters in the
world. These guidelines can be seen as assigning mnemonic attributes to
most characters in ISO 10646 {B11}, currently at the DIS stage.
Other ISO coded character sets covered include all parts of ISO 8859 {B9}
ISO 6937-2 {B6}, and all ISO 646 {1} conforming coded character sets in
the ISO character set registry managed by ECMA according to ISO 4873 {4}.
Some non-ISO coded character sets are also covered for convenience.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
F.4 Character Mnemonics Guidelines 1045
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
F.4.3 Character Mnemonics Classes
The character mnemonics are classified into two groups:
(1) A group with two-character mnemonics--Primarily intended for
alphabetic scripts like Latin, Greek, Cyrillian, Hebrew, and
Arabic, and special characters.
(2) A group with variable-length mnemonics--Primarily intended for
nonalphabetic scripts like Japanese and Chinese. These
mnemonics will have a unique lead-in and lead-out symbol.
All mnemonics are given a long descriptive name, written in the reference
coded character set and taken from ISO 10646 {B11}, if possible.
F.4.4 Two-Character Mnemonics
The two-character mnemonics include various accented Latin letters,
Greek, Cyrillic, Hebrew, Arabic, Hiragana, Katakana, and Bopomofo. Some
special characters also are included. Almost all ISO or ISO-registered
7- and 8-bit coded character sets are covered with these two-character
mnemonics.
The two characters are chosen so the graphical appearence in the
reference set resembles as much as possible (within the possibilities
available) the graphical appearance of the character. The basic coded
character set of ISO 646 {1} is used as the reference set, as described
previously.
The characters in the reference coded character set are chosen to
represent themselves. They may be considered as two-character mnemonics
where the second character is a space.
Control character mnemonics are chosen according to ISO 2047 {B3} and
ISO 6429 {B5}.
Letters, including Greek, Cyrillic, Arabic, and Hebrew, are represented
with the base letter as the first letter, and the second letter
represents an accent or relation to a non-Latin script. Non-Latin
letters are transliterated to Latin letters, following transliteration
standards as closely as possible.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
1046 F Sample National Profile
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
After a letter, the second character signifies the following:
exclamation-mark ! grave
apostrophe ' acute accent
greater-than-sign > circumflex accent
question-mark ? tilde
hyphen-minus - macron
left-parenthesis ( breve
full-stop . dot above/ring above
colon : diaeresis
comma , cedilla
underline _ underline
solidus / stroke
quotation-mark " double acute accent
semicolon ; ogonek
less-than-sign < caron
equals = Cyrillian
asterisk * Greek
percent-sign % Greek/Cyrillian special
plus + smalls: Arabic, capitals: Hebrew
four 4 Bopomofo
five 5 Hiragana
six 6 Katakana
Special characters are encoded with some mnemonic value. These are not
systematic throughout, but most mnemonics start with a special character
of the reference set. Special characters with some sort of reference to
the reference coded character set normally have this character as the
first character in the mnemonic.
F.4.5 Variable-Length Character Mnemonics
The variable-length character mnemonics are meant primarily for the
ideographic characters in larger Asian coded character sets. To have the
mnemonics as short as possible, which both saves storage and is easier to
type, a short name is preferred. Considering the Chinese standard GB
2312 {B14} and the Japanese standards JIS X0208 {B15} and JIS X0212
{B16}, they are all given by row and column numbers between 1 and 99. So
two positions for row and column and a coded character set identifier of
one character would be almost as short as possible. The following coded
character set identifiers are defined:
GB 2312 {B14}
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
F.4 Character Mnemonics Guidelines 1047
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
c
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
1048 F Sample National Profile
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
j JIS X0208 {B15}
J JIS X0212 {B16}
k KS C 5601 {B17}
The first idea was to have a name in Latin describing the pronunciation,
but that is not possible according to Asian sources.
The variable-length character mnemonics can also be used for some Latin
letters with more than one accent or other special characters that are
used less frequently.
F.5 (Example) Danish Charmap Files
The (example) Danish locale is coded character-set independent, as it is
defined in terms of symbolic character names. Symbolic character names
are defined for about 1300 characters, covering many coded character
sets. It is not necessary to have all these characters present in the
actual encoding character set because absent characters simply can be
ignored. But specifying the locale with symbolic character names ensures
a uniform collating sequence of the present characters, regardless of the
encoded character set. The more complicated locale should not imply less
efficient code at running time, although generating the locale tables
could take a longer time.
Danish Standards provides several charmap files, of which the ISO_10646
is the prime charmap, as it defines all the character names. It is
expected, however, that the ISO_8859-1 charmap would be of more current
interest. The charmaps are quite general, and might be used for other
countries' locales without change.
See the guidelines for character mnemonics in F.4 for guidance in reading 1
these charmap files.
F.5.1 ISO_10646 Charmap
# ISO/IEC DIS 10646: 1990 charmap based on ISO/IEC JTC1/SC2/WG2 N666
# Only a part of the 10646 encoding is tabled here
<escape_char> /
<mb_cur_max> 4
CHARMAP
<NUL> /d000/d128/d128/d128 NULL (NUL) 1
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
F.5 (Example) Danish Charmap Files 1049
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
<SOH> /d001/d128/d128/d128 START OF HEADING (SOH) 1
<STX> /d002/d128/d128/d128 START OF TEXT (STX) 1
<ETX> /d003/d128/d128/d128 END OF TEXT (ETX) 1
<EOT> /d004/d128/d128/d128 END OF TRANSMISSION (EOT) 1
<ENQ> /d005/d128/d128/d128 ENQUIRY (ENQ) 1
<ACK> /d006/d128/d128/d128 ACKNOWLEDGE (ACK) 1
<alert> /d007/d128/d128/d128 BELL (BEL) 1
<BEL> /d007/d128/d128/d128 BELL (BEL) 1
<backspace> /d008/d128/d128/d128 BACKSPACE (BS) 1
<tab> /d009/d128/d128/d128 CHARACTER TABULATION (HT) 1
<newline> /d010/d128/d128/d128 LINE FEED (LF) 1
<vertical-tab> /d011/d128/d128/d128 LINE TABULATION (VT) 1
<form-feed> /d012/d128/d128/d128 FORM FEED (FF) 1
<carriage-return> /d013/d128/d128/d128 CARRIAGE RETURN (CR) 1
<DLE> /d016/d128/d128/d128 DATALINK ESCAPE (DLE) 1
<DC1> /d017/d128/d128/d128 DEVICE CONTROL ONE (DC1) 1
<DC2> /d018/d128/d128/d128 DEVICE CONTROL TWO (DC2) 1
<DC3> /d019/d128/d128/d128 DEVICE CONTROL THREE (DC3) 1
<DC4> /d020/d128/d128/d128 DEVICE CONTROL FOUR (DC4) 1
<NAK> /d021/d128/d128/d128 NEGATIVE ACKNOWLEDGE (NAK) 1
<SYN> /d022/d128/d128/d128 SYNCHRONOUS IDLE (SYN) 1
<ETB> /d023/d128/d128/d128 END OF TRANSMISSION BLOCK (ETB)1
<CAN> /d024/d128/d128/d128 CANCEL (CAN) 1
<SUB> /d026/d128/d128/d128 SUBSTITUTE (SUB) 1
<ESC> /d027/d128/d128/d128 ESCAPE (ESC) 1
<IS4> /d028/d128/d128/d128 FILE SEPARATOR (IS4) 1
<IS3> /d029/d128/d128/d128 GROUP SEPARATOR (IS3) 1
<intro> /d029/d128/d128/d128 GROUP SEPARATOR (IS3) 1
<IS2> /d030/d128/d128/d128 RECORD SEPARATOR (IS2) 1
<IS1> /d031/d128/d128/d128 UNIT SEPARATOR (IS1) 1
<DEL> /d127/d128/d128/d128 DELETE (DEL) 1
<space> /d032/d032/d032/d032 SPACE
<exclamation-mark> /d032/d032/d032/d033 EXCLAMATION MARK
<quotation-mark> /d032/d032/d032/d034 QUOTATION MARK
<number-sign> /d032/d032/d032/d035 NUMBER SIGN
<dollar-sign> /d032/d032/d032/d036 DOLLAR SIGN
<percent-sign> /d032/d032/d032/d037 PERCENT SIGN
<ampersand> /d032/d032/d032/d038 AMPERSAND
<apostrophe> /d032/d032/d032/d039 APOSTROPHE
<left-parenthesis> /d032/d032/d032/d040 LEFT PARENTHESIS
<right-parenthesis> /d032/d032/d032/d041 RIGHT PARENTHESIS
<asterisk> /d032/d032/d032/d042 ASTERISK
<plus-sign> /d032/d032/d032/d043 PLUS SIGN
<comma> /d032/d032/d032/d044 COMMA
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
1050 F Sample National Profile
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
<hyphen> /d032/d032/d032/d045 HYPHEN-MINUS
<hyphen-minus> /d032/d032/d032/d045 HYPHEN-MINUS
<period> /d032/d032/d032/d046 FULL STOP
<full-stop> /d032/d032/d032/d046 FULL STOP
<slash> /d032/d032/d032/d047 SOLIDUS
<solidus> /d032/d032/d032/d047 SOLIDUS
<zero> /d032/d032/d032/d048 DIGIT ZERO
<one> /d032/d032/d032/d049 DIGIT ONE
<two> /d032/d032/d032/d050 DIGIT TWO
<three> /d032/d032/d032/d051 DIGIT THREE
<four> /d032/d032/d032/d052 DIGIT FOUR
<five> /d032/d032/d032/d053 DIGIT FIVE
<six> /d032/d032/d032/d054 DIGIT SIX
<seven> /d032/d032/d032/d055 DIGIT SEVEN
<eight> /d032/d032/d032/d056 DIGIT EIGHT
<nine> /d032/d032/d032/d057 DIGIT NINE
<colon> /d032/d032/d032/d058 COLON
<semicolon> /d032/d032/d032/d059 SEMICOLON
<less-than-sign> /d032/d032/d032/d060 LESS-THAN SIGN
<equals-sign> /d032/d032/d032/d061 EQUALS SIGN
<greater-than-sign> /d032/d032/d032/d062 GREATER-THAN SIGN
<question-mark> /d032/d032/d032/d063 QUESTION MARK
<commercial-at> /d032/d032/d032/d064 COMMERCIAL AT
<left-square-bracket> /d032/d032/d032/d091 LEFT SQUARE BRACKET
<reverse-solidus> /d032/d032/d032/d092 REVERSE SOLIDUS
<backslash> /d032/d032/d032/d092 REVERSE SOLIDUS
<right-square-bracket> /d032/d032/d032/d093 RIGHT SQUARE BRACKET
<circumflex-accent> /d032/d032/d032/d094 CIRCUMFLEX ACCENT
<low-line> /d032/d032/d032/d095 LOW LINE
<underscore> /d032/d032/d032/d095 LOW LINE
<grave-accent> /d032/d032/d032/d096 GRAVE ACCENT
<left-curly-bracket> /d032/d032/d032/d123 LEFT CURLY BRACKET
<vertical-line> /d032/d032/d032/d124 VERTICAL LINE
<right-curly-bracket> /d032/d032/d032/d125 RIGHT CURLY BRACKET
<tilde> /d032/d032/d032/d126 TILDE
<SP> /d032/d032/d032/d032 SPACE
<!> /d032/d032/d032/d033 EXCLAMATION MARK
<"> /d032/d032/d032/d034 QUOTATION MARK
<Nb> /d032/d032/d032/d035 NUMBER SIGN
<DO> /d032/d032/d032/d036 DOLLAR SIGN
<%> /d032/d032/d032/d037 PERCENT SIGN
<&> /d032/d032/d032/d038 AMPERSAND
<'> /d032/d032/d032/d039 APOSTROPHE
<(> /d032/d032/d032/d040 LEFT PARENTHESIS
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
F.5 (Example) Danish Charmap Files 1051
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
<)> /d032/d032/d032/d041 RIGHT PARENTHESIS
<*> /d032/d032/d032/d042 ASTERISK
<+> /d032/d032/d032/d043 PLUS SIGN
<,> /d032/d032/d032/d044 COMMA
<-> /d032/d032/d032/d045 HYPHEN-MINUS
<.> /d032/d032/d032/d046 FULL STOP
<//> /d032/d032/d032/d047 SOLIDUS
<0> /d032/d032/d032/d048 DIGIT ZERO
<1> /d032/d032/d032/d049 DIGIT ONE
<2> /d032/d032/d032/d050 DIGIT TWO
<3> /d032/d032/d032/d051 DIGIT THREE
<4> /d032/d032/d032/d052 DIGIT FOUR
<5> /d032/d032/d032/d053 DIGIT FIVE
<6> /d032/d032/d032/d054 DIGIT SIX
<7> /d032/d032/d032/d055 DIGIT SEVEN
<8> /d032/d032/d032/d056 DIGIT EIGHT
<9> /d032/d032/d032/d057 DIGIT NINE
<:> /d032/d032/d032/d058 COLON
<;> /d032/d032/d032/d059 SEMICOLON
<<> /d032/d032/d032/d060 LESS-THAN SIGN
<=> /d032/d032/d032/d061 EQUALS SIGN
</>> /d032/d032/d032/d062 GREATER-THAN SIGN
<?> /d032/d032/d032/d063 QUESTION MARK
<At> /d032/d032/d032/d064 COMMERCIAL AT
<A> /d032/d032/d032/d065 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A
<B> /d032/d032/d032/d066 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER B
<C> /d032/d032/d032/d067 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER C
<D> /d032/d032/d032/d068 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER D
<E> /d032/d032/d032/d069 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER E
<F> /d032/d032/d032/d070 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER F
<G> /d032/d032/d032/d071 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER G
<H> /d032/d032/d032/d072 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER H
<I> /d032/d032/d032/d073 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER I
<J> /d032/d032/d032/d074 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER J
<K> /d032/d032/d032/d075 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER K
<L> /d032/d032/d032/d076 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER L
<M> /d032/d032/d032/d077 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER M
<N> /d032/d032/d032/d078 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER N
<O> /d032/d032/d032/d079 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER O
<P> /d032/d032/d032/d080 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER P
<Q> /d032/d032/d032/d081 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER Q
<R> /d032/d032/d032/d082 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER R
<S> /d032/d032/d032/d083 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER S
<T> /d032/d032/d032/d084 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER T
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
1052 F Sample National Profile
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
<U> /d032/d032/d032/d085 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER U
<V> /d032/d032/d032/d086 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER V
<W> /d032/d032/d032/d087 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER W
<X> /d032/d032/d032/d088 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER X
<Y> /d032/d032/d032/d089 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER Y
<Z> /d032/d032/d032/d090 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER Z
<<(> /d032/d032/d032/d091 LEFT SQUARE BRACKET
<////> /d032/d032/d032/d092 REVERSE SOLIDUS
<)/>> /d032/d032/d032/d093 RIGHT SQUARE BRACKET
<'/>> /d032/d032/d032/d094 CIRCUMFLEX ACCENT
<_> /d032/d032/d032/d095 LOW LINE
<'!> /d032/d032/d032/d096 GRAVE ACCENT
<a> /d032/d032/d032/d097 LATIN SMALL LETTER A
<b> /d032/d032/d032/d098 LATIN SMALL LETTER B
<c> /d032/d032/d032/d099 LATIN SMALL LETTER C
<d> /d032/d032/d032/d100 LATIN SMALL LETTER D
<e> /d032/d032/d032/d101 LATIN SMALL LETTER E
<f> /d032/d032/d032/d102 LATIN SMALL LETTER F
<g> /d032/d032/d032/d103 LATIN SMALL LETTER G
<h> /d032/d032/d032/d104 LATIN SMALL LETTER H
<i> /d032/d032/d032/d105 LATIN SMALL LETTER I
<j> /d032/d032/d032/d106 LATIN SMALL LETTER J
<k> /d032/d032/d032/d107 LATIN SMALL LETTER K
<l> /d032/d032/d032/d108 LATIN SMALL LETTER L
<m> /d032/d032/d032/d109 LATIN SMALL LETTER M
<n> /d032/d032/d032/d110 LATIN SMALL LETTER N
<o> /d032/d032/d032/d111 LATIN SMALL LETTER O
<p> /d032/d032/d032/d112 LATIN SMALL LETTER P
<q> /d032/d032/d032/d113 LATIN SMALL LETTER Q
<r> /d032/d032/d032/d114 LATIN SMALL LETTER R
<s> /d032/d032/d032/d115 LATIN SMALL LETTER S
<t> /d032/d032/d032/d116 LATIN SMALL LETTER T
<u> /d032/d032/d032/d117 LATIN SMALL LETTER U
<v> /d032/d032/d032/d118 LATIN SMALL LETTER V
<w> /d032/d032/d032/d119 LATIN SMALL LETTER W
<x> /d032/d032/d032/d120 LATIN SMALL LETTER X
<y> /d032/d032/d032/d121 LATIN SMALL LETTER Y
<z> /d032/d032/d032/d122 LATIN SMALL LETTER Z
<(!> /d032/d032/d032/d123 LEFT CURLY BRACKET
<!!> /d032/d032/d032/d124 VERTICAL LINE
<!)> /d032/d032/d032/d125 RIGHT CURLY BRACKET
<'?> /d032/d032/d032/d126 TILDE
<NS> /d032/d032/d032/d160 NO-BREAK SPACE
<!I> /d032/d032/d032/d161 INVERTED EXCLAMATION MARK
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
F.5 (Example) Danish Charmap Files 1053
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
<Ct> /d032/d032/d032/d162 CENT SIGN
<Pd> /d032/d032/d032/d163 POUND SIGN
<Cu> /d032/d032/d032/d164 CURRENCY SIGN
<Ye> /d032/d032/d032/d165 YEN SIGN
<BB> /d032/d032/d032/d166 BROKEN BAR
<SE> /d032/d032/d032/d167 SECTION SIGN
<':> /d032/d032/d032/d168 DIAERESIS
<Co> /d032/d032/d032/d169 COPYRIGHT SIGN
<-a> /d032/d032/d032/d170 FEMININE ORDINAL INDICATOR
<<<> /d032/d032/d032/d171 LEFT POINTING DOUBLE ANGLE QUOTATION MARK
<NO> /d032/d032/d032/d172 NOT SIGN
<--> /d032/d032/d032/d173 SOFT HYPHEN
<Rg> /d032/d032/d032/d174 REGISTERED SIGN
<'-> /d032/d032/d032/d175 MACRON
<DG> /d032/d032/d032/d176 DEGREE SIGN
<+-> /d032/d032/d032/d177 PLUS-MINUS SIGN
<2S> /d032/d032/d032/d178 SUPERSCRIPT TWO
<3S> /d032/d032/d032/d179 SUPERSCRIPT THREE
<''> /d032/d032/d032/d180 ACUTE ACCENT
<My> /d032/d032/d032/d181 MICRO SIGN
<PI> /d032/d032/d032/d182 PILCROW SIGN
<.M> /d032/d032/d032/d183 MIDDLE DOT
<',> /d032/d032/d032/d184 CEDILLA
<1S> /d032/d032/d032/d185 SUPERSCRIPT ONE
<-o> /d032/d032/d032/d186 MASCULINE ORDINAL INDICATOR
</>>>> /d032/d032/d032/d187 RIGHT POINTING DOUBLE ANGLE QUOTATION MARK 1
<14> /d032/d032/d032/d188 VULGAR FRACTION ONE QUARTER
<12> /d032/d032/d032/d189 VULGAR FRACTION ONE HALF
<34> /d032/d032/d032/d190 VULGAR FRACTION THREE QUARTERS
<?I> /d032/d032/d032/d191 INVERTED QUESTION MARK
<A!> /d032/d032/d032/d192 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH GRAVE
<A'> /d032/d032/d032/d193 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH ACUTE
<A/>> /d032/d032/d032/d194 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH CIRCUMFLEX
<A?> /d032/d032/d032/d195 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH TILDE
<A:> /d032/d032/d032/d196 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH DIAERESIS
<AA> /d032/d032/d032/d197 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH RING ABOVE
<AE> /d032/d032/d032/d198 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER AE
<C,> /d032/d032/d032/d199 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER C WITH CEDILLA
<E!> /d032/d032/d032/d200 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER E WITH GRAVE
<E'> /d032/d032/d032/d201 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER E WITH ACUTE
<E/>> /d032/d032/d032/d202 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER E WITH CIRCUMFLEX
<E:> /d032/d032/d032/d203 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER E WITH DIAERESIS
<I!> /d032/d032/d032/d204 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER I WITH GRAVE
<I'> /d032/d032/d032/d205 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER I WITH ACUTE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
1054 F Sample National Profile
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
<I/>> /d032/d032/d032/d206 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER I WITH CIRCUMFLEX
<I:> /d032/d032/d032/d207 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER I WITH DIAERESIS
<D-> /d032/d032/d032/d208 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER ETH (Icelandic)
<N?> /d032/d032/d032/d209 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER N WITH TILDE
<O!> /d032/d032/d032/d210 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER O WITH GRAVE
<O'> /d032/d032/d032/d211 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER O WITH ACUTE
<O/>> /d032/d032/d032/d212 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER O WITH CIRCUMFLEX
<O?> /d032/d032/d032/d213 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER O WITH TILDE
<O:> /d032/d032/d032/d214 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER O WITH DIAERESIS
<*X> /d032/d032/d032/d215 MULTIPLICATION SIGN
<O//> /d032/d032/d032/d216 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER O WITH STROKE
<U!> /d032/d032/d032/d217 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER U WITH GRAVE
<U'> /d032/d032/d032/d218 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER U WITH ACUTE
<U/>> /d032/d032/d032/d219 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER U WITH CIRCUMFLEX
<U:> /d032/d032/d032/d220 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER U WITH DIAERESIS
<Y'> /d032/d032/d032/d221 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER Y WITH ACUTE
<TH> /d032/d032/d032/d222 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER THORN (Icelandic)
<ss> /d032/d032/d032/d223 LATIN SMALL LETTER SHARP S (German)
<a!> /d032/d032/d032/d224 LATIN SMALL LETTER A WITH GRAVE
<a'> /d032/d032/d032/d225 LATIN SMALL LETTER A WITH ACUTE
<a/>> /d032/d032/d032/d226 LATIN SMALL LETTER A WITH CIRCUMFLEX
<a?> /d032/d032/d032/d227 LATIN SMALL LETTER A WITH TILDE
<a:> /d032/d032/d032/d228 LATIN SMALL LETTER A WITH DIAERESIS
<aa> /d032/d032/d032/d229 LATIN SMALL LETTER A WITH RING ABOVE
<ae> /d032/d032/d032/d230 LATIN SMALL LETTER AE
<c,> /d032/d032/d032/d231 LATIN SMALL LETTER C WITH CEDILLA
<e!> /d032/d032/d032/d232 LATIN SMALL LETTER E WITH GRAVE
<e'> /d032/d032/d032/d233 LATIN SMALL LETTER E WITH ACUTE
<e/>> /d032/d032/d032/d234 LATIN SMALL LETTER E WITH CIRCUMFLEX
<e:> /d032/d032/d032/d235 LATIN SMALL LETTER E WITH DIAERESIS
<i!> /d032/d032/d032/d236 LATIN SMALL LETTER I WITH GRAVE
<i'> /d032/d032/d032/d237 LATIN SMALL LETTER I WITH ACUTE
<i/>> /d032/d032/d032/d238 LATIN SMALL LETTER I WITH CIRCUMFLEX
<i:> /d032/d032/d032/d239 LATIN SMALL LETTER I WITH DIAERESIS
<d-> /d032/d032/d032/d240 LATIN SMALL LETTER ETH (Icelandic)
<n?> /d032/d032/d032/d241 LATIN SMALL LETTER N WITH TILDE
<o!> /d032/d032/d032/d242 LATIN SMALL LETTER O WITH GRAVE
<o'> /d032/d032/d032/d243 LATIN SMALL LETTER O WITH ACUTE
<o/>> /d032/d032/d032/d244 LATIN SMALL LETTER O WITH CIRCUMFLEX
<o?> /d032/d032/d032/d245 LATIN SMALL LETTER O WITH TILDE
<o:> /d032/d032/d032/d246 LATIN SMALL LETTER O WITH DIAERESIS
<-:> /d032/d032/d032/d247 DIVISION SIGN
<o//> /d032/d032/d032/d248 LATIN SMALL LETTER O WITH STROKE
<u!> /d032/d032/d032/d249 LATIN SMALL LETTER U WITH GRAVE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
F.5 (Example) Danish Charmap Files 1055
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
<u'> /d032/d032/d032/d250 LATIN SMALL LETTER U WITH ACUTE
<u/>> /d032/d032/d032/d251 LATIN SMALL LETTER U WITH CIRCUMFLEX
<u:> /d032/d032/d032/d252 LATIN SMALL LETTER U WITH DIAERESIS
<y'> /d032/d032/d032/d253 LATIN SMALL LETTER Y WITH ACUTE
<th> /d032/d032/d032/d254 LATIN SMALL LETTER THORN (Icelandic)
<y:> /d032/d032/d032/d255 LATIN SMALL LETTER Y WITH DIAERESIS
<A-> /d032/d032/d033/d033 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH MACRON
<C/>> /d032/d032/d033/d034 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER C WITH CIRCUMFLEX
<C.> /d032/d032/d033/d035 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER C WITH DOT ABOVE
<E-> /d032/d032/d033/d036 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER E WITH MACRON
<E.> /d032/d032/d033/d037 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER E WITH DOT ABOVE
<G/>> /d032/d032/d033/d039 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER G WITH CIRCUMFLEX
<'6> /d032/d032/d033/d041 LEFT SINGLE QUOTATION MARK
<"6> /d032/d032/d033/d042 LEFT DOUBLE QUOTATION MARK
<G(> /d032/d032/d033/d043 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER G WITH BREVE
<<-> /d032/d032/d033/d044 LEFTWARD ARROW
<-!> /d032/d032/d033/d045 UPWARD ARROW
<-/>> /d032/d032/d033/d046 RIGHTWARD ARROW
<-v> /d032/d032/d033/d047 DOWNWARD ARROW
<a-> /d032/d032/d033/d049 LATIN SMALL LETTER A WITH MACRON
<c/>> /d032/d032/d033/d050 LATIN SMALL LETTER C WITH CIRCUMFLEX
<c.> /d032/d032/d033/d051 LATIN SMALL LETTER C WITH DOT ABOVE
<e-> /d032/d032/d033/d052 LATIN SMALL LETTER E WITH MACRON
<e.> /d032/d032/d033/d053 LATIN SMALL LETTER E WITH DOT ABOVE
<g/>> /d032/d032/d033/d055 LATIN SMALL LETTER G WITH CIRCUMFLEX
<'9> /d032/d032/d033/d057 RIGHT SINGLE QUOTATION MARK
<"9> /d032/d032/d033/d058 RIGHT DOUBLE QUOTATION MARK
<g(> /d032/d032/d033/d059 LATIN SMALL LETTER G WITH BREVE
<G.> /d032/d032/d033/d065 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER G WITH DOT ABOVE
<G,> /d032/d032/d033/d066 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER G WITH CEDILLA
<H/>> /d032/d032/d033/d067 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER H WITH CIRCUMFLEX
<I?> /d032/d032/d033/d070 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER I WITH TILDE
<I-> /d032/d032/d033/d071 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER I WITH MACRON
<I.> /d032/d032/d033/d072 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER I WITH DOT ABOVE
<'0> /d032/d032/d033/d074 RING ABOVE
<HB> /d032/d032/d033/d080 HORIZONTAL BAR
<g.> /d032/d032/d033/d081 LATIN SMALL LETTER G WITH DOT ABOVE
<g,> /d032/d032/d033/d082 LATIN SMALL LETTER G WITH CEDILLA
<h/>> /d032/d032/d033/d083 LATIN SMALL LETTER H WITH CIRCUMFLEX
<TM> /d032/d032/d033/d084 TRADE MARK SIGN
<Md> /d032/d032/d033/d085 MUSIC NOTE
<i?> /d032/d032/d033/d086 LATIN SMALL LETTER I WITH TILDE
<i-> /d032/d032/d033/d087 LATIN SMALL LETTER I WITH MACRON
<18> /d032/d032/d033/d092 VULGAR FRACTION ONE EIGHTH
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
1056 F Sample National Profile
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
<38> /d032/d032/d033/d093 VULGAR FRACTION THREE EIGHTHS
<58> /d032/d032/d033/d094 VULGAR FRACTION FIVE EIGHTHS
<78> /d032/d032/d033/d095 VULGAR FRACTION SEVEN EIGHTHS
<Om> /d032/d032/d033/d096 OHM SIGN
<I;> /d032/d032/d033/d097 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER I WITH OGONEK
<J/>> /d032/d032/d033/d098 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER J WITH CIRCUMFLEX
<K,> /d032/d032/d033/d099 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER K WITH CEDILLA
<H//> /d032/d032/d033/d100 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER H WITH STROKE
<IJ> /d032/d032/d033/d102 LATIN CAPITAL LIGATURE IJ
<L.> /d032/d032/d033/d103 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER L WITH MIDDLE DOT
<L,> /d032/d032/d033/d104 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER L WITH CEDILLA
<N,> /d032/d032/d033/d105 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER N WITH CEDILLA
<OE> /d032/d032/d033/d106 LATIN CAPITAL LIGATURE OE
<O-> /d032/d032/d033/d107 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER O WITH MACRON
<T//> /d032/d032/d033/d109 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER T WITH STROKE
<NG> /d032/d032/d033/d110 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER ENG (Lappish)
<'n> /d032/d032/d033/d111 LATIN SMALL LETTER N PRECEDED BY APOSTROPHE
<kk> /d032/d032/d033/d112 LATIN SMALL LETTER KRA (Greenlandic)
<i;> /d032/d032/d033/d113 LATIN SMALL LETTER I WITH OGONEK
<j/>> /d032/d032/d033/d114 LATIN SMALL LETTER J WITH CIRCUMFLEX
<k,> /d032/d032/d033/d115 LATIN SMALL LETTER K WITH CEDILLA
<h//> /d032/d032/d033/d116 LATIN SMALL LETTER H WITH STROKE
<i.> /d032/d032/d033/d117 LATIN SMALL LETTER I WITH NO DOT
<ij> /d032/d032/d033/d118 LATIN SMALL LIGATURE IJ
<l.> /d032/d032/d033/d119 LATIN SMALL LETTER L WITH MIDDLE DOT
<l,> /d032/d032/d033/d120 LATIN SMALL LETTER L WITH CEDILLA
<n,> /d032/d032/d033/d121 LATIN SMALL LETTER N WITH CEDILLA
<oe> /d032/d032/d033/d122 LATIN SMALL LIGATURE OE
<o-> /d032/d032/d033/d123 LATIN SMALL LETTER O WITH MACRON
<t//> /d032/d032/d033/d125 LATIN SMALL LETTER T WITH STROKE
<ng> /d032/d032/d033/d126 LATIN SMALL LETTER ENG
<A;> /d032/d032/d033/d161 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH OGONEK
<'(> /d032/d032/d033/d162 BREVE
<L//> /d032/d032/d033/d163 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER L WITH STROKE
<L<> /d032/d032/d033/d165 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER L WITH CARON
<S'> /d032/d032/d033/d166 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER S WITH ACUTE
<S/>> /d032/d032/d033/d168 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER S WITH CIRCUMFLEX
<S<> /d032/d032/d033/d169 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER S WITH CARON
<S,> /d032/d032/d033/d170 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER S WITH CEDILLA
<T<> /d032/d032/d033/d171 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER T WITH CARON
<Z'> /d032/d032/d033/d172 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER Z WITH ACUTE
<Z<> /d032/d032/d033/d174 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER Z WITH CARON
<Z.> /d032/d032/d033/d175 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER Z WITH DOT ABOVE
<a;> /d032/d032/d033/d177 LATIN SMALL LETTER A WITH OGONEK
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
F.5 (Example) Danish Charmap Files 1057
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
<';> /d032/d032/d033/d178 OGONEK
<l//> /d032/d032/d033/d179 LATIN SMALL LETTER L WITH STROKE
<l<> /d032/d032/d033/d181 LATIN SMALL LETTER L WITH CARON
<s'> /d032/d032/d033/d182 LATIN SMALL LETTER S WITH ACUTE
<'<> /d032/d032/d033/d183 CARON
<s/>> /d032/d032/d033/d184 LATIN SMALL LETTER S WITH CIRCUMFLEX
<s<> /d032/d032/d033/d185 LATIN SMALL LETTER S WITH CARON
<s,> /d032/d032/d033/d186 LATIN SMALL LETTER S WITH CEDILLA
<t<> /d032/d032/d033/d187 LATIN SMALL LETTER T WITH CARON
<z'> /d032/d032/d033/d188 LATIN SMALL LETTER Z WITH ACUTE
<'"> /d032/d032/d033/d189 DOUBLE ACUTE ACCENT
<z<> /d032/d032/d033/d190 LATIN SMALL LETTER Z WITH CARON
<z.> /d032/d032/d033/d191 LATIN SMALL LETTER Z WITH DOT ABOVE
<R'> /d032/d032/d033/d192 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER R WITH ACUTE
<R,> /d032/d032/d033/d193 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER R WITH CEDILLA
<A(> /d032/d032/d033/d195 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH BREVE
<L'> /d032/d032/d033/d197 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER L WITH ACUTE
<C'> /d032/d032/d033/d198 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER C WITH ACUTE
<C<> /d032/d032/d033/d200 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER C WITH CARON
<E;> /d032/d032/d033/d202 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER E WITH OGONEK
<E<> /d032/d032/d033/d204 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER E WITH CARON
<D<> /d032/d032/d033/d207 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER D WITH CARON
<D//> /d032/d032/d033/d208 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER D WITH STROKE
<N'> /d032/d032/d033/d209 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER N WITH ACUTE
<N<> /d032/d032/d033/d210 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER N WITH CARON
<U?> /d032/d032/d033/d212 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER U WITH TILDE
<O"> /d032/d032/d033/d213 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER O WITH DOUBLE ACUTE
<U-> /d032/d032/d033/d214 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER U WITH MACRON
<U(> /d032/d032/d033/d215 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER U WITH BREVE
<R<> /d032/d032/d033/d216 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER R WITH CARON
<U0> /d032/d032/d033/d217 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER U WITH RING ABOVE 1
<U;> /d032/d032/d033/d218 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER U WITH OGONEK
<U"> /d032/d032/d033/d219 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER U WITH DOUBLE ACUTE
<W/>> /d032/d032/d033/d220 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER W WITH CIRCUMFLEX
<Y/>> /d032/d032/d033/d221 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER Y WITH CIRCUMFLEX
<T,> /d032/d032/d033/d222 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER T WITH CEDILLA
<Y:> /d032/d032/d033/d223 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER Y WITH DIAERESIS
<r'> /d032/d032/d033/d224 LATIN SMALL LETTER R WITH ACUTE
<r,> /d032/d032/d033/d225 LATIN SMALL LETTER R WITH CEDILLA
<a(> /d032/d032/d033/d227 LATIN SMALL LETTER A WITH BREVE
<l'> /d032/d032/d033/d229 LATIN SMALL LETTER L WITH ACUTE
<c'> /d032/d032/d033/d230 LATIN SMALL LETTER C WITH ACUTE
<c<> /d032/d032/d033/d232 LATIN SMALL LETTER C WITH CARON
<e;> /d032/d032/d033/d234 LATIN SMALL LETTER E WITH OGONEK
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
1058 F Sample National Profile
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
<e<> /d032/d032/d033/d236 LATIN SMALL LETTER E WITH CARON
<d<> /d032/d032/d033/d239 LATIN SMALL LETTER D WITH CARON
<d//> /d032/d032/d033/d240 LATIN SMALL LETTER D WITH STROKE
<n'> /d032/d032/d033/d241 LATIN SMALL LETTER N WITH ACUTE
<n<> /d032/d032/d033/d242 LATIN SMALL LETTER N WITH CARON
<u?> /d032/d032/d033/d244 LATIN SMALL LETTER U WITH TILDE
<o"> /d032/d032/d033/d245 LATIN SMALL LETTER O WITH DOUBLE ACUTE
<u-> /d032/d032/d033/d246 LATIN SMALL LETTER U WITH MACRON
<u(> /d032/d032/d033/d247 LATIN SMALL LETTER U WITH BREVE
<r<> /d032/d032/d033/d248 LATIN SMALL LETTER R WITH CARON
<u0> /d032/d032/d033/d249 LATIN SMALL LETTER U WITH RING ABOVE 1
<u;> /d032/d032/d033/d250 LATIN SMALL LETTER U WITH OGONEK
<u"> /d032/d032/d033/d251 LATIN SMALL LETTER U WITH DOUBLE ACUTE
<w/>> /d032/d032/d033/d252 LATIN SMALL LETTER W WITH CIRCUMFLEX
<y/>> /d032/d032/d033/d253 LATIN SMALL LETTER Y WITH CIRCUMFLEX
<t,> /d032/d032/d033/d254 LATIN SMALL LETTER T WITH CEDILLA
<'.> /d032/d032/d033/d255 DOT ABOVE
<a<> /d032/d032/d034/d032 LATIN SMALL LETTER A WITH CARON
<A<> /d032/d032/d034/d033 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH CARON
<a_> /d032/d032/d034/d034 LATIN SMALL LETTER A WITH LINE BELOW
<A_> /d032/d032/d034/d035 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH LINE BELOW
<'a> /d032/d032/d034/d048 LATIN SMALL LETTER A PRECEDED BY APOSTROPHE
<'A> /d032/d032/d034/d049 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A PRECEDED BY APOSTROPHE
<a1> /d032/d032/d034/d052 LATIN SMALL LETTER A WITH MACRON AND DIAERESIS
<A1> /d032/d032/d034/d053 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH MACRON AND DIAERESIS
<a2> /d032/d032/d034/d054 LATIN SMALL LETTER A WITH MACRON AND DOT ABOVE
<A2> /d032/d032/d034/d055 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH MACRON AND DOT ABOVE
<a3> /d032/d032/d034/d056 LATIN SMALL LETTER AE WITH MACRON
<A3> /d032/d032/d034/d057 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER AE WITH MACRON
<b.> /d032/d032/d034/d086 LATIN SMALL LETTER B WITH DOT ABOVE
<B.> /d032/d032/d034/d087 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER B WITH DOT ABOVE
<b_> /d032/d032/d034/d088 LATIN SMALL LETTER B WITH LINE BELOW
<B_> /d032/d032/d034/d089 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER B WITH LINE BELOW
<d_> /d032/d032/d034/d096 LATIN SMALL LETTER D WITH LINE BELOW
<D_> /d032/d032/d034/d097 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER D WITH LINE BELOW
<d.> /d032/d032/d034/d098 LATIN SMALL LETTER D WITH DOT BELOW
<D.> /d032/d032/d034/d099 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER D WITH DOT BELOW
<d;> /d032/d032/d034/d100 LATIN SMALL LETTER D WITH OGONEK
<D;> /d032/d032/d034/d101 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER D WITH OGONEK
<e(> /d032/d032/d034/d106 LATIN SMALL LETTER E WITH BREVE
<E(> /d032/d032/d034/d107 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER E WITH BREVE
<e_> /d032/d032/d034/d108 LATIN SMALL LETTER E WITH LINE BELOW
<E_> /d032/d032/d034/d109 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER E WITH LINE BELOW
<;S> /d032/d032/d034/d126 HIGH OGONEK
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
F.5 (Example) Danish Charmap Files 1059
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
<e?> /d032/d032/d034/d168 LATIN SMALL LETTER E WITH TILDE
<E?> /d032/d032/d034/d169 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER E WITH TILDE
<f.> /d032/d032/d034/d180 LATIN SMALL LETTER F WITH DOT ABOVE
<F.> /d032/d032/d034/d181 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER F WITH DOT ABOVE
<g<> /d032/d032/d034/d182 LATIN SMALL LETTER G WITH CARON
<G<> /d032/d032/d034/d183 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER G WITH CARON
<g-> /d032/d032/d034/d184 LATIN SMALL LETTER G WITH MACRON
<G-> /d032/d032/d034/d185 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER G WITH MACRON
<g//> /d032/d032/d034/d188 LATIN SMALL LETTER G WITH STROKE
<G//> /d032/d032/d034/d189 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER G WITH STROKE
<h:> /d032/d032/d034/d192 LATIN SMALL LETTER H WITH DIAERESIS
<H:> /d032/d032/d034/d193 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER H WITH DIAERESIS
<h.> /d032/d032/d034/d194 LATIN SMALL LETTER H WITH DOT ABOVE
<H.> /d032/d032/d034/d195 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER H WITH DOT ABOVE
<h,> /d032/d032/d034/d196 LATIN SMALL LETTER H WITH CEDILLA
<H,> /d032/d032/d034/d197 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER H WITH CEDILLA
<h;> /d032/d032/d034/d198 LATIN SMALL LETTER H WITH OGONEK
<H;> /d032/d032/d034/d199 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER H WITH OGONEK
<i<> /d032/d032/d034/d204 LATIN SMALL LETTER I WITH CARON
<I<> /d032/d032/d034/d205 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER I WITH CARON
<i(> /d032/d032/d034/d206 LATIN SMALL LETTER I WITH BREVE
<I(> /d032/d032/d034/d207 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER I WITH BREVE
<j(> /d032/d032/d034/d224 LATIN SMALL LETTER J WITH BREVE
<J(> /d032/d032/d034/d225 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER J WITH BREVE
<k'> /d032/d032/d034/d226 LATIN SMALL LETTER K WITH ACUTE
<K'> /d032/d032/d034/d227 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER K WITH ACUTE
<k<> /d032/d032/d034/d228 LATIN SMALL LETTER K WITH CARON
<K<> /d032/d032/d034/d229 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER K WITH CARON
<k_> /d032/d032/d034/d230 LATIN SMALL LETTER K WITH LINE BELOW
<K_> /d032/d032/d034/d231 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER K WITH LINE BELOW
<k.> /d032/d032/d034/d232 LATIN SMALL LETTER K WITH DOT BELOW
<K.> /d032/d032/d034/d233 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER K WITH DOT BELOW
<k;> /d032/d032/d034/d234 LATIN SMALL LETTER K WITH OGONEK
<K;> /d032/d032/d034/d235 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER K WITH OGONEK
<l_> /d032/d032/d034/d240 LATIN SMALL LETTER L WITH LINE BELOW
<L_> /d032/d032/d034/d241 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER L WITH LINE BELOW
<m'> /d032/d032/d034/d248 LATIN SMALL LETTER M WITH ACUTE
<M'> /d032/d032/d034/d249 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER M WITH ACUTE
<m.> /d032/d032/d034/d250 LATIN SMALL LETTER M WITH DOT ABOVE
<M.> /d032/d032/d034/d251 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER M WITH DOT ABOVE
<n.> /d032/d032/d035/d034 LATIN SMALL LETTER N WITH DOT ABOVE
<N.> /d032/d032/d035/d035 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER N WITH DOT ABOVE
<n_> /d032/d032/d035/d038 LATIN SMALL LETTER N WITH LINE BELOW
<N_> /d032/d032/d035/d039 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER N WITH LINE BELOW
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
1060 F Sample National Profile
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
<o<> /d032/d032/d035/d046 LATIN SMALL LETTER O WITH CARON
<O<> /d032/d032/d035/d047 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER O WITH CARON
<o(> /d032/d032/d035/d048 LATIN SMALL LETTER O WITH BREVE
<O(> /d032/d032/d035/d049 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER O WITH BREVE
<o_> /d032/d032/d035/d050 LATIN SMALL LETTER O WITH LINE BELOW
<O_> /d032/d032/d035/d051 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER O WITH LINE BELOW
<o;> /d032/d032/d035/d064 LATIN SMALL LETTER O WITH OGONEK
<O;> /d032/d032/d035/d065 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER O WITH OGONEK
<o1> /d032/d032/d035/d068 LATIN SMALL LETTER O WITH MACRON AND OGONEK
<O1> /d032/d032/d035/d069 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER O WITH MACRON AND OGONEK
<p'> /d032/d032/d035/d098 LATIN SMALL LETTER P WITH ACUTE
<P'> /d032/d032/d035/d099 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER P WITH ACUTE
<r.> /d032/d032/d035/d100 LATIN SMALL LETTER R WITH DOT ABOVE
<R.> /d032/d032/d035/d101 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER R WITH DOT ABOVE
<r_> /d032/d032/d035/d102 LATIN SMALL LETTER R WITH LINE BELOW
<R_> /d032/d032/d035/d103 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER R WITH LINE BELOW
<s.> /d032/d032/d035/d110 LATIN SMALL LETTER S WITH DOT ABOVE
<S.> /d032/d032/d035/d111 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER S WITH DOT ABOVE
<s;> /d032/d032/d035/d114 LATIN SMALL LETTER S WITH OGONEK
<S;> /d032/d032/d035/d115 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER S WITH OGONEK
<t_> /d032/d032/d035/d160 LATIN SMALL LETTER T WITH LINE BELOW
<T_> /d032/d032/d035/d161 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER T WITH LINE BELOW
<t.> /d032/d032/d035/d162 LATIN SMALL LETTER T WITH DOT BELOW
<T.> /d032/d032/d035/d163 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER T WITH DOT BELOW
<u<> /d032/d032/d035/d170 LATIN SMALL LETTER U WITH CARON
<U<> /d032/d032/d035/d171 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER U WITH CARON
<v?> /d032/d032/d035/d214 LATIN SMALL LETTER V WITH TILDE
<V?> /d032/d032/d035/d215 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER V WITH TILDE
<w'> /d032/d032/d035/d220 LATIN SMALL LETTER W WITH ACUTE
<W'> /d032/d032/d035/d221 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER W WITH ACUTE
<w.> /d032/d032/d035/d222 LATIN SMALL LETTER W WITH DOT ABOVE
<W.> /d032/d032/d035/d223 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER W WITH DOT ABOVE
<w:> /d032/d032/d035/d224 LATIN SMALL LETTER W WITH DIAERESIS
<W:> /d032/d032/d035/d225 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER W WITH DIAERESIS
<x.> /d032/d032/d035/d230 LATIN SMALL LETTER X WITH DOT ABOVE
<X.> /d032/d032/d035/d231 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER X WITH DOT ABOVE
<x:> /d032/d032/d035/d232 LATIN SMALL LETTER X WITH DIAERESIS
<X:> /d032/d032/d035/d233 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER X WITH DIAERESIS
<y!> /d032/d032/d035/d236 LATIN SMALL LETTER Y WITH GRAVE
<Y!> /d032/d032/d035/d237 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER Y WITH GRAVE
<y.> /d032/d032/d035/d238 LATIN SMALL LETTER Y WITH DOT ABOVE
<Y.> /d032/d032/d035/d239 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER Y WITH DOT ABOVE
<z/>> /d032/d032/d035/d244 LATIN SMALL LETTER Z WITH CIRCUMFLEX
<Z/>> /d032/d032/d035/d245 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER Z WITH CIRCUMFLEX
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
F.5 (Example) Danish Charmap Files 1061
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
<z(> /d032/d032/d035/d246 LATIN SMALL LETTER Z WITH BREVE
<Z(> /d032/d032/d035/d247 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER Z WITH BREVE
<z_> /d032/d032/d035/d248 LATIN SMALL LETTER Z WITH LINE BELOW
<Z_> /d032/d032/d035/d249 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER Z WITH LINE BELOW
<z//> /d032/d032/d035/d252 LATIN SMALL LETTER Z WITH STROKE
<Z//> /d032/d032/d035/d253 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER Z WITH STROKE
<ez> /d032/d032/d035/d254 LATIN SMALL LETTER EZH WITH CARON
<EZ> /d032/d032/d035/d255 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER EZH WITH CARON
<g'> /d032/d032/d036/d033 LATIN SMALL LETTER G WITH ACUTE
<G'> /d032/d032/d036/d034 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER G WITH ACUTE
<'b> /d032/d032/d036/d084 LATIN SMALL LETTER B PRECEDED BY APOSTROPHE
<'B> /d032/d032/d036/d085 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER B PRECEDED BY APOSTROPHE
<'d> /d032/d032/d036/d096 LATIN SMALL LETTER D PRECEDED BY APOSTROPHE
<'D> /d032/d032/d036/d097 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER D PRECEDED BY APOSTROPHE
<'g> /d032/d032/d036/d162 LATIN SMALL LETTER G PRECEDED BY APOSTROPHE
<'G> /d032/d032/d036/d163 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER G PRECEDED BY APOSTROPHE
<'j> /d032/d032/d036/d174 LATIN SMALL LETTER J PRECEDED BY APOSTROPHE
<'J> /d032/d032/d036/d175 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER J PRECEDED BY APOSTROPHE
<'y> /d032/d032/d036/d235 LATIN SMALL LETTER Y PRECEDED BY APOSTROPHE
<'Y> /d032/d032/d036/d236 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER Y PRECEDED BY APOSTROPHE
<ed> /d032/d032/d036/d239 LATIN SMALL LETTER EDZ
<ED> /d032/d032/d036/d240 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER EDZ
<Vs> /d032/d032/d037/d032 SPACE SYMBOL
<1M> /d032/d032/d037/d033 EM-SPACE
<1N> /d032/d032/d037/d034 EN-SPACE
<3M> /d032/d032/d037/d035 THREE-PER-EM SPACE
<4M> /d032/d032/d037/d036 FOUR-PER-EM SPACE
<6M> /d032/d032/d037/d037 SIX-PER-EM SPACE
<1H> /d032/d032/d037/d038 HAIR SPACE
<1T> /d032/d032/d037/d039 THIN SPACE
<-1> /d032/d032/d037/d040 HYPHEN
<-N> /d032/d032/d037/d041 EN-DASH
<-2> /d032/d032/d037/d042 MINUS SIGN
<-M> /d032/d032/d037/d043 EM-DASH
<-3> /d032/d032/d037/d044 QUOTATION DASH
<'1> /d032/d032/d037/d045 SINGLE PRIME
<'2> /d032/d032/d037/d046 DOUBLE PRIME
<'3> /d032/d032/d037/d047 TRIPLE PRIME
<9'> /d032/d032/d037/d048 SINGLE HIGH-REVERSED-9 QUOTATION MARK
<9"> /d032/d032/d037/d049 DOUBLE HIGH-REVERSED-9 QUOTATION MARK
<.9> /d032/d032/d037/d050 SINGLE LOW-9 QUOTATION MARK
<:9> /d032/d032/d037/d051 DOUBLE LOW-9 QUOTATION MARK
<<1> /d032/d032/d037/d052 SINGLE LEFT-POINTING ANGLE QUOTATION MARK
</>1> /d032/d032/d037/d053 SINGLE RIGHT-POINTING ANGLE QUOTATION MARK
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
1062 F Sample National Profile
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
<<//> /d032/d032/d037/d054 LEFT-POINTING ANGLE BRACKET
<///>> /d032/d032/d037/d055 RIGHT-POINTING ANGLE BRACKET
<15> /d032/d032/d037/d056 VULGAR FRACTION ONE FIFTH
<25> /d032/d032/d037/d057 VULGAR FRACTION TWO FIFTHS
<35> /d032/d032/d037/d058 VULGAR FRACTION THREE FIFTHS
<45> /d032/d032/d037/d059 VULGAR FRACTION FOUR FIFTHS
<16> /d032/d032/d037/d060 VULGAR FRACTION ONE SIXTH
<13> /d032/d032/d037/d061 VULGAR FRACTION ONE THIRD
<23> /d032/d032/d037/d062 VULGAR FRACTION TWO THIRDS
<56> /d032/d032/d037/d063 VULGAR FRACTION FIVE SIXTHS
<*-> /d032/d032/d037/d064 MIDDLE ASTERISK
<//-> /d032/d032/d037/d065 DAGGER
<//=> /d032/d032/d037/d066 DOUBLE-DAGGER
<-X> /d032/d032/d037/d067 MALTESE CROSS
<%0> /d032/d032/d037/d068 PER-MILLE SIGN
<co> /d032/d032/d037/d069 CARE-OF SIGN
<PO> /d032/d032/d037/d070 SOUND RECORDING COPYRIGHT SIGN
<Rx> /d032/d032/d037/d071 PRESCRIPTION SIGN
<AO> /d032/d032/d037/d072 ANGSTROEM SIGN
<oC> /d032/d032/d037/d073 CENTIGRADE DEGREE SIGN
<Ml> /d032/d032/d037/d074 MALE SIGN
<Fm> /d032/d032/d037/d075 FEMALE SIGN
<Tl> /d032/d032/d037/d076 TELEPHONE SIGN
<TR> /d032/d032/d037/d077 TELEPHONE RECORDER SIGN
<MX> /d032/d032/d037/d078 MUSICAL SHARP SIGN
<Mb> /d032/d032/d037/d079 MUSICAL FLAT SIGN
<Mx> /d032/d032/d037/d080 MUSICAL NATURAL SIGN
<XX> /d032/d032/d037/d081 BALLOT CROSS SIGN
<OK> /d032/d032/d037/d082 CHECK MARK
<M2> /d032/d032/d037/d083 DOUBLE MUSICAL NOTES
<!2> /d032/d032/d037/d084 DOUBLE EXCLAMATION MARKS
<=2> /d032/d032/d037/d085 DOUBLE LOW LINE
<Ca> /d032/d032/d037/d086 CARET
<..> /d032/d032/d037/d087 TWO-DOT LEADER
<.3> /d032/d032/d037/d088 HORIZONTAL ELLIPSIS
<:3> /d032/d032/d037/d089 VERTICAL ELLIPSIS
<.:> /d032/d032/d037/d090 THEREFORE SIGN
<:.> /d032/d032/d037/d091 BECAUSE SIGN
<-+> /d032/d032/d037/d092 MINUS-PLUS SIGN
<!=> /d032/d032/d037/d093 NOT EQUAL-TO SIGN
<=3> /d032/d032/d037/d094 IDENTICAL-TO SIGN
<?1> /d032/d032/d037/d095 DIFFERENCE-BETWEEN SIGN
<?2> /d032/d032/d037/d096 ALMOST-EQUALS SIGN
<?-> /d032/d032/d037/d097 ASYMTOTICALLY-EQUALS SIGN
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
F.5 (Example) Danish Charmap Files 1063
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
<?=> /d032/d032/d037/d098 SIMILAR-TO SIGN
<=<> /d032/d032/d037/d099 LESS-THAN OR EQUAL-TO SIGN
</>=> /d032/d032/d037/d100 GREATER-THAN OR EQUAL-TO SIGN
<0(> /d032/d032/d037/d101 PROPORTIONAL-TO SIGN
<00> /d032/d032/d037/d102 INFINITY SIGN
<PP> /d032/d032/d037/d103 PARALLEL-TO SIGN
<-T> /d032/d032/d037/d104 ORTHOGONAL-TO SIGN
<-L> /d032/d032/d037/d105 RIGHT ANGLE SIGN
<-V> /d032/d032/d037/d106 ANGLE SIGN
<AN> /d032/d032/d037/d107 LOGICAL-AND SIGN
<OR> /d032/d032/d037/d108 LOGICAL-OR SIGN
<.P> /d032/d032/d037/d109 PRODUCT DOT SIGN
<nS> /d032/d032/d037/d110 SUPERSCRIPT LATIN SMALL LETTER N
<dP> /d032/d032/d037/d111 PARTIAL DIFFERENTIAL SIGN
<f(> /d032/d032/d037/d112 FUNCTION SIGN
<In> /d032/d032/d037/d113 INTEGRAL SIGN
<Io> /d032/d032/d037/d114 CONTOUR INTEGRAL SIGN
<RT> /d032/d032/d037/d117 RADICAL SIGN
<*P> /d032/d032/d037/d118 REPEATED PRODUCT SIGN
<+Z> /d032/d032/d037/d119 SUMMATION SIGN
<FA> /d032/d032/d037/d120 FOR-ALL SIGN
<TE> /d032/d032/d037/d121 THERE-EXISTS SIGN
<GF> /d032/d032/d037/d122 GAMMA FUNCTION SIGN
<DE> /d032/d032/d037/d123 INCREMENT SIGN
<NB> /d032/d032/d037/d124 NABLA
<(U> /d032/d032/d037/d125 INTERSECTION SIGN
<)U> /d032/d032/d037/d126 UNION SIGN
<(C> /d032/d032/d037/d160 PROPER SUBSET SIGN
<)C> /d032/d032/d037/d161 PROPER SUPERSET SIGN
<(_> /d032/d032/d037/d162 SUBSET SIGN
<)_> /d032/d032/d037/d163 SUPERSET SIGN
<(-> /d032/d032/d037/d164 ELEMENT-OF SIGN
<-)> /d032/d032/d037/d165 HAS AN ELEMENT SIGN
<</>> /d032/d032/d037/d166 LEFT AND RIGHT-POINTING ARROW
<UD> /d032/d032/d037/d167 UP AND DOWN-POINTING ARROW
<Ub> /d032/d032/d037/d168 UP AND DOWN-POINTING ARROW WITH LINE BELOW
<<=> /d032/d032/d037/d169 IMPLIED-BY SIGN
<=/>> /d032/d032/d037/d170 IMPLIES SIGN
<==> /d032/d032/d037/d171 IF-AND-ONLY-IF SIGN
<//0> /d032/d032/d037/d172 EMPTY SIGN
<OL> /d032/d032/d037/d173 SOLID LOZENGE
<0u> /d032/d032/d037/d176 SMILING FACE WHITE
<0U> /d032/d032/d037/d177 SMILING FACE BLACK
<SU> /d032/d032/d037/d178 RADIANT SUN
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
1064 F Sample National Profile
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
<0:> /d032/d032/d037/d179 DOTTED CIRCLE
<OS> /d032/d032/d037/d180 SQUARE EMPTY
<fS> /d032/d032/d037/d181 SQUARE SOLID
<Or> /d032/d032/d037/d182 RECTANGLE EMPTY
<SR> /d032/d032/d037/d183 RECTANGLE SOLID
<uT> /d032/d032/d037/d184 UPWARDS-POINTING TRIANGLE EMPTY
<UT> /d032/d032/d037/d185 UPWARDS-POINTING TRIANGLE SOLID
<dT> /d032/d032/d037/d186 DOWNWARDS-POINTING TRIANGLE EMPTY
<Dt> /d032/d032/d037/d187 DOWNWARDS-POINTING TRIANGLE SOLID
<PL> /d032/d032/d037/d188 LEFTWARDS POINTER SOLID
<PR> /d032/d032/d037/d189 RIGHTWARDS POINTER SOLID
<*1> /d032/d032/d037/d190 STAR EMPTY
<*2> /d032/d032/d037/d191 STAR SOLID
<VV> /d032/d032/d037/d192 BOX DRAWINGS HEAVY VERTICAL
<HH> /d032/d032/d037/d193 BOX DRAWINGS HEAVY HORIZONTAL
<DR> /d032/d032/d037/d194 BOX DRAWINGS HEAVY DOWN AND RIGHT
<LD> /d032/d032/d037/d195 BOX DRAWINGS HEAVY DOWN AND LEFT
<UR> /d032/d032/d037/d196 BOX DRAWINGS HEAVY UP AND RIGHT
<UL> /d032/d032/d037/d197 BOX DRAWINGS HEAVY UP AND LEFT
<VR> /d032/d032/d037/d198 BOX DRAWINGS HEAVY VERTICAL AND RIGHT
<VL> /d032/d032/d037/d199 BOX DRAWINGS HEAVY VERTICAL AND LEFT
<DH> /d032/d032/d037/d200 BOX DRAWINGS HEAVY HORIZONTAL AND DOWN
<UH> /d032/d032/d037/d201 BOX DRAWINGS HEAVY HORIZONTAL AND UP
<VH> /d032/d032/d037/d202 BOX DRAWINGS HEAVY VERTICAL AND HORIZONTAL
<TB> /d032/d032/d037/d203 BOX DRAWING SOLID UPPER HALF BLOCK
<LB> /d032/d032/d037/d204 BOX DRAWING SOLID LOWER HALF BLOCK
<FB> /d032/d032/d037/d205 BOX DRAWING SOLID FULL BLOCK
<sB> /d032/d032/d037/d206 BOX DRAWING SOLID SMALL SQUARE
<EH> /d032/d032/d037/d207 EMPTY HOUSE SIGN
<vv> /d032/d032/d037/d208 BOX DRAWINGS LIGHT VERTICAL
<hh> /d032/d032/d037/d209 BOX DRAWINGS LIGHT HORIZONTAL
<dr> /d032/d032/d037/d210 BOX DRAWINGS LIGHT DOWN AND RIGHT
<dl> /d032/d032/d037/d211 BOX DRAWINGS LIGHT DOWN AND LEFT
<ur> /d032/d032/d037/d212 BOX DRAWINGS LIGHT UP AND RIGHT
<ul> /d032/d032/d037/d213 BOX DRAWINGS LIGHT UP AND LEFT
<vr> /d032/d032/d037/d214 BOX DRAWINGS LIGHT VERTICAL AND RIGHT
<vl> /d032/d032/d037/d215 BOX DRAWINGS LIGHT VERTICAL AND LEFT
<dh> /d032/d032/d037/d216 BOX DRAWINGS LIGHT HORIZONTAL AND DOWN
<uh> /d032/d032/d037/d217 BOX DRAWINGS LIGHT HORIZONTAL AND UP
<vh> /d032/d032/d037/d218 BOX DRAWINGS LIGHT VERTICAL AND HORIZONTAL
<.S> /d032/d032/d037/d219 BOX DRAWING LIGHT SHADE (25%)
<:S> /d032/d032/d037/d220 BOX DRAWING MEDIUM SHADE (50%)
<?S> /d032/d032/d037/d221 BOX DRAWING DARK SHADE (75%)
<lB> /d032/d032/d037/d222 BOX DRAWING SOLID LEFT HALF BLOCK
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
F.5 (Example) Danish Charmap Files 1065
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
<RB> /d032/d032/d037/d223 BOX DRAWING SOLID RIGHT HALF BLOCK
<cC> /d032/d032/d037/d224 CLUB SYMBOL
<cD> /d032/d032/d037/d225 DIAMOND SYMBOL
<Dr> /d032/d032/d037/d226 BOX DRAWINGS DOWN HEAVY AND RIGHT LIGHT
<Dl> /d032/d032/d037/d227 BOX DRAWINGS DOWN HEAVY AND LEFT LIGHT
<Ur> /d032/d032/d037/d228 BOX DRAWINGS UP HEAVY AND RIGHT LIGHT
<Ul> /d032/d032/d037/d229 BOX DRAWINGS UP HEAVY AND LEFT LIGHT
<Vr> /d032/d032/d037/d230 BOX DRAWINGS VERTICAL HEAVY AND RIGHT LIGHT
<Vl> /d032/d032/d037/d231 BOX DRAWINGS VERTICAL HEAVY AND LEFT LIGHT
<dH> /d032/d032/d037/d232 BOX DRAWINGS HORIZONTAL HEAVY AND DOWN LIGHT
<uH> /d032/d032/d037/d233 BOX DRAWINGS HORIZONTAL HEAVY AND UP LIGHT
<vH> /d032/d032/d037/d234 BOX DRAWINGS VERTICAL LIGHT AND HORIZONTAL HEAVY
<Ob> /d032/d032/d037/d235 CIRCLE BULLET EMPTY
<Sb> /d032/d032/d037/d236 CIRCLE BULLET SOLID
<Sn> /d032/d032/d037/d237 CIRCLE BULLET NEGATIVE
<Pt> /d032/d032/d037/d238 PESETA SYMBOL
<NI> /d032/d032/d037/d239 REVERSED NOT SIGN
<cH> /d032/d032/d037/d240 HEART SYMBOL
<cS> /d032/d032/d037/d241 SPADE SYMBOL
<dR> /d032/d032/d037/d242 BOX DRAWINGS DOWN LIGHT AND RIGHT HEAVY
<dL> /d032/d032/d037/d243 BOX DRAWINGS DOWN LIGHT AND LEFT HEAVY
<uR> /d032/d032/d037/d244 BOX DRAWINGS UP LIGHT AND RIGHT HEAVY
<uL> /d032/d032/d037/d245 BOX DRAWINGS UP LIGHT AND LEFT HEAVY
<vR> /d032/d032/d037/d246 BOX DRAWINGS VERTICAL LIGHT AND RIGHT HEAVY
<vL> /d032/d032/d037/d247 BOX DRAWINGS VERTICAL LIGHT AND LEFT HEAVY
<Dh> /d032/d032/d037/d248 BOX DRAWINGS HORIZONTAL LIGHT AND DOWN HEAVY
<Uh> /d032/d032/d037/d249 BOX DRAWINGS HORIZONTAL LIGHT AND UP HEAVY
<Vh> /d032/d032/d037/d250 BOX DRAWINGS VERTICAL HEAVY AND HORIZONTAL LIGHT
<0m> /d032/d032/d037/d251 MEDIUM CIRCLE EMPTY
<0M> /d032/d032/d037/d252 MEDIUM CIRCLE SOLID
<Ic> /d032/d032/d037/d253 MEDIUM CIRCLE NEGATIVE
<SM> /d032/d032/d037/d254 SERVICE MARK SIGN
<CG> /d032/d032/d037/d255 CONGRUENCE SIGN
<Ci> /d032/d032/d038/d037 CIRCLE
<(A> /d032/d032/d038/d041 ARC SIGN
</>V> /d032/d032/d038/d046 RIGHTWARDS VECTOR ABOVE
<!<> /d032/d032/d038/d049 NOT LESS-THAN SIGN
<<*> /d032/d032/d038/d056 MUCH-LESS-THAN SIGN
<!/>> /d032/d032/d038/d065 NOT GREATER-THAN SIGN
<*/>> /d032/d032/d038/d072 MUCH-GREATER-THAN SIGN
<<7> /d032/d032/d038/d094 CEILING SIGN LEFT
<7<> /d032/d032/d038/d095 FLOOR SIGN LEFT
</>7> /d032/d032/d038/d110 CEILING SIGN RIGHT
<7/>> /d032/d032/d038/d111 FLOOR SIGN RIGHT
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
1066 F Sample National Profile
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
<I2> /d032/d032/d038/d121 DOUBLE INTEGRAL SIGN
<0.> /d032/d032/d038/d164 DOT IN RING
<HI> /d032/d032/d038/d177 HAS-AN-IMAGE SIGN
<::> /d032/d032/d038/d193 PROPORTION SIGN
<FD> /d032/d032/d038/d209 FORWARD DIAGONAL
<LZ> /d032/d032/d038/d223 LOZENGE
<BD> /d032/d032/d038/d225 BACKWARD DIAGONAL
<1R> /d032/d032/d039/d032 ROMAN NUMERAL ONE
<2R> /d032/d032/d039/d033 ROMAN NUMERAL TWO
<3R> /d032/d032/d039/d034 ROMAN NUMERAL THREE
<4R> /d032/d032/d039/d035 ROMAN NUMERAL FOUR
<5R> /d032/d032/d039/d036 ROMAN NUMERAL FIVE
<6R> /d032/d032/d039/d037 ROMAN NUMERAL SIX
<7R> /d032/d032/d039/d038 ROMAN NUMERAL SEVEN
<8R> /d032/d032/d039/d039 ROMAN NUMERAL EIGHT
<9R> /d032/d032/d039/d040 ROMAN NUMERAL NINE
<aR> /d032/d032/d039/d041 ROMAN NUMERAL TEN
<bR> /d032/d032/d039/d042 ROMAN NUMERAL ELEVEN
<cR> /d032/d032/d039/d043 ROMAN NUMERAL TWELVE
<IO> /d032/d032/d040/d161 CYRILLIC CAPITAL LETTER IO
<D%> /d032/d032/d040/d162 CYRILLIC CAPITAL LETTER DJE (Serbocroatian)
<G%> /d032/d032/d040/d163 CYRILLIC CAPITAL LETTER GJE (Macedonian)
<IE> /d032/d032/d040/d164 CYRILLIC CAPITAL LETTER UKRAINIAN IE
<DS> /d032/d032/d040/d165 CYRILLIC CAPITAL LETTER DZE (Macedonian)
<II> /d032/d032/d040/d166 CYRILLIC CAPITAL LETTER BYELORUSSIAN-UKRAINIAN I
<YI> /d032/d032/d040/d167 CYRILLIC CAPITAL LETTER YI (Ukrainian)
<J%> /d032/d032/d040/d168 CYRILLIC CAPITAL LETTER JE
<LJ> /d032/d032/d040/d169 CYRILLIC CAPITAL LETTER LJE
<NJ> /d032/d032/d040/d170 CYRILLIC CAPITAL LETTER NJE
<Ts> /d032/d032/d040/d171 CYRILLIC CAPITAL LETTER TSHE (Serbocroatian)
<KJ> /d032/d032/d040/d172 CYRILLIC CAPITAL LETTER KJE (Macedonian)
<V%> /d032/d032/d040/d174 CYRILLIC CAPITAL LETTER SHORT U (Byelorussian)
<DZ> /d032/d032/d040/d175 CYRILLIC CAPITAL LETTER DZHE
<A=> /d032/d032/d040/d176 CYRILLIC CAPITAL LETTER A
<B=> /d032/d032/d040/d177 CYRILLIC CAPITAL LETTER BE
<V=> /d032/d032/d040/d178 CYRILLIC CAPITAL LETTER VE
<G=> /d032/d032/d040/d179 CYRILLIC CAPITAL LETTER GHE
<D=> /d032/d032/d040/d180 CYRILLIC CAPITAL LETTER DE
<E=> /d032/d032/d040/d181 CYRILLIC CAPITAL LETTER IE
<Z%> /d032/d032/d040/d182 CYRILLIC CAPITAL LETTER ZHE
<Z=> /d032/d032/d040/d183 CYRILLIC CAPITAL LETTER ZE
<I=> /d032/d032/d040/d184 CYRILLIC CAPITAL LETTER I
<J=> /d032/d032/d040/d185 CYRILLIC CAPITAL LETTER SHORT I
<K=> /d032/d032/d040/d186 CYRILLIC CAPITAL LETTER KA
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
F.5 (Example) Danish Charmap Files 1067
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
<L=> /d032/d032/d040/d187 CYRILLIC CAPITAL LETTER EL
<M=> /d032/d032/d040/d188 CYRILLIC CAPITAL LETTER EM
<N=> /d032/d032/d040/d189 CYRILLIC CAPITAL LETTER EN
<O=> /d032/d032/d040/d190 CYRILLIC CAPITAL LETTER O
<P=> /d032/d032/d040/d191 CYRILLIC CAPITAL LETTER PE
<R=> /d032/d032/d040/d192 CYRILLIC CAPITAL LETTER ER
<S=> /d032/d032/d040/d193 CYRILLIC CAPITAL LETTER ES
<T=> /d032/d032/d040/d194 CYRILLIC CAPITAL LETTER TE
<U=> /d032/d032/d040/d195 CYRILLIC CAPITAL LETTER U
<F=> /d032/d032/d040/d196 CYRILLIC CAPITAL LETTER EF
<H=> /d032/d032/d040/d197 CYRILLIC CAPITAL LETTER HA
<C=> /d032/d032/d040/d198 CYRILLIC CAPITAL LETTER TSE
<C%> /d032/d032/d040/d199 CYRILLIC CAPITAL LETTER CHE
<S%> /d032/d032/d040/d200 CYRILLIC CAPITAL LETTER SHA
<Sc> /d032/d032/d040/d201 CYRILLIC CAPITAL LETTER SHCHA
<="> /d032/d032/d040/d202 CYRILLIC CAPITAL HARD SIGN
<Y=> /d032/d032/d040/d203 CYRILLIC CAPITAL LETTER YERU
<%"> /d032/d032/d040/d204 CYRILLIC CAPITAL SOFT SIGN
<JE> /d032/d032/d040/d205 CYRILLIC CAPITAL LETTER E
<JU> /d032/d032/d040/d206 CYRILLIC CAPITAL LETTER YU
<JA> /d032/d032/d040/d207 CYRILLIC CAPITAL LETTER YA
<a=> /d032/d032/d040/d208 CYRILLIC SMALL LETTER A
<b=> /d032/d032/d040/d209 CYRILLIC SMALL LETTER BE
<v=> /d032/d032/d040/d210 CYRILLIC SMALL LETTER VE
<g=> /d032/d032/d040/d211 CYRILLIC SMALL LETTER GHE
<d=> /d032/d032/d040/d212 CYRILLIC SMALL LETTER DE
<e=> /d032/d032/d040/d213 CYRILLIC SMALL LETTER IE
<z%> /d032/d032/d040/d214 CYRILLIC SMALL LETTER ZHE
<z=> /d032/d032/d040/d215 CYRILLIC SMALL LETTER ZE
<i=> /d032/d032/d040/d216 CYRILLIC SMALL LETTER I
<j=> /d032/d032/d040/d217 CYRILLIC SMALL LETTER SHORT I
<k=> /d032/d032/d040/d218 CYRILLIC SMALL LETTER KA
<l=> /d032/d032/d040/d219 CYRILLIC SMALL LETTER EL
<m=> /d032/d032/d040/d220 CYRILLIC SMALL LETTER EM
<n=> /d032/d032/d040/d221 CYRILLIC SMALL LETTER EN
<o=> /d032/d032/d040/d222 CYRILLIC SMALL LETTER O
<p=> /d032/d032/d040/d223 CYRILLIC SMALL LETTER PE
<r=> /d032/d032/d040/d224 CYRILLIC SMALL LETTER ER
<s=> /d032/d032/d040/d225 CYRILLIC SMALL LETTER ES
<t=> /d032/d032/d040/d226 CYRILLIC SMALL LETTER TE
<u=> /d032/d032/d040/d227 CYRILLIC SMALL LETTER U
<f=> /d032/d032/d040/d228 CYRILLIC SMALL LETTER EF
<h=> /d032/d032/d040/d229 CYRILLIC SMALL LETTER HA
<c=> /d032/d032/d040/d230 CYRILLIC SMALL LETTER TSE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
1068 F Sample National Profile
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
<c%> /d032/d032/d040/d231 CYRILLIC SMALL LETTER CHE
<s%> /d032/d032/d040/d232 CYRILLIC SMALL LETTER SHA
<sc> /d032/d032/d040/d233 CYRILLIC SMALL LETTER SHCHA
<='> /d032/d032/d040/d234 CYRILLIC SMALL HARD SIGN
<y=> /d032/d032/d040/d235 CYRILLIC SMALL LETTER YERU
<%'> /d032/d032/d040/d236 CYRILLIC SMALL SOFT SIGN
<je> /d032/d032/d040/d237 CYRILLIC SMALL LETTER E
<ju> /d032/d032/d040/d238 CYRILLIC SMALL LETTER YU
<ja> /d032/d032/d040/d239 CYRILLIC SMALL LETTER YA
<N0> /d032/d032/d040/d240 NUMERO SIGN
<io> /d032/d032/d040/d241 CYRILLIC SMALL LETTER IO
<d%> /d032/d032/d040/d242 CYRILLIC SMALL LETTER DJE (Serbocroatian)
<g%> /d032/d032/d040/d243 CYRILLIC SMALL LETTER GJE (Macedonian)
<ie> /d032/d032/d040/d244 CYRILLIC SMALL LETTER UKRAINIAN IE
<ds> /d032/d032/d040/d245 CYRILLIC SMALL LETTER DZE (Macedonian)
<ii> /d032/d032/d040/d246 CYRILLIC SMALL LETTER BYELORUSSIAN-UKRAINIAN I
<yi> /d032/d032/d040/d247 CYRILLIC SMALL LETTER YI (Ukrainian)
<j%> /d032/d032/d040/d248 CYRILLIC SMALL LETTER JE
<lj> /d032/d032/d040/d249 CYRILLIC SMALL LETTER LJE
<nj> /d032/d032/d040/d250 CYRILLIC SMALL LETTER NJE
<ts> /d032/d032/d040/d251 CYRILLIC SMALL LETTER TSHE (Serbocroatian)
<kj> /d032/d032/d040/d252 CYRILLIC SMALL LETTER KJE (Macedonian)
<v%> /d032/d032/d040/d254 CYRILLIC SMALL LETTER SHORT U (Byelorussian)
<dz> /d032/d032/d040/d255 CYRILLIC SMALL LETTER DZHE
<i3> /d032/d032/d042/d160 GREEK IOTA BELOW
<;;> /d032/d032/d042/d161 GREEK DAISA PNEUMATA (rough)
<,,> /d032/d032/d042/d162 GREEK PSILI PNEUMATA (smooth)
<!*> /d032/d032/d042/d164 GREEK VARIA
<?*> /d032/d032/d042/d165 GREEK PERISPOMENI
<;'> /d032/d032/d042/d166 GREEK DAISA AND ACUTE ACCENT
<,'> /d032/d032/d042/d167 GREEK PSILI AND ACUTE ACCENT
<;!> /d032/d032/d042/d168 GREEK DAISA AND VARIA
<,!> /d032/d032/d042/d169 GREEK PSILI AND VARIA
<?;> /d032/d032/d042/d170 GREEK PERISPOMENI AND DAISA
<?,> /d032/d032/d042/d171 GREEK PERISPOMENI AND PSILI
<!:> /d032/d032/d042/d174 GREEK VARIA AND DIAERESIS
<?:> /d032/d032/d042/d175 GREEK PERISPOMENI AND DIAERESIS
<I3> /d032/d032/d042/d176 GREEK CAPITAL LETTER IOTA WITH PERISPOMENI
# AND PSILI
<'%> /d032/d032/d042/d181 ACUTE ACCENT AND DIAERESIS (Tonos and Dialytica)
<A%> /d032/d032/d042/d182 GREEK CAPITAL LETTER ALPHA WITH ACUTE
<E%> /d032/d032/d042/d184 GREEK CAPITAL LETTER EPSILON WITH ACUTE
<Y%> /d032/d032/d042/d185 GREEK CAPITAL LETTER ETA WITH ACUTE
<I%> /d032/d032/d042/d186 GREEK CAPITAL LETTER IOTA WITH ACUTE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
F.5 (Example) Danish Charmap Files 1069
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
<O%> /d032/d032/d042/d188 GREEK CAPITAL LETTER OMICRON WITH ACUTE
<U%> /d032/d032/d042/d190 GREEK CAPITAL LETTER UPSILON WITH ACUTE
<W%> /d032/d032/d042/d191 GREEK CAPITAL LETTER OMEGA WITH ACUTE
<A*> /d032/d032/d042/d193 GREEK CAPITAL LETTER ALPHA
<B*> /d032/d032/d042/d194 GREEK CAPITAL LETTER BETA
<G*> /d032/d032/d042/d195 GREEK CAPITAL LETTER GAMMA
<D*> /d032/d032/d042/d196 GREEK CAPITAL LETTER DELTA
<E*> /d032/d032/d042/d197 GREEK CAPITAL LETTER EPSILON
<Z*> /d032/d032/d042/d198 GREEK CAPITAL LETTER ZETA
<Y*> /d032/d032/d042/d199 GREEK CAPITAL LETTER ETA
<H*> /d032/d032/d042/d200 GREEK CAPITAL LETTER THETA
<I*> /d032/d032/d042/d201 GREEK CAPITAL LETTER IOTA
<K*> /d032/d032/d042/d202 GREEK CAPITAL LETTER KAPPA
<L*> /d032/d032/d042/d203 GREEK CAPITAL LETTER LAMDA
<M*> /d032/d032/d042/d204 GREEK CAPITAL LETTER MU
<N*> /d032/d032/d042/d205 GREEK CAPITAL LETTER NU
<C*> /d032/d032/d042/d206 GREEK CAPITAL LETTER XI
<O*> /d032/d032/d042/d207 GREEK CAPITAL LETTER OMICRON
<P*> /d032/d032/d042/d208 GREEK CAPITAL LETTER PI
<R*> /d032/d032/d042/d209 GREEK CAPITAL LETTER RHO
<S*> /d032/d032/d042/d211 GREEK CAPITAL LETTER SIGMA
<T*> /d032/d032/d042/d212 GREEK CAPITAL LETTER TAU
<U*> /d032/d032/d042/d213 GREEK CAPITAL LETTER UPSILON
<F*> /d032/d032/d042/d214 GREEK CAPITAL LETTER PHI
<X*> /d032/d032/d042/d215 GREEK CAPITAL LETTER CHI
<Q*> /d032/d032/d042/d216 GREEK CAPITAL LETTER PSI
<W*> /d032/d032/d042/d217 GREEK CAPITAL LETTER OMEGA
<J*> /d032/d032/d042/d218 GREEK CAPITAL LETTER IOTA WITH DIAERESIS
<V*> /d032/d032/d042/d219 GREEK CAPITAL LETTER UPSILON WITH DIAERESIS
<a%> /d032/d032/d042/d220 GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA WITH ACUTE
<e%> /d032/d032/d042/d221 GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON WITH ACUTE
<y%> /d032/d032/d042/d222 GREEK SMALL LETTER ETA WITH ACUTE
<i%> /d032/d032/d042/d223 GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA WITH ACUTE
<a*> /d032/d032/d042/d225 GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA
<b*> /d032/d032/d042/d226 GREEK SMALL LETTER BETA
<g*> /d032/d032/d042/d227 GREEK SMALL LETTER GAMMA
<d*> /d032/d032/d042/d228 GREEK SMALL LETTER DELTA
<e*> /d032/d032/d042/d229 GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON
<z*> /d032/d032/d042/d230 GREEK SMALL LETTER ZETA
<y*> /d032/d032/d042/d231 GREEK SMALL LETTER ETA
<h*> /d032/d032/d042/d232 GREEK SMALL LETTER THETA
<i*> /d032/d032/d042/d233 GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA
<k*> /d032/d032/d042/d234 GREEK SMALL LETTER KAPPA
<l*> /d032/d032/d042/d235 GREEK SMALL LETTER LAMDA
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
1070 F Sample National Profile
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
<m*> /d032/d032/d042/d236 GREEK SMALL LETTER MU
<n*> /d032/d032/d042/d237 GREEK SMALL LETTER NU
<c*> /d032/d032/d042/d238 GREEK SMALL LETTER XI
<o*> /d032/d032/d042/d239 GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON
<p*> /d032/d032/d042/d240 GREEK SMALL LETTER PI
<r*> /d032/d032/d042/d241 GREEK SMALL LETTER RHO
<*s> /d032/d032/d042/d242 GREEK SMALL LETTER FINAL SIGMA
<s*> /d032/d032/d042/d243 GREEK SMALL LETTER SIGMA
<t*> /d032/d032/d042/d244 GREEK SMALL LETTER TAU
<u*> /d032/d032/d042/d245 GREEK SMALL LETTER UPSILON
<f*> /d032/d032/d042/d246 GREEK SMALL LETTER PHI
<x*> /d032/d032/d042/d247 GREEK SMALL LETTER CHI
<q*> /d032/d032/d042/d248 GREEK SMALL LETTER PSI
<w*> /d032/d032/d042/d249 GREEK SMALL LETTER OMEGA
<j*> /d032/d032/d042/d250 GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA WITH DIAERESIS
<v*> /d032/d032/d042/d251 GREEK SMALL LETTER UPSILON WITH DIAERESIS
<o%> /d032/d032/d042/d252 GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON WITH ACUTE
<u%> /d032/d032/d042/d253 GREEK SMALL LETTER UPSILON WITH ACUTE
<w%> /d032/d032/d042/d254 GREEK SMALL LETTER OMEGA WITH ACUTE
<p+> /d032/d032/d044/d035 ARABIC LETTER PEH
<v+> /d032/d032/d044/d040 ARABIC LETTER VEH
<gf> /d032/d032/d044/d052 ARABIC LETTER GAF
<,+> /d032/d032/d044/d172 ARABIC COMMA
<;+> /d032/d032/d044/d187 ARABIC SEMICOLON
<?+> /d032/d032/d044/d191 ARABIC QUESTION MARK
<H'> /d032/d032/d044/d193 ARABIC LETTER HAMZA
<aM> /d032/d032/d044/d194 ARABIC LETTER ALEF WITH MADDA ABOVE
<aH> /d032/d032/d044/d195 ARABIC LETTER ALEF WITH HAMZA ABOVE
<wH> /d032/d032/d044/d196 ARABIC LETTER WAW WITH HAMZA ABOVE
<ah> /d032/d032/d044/d197 ARABIC LETTER ALEF WITH HAMZA BELOW
<yH> /d032/d032/d044/d198 ARABIC LETTER YEH WITH HAMZA ABOVE
<a+> /d032/d032/d044/d199 ARABIC LETTER ALEF
<b+> /d032/d032/d044/d200 ARABIC LETTER BEH
<tm> /d032/d032/d044/d201 ARABIC LETTER TEH MARBUTA
<t+> /d032/d032/d044/d202 ARABIC LETTER TEH
<tk> /d032/d032/d044/d203 ARABIC LETTER THEH
<g+> /d032/d032/d044/d204 ARABIC LETTER JEEM
<hk> /d032/d032/d044/d205 ARABIC LETTER HAH
<x+> /d032/d032/d044/d206 ARABIC LETTER KHAH
<d+> /d032/d032/d044/d207 ARABIC LETTER DAL
<dk> /d032/d032/d044/d208 ARABIC LETTER THAL
<r+> /d032/d032/d044/d209 ARABIC LETTER RA
<z+> /d032/d032/d044/d210 ARABIC LETTER ZAIN
<s+> /d032/d032/d044/d211 ARABIC LETTER SEEN
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
F.5 (Example) Danish Charmap Files 1071
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
<sn> /d032/d032/d044/d212 ARABIC LETTER SHEEN
<c+> /d032/d032/d044/d213 ARABIC LETTER SAD
<dd> /d032/d032/d044/d214 ARABIC LETTER DAD
<tj> /d032/d032/d044/d215 ARABIC LETTER TAH
<zH> /d032/d032/d044/d216 ARABIC LETTER ZAH
<e+> /d032/d032/d044/d217 ARABIC LETTER AIN
<i+> /d032/d032/d044/d218 ARABIC LETTER GHAIN
<++> /d032/d032/d044/d224 ARABIC TATWEEL
<f+> /d032/d032/d044/d225 ARABIC LETTER FEH
<q+> /d032/d032/d044/d226 ARABIC LETTER QAF
<k+> /d032/d032/d044/d227 ARABIC LETTER KAF
<l+> /d032/d032/d044/d228 ARABIC LETTER LAM
<m+> /d032/d032/d044/d229 ARABIC LETTER MEEM
<n+> /d032/d032/d044/d230 ARABIC LETTER NOON
<h+> /d032/d032/d044/d231 ARABIC LETTER HEH
<w+> /d032/d032/d044/d232 ARABIC LETTER WAW
<j+> /d032/d032/d044/d233 ARABIC LETTER ALEF MAKSURA
<y+> /d032/d032/d044/d234 ARABIC LETTER YEH
<:+> /d032/d032/d044/d235 ARABIC FATHATAN
<"+> /d032/d032/d044/d236 ARABIC DAMMATAN
<=+> /d032/d032/d044/d237 ARABIC KASRATAN
<//+> /d032/d032/d044/d238 ARABIC FATHA
<'+> /d032/d032/d044/d239 ARABIC DAMMA
<1+> /d032/d032/d044/d240 ARABIC KASRA
<3+> /d032/d032/d044/d241 ARABIC SHADDA
<0+> /d032/d032/d044/d242 ARABIC SUKUN
<A+> /d032/d032/d045/d224 HEBREW LETTER ALEF
<B+> /d032/d032/d045/d225 HEBREW LETTER BET
<G+> /d032/d032/d045/d226 HEBREW LETTER GIMEL
<D+> /d032/d032/d045/d227 HEBREW LETTER DALET
<H+> /d032/d032/d045/d228 HEBREW LETTER HE
<W+> /d032/d032/d045/d229 HEBREW LETTER VAV
<Z+> /d032/d032/d045/d230 HEBREW LETTER ZAYIN
<X+> /d032/d032/d045/d231 HEBREW LETTER HET
<Tj> /d032/d032/d045/d232 HEBREW LETTER TET
<J+> /d032/d032/d045/d233 HEBREW LETTER YOD
<K%> /d032/d032/d045/d234 HEBREW LETTER FINAL KAF
<K+> /d032/d032/d045/d235 HEBREW LETTER KAF
<L+> /d032/d032/d045/d236 HEBREW LETTER LAMED
<M%> /d032/d032/d045/d237 HEBREW LETTER FINAL MEM
<M+> /d032/d032/d045/d238 HEBREW LETTER MEM
<N%> /d032/d032/d045/d239 HEBREW LETTER FINAL NUN
<N+> /d032/d032/d045/d240 HEBREW LETTER NUN
<S+> /d032/d032/d045/d241 HEBREW LETTER SAMEKH
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
1072 F Sample National Profile
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
<E+> /d032/d032/d045/d242 HEBREW LETTER AYIN
<P%> /d032/d032/d045/d243 HEBREW LETTER FINAL PE
<P+> /d032/d032/d045/d244 HEBREW LETTER PE
<Zj> /d032/d032/d045/d245 HEBREW LETTER FINAL TSADI
<ZJ> /d032/d032/d045/d246 HEBREW LETTER TSADI
<Q+> /d032/d032/d045/d247 HEBREW LETTER QOF
<R+> /d032/d032/d045/d248 HEBREW LETTER RESH
<Sh> /d032/d032/d045/d249 HEBREW LETTER SIN
<T+> /d032/d032/d045/d250 HEBREW LETTER TAV
<IS> /d032/d032/d046/d032 IDEOGRAPHIC SPACE
<,_> /d032/d032/d046/d033 IDEOGRAPHIC COMMA
<._> /d032/d032/d046/d034 IDEOGRAPHIC FULL STOP
<+"> /d032/d032/d046/d035 DITTO MARK
<+_> /d032/d032/d046/d036 IDEOGRAPHIC DITTO MARK
<*_> /d032/d032/d046/d037 IDEOGRAPHIC REPETITION MARK
<;_> /d032/d032/d046/d038 IDEOGRAPHIC CLOSING MARK
<0_> /d032/d032/d046/d039 IDEOGRAPHIC NUMBER ZERO
<<+> /d032/d032/d046/d042 LEFT-POINTING DOUBLE ANGLE BRACKET
</>+> /d032/d032/d046/d043 RIGHT-POINTING DOUBLE ANGLE BRACKET
<<'> /d032/d032/d046/d044 IDEOGRAPHIC LEFT BRACKET
</>'> /d032/d032/d046/d045 IDEOGRAPHIC RIGHT BRACKET
<<"> /d032/d032/d046/d046 IDEOGRAPHIC LEFT DOUBLE BRACKET
</>"> /d032/d032/d046/d047 IDEOGRAPHIC RIGHT DOUBLE BRACKET
<("> /d032/d032/d046/d048 LEFT BOLDFACE SQUARE BRACKET
<)"> /d032/d032/d046/d049 RIGHT BOLDFACE SQUARE BRACKET
<=//> /d032/d032/d046/d050 POSTAL MARK
<=_> /d032/d032/d046/d051 GETA MARK
<('> /d032/d032/d046/d052 LEFT TORTOISE-SHELL BRACKET
<)'> /d032/d032/d046/d053 RIGHT TORTOISE-SHELL BRACKET
<KM> /d032/d032/d046/d054 KOME MARK
<b4> /d032/d032/d046/d069 BOPOMOFO LETTER B
<p4> /d032/d032/d046/d070 BOPOMOFO LETTER P
<m4> /d032/d032/d046/d071 BOPOMOFO LETTER M
<f4> /d032/d032/d046/d072 BOPOMOFO LETTER F
<d4> /d032/d032/d046/d073 BOPOMOFO LETTER D
<t4> /d032/d032/d046/d074 BOPOMOFO LETTER T
<n4> /d032/d032/d046/d075 BOPOMOFO LETTER N
<l4> /d032/d032/d046/d076 BOPOMOFO LETTER L
<g4> /d032/d032/d046/d077 BOPOMOFO LETTER G
<k4> /d032/d032/d046/d078 BOPOMOFO LETTER K
<h4> /d032/d032/d046/d079 BOPOMOFO LETTER H
<j4> /d032/d032/d046/d080 BOPOMOFO LETTER J
<q4> /d032/d032/d046/d081 BOPOMOFO LETTER Q
<x4> /d032/d032/d046/d082 BOPOMOFO LETTER X
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
F.5 (Example) Danish Charmap Files 1073
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
<zh> /d032/d032/d046/d083 BOPOMOFO LETTER ZH
<ch> /d032/d032/d046/d084 BOPOMOFO LETTER CH
<sh> /d032/d032/d046/d085 BOPOMOFO LETTER SH
<r4> /d032/d032/d046/d086 BOPOMOFO LETTER R
<z4> /d032/d032/d046/d087 BOPOMOFO LETTER Z
<c4> /d032/d032/d046/d088 BOPOMOFO LETTER C
<s4> /d032/d032/d046/d089 BOPOMOFO LETTER S
<a4> /d032/d032/d046/d090 BOPOMOFO LETTER A
<o4> /d032/d032/d046/d091 BOPOMOFO LETTER O
<e4> /d032/d032/d046/d092 BOPOMOFO LETTER E
<eh> /d032/d032/d046/d093 BOPOMOFO LETTER EH
<ai> /d032/d032/d046/d094 BOPOMOFO LETTER AI
<ei> /d032/d032/d046/d095 BOPOMOFO LETTER EI
<au> /d032/d032/d046/d096 BOPOMOFO LETTER AU
<ou> /d032/d032/d046/d097 BOPOMOFO LETTER OU
<an> /d032/d032/d046/d098 BOPOMOFO LETTER AN
<en> /d032/d032/d046/d099 BOPOMOFO LETTER EN
<aN> /d032/d032/d046/d100 BOPOMOFO LETTER ANG
<eN> /d032/d032/d046/d101 BOPOMOFO LETTER ENG
<er> /d032/d032/d046/d102 BOPOMOFO LETTER ER
<i4> /d032/d032/d046/d103 BOPOMOFO LETTER I
<u4> /d032/d032/d046/d104 BOPOMOFO LETTER U
<iu> /d032/d032/d046/d105 BOPOMOFO LETTER IU
<A5> /d032/d032/d047/d033 HIRAGANA LETTER SMALL A
<a5> /d032/d032/d047/d034 HIRAGANA LETTER A
<I5> /d032/d032/d047/d035 HIRAGANA LETTER SMALL I
<i5> /d032/d032/d047/d036 HIRAGANA LETTER I
<U5> /d032/d032/d047/d037 HIRAGANA LETTER SMALL U
<u5> /d032/d032/d047/d038 HIRAGANA LETTER U
<E5> /d032/d032/d047/d039 HIRAGANA LETTER SMALL E
<e5> /d032/d032/d047/d040 HIRAGANA LETTER E
<O5> /d032/d032/d047/d041 HIRAGANA LETTER SMALL O
<o5> /d032/d032/d047/d042 HIRAGANA LETTER O
<ka> /d032/d032/d047/d043 HIRAGANA LETTER KA
<ga> /d032/d032/d047/d044 HIRAGANA LETTER GA
<ki> /d032/d032/d047/d045 HIRAGANA LETTER KI
<gi> /d032/d032/d047/d046 HIRAGANA LETTER GI
<ku> /d032/d032/d047/d047 HIRAGANA LETTER KU
<gu> /d032/d032/d047/d048 HIRAGANA LETTER GU
<ke> /d032/d032/d047/d049 HIRAGANA LETTER KE
<ge> /d032/d032/d047/d050 HIRAGANA LETTER GE
<ko> /d032/d032/d047/d051 HIRAGANA LETTER KO
<go> /d032/d032/d047/d052 HIRAGANA LETTER GO
<sa> /d032/d032/d047/d053 HIRAGANA LETTER SA
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
1074 F Sample National Profile
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
<za> /d032/d032/d047/d054 HIRAGANA LETTER ZA
<si> /d032/d032/d047/d055 HIRAGANA LETTER SI
<zi> /d032/d032/d047/d056 HIRAGANA LETTER ZI
<su> /d032/d032/d047/d057 HIRAGANA LETTER SU
<zu> /d032/d032/d047/d058 HIRAGANA LETTER ZU
<se> /d032/d032/d047/d059 HIRAGANA LETTER SE
<ze> /d032/d032/d047/d060 HIRAGANA LETTER ZE
<so> /d032/d032/d047/d061 HIRAGANA LETTER SO
<zo> /d032/d032/d047/d062 HIRAGANA LETTER ZO
<ta> /d032/d032/d047/d063 HIRAGANA LETTER TA
<da> /d032/d032/d047/d064 HIRAGANA LETTER DA
<ti> /d032/d032/d047/d065 HIRAGANA LETTER TI
<di> /d032/d032/d047/d066 HIRAGANA LETTER DI
<tU> /d032/d032/d047/d067 HIRAGANA LETTER SMALL TU
<tu> /d032/d032/d047/d068 HIRAGANA LETTER TU
<du> /d032/d032/d047/d069 HIRAGANA LETTER DU
<te> /d032/d032/d047/d070 HIRAGANA LETTER TE
<de> /d032/d032/d047/d071 HIRAGANA LETTER DE
<to> /d032/d032/d047/d072 HIRAGANA LETTER TO
<do> /d032/d032/d047/d073 HIRAGANA LETTER DO
<na> /d032/d032/d047/d074 HIRAGANA LETTER NA
<ni> /d032/d032/d047/d075 HIRAGANA LETTER NI
<nu> /d032/d032/d047/d076 HIRAGANA LETTER NU
<ne> /d032/d032/d047/d077 HIRAGANA LETTER NE
<no> /d032/d032/d047/d078 HIRAGANA LETTER NO
<ha> /d032/d032/d047/d079 HIRAGANA LETTER HA
<ba> /d032/d032/d047/d080 HIRAGANA LETTER BA
<pa> /d032/d032/d047/d081 HIRAGANA LETTER PA
<hi> /d032/d032/d047/d082 HIRAGANA LETTER HI
<bi> /d032/d032/d047/d083 HIRAGANA LETTER BI
<pi> /d032/d032/d047/d084 HIRAGANA LETTER PI
<hu> /d032/d032/d047/d085 HIRAGANA LETTER HU
<bu> /d032/d032/d047/d086 HIRAGANA LETTER BU
<pu> /d032/d032/d047/d087 HIRAGANA LETTER PU
<he> /d032/d032/d047/d088 HIRAGANA LETTER HE
<be> /d032/d032/d047/d089 HIRAGANA LETTER BE
<pe> /d032/d032/d047/d090 HIRAGANA LETTER PE
<ho> /d032/d032/d047/d091 HIRAGANA LETTER HO
<bo> /d032/d032/d047/d092 HIRAGANA LETTER BO
<po> /d032/d032/d047/d093 HIRAGANA LETTER PO
<ma> /d032/d032/d047/d094 HIRAGANA LETTER MA
<mi> /d032/d032/d047/d095 HIRAGANA LETTER MI
<mu> /d032/d032/d047/d096 HIRAGANA LETTER MU
<me> /d032/d032/d047/d097 HIRAGANA LETTER ME
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
F.5 (Example) Danish Charmap Files 1075
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
<mo> /d032/d032/d047/d098 HIRAGANA LETTER MO
<yA> /d032/d032/d047/d099 HIRAGANA LETTER SMALL YA
<ya> /d032/d032/d047/d100 HIRAGANA LETTER YA
<yU> /d032/d032/d047/d101 HIRAGANA LETTER SMALL YU
<yu> /d032/d032/d047/d102 HIRAGANA LETTER YU
<yO> /d032/d032/d047/d103 HIRAGANA LETTER SMALL YO
<yo> /d032/d032/d047/d104 HIRAGANA LETTER YO 1
<ra> /d032/d032/d047/d105 HIRAGANA LETTER RA
<ri> /d032/d032/d047/d106 HIRAGANA LETTER RI
<ru> /d032/d032/d047/d107 HIRAGANA LETTER RU
<re> /d032/d032/d047/d108 HIRAGANA LETTER RE
<ro> /d032/d032/d047/d109 HIRAGANA LETTER RO
<wA> /d032/d032/d047/d110 HIRAGANA LETTER SMALL WA
<wa> /d032/d032/d047/d111 HIRAGANA LETTER WA
<wi> /d032/d032/d047/d112 HIRAGANA LETTER WI
<we> /d032/d032/d047/d113 HIRAGANA LETTER WE
<wo> /d032/d032/d047/d114 HIRAGANA LETTER WO
<n5> /d032/d032/d047/d115 HIRAGANA LETTER N
<"5> /d032/d032/d047/d122 HIRAGANA-KATAKANA VOICED SOUND MARK
<05> /d032/d032/d047/d123 HIRAGANA-KATAKANA SEMI-VOICED SOUND MARK
<*5> /d032/d032/d047/d124 HIRAGANA ITERATION MARK
<+5> /d032/d032/d047/d125 HIRAGANA VOICED ITERATION MARK
<a6> /d032/d032/d047/d161 KATAKANA LETTER SMALL A
<A6> /d032/d032/d047/d162 KATAKANA LETTER A
<i6> /d032/d032/d047/d163 KATAKANA LETTER SMALL I
<I6> /d032/d032/d047/d164 KATAKANA LETTER I
<u6> /d032/d032/d047/d165 KATAKANA LETTER SMALL U
<U6> /d032/d032/d047/d166 KATAKANA LETTER U
<e6> /d032/d032/d047/d167 KATAKANA LETTER SMALL E
<E6> /d032/d032/d047/d168 KATAKANA LETTER E
<o6> /d032/d032/d047/d169 KATAKANA LETTER SMALL O
<O6> /d032/d032/d047/d170 KATAKANA LETTER O
<Ka> /d032/d032/d047/d171 KATAKANA LETTER KA
<Ga> /d032/d032/d047/d172 KATAKANA LETTER GA
<Ki> /d032/d032/d047/d173 KATAKANA LETTER KI
<Gi> /d032/d032/d047/d174 KATAKANA LETTER GI
<Ku> /d032/d032/d047/d175 KATAKANA LETTER KU
<Gu> /d032/d032/d047/d176 KATAKANA LETTER GU
<Ke> /d032/d032/d047/d177 KATAKANA LETTER KE
<Ge> /d032/d032/d047/d178 KATAKANA LETTER GE
<Ko> /d032/d032/d047/d179 KATAKANA LETTER KO
<Go> /d032/d032/d047/d180 KATAKANA LETTER GO
<Sa> /d032/d032/d047/d181 KATAKANA LETTER SA
<Za> /d032/d032/d047/d182 KATAKANA LETTER ZA
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
1076 F Sample National Profile
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
<Si> /d032/d032/d047/d183 KATAKANA LETTER SI
<Zi> /d032/d032/d047/d184 KATAKANA LETTER ZI
<Su> /d032/d032/d047/d185 KATAKANA LETTER SU
<Zu> /d032/d032/d047/d186 KATAKANA LETTER ZU
<Se> /d032/d032/d047/d187 KATAKANA LETTER SE
<Ze> /d032/d032/d047/d188 KATAKANA LETTER ZE
<So> /d032/d032/d047/d189 KATAKANA LETTER SO
<Zo> /d032/d032/d047/d190 KATAKANA LETTER ZO
<Ta> /d032/d032/d047/d191 KATAKANA LETTER TA
<Da> /d032/d032/d047/d192 KATAKANA LETTER DA
<Ti> /d032/d032/d047/d193 KATAKANA LETTER TI
<Di> /d032/d032/d047/d194 KATAKANA LETTER DI
<TU> /d032/d032/d047/d195 KATAKANA LETTER SMALL TU
<Tu> /d032/d032/d047/d196 KATAKANA LETTER TU
<Du> /d032/d032/d047/d197 KATAKANA LETTER DU
<Te> /d032/d032/d047/d198 KATAKANA LETTER TE
<De> /d032/d032/d047/d199 KATAKANA LETTER DE
<To> /d032/d032/d047/d200 KATAKANA LETTER TO
<Do> /d032/d032/d047/d201 KATAKANA LETTER DO
<Na> /d032/d032/d047/d202 KATAKANA LETTER NA
<Ni> /d032/d032/d047/d203 KATAKANA LETTER NI
<Nu> /d032/d032/d047/d204 KATAKANA LETTER NU
<Ne> /d032/d032/d047/d205 KATAKANA LETTER NE
<No> /d032/d032/d047/d206 KATAKANA LETTER NO
<Ha> /d032/d032/d047/d207 KATAKANA LETTER HA
<Ba> /d032/d032/d047/d208 KATAKANA LETTER BA
<Pa> /d032/d032/d047/d209 KATAKANA LETTER PA
<Hi> /d032/d032/d047/d210 KATAKANA LETTER HI
<Bi> /d032/d032/d047/d211 KATAKANA LETTER BI 1
<Pi> /d032/d032/d047/d212 KATAKANA LETTER PI 1
<Hu> /d032/d032/d047/d213 KATAKANA LETTER HU
<Bu> /d032/d032/d047/d214 KATAKANA LETTER BU
<Pu> /d032/d032/d047/d215 KATAKANA LETTER PU
<He> /d032/d032/d047/d216 KATAKANA LETTER HE
<Be> /d032/d032/d047/d217 KATAKANA LETTER BE
<Pe> /d032/d032/d047/d218 KATAKANA LETTER PE
<Ho> /d032/d032/d047/d219 KATAKANA LETTER HO
<Bo> /d032/d032/d047/d220 KATAKANA LETTER BO
<Po> /d032/d032/d047/d221 KATAKANA LETTER PO
<Ma> /d032/d032/d047/d222 KATAKANA LETTER MA
<Mi> /d032/d032/d047/d223 KATAKANA LETTER MI
<Mu> /d032/d032/d047/d224 KATAKANA LETTER MU
<Me> /d032/d032/d047/d225 KATAKANA LETTER ME
<Mo> /d032/d032/d047/d226 KATAKANA LETTER MO
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
F.5 (Example) Danish Charmap Files 1077
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
<YA> /d032/d032/d047/d227 KATAKANA LETTER SMALL YA
<Ya> /d032/d032/d047/d228 KATAKANA LETTER YA
<YU> /d032/d032/d047/d229 KATAKANA LETTER SMALL YU
<Yu> /d032/d032/d047/d230 KATAKANA LETTER YU
<YO> /d032/d032/d047/d231 KATAKANA LETTER SMALL YO
<Yo> /d032/d032/d047/d232 KATAKANA LETTER YO
<Ra> /d032/d032/d047/d233 KATAKANA LETTER RA
<Ri> /d032/d032/d047/d234 KATAKANA LETTER RI
<Ru> /d032/d032/d047/d235 KATAKANA LETTER RU
<Re> /d032/d032/d047/d236 KATAKANA LETTER RE
<Ro> /d032/d032/d047/d237 KATAKANA LETTER RO
<WA> /d032/d032/d047/d238 KATAKANA LETTER SMALL WA
<Wa> /d032/d032/d047/d239 KATAKANA LETTER WA
<Wi> /d032/d032/d047/d240 KATAKANA LETTER WI
<We> /d032/d032/d047/d241 KATAKANA LETTER WE
<Wo> /d032/d032/d047/d242 KATAKANA LETTER WO
<N6> /d032/d032/d047/d243 KATAKANA LETTER N
<Vu> /d032/d032/d047/d244 KATAKANA LETTER VU
<KA> /d032/d032/d047/d245 KATAKANA LETTER SMALL KA
<KE> /d032/d032/d047/d246 KATAKANA LETTER SMALL KE
<-6> /d032/d032/d047/d252 HIRAGANA-KATAKANA PROLONGED SOUND MARK
<*6> /d032/d032/d047/d253 KATAKANA ITERATION MARK
<+6> /d032/d032/d047/d254 KATAKANA VOICED ITERATION MARK
<ff> /d032/d032/d060/d040 LATIN SMALL LIGATURE FF
<fi> /d032/d032/d060/d041 LATIN SMALL LIGATURE FI
<fl> /d032/d032/d060/d042 LATIN SMALL LIGATURE FL
<ft> /d032/d032/d060/d045 LATIN SMALL LIGATURE FT
<st> /d032/d032/d060/d046 LATIN SMALL LIGATURE ST
<Iu> /d032/d032/d060/d048 INTEGRAL SIGN UPPER PART
<Il> /d032/d032/d060/d049 INTEGRAL SIGN LOWER PART
<NU> /d000/d128/d128/d128 NULL (NUL) 1
<SH> /d001/d128/d128/d128 START OF HEADING (SOH) 1
<SX> /d002/d128/d128/d128 START OF TEXT (STX) 1
<EX> /d003/d128/d128/d128 END OF TEXT (ETX) 1
<ET> /d004/d128/d128/d128 END OF TRANSMISSION (EOT) 1
<EQ> /d005/d128/d128/d128 ENQUIRY (ENQ) 1
<AK> /d006/d128/d128/d128 ACKNOWLEDGE (ACK) 1
<BL> /d007/d128/d128/d128 BELL (BEL) 1
<BS> /d008/d128/d128/d128 BACKSPACE (BS) 1
<HT> /d009/d128/d128/d128 CHARACTER TABULATION (HT) 1
<LF> /d010/d128/d128/d128 LINE FEED (LF) 1
<VT> /d011/d128/d128/d128 LINE TABULATION (VT) 1
<FF> /d012/d128/d128/d128 FORM FEED (FF) 1
<CR> /d013/d128/d128/d128 CARRIAGE RETURN (CR) 1
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
1078 F Sample National Profile
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
<SO> /d014/d128/d128/d128 SHIFT OUT (SO) 1
<SI> /d015/d128/d128/d128 SHIFT IN (SI) 1
<DL> /d016/d128/d128/d128 DATALINK ESCAPE (DLE) 1
<D1> /d017/d128/d128/d128 DEVICE CONTROL ONE (DC1) 1
<D2> /d018/d128/d128/d128 DEVICE CONTROL TWO (DC2) 1
<D3> /d019/d128/d128/d128 DEVICE CONTROL THREE (DC3) 1
<D4> /d020/d128/d128/d128 DEVICE CONTROL FOUR (DC4) 1
<NK> /d021/d128/d128/d128 NEGATIVE ACKNOWLEDGE (NAK) 1
<SY> /d022/d128/d128/d128 SYNCHRONOUS IDLE (SYN) 1
<EB> /d023/d128/d128/d128 END OF TRANSMISSION BLOCK (ETB) 1
<CN> /d024/d128/d128/d128 CANCEL (CAN) 1
<EM> /d025/d128/d128/d128 END OF MEDIUM (EM) 1
<SB> /d026/d128/d128/d128 SUBSTITUTE (SUB) 1
<EC> /d027/d128/d128/d128 ESCAPE (ESC) 1
<FS> /d028/d128/d128/d128 FILE SEPARATOR (IS4) 1
<GS> /d029/d128/d128/d128 GROUP SEPARATOR (IS3) 1
<RS> /d030/d128/d128/d128 RECORD SEPARATOR (IS2) 1
<US> /d031/d128/d128/d128 UNIT SEPARATOR (IS1) 1
<DT> /d127/d128/d128/d128 DELETE (DEL) 1
<PA> /d128/d128/d128/d128 PADDING CHARACTER (PAD) 1
<HO> /d129/d128/d128/d128 HIGH OCTET PRESET (HOP) 1
<BH> /d130/d128/d128/d128 BREAK PERMITTED HERE (BPH) 1
<NH> /d131/d128/d128/d128 NO BREAK HERE (NBH) 1
<IN> /d132/d128/d128/d128 INDEX (IND) 1
<NL> /d133/d128/d128/d128 NEXT LINE (NEL) 1
<SA> /d134/d128/d128/d128 START OF SELECTED AREA (SSA) 1
<ES> /d135/d128/d128/d128 END OF SELECTED AREA (ESA) 1
<HS> /d136/d128/d128/d128 CHARACTER TABULATION SET (HTS) 1
<HJ> /d137/d128/d128/d128 CHARACTER TABULATION WITH JUSTIFICATION (HTJ)1
<VS> /d138/d128/d128/d128 LINE TABULATION SET (VTS) 1
<PD> /d139/d128/d128/d128 PARTIAL LINE FORWARD (PLD) 1
<PU> /d140/d128/d128/d128 PARTIAL LINE BACKWARD (PLU) 1
<RI> /d141/d128/d128/d128 REVERSE LINE FEED (RI) 1
<S2> /d142/d128/d128/d128 SINGLE-SHIFT TWO (SS2) 1
<S3> /d143/d128/d128/d128 SINGLE-SHIFT THREE (SS3) 1
<DC> /d144/d128/d128/d128 DEVICE CONTROL STRING (DCS) 1
<P1> /d145/d128/d128/d128 PRIVATE USE ONE (PU1) 1
<P2> /d146/d128/d128/d128 PRIVATE USE TWO (PU2) 1
<TS> /d147/d128/d128/d128 SET TRANSMIT STATE (STS) 1
<CC> /d148/d128/d128/d128 CANCEL CHARACTER (CCH) 1
<MW> /d149/d128/d128/d128 MESSAGE WAITING (MW) 1
<SG> /d150/d128/d128/d128 START OF GUARDED AREA (SPA) 1
<EG> /d151/d128/d128/d128 END OF GUARDED AREA (EPA) 1
<SS> /d152/d128/d128/d128 START OF STRING (SOS) 1
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
F.5 (Example) Danish Charmap Files 1079
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
<GC> /d153/d128/d128/d128 SINGLE GRAPHIC CHARACTER INTRODUCER (SGCI) 1
<SC> /d154/d128/d128/d128 SINGLE CHARACTER INTRODUCER (SCI) 1
<CI> /d155/d128/d128/d128 CONTROL SEQUENCE INTRODUCER (CSI) 1
<ST> /d156/d128/d128/d128 STRING TERMINATOR (ST) 1
<OC> /d157/d128/d128/d128 OPERATING SYSTEM COMMAND (OSC) 1
<PM> /d158/d128/d128/d128 PRIVACY MESSAGE (PM) 1
<AC> /d159/d128/d128/d128 APPLICATION PROGRAM COMMAND (APC) 1
<__> /d032/d032/d052/d032 indicates unfinished
<"!> /d032/d032/d052/d033 NON-SPACING GRAVE ACCENT (ISO IR 70 193)
<"'> /d032/d032/d052/d034 NON-SPACING ACUTE ACCENT (ISO IR 70 194)
<"/>> /d032/d032/d052/d035 NON-SPACING CIRCUMFLEX ACCENT (ISO IR 70 195)
<"?> /d032/d032/d052/d036 NON-SPACING TILDE (ISO IR 70 196)
<"-> /d032/d032/d052/d037 NON-SPACING MACRON (ISO IR 70 197)
<"(> /d032/d032/d052/d038 NON-SPACING BREVE (ISO IR 70 198)
<".> /d032/d032/d052/d039 NON-SPACING DOT ABOVE (ISO IR 70 199)
<":> /d032/d032/d052/d040 NON-SPACING DIAERESIS (ISO IR 70 200)
<"//> /d032/d032/d052/d041 NON-SPACING SOLIDUS (ISO IR 99 201)
<"0> /d032/d032/d052/d042 NON-SPACING RING ABOVE (ISO IR 70 202)
<",> /d032/d032/d052/d043 NON-SPACING CEDILLA (ISO IR 70 203)
<"_> /d032/d032/d052/d044 NON-SPACING UNDERLINE (ISO IR 99 216)
<""> /d032/d032/d052/d045 NON-SPACING DOUBLE ACCUTE ACCENT (ISO IR 70 205)
<"<> /d032/d032/d052/d046 NON-SPACING CARON (ISO IR 70 207)
<";> /d032/d032/d052/d047 NON-SPACING OGONEK (ISO IR 53 208)
<"=> /d032/d032/d052/d048 NON-SPACING DOUBLE UNDERLINE (ISO IR 53 217)
<"1> /d032/d032/d052/d049 NON-SPACING DIAERESIS WITH ACCENT
# (ISO IR 70 192)
<"2> /d032/d032/d052/d050 NON-SPACING UMLAUT (ISO 5426 201)
<Fd> /d032/d032/d052/d051 FILLED FORWARD DIAGONAL
# (ANSI X3.110-1983 218)
<Bd> /d032/d032/d052/d052 FILLED BACKWARD DIAGONAL
# (ANSI X3.110-1983 219)
<Fl> /d032/d032/d052/d053 Dutch guilder sign (IBM CP 437 159)
<Li> /d032/d032/d052/d054 Italian Lira sign (HP ROMAN 8 175)
<//f> /d032/d032/d052/d055 VULGAR FRACTION BAR (MacIntosh 218)
<0s> /d032/d032/d052/d056 SUBSCRIPT ZERO (ISO IR 50 096)
<1s> /d032/d032/d052/d057 SUBSCRIPT ONE (ISO IR 50 097)
<2s> /d032/d032/d052/d058 SUBSCRIPT TWO (ISO IR 50 098)
<3s> /d032/d032/d052/d059 SUBSCRIPT THREE (ISO IR 50 099)
<4s> /d032/d032/d052/d060 SUBSCRIPT FOUR (ISO IR 50 100)
<5s> /d032/d032/d052/d061 SUBSCRIPT FIVE (ISO IR 50 101)
<6s> /d032/d032/d052/d062 SUBSCRIPT SIX (ISO IR 50 102)
<7s> /d032/d032/d052/d063 SUBSCRIPT SEVEN (ISO IR 50 103)
<8s> /d032/d032/d052/d064 SUBSCRIPT EIGHT (ISO IR 50 104)
<9s> /d032/d032/d052/d065 SUBSCRIPT NINE (ISO IR 50 105)
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
1080 F Sample National Profile
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
<0S> /d032/d032/d052/d066 SUPERSCRIPT ZERO (ISO IR 50 112)
<4S> /d032/d032/d052/d067 SUPERSCRIPT FOUR (ISO IR 50 116)
<5S> /d032/d032/d052/d068 SUPERSCRIPT FIVE (ISO IR 50 117)
<6S> /d032/d032/d052/d069 SUPERSCRIPT SIX (ISO IR 50 118)
<7S> /d032/d032/d052/d070 SUPERSCRIPT SEVEN (ISO IR 50 119)
<8S> /d032/d032/d052/d071 SUPERSCRIPT EIGHT (ISO IR 50 120)
<9S> /d032/d032/d052/d072 SUPERSCRIPT NINE (ISO IR 50 121)
<+S> /d032/d032/d052/d073 SUPERSCRIPT PLUS (ISO IR 50 106)
<-S> /d032/d032/d052/d074 SUPERSCRIPT MINUS (ISO IR 50 107)
<1h> /d032/d032/d052/d075 ABSTRACT SYMBOL H ONE (HOOK)
# (JIS C 6229-1984 060)
<2h> /d032/d032/d052/d076 ABSTRACT SYMBOL H TWO (FORK)
# (JIS C 6229-1984 093)
<3h> /d032/d032/d052/d077 ABSTRACT SYMBOL H THREE (CHAIR)
# (JIS C 6229-1984 062)
<4h> /d032/d032/d052/d078 ABSTRACT SYMBOL H FOUR (LONG VERTICAL MARK)
# (JIS C 6229-1984 125)
<1j> /d032/d032/d052/d079 SYMBOL ONE (ISO 2033-1983 058)
<2j> /d032/d032/d052/d080 SYMBOL TWO (ISO 2033-1983 059)
<3j> /d032/d032/d052/d081 SYMBOL THREE (ISO 2033-1983 060)
<4j> /d032/d032/d052/d082 SYMBOL FOUR (ISO 2033-1983 061)
<UA> /d032/d032/d052/d083 Unit space A (ISO IR 8-1 064)
<UB> /d032/d032/d052/d084 Unit space B (ISO IR 8-1 096)
<yf> /d032/d032/d052/d085 ARABIC LETTER YEH FINAL (CODAR U 090)
<yr> /d032/d032/d052/d086 OLD NORSE YR (DIN 31624 251)
<.6> /d032/d032/d052/d087 KATAKANA FULL STOP (JIS C 6220 033)
<<6> /d032/d032/d052/d088 KATAKANA OPENING BRACKET (JIS C 6220 034)
</>6> /d032/d032/d052/d089 KATAKANA CLOSING BRACKET (JIS C 6220 035)
<,6> /d032/d032/d052/d090 KATAKANA COMMA (JIS C 6220 036)
<&6> /d032/d032/d052/d091 KATAKANA CONJUNCTION SYMBOL (JIS C 6220 037)
<(S> /d032/d032/d052/d092 LEFT PARENTHESIS SUPERSCRIPT
# (CSA Z243.4-1985-gr 168)
<)S> /d032/d032/d052/d093 RIGHT PARENTHESIS SUPERSCRIPT
# (CSA Z243.4-1985-gr 169)
END CHARMAP
F.5.2 ISO_8859-1 Charmap
<escape_char> /
<mb_cur_max> 1
CHARMAP
<NUL> /d000 NULL (NUL) 1
<SOH> /d001 START OF HEADING (SOH)
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
F.5 (Example) Danish Charmap Files 1081
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
<STX> /d002 START OF TEXT (STX)
<ETX> /d003 END OF TEXT (ETX)
<EOT> /d004 END OF TRANSMISSION (EOT)
<ENQ> /d005 ENQUIRY (ENQ)
<ACK> /d006 ACKNOWLEDGE (ACK)
<alert> /d007 BELL (BEL)
<BEL> /d007 BELL (BEL)
<backspace> /d008 BACKSPACE (BS)
<tab> /d009 CHARACTER TABULATION (HT)
<newline> /d010 LINE FEED (LF)
<vertical-tab> /d011 LINE TABULATION (VT)
<form-feed> /d012 FORM FEED (FF)
<carriage-return> /d013 CARRIAGE RETURN (CR)
<DLE> /d016 DATALINK ESCAPE (DLE)
<DC1> /d017 DEVICE CONTROL ONE (DC1)
<DC2> /d018 DEVICE CONTROL TWO (DC2)
<DC3> /d019 DEVICE CONTROL THREE (DC3)
<DC4> /d020 DEVICE CONTROL FOUR (DC4)
<NAK> /d021 NEGATIVE ACKNOWLEDGE (NAK)
<SYN> /d022 SYNCHRONOUS IDLE (SYN)
<ETB> /d023 END OF TRANSMISSION BLOCK (ETB)
<CAN> /d024 CANCEL (CAN)
<SUB> /d026 SUBSTITUTE (SUB)
<ESC> /d027 ESCAPE (ESC)
<IS4> /d028 FILE SEPARATOR (IS4)
<IS3> /d029 GROUP SEPARATOR (IS3)
<intro> /d029 GROUP SEPARATOR (IS3)
<IS2> /d030 RECORD SEPARATOR (IS2)
<IS1> /d031 UNIT SEPARATOR (IS1)
<DEL> /d127 DELETE (DEL) 1
<space> /d032 SPACE
<exclamation-mark> /d033 EXCLAMATION MARK
<quotation-mark> /d034 QUOTATION MARK
<number-sign> /d035 NUMBER SIGN
<dollar-sign> /d036 DOLLAR SIGN
<percent-sign> /d037 PERCENT SIGN
<ampersand> /d038 AMPERSAND
<apostrophe> /d039 APOSTROPHE
<left-parenthesis> /d040 LEFT PARENTHESIS
<right-parenthesis> /d041 RIGHT PARENTHESIS
<asterisk> /d042 ASTERISK
<plus-sign> /d043 PLUS SIGN
<comma> /d044 COMMA
<hyphen> /d045 HYPHEN-MINUS
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
1082 F Sample National Profile
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
<hyphen-minus> /d045 HYPHEN-MINUS
<period> /d046 FULL STOP
<full-stop> /d046 FULL STOP
<slash> /d047 SOLIDUS
<solidus> /d047 SOLIDUS
<zero> /d048 DIGIT ZERO
<one> /d049 DIGIT ONE
<two> /d050 DIGIT TWO
<three> /d051 DIGIT THREE
<four> /d052 DIGIT FOUR
<five> /d053 DIGIT FIVE
<six> /d054 DIGIT SIX
<seven> /d055 DIGIT SEVEN
<eight> /d056 DIGIT EIGHT
<nine> /d057 DIGIT NINE
<colon> /d058 COLON
<semicolon> /d059 SEMICOLON
<less-than-sign> /d060 LESS-THAN SIGN
<equals-sign> /d061 EQUALS SIGN
<greater-than-sign> /d062 GREATER-THAN SIGN
<question-mark> /d063 QUESTION MARK
<commercial-at> /d064 COMMERCIAL AT
<left-square-bracket> /d091 LEFT SQUARE BRACKET
<reverse-solidus> /d092 REVERSE SOLIDUS
<backslash> /d092 REVERSE SOLIDUS
<right-square-bracket> /d093 RIGHT SQUARE BRACKET
<circumflex-accent> /d094 CIRCUMFLEX ACCENT
<low-line> /d095 LOW LINE
<underscore> /d095 LOW LINE
<grave-accent> /d096 GRAVE ACCENT
<left-curly-bracket> /d123 LEFT CURLY BRACKET
<vertical-line> /d124 VERTICAL LINE
<right-curly-bracket> /d125 RIGHT CURLY BRACKET
<tilde> /d126 TILDE
<SP> /d032 SPACE
<!> /d033 EXCLAMATION MARK
<"> /d034 QUOTATION MARK
<Nb> /d035 NUMBER SIGN
<DO> /d036 DOLLAR SIGN
<%> /d037 PERCENT SIGN
<&> /d038 AMPERSAND
<'> /d039 APOSTROPHE
<(> /d040 LEFT PARENTHESIS
<)> /d041 RIGHT PARENTHESIS
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
F.5 (Example) Danish Charmap Files 1083
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
<*> /d042 ASTERISK
<+> /d043 PLUS SIGN
<,> /d044 COMMA
<-> /d045 HYPHEN-MINUS
<.> /d046 FULL STOP
<//> /d047 SOLIDUS
<0> /d048 DIGIT ZERO
<1> /d049 DIGIT ONE
<2> /d050 DIGIT TWO
<3> /d051 DIGIT THREE
<4> /d052 DIGIT FOUR
<5> /d053 DIGIT FIVE
<6> /d054 DIGIT SIX
<7> /d055 DIGIT SEVEN
<8> /d056 DIGIT EIGHT
<9> /d057 DIGIT NINE
<:> /d058 COLON
<;> /d059 SEMICOLON
<<> /d060 LESS-THAN SIGN
<=> /d061 EQUALS SIGN
</>> /d062 GREATER-THAN SIGN
<?> /d063 QUESTION MARK
<At> /d064 COMMERCIAL AT
<A> /d065 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A
<B> /d066 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER B
<C> /d067 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER C
<D> /d068 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER D
<E> /d069 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER E
<F> /d070 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER F
<G> /d071 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER G
<H> /d072 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER H
<I> /d073 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER I
<J> /d074 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER J
<K> /d075 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER K
<L> /d076 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER L
<M> /d077 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER M
<N> /d078 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER N
<O> /d079 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER O
<P> /d080 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER P
<Q> /d081 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER Q
<R> /d082 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER R
<S> /d083 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER S
<T> /d084 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER T
<U> /d085 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER U
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
1084 F Sample National Profile
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
<V> /d086 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER V
<W> /d087 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER W
<X> /d088 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER X
<Y> /d089 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER Y
<Z> /d090 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER Z
<<(> /d091 LEFT SQUARE BRACKET
<////> /d092 REVERSE SOLIDUS
<)/>> /d093 RIGHT SQUARE BRACKET
<'/>> /d094 CIRCUMFLEX ACCENT
<_> /d095 LOW LINE
<'!> /d096 GRAVE ACCENT
<a> /d097 LATIN SMALL LETTER A
<b> /d098 LATIN SMALL LETTER B
<c> /d099 LATIN SMALL LETTER C
<d> /d100 LATIN SMALL LETTER D
<e> /d101 LATIN SMALL LETTER E
<f> /d102 LATIN SMALL LETTER F
<g> /d103 LATIN SMALL LETTER G
<h> /d104 LATIN SMALL LETTER H
<i> /d105 LATIN SMALL LETTER I
<j> /d106 LATIN SMALL LETTER J
<k> /d107 LATIN SMALL LETTER K
<l> /d108 LATIN SMALL LETTER L
<m> /d109 LATIN SMALL LETTER M
<n> /d110 LATIN SMALL LETTER N
<o> /d111 LATIN SMALL LETTER O
<p> /d112 LATIN SMALL LETTER P
<q> /d113 LATIN SMALL LETTER Q
<r> /d114 LATIN SMALL LETTER R
<s> /d115 LATIN SMALL LETTER S
<t> /d116 LATIN SMALL LETTER T
<u> /d117 LATIN SMALL LETTER U
<v> /d118 LATIN SMALL LETTER V
<w> /d119 LATIN SMALL LETTER W
<x> /d120 LATIN SMALL LETTER X
<y> /d121 LATIN SMALL LETTER Y
<z> /d122 LATIN SMALL LETTER Z
<(!> /d123 LEFT CURLY BRACKET
<!!> /d124 VERTICAL LINE
<!)> /d125 RIGHT CURLY BRACKET
<'?> /d126 TILDE
<NS> /d160 NO-BREAK SPACE
<!I> /d161 INVERTED EXCLAMATION MARK
<Ct> /d162 CENT SIGN
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
F.5 (Example) Danish Charmap Files 1085
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
<Pd> /d163 POUND SIGN
<Cu> /d164 CURRENCY SIGN
<Ye> /d165 YEN SIGN
<BB> /d166 BROKEN BAR
<SE> /d167 SECTION SIGN
<':> /d168 DIAERESIS
<Co> /d169 COPYRIGHT SIGN
<-a> /d170 FEMININE ORDINAL INDICATOR
<<<> /d171 LEFT POINTING DOUBLE ANGLE QUOTATION MARK
<NO> /d172 NOT SIGN
<--> /d173 SOFT HYPHEN
<Rg> /d174 REGISTERED SIGN
<'-> /d175 MACRON
<DG> /d176 DEGREE SIGN
<+-> /d177 PLUS-MINUS SIGN
<2S> /d178 SUPERSCRIPT TWO
<3S> /d179 SUPERSCRIPT THREE
<''> /d180 ACUTE ACCENT
<My> /d181 MICRO SIGN
<PI> /d182 PILCROW SIGN
<.M> /d183 MIDDLE DOT
<',> /d184 CEDILLA
<1S> /d185 SUPERSCRIPT ONE
<-o> /d186 MASCULINE ORDINAL INDICATOR
</>>>> /d187 RIGHT POINTING DOUBLE ANGLE QUOTATION MARK 1
<14> /d188 VULGAR FRACTION ONE QUARTER
<12> /d189 VULGAR FRACTION ONE HALF
<34> /d190 VULGAR FRACTION THREE QUARTERS
<?I> /d191 INVERTED QUESTION MARK
<A!> /d192 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH GRAVE
<A'> /d193 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH ACUTE
<A/>> /d194 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH CIRCUMFLEX
<A?> /d195 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH TILDE
<A:> /d196 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH DIAERESIS
<AA> /d197 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH RING ABOVE
<AE> /d198 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER AE
<C,> /d199 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER C WITH CEDILLA
<E!> /d200 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER E WITH GRAVE
<E'> /d201 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER E WITH ACUTE
<E/>> /d202 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER E WITH CIRCUMFLEX
<E:> /d203 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER E WITH DIAERESIS
<I!> /d204 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER I WITH GRAVE
<I'> /d205 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER I WITH ACUTE
<I/>> /d206 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER I WITH CIRCUMFLEX
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
1086 F Sample National Profile
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
<I:> /d207 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER I WITH DIAERESIS
<D-> /d208 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER ETH (Icelandic)
<N?> /d209 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER N WITH TILDE
<O!> /d210 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER O WITH GRAVE
<O'> /d211 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER O WITH ACUTE
<O/>> /d212 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER O WITH CIRCUMFLEX
<O?> /d213 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER O WITH TILDE
<O:> /d214 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER O WITH DIAERESIS
<*X> /d215 MULTIPLICATION SIGN
<O//> /d216 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER O WITH STROKE
<U!> /d217 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER U WITH GRAVE
<U'> /d218 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER U WITH ACUTE
<U/>> /d219 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER U WITH CIRCUMFLEX
<U:> /d220 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER U WITH DIAERESIS
<Y'> /d221 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER Y WITH ACUTE
<TH> /d222 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER THORN (Icelandic)
<ss> /d223 LATIN SMALL LETTER SHARP S (German)
<a!> /d224 LATIN SMALL LETTER A WITH GRAVE
<a'> /d225 LATIN SMALL LETTER A WITH ACUTE
<a/>> /d226 LATIN SMALL LETTER A WITH CIRCUMFLEX
<a?> /d227 LATIN SMALL LETTER A WITH TILDE
<a:> /d228 LATIN SMALL LETTER A WITH DIAERESIS
<aa> /d229 LATIN SMALL LETTER A WITH RING ABOVE
<ae> /d230 LATIN SMALL LETTER AE
<c,> /d231 LATIN SMALL LETTER C WITH CEDILLA
<e!> /d232 LATIN SMALL LETTER E WITH GRAVE
<e'> /d233 LATIN SMALL LETTER E WITH ACUTE
<e/>> /d234 LATIN SMALL LETTER E WITH CIRCUMFLEX
<e:> /d235 LATIN SMALL LETTER E WITH DIAERESIS
<i!> /d236 LATIN SMALL LETTER I WITH GRAVE
<i'> /d237 LATIN SMALL LETTER I WITH ACUTE
<i/>> /d238 LATIN SMALL LETTER I WITH CIRCUMFLEX
<i:> /d239 LATIN SMALL LETTER I WITH DIAERESIS
<d-> /d240 LATIN SMALL LETTER ETH (Icelandic)
<n?> /d241 LATIN SMALL LETTER N WITH TILDE
<o!> /d242 LATIN SMALL LETTER O WITH GRAVE
<o'> /d243 LATIN SMALL LETTER O WITH ACUTE
<o/>> /d244 LATIN SMALL LETTER O WITH CIRCUMFLEX
<o?> /d245 LATIN SMALL LETTER O WITH TILDE
<o:> /d246 LATIN SMALL LETTER O WITH DIAERESIS
<-:> /d247 DIVISION SIGN
<o//> /d248 LATIN SMALL LETTER O WITH STROKE
<u!> /d249 LATIN SMALL LETTER U WITH GRAVE
<u'> /d250 LATIN SMALL LETTER U WITH ACUTE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
F.5 (Example) Danish Charmap Files 1087
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
<u/>> /d251 LATIN SMALL LETTER U WITH CIRCUMFLEX
<u:> /d252 LATIN SMALL LETTER U WITH DIAERESIS
<y'> /d253 LATIN SMALL LETTER Y WITH ACUTE
<th> /d254 LATIN SMALL LETTER THORN (Icelandic)
<y:> /d255 LATIN SMALL LETTER Y WITH DIAERESIS
<NU> /d000 NULL (NUL)
<SH> /d001 START OF HEADING (SOH)
<SX> /d002 START OF TEXT (STX)
<EX> /d003 END OF TEXT (ETX)
<ET> /d004 END OF TRANSMISSION (EOT)
<EQ> /d005 ENQUIRY (ENQ)
<AK> /d006 ACKNOWLEDGE (ACK)
<BL> /d007 BELL (BEL)
<BS> /d008 BACKSPACE (BS)
<HT> /d009 CHARACTER TABULATION (HT)
<LF> /d010 LINE FEED (LF)
<VT> /d011 LINE TABULATION (VT)
<FF> /d012 FORM FEED (FF)
<CR> /d013 CARRIAGE RETURN (CR)
<SO> /d014 SHIFT OUT (SO)
<SI> /d015 SHIFT IN (SI)
<DL> /d016 DATALINK ESCAPE (DLE)
<D1> /d017 DEVICE CONTROL ONE (DC1)
<D2> /d018 DEVICE CONTROL TWO (DC2)
<D3> /d019 DEVICE CONTROL THREE (DC3)
<D4> /d020 DEVICE CONTROL FOUR (DC4)
<NK> /d021 NEGATIVE ACKNOWLEDGE (NAK)
<SY> /d022 SYNCHRONOUS IDLE (SYN)
<EB> /d023 END OF TRANSMISSION BLOCK (ETB)
<CN> /d024 CANCEL (CAN)
<EM> /d025 END OF MEDIUM (EM)
<SB> /d026 SUBSTITUTE (SUB)
<EC> /d027 ESCAPE (ESC)
<FS> /d028 FILE SEPARATOR (IS4)
<GS> /d029 GROUP SEPARATOR (IS3)
<RS> /d030 RECORD SEPARATOR (IS2)
<US> /d031 UNIT SEPARATOR (IS1)
<DT> /d127 DELETE (DEL)
<PA> /d128 PADDING CHARACTER (PAD)
<HO> /d129 HIGH OCTET PRESET (HOP)
<BH> /d130 BREAK PERMITTED HERE (BPH)
<NH> /d131 NO BREAK HERE (NBH)
<IN> /d132 INDEX (IND)
<NL> /d133 NEXT LINE (NEL)
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
1088 F Sample National Profile
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
<SA> /d134 START OF SELECTED AREA (SSA)
<ES> /d135 END OF SELECTED AREA (ESA)
<HS> /d136 CHARACTER TABULATION SET (HTS)
<HJ> /d137 CHARACTER TABULATION WITH JUSTIFICATION (HTJ)
<VS> /d138 LINE TABULATION SET (VTS)
<PD> /d139 PARTIAL LINE FORWARD (PLD)
<PU> /d140 PARTIAL LINE BACKWARD (PLU)
<RI> /d141 REVERSE LINE FEED (RI)
<S2> /d142 SINGLE-SHIFT TWO (SS2)
<S3> /d143 SINGLE-SHIFT THREE (SS3)
<DC> /d144 DEVICE CONTROL STRING (DCS)
<P1> /d145 PRIVATE USE ONE (PU1)
<P2> /d146 PRIVATE USE TWO (PU2)
<TS> /d147 SET TRANSMIT STATE (STS)
<CC> /d148 CANCEL CHARACTER (CCH)
<MW> /d149 MESSAGE WAITING (MW)
<SG> /d150 START OF GUARDED AREA (SPA)
<EG> /d151 END OF GUARDED AREA (EPA)
<SS> /d152 START OF STRING (SOS)
<GC> /d153 SINGLE GRAPHIC CHARACTER INTRODUCER (SGCI)
<SC> /d154 SINGLE CHARACTER INTRODUCER (SCI)
<CI> /d155 CONTROL SEQUENCE INTRODUCER (CSI)
<ST> /d156 STRING TERMINATOR (ST)
<OC> /d157 OPERATING SYSTEM COMMAND (OSC)
<PM> /d158 PRIVACY MESSAGE (PM)
<AC> /d159 APPLICATION PROGRAM COMMAND (APC)
END CHARMAP
END_RATIONALE
END_RATIONALE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
F.5 (Example) Danish Charmap Files 1089
P1003.2/D11.2
Annex G
(informative)
Balloting Instructions
BEGIN_RATIONALE
BEGIN_RATIONALE
This annex will not appear in the final standard. It is included in the
draft to provide instructions for balloting that cannot be separated
easily from the main document, as a cover letter might.
If you have received a copy of this draft before October 1991 it is
important that you read this annex, whether you are an official member of
the P1003.2 Balloting Group or not; comments on this draft are welcomed
from all interested technical experts. Your ballot is due to the IEEE
office by 21 October 1991. This is not the date to postmark it--it is
the date of receipt.
_S_u_m_m_a_r_y__o_f__D_r_a_f_t__1_1_._2__I_n_s_t_r_u_c_t_i_o_n_s
This is the fifth ``recirculation draft'' of P1003.2. The recirculation 2
procedure is described in this annex. For this recirculation, we are 2
accepting objections against any normative changes that occurred from 2
Draft 11.1 to Draft 11.2 and the contents of the Unresolved Objections 2
List, provided as a separate document from the draft. 2
This is the first ballot in which the draft is available for online 2
review; see the Editor's Notes for details on accessing this information. 2
Send your ballot and/or comments to:
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
Annex G Balloting Instructions 1091
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
IEEE Standards Office
Computer Society Secretariat
ATTN: P1003.2 Ballot (Anna Kaczmarek) 2
P.O. Box 1331
445 Hoes Lane
Piscataway, NJ 08855-1331
It would also be very helpful if you sent us your ballot in machine-
readable form. Your official ballot must be returned via mail to the
IEEE office; if we receive only the e-mail or diskette version, that
version will not count as an official document. However, the online
version would be a great help to ballot resolution. We can accept e-mail
to the following address:
hlj@Posix.COM or uunet!posix!hlj
or IBM PC 3.5-inch/720K diskette (plain file) or Macintosh 3.5-inch
diskette (plain text file [preferred], Word, or Write) or Sun-style QIC-
24 cartridge tapes to:
Hal Jespersen, Chair P1003.2
POSIX Software Group
447 Lakeview Way
Redwood City, CA 94062
Some degree of judgment is required in determining what actually changed
in Draft 11.2. Use the diff marks as a guide, but they will frequently
mark text that has no real normative changes. Please limit your
objections to the actual changes: for example, if we change the foo -x
option to -y, don't use that as an opportunity to object that we have no
-z option. Your objection should only address why the x to y change is a
problem. (We have been balloting for a long time now and it is time to
tighten the consensus and finish this up.) If you find problems
unrelated to changes, submit them as comments and they will be considered
seriously in that category. Thanks for your cooperation on this.
_B_a_c_k_g_r_o_u_n_d__o_n__B_a_l_l_o_t_i_n_g__P_r_o_c_e_d_u_r_e_s
The Balloting Group consists of over 160 technical experts who are
members of the IEEE or the IEEE Computer Society; enrollment of
individuals in this group has already been closed. There are also a few 1
``parties of interest'' who are not members of the IEEE or the Computer 1
Society. Members of the Balloting Group are required to return ballots
within the balloting period. Other individuals who may happen to read
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
1092 G Balloting Instructions
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
this draft are also encouraged to submit comments concerning this draft. 2
The only real difference between members of the Balloting Group and other
individuals submitting ballots is that _a_f_f_i_r_m_a_t_i_v_e ballots are only
counted from Balloting Group members who are also IEEE or Computer 1
Society members. (There are minimum requirements for the percentages of 1
ballots returned and for affirmative ballots out of that group.)
However, objections and nonbinding comments must be resolved if received
from any individual, as follows:
(1) Some objections or comments will result in changes to the
standard. This will occur either by the publication of a list
of changes or by the republication of an entire draft. The
objections/comments are reviewed by a team from the P1003.2
working group, consisting of the Chair, Vice Chair, the Chair of
the TCOS Standards Subcommittee, and one or more Technical
Reviewers. The Technical Reviewers each have subject matter
expertise in a particular area and are responsible for objection
resolution in one or more sections.
(2) Other objections/comments will not result in changes.
(a) Some are misunderstandings or cover portions of the
document (front matter, informative annexes, rationale,
editorial matters, etc.) that are not subject to
balloting.
(b) Others are so vaguely worded that it is impossible to
determine what changes would satisfy the objector. These
are referred to as _U_n_r_e_s_p_o_n_s_i_v_e. (The Technical Reviewers
will make a reasonable effort to contact the objector to
resolve this and get a newly worded objection.) Further
examples of unresponsive submittals are those not marked
as either _O_b_j_e_c_t_i_o_n or _C_o_m_m_e_n_t; those that do not identify
the portion of the document that is being objected to
(each objection must be separately labeled); those that 1
object to material in a recirculation that has not changed 1
and do not cite an unresolved objection; those that do not 1
provide specific or general guidance on what changes would
be required to resolve the objection.
(c) Finally, others are valid technical points, but they would
result in decreasing the consensus of the Balloting Group.
(This judgment is made based on other ballots and on the
experiences of the working group through almost five years
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
Annex G Balloting Instructions 1093
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
of work and fifteen drafts preceding this one.) These are
referred to as _U_n_r_e_s_o_l_v_e_d _O_b_j_e_c_t_i_o_n_s. Summaries of
unresolved objections and their reasons for rejection are
maintained throughout the balloting process, are
circulated to members of the Balloting Group for their
consideration, and are presented to the IEEE Standards
Board when the final draft is offered for approval. 2
Unresolved objections are only circulated to the balloting 2
group when they are presented by members of the balloting 2
group or by parties of interest. Unsolicited 2
correspondence from outside these two groups may result in 2
draft changes, but are not recirculated to the balloting 2
group members. 2
Please ensure that you correctly characterize your ballot by providing
one of the following:
(1) Your IEEE member number
(2) Your IEEE Computer Society affiliate number
(3) If (1) or (2) don't apply, a statement that you are a ``Party of
Interest''
_B_a_l_l_o_t__R_e_s_o_l_u_t_i_o_n
The general procedure for resolving ballots is:
(1) The balloting cuts off on 21 October 1991. This is a receipt
date at the IEEE, not a postmark date. (Please do not telephone
or FAX on 21 October 1991 and say that your specific comments
will come later; late-arriving comments will not be considered
as objections.) We will accept comments after that date,
including direct e-mail to the working group officers or the
Technical Reviewers, but they will be treated as comments only-
-not objections. And we don't guarantee a written response to
these late submissions.
(2) The ballots are put online and distributed to the Technical
Reviewers.
(3) If a ballot contains an objection, the balloter will be
contacted individually by telephone, letter, or e-mail and the
corrective action to be taken will be described (or negotiated).
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
1094 G Balloting Instructions
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
The personal contact will most likely not occur if the objection
is very simple and obvious to fix or the balloter cannot be
reached after a few reasonable attempts. Repeated failed
attempts to elicit a response from a balloter may result in an
objection being considered unresponsive, based on the judgment
of the working group chair. Once all objections in a ballot
have been resolved, it becomes an affirmative ballot.
(4) If any objection cannot be resolved, the entire ballot remains
negative.
(5) Once more than seventy-five percent of the ballots received
(that had voted either affirmative or negative) have been turned
affirmative, two lists are published to the entire balloting
group: the detailed list of approved changes and the list of
unresolved objections, along with our reasons for rejecting
them. This is known as a _r_e_c_i_r_c_u_l_a_t_i_o_n. You have minimum of
ten days (after an appropriate time to ensure the mail got
through) to review these two lists and take one of the following
actions:
(a) Do nothing; your ballots will continue to be counted as we
have classified them, based on items (3) and (4).
(b) Explicitly change your negative ballot to affirmative by
agreeing to remove all of your objections from the
unresolved list.
(c) Explicitly change your affirmative ballot to negative
based on your disapproval of either of the two lists you
reviewed. If an issue is not on one of the two lists, new
objections about this are not allowed. Negative ballots
that come in on recirculations cannot be cumulative. They
shall repeat any objections that the balloter considers
unresolved from the previous recirculation. Ballots that
simply say ``and all the unresolved objections from last
time'' will be declared unresponsive. Ballots that are
silent will be presumed to fully replace the previous
ballot, and all objections not mentioned on the most
current ballot will be considered as successfully
resolved.
(6) The list of changes will frequently be a new draft document with
the changes integrated. This is not a requirement, however, and
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
Annex G Balloting Instructions 1095
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
a small number of changes may prompt merely a change list
approach to recirculation.
(7) A copy of all your objections and our resolutions will be mailed
to you. You can receive the full package of all resolutions
from all ballots by contacting the IEEE Standards Office (who
will probably charge you for the copying involved). If you
don't agree with one of our resolutions and haven't been
contacted personally before you receive this list, please accept
our apologies and submit a new ballot against the new draft
during the recirculation period.
(8) If at the end of the recirculation period there remain greater
than seventy-five percent affirmative ballots, and no new
objections have been received, a new draft is prepared that
incorporates all the changes. This draft and the unresolved
objections list go to the IEEE Standards Board for approval. If
the changes cause too many ballots to slip back into negative
status, another resolution and recirculation cycle begins.
_B_a_l_l_o_t_i_n_g__G_u_i_d_e_l_i_n_e_s
This section consists of guidelines on how to write and submit the most
effective ballot possible. The activity of resolving balloting comments
is difficult and time consuming. Poorly constructed comments can make
that even worse.
We have found several things that can be done to a ballot that make our
job more difficult than it needs to be, and likely will result in a less
than optimal response to ballots that do not follow the form below. Thus
it is to your advantage, as well as ours, for you to follow these
recommendations and requirements.
If a ballot that significantly violates the guidelines described in this
section comes to us, we will determine that the ballot is unresponsive,
and simply ignore all the material in it.
Secondly, objections that don't contain a specification so that the
correction to resolve the objection ``can be readily determined'' are
also unresponsive and will be ignored.
(If we do recognize a ballot that is generally ``unresponsive,'' we will
try to inform the balloter as soon as possible so he/she can correct it,
but it is ultimately the balloter's responsibility to assure the ballot
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
1096 G Balloting Instructions
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
is responsive.)
Typesetting is not particularly useful to us. And please do not send
handwritten ballots. Typewritten (or equivalent) is fine, and if some
font information is lost it will be restored by the Technical Editor in
any case. If you use nroff, you will include extraneous spacing and
sometimes backspaces and overstrikes; if you really must use nroff,
please turn off hyphenation and line adjusting:
.hy 0
.na
and run the output through col -b to remove all the overstrikes. (Also
remember that backslashes and leading periods and apostrophes in your 1
text will be treated impolitely by the *roff family). The ideal ballot 1
is formatted as a ``flat ASCII file,'' without any attempt at reproducing
the typography of the draft and without embedded control characters or
overstrikes; it is then printed in Courier (or some other typewriter-
like) font for paper-mailing to the IEEE Standards Office and
simultaneously e-mailed to the working group Chair.
Don't quote others' ballots. Cite them if you want to refer to another's
ballot. If more than one person wants to endorse the same ballot, send
just the cover sheets and one copy of the comments and objections. [Note
to Institutional Representatives of groups like X/Open, OSF, UI, etc.:
this applies to you, too. Please don't duplicate objection text with
your members.] Multiple identical copies are easy to deal with, but just
increase the paper volume. Multiple almost-identical ballots are a
disaster, because we can't tell if they are identical or not, and are
likely to miss the subtle differences. Responses of the forms:
- ``I agree with the item in <someone>'s ballot, but I'd like to see
this done instead''
- ``I am familiar with the changes to foo in <someone>'s ballot and I
would object if this change is [or is not] included''
are very useful information to us. If we resolve the objection with the
original balloter (the one whose ballot you are referencing), we will
also consider yours to be closed, unless you specifically include some
text in your objection indicating that should not be done.
Be very careful of ``Oh, by the way, this applies <here> too'' items,
particularly if they are in different sections of the document that are
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
Annex G Balloting Instructions 1097
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
likely to be seen by different reviewers. They are probably going to be
missed! Note the problem in the appropriate section, and cite the
detailed description if it's too much trouble to copy it. The reviewers
don't have time to read the whole ballot, and only read the parts that
appear to apply to them. Particularly where definitions are involved,
even if the change really belongs in one section but the relevant content
is in another, an extra cross-reference would be indicated. If you wish
to endorse someone else's ballot, either in whole or part, be specific
about whether you will be automatically satisfied if they are satisfied.
If you will not necessarily be satisfied if they are, your ballot could
be deemed unresponsive because it does not give achievable conditions
under which your ballot could be converted to affirmative. You then must
give the conditions under which you would be satisfied as well. If you
would be satisfied in some areas and not in others, it is best to
specifically point to each specific objection in the ballot you point to,
giving the conditions for each.
Please consider this a new ballot that should stand on its own. Please
do not make backward references to your ballots for previous drafts--
include all the text you want considered here, because the Technical
Reviewer may not have your old ballot. And, the old section and line
numbers won't match up anyway. If one of your objections was not
accepted exactly as you wanted, it will not be useful to send in the
exact text you sent before; read the nearby Rationale section and come up
with a more compelling (or clearly-stated) justification for the change.
Please be very wary about global statements, such as ``all of the
arithmetic functions need to be defined more clearly.'' Unless you are
prepared to cite specific instances of where you want changes made, with
reasonably precise replacement language, your ballot will be considered
unresponsive.
_B_a_l_l_o_t__F_o_r_m
The following form is recommended. We would greatly appreciate it if you
sent the ballot in electronic form in addition to the required paper
copy. Our policy is to handle all ballots online, so if you don't send
it to us that way, we have to type it in manually. For the last POSIX.2
ballot, only one or two balloters could not accommodate us on this and
thus we had very little typing to do. See the first page of this Annex
for the addresses and media. As you'll see from the following,
formatting a ballot that's sent to us online is much simpler than a
paper-only ballot.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
1098 G Balloting Instructions
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
The ballot should be page-numbered, and contain the name, e-mail address,
and phone number(s) of the objector(s). (If you send us only a paper
copy, make sure this information appears on every page; electronic
ballots just need it once, in the beginning.) The lines before the first
dashed line are a page header, and should only appear once on each page.
Please leave adequate (at least one inch) margins on both sides. Each
objection/comment/editorial comment should be sequentially numbered, not
in individual ranges [i.e., not Objection #1, Comment #1]
Since we deal with the ballots online, there is no longer any requirement
to put only one objection or section per page.
Don't format the ballot as a letter or document with its _o_w_n section
numbers. These are simply confusing. As shown below, it is best if you
cause each objection and comment to have a sequential number that we can
refer to amongst ourselves and to you over the phone. Number
sequentially from 1 and count objections, comments, and editorial
comments the same; don't number each in its own range. If you don't do
this, we'll number them ourselves, but you won't know what numbers we're
using.
Please precede each objection/comment with a little code line (if you
don't, we'll have to do it ourselves):
@ <_s_e_c_t_i_o_n>.<_c_l_a_u_s_e> <_c_o_d_e> <_s_e_q_n_o>
where:
@ At-sign in column 1 (which means no @'s in any other
column 1's).
<_s_e_c_t_i_o_n> The major section (chapter or annex) number or letter in
column 3. Use zero for Global or for something, like the
frontmatter, that has no section or annex number.
<_c_l_a_u_s_e> The clause number (second-level header). Please do not go
deeper than these two levels. In the text of your
objection or comment, go as deep as you can in describing
the location, but this code line uses two levels only.
<_c_o_d_e> One of the following lowercase letters, preceded and
followed by spaces:
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
Annex G Balloting Instructions 1099
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
o Objection.
c Comment or Editorial Comment.
<_s_e_q_n_o> A sequence number, counting all objections and comments in
a single range.
Objection:
Balloter Name (202)555-1212 page x of nn.
E-Mail Address FAX: Fax Number
Balloter2 Name (303)555-1213
E-Mail Address2 FAX: Fax Number2
------------------------------------------------------------------
@ x.y o seq#
<Seq#> Sect x.y OBJECTION. page xxx, line zzz:
Problem:
A clear statement of the problem that is observed, sufficient for others
to understand the nature of the problem. Note that you should identify
problems by section, page, and line numbers. This may seem redundant,
but if you transpose a digit pair, we may get totally lost without a
cross-check like this. Use the line number where the problem starts, not
just where the section itself starts; we sometimes attempt to sort
objections by line numbers to make editing more accurate. If you are
referring to a range of lines, please don't say ``lines 1000ff;'' use a
real range so we can tell where to stop looking. If you have access to 2
the online versions of a balloting draft, please do not send in a ballot 2
that refers to the page numbers in the nroff output version; use only the 2
line and page numbers found in the printed draft or the online PostScript 2
draft. We will really love you if you can manage to include enough
context information in the problem statement (such as the name of the
utility) so we can understand it without having the draft in our laps at
the time. (It also helps you when we e-mail it back to you.) If you are
objecting to an action in the Unresolved Objections List, use the
section/page/line number reference for the appropriate place in the
standard; don't refer to the UOL except to cite its number and for 1
clarification of your points. 1
Action:
A precise statement of the actions to be taken on the document to resolve
the objection above, which if taken verbatim will completely remove the
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
1100 G Balloting Instructions
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
objection.
If there is an acceptable range of actions, any of which will resolve the
problem for you if taken exactly, please indicate all of them. If we
accept any of these, your objection will be considered as resolved.
If the Action section is omitted or is vague in its solution, the
objection will be reclassified as a nonbinding comment. The Technical
Reviewers, being human, will give more attention to Actions that are
well-described than ones that are vague or imprecise. The best ballots
of all have very explicit directions to substitute, delete, or add text
in a style consistent with the rest of the document, such as:
Delete the sentence on lines 101-102:
"The implementation shall not ... or standard error."
On line 245, change "shall not" to "should not".
After line 103, add:
-r Reverse the order of bytes read from the file.
Some examples of poorly-constructed actions:
Remove all features of this command that are not supported by BSD.
Add -i.
Make this command more efficient and reliable.
Use some other flag that isn't so confusing.
I don't understand this section.
Specify a value--I don't care what.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
Annex G Balloting Instructions 1101
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
Objection Example:
Hal Jespersen (415) 364-3410 page 3 of 17.
UUCP: hlj@Posix.COM FAX: (415) 364-4498
------------------------------------------------------------------
@ 2.6 o 23
23. Sect 2.6 OBJECTION. page 77, line 1217:
Problem:
The EDITOR environment variable is not used as stated
in my company. This description would cause hundreds
of my shell scripts to break.
Action:
Change the first sentence on line 1217 to:
The e-mail address of the editor of the user's
favorite POSIX standard.
-----------------------
@ 3.1 o 24
24. Sect 3.1.6 OBJECTION. page 123, line 17:
Problem:
I support UO 3.01-999-6 concerning the objection to the 1
definition of "operator". 1
This definition would cause great hardship to the users 1
of the systems I develop. 1
I feel your rationale for rejection was inappropriate 1
because you overlooked the following technical points [etc.]... 1
Action:
Change the term "operator" to "operation-symbol" in this
definition and globally throughout Section 3.
Comment:
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
1102 G Balloting Instructions
Part 2: SHELL AND UTILITIES P1003.2/D11.2
------------------------------------------------------------------
@ x.z c seq#
<Seq#> Sect x.z COMMENT. page xxx, line zzz:
A statement of a problem that you might want to be resolved by the
reviewer, but which does not in any way affect whether your ballot is
negative or positive. The form for objections is not required, but it
increases the probability that your comment will have an effect on the
final document.
Although there may be questions to you or responses on the topic, no
changes in the drafts are required by a comment, although it will be
looked at to determine whether the concern should be addressed. It is
possible to abuse this rule and label all of your comments as objections,
but it is a significant disservice to the individuals who are
volunteering their time to address your concerns.
Remember that any issue concerning the pages preceding page 1 (the
Frontmatter), Rationale text with shaded margins, Annexes, NOTES in the
text, footnotes, or examples will be treated as a nonbinding comment
whether you label it that way or not, but it would help us if you'd label
it correctly.
Editorial Comment:
-----------------------------------------------------------------
@ x.z c seq#
<Seq#> Sect x.z EDITORIAL COMMENT. page xxx, line zzz:
These are for strictly editorial issues, where the technical meaning of
the document is not changed. Examples are: typos; misspellings; English
syntax or usage errors; appearances of lists or tables; arrangement of
sections, clauses, and subclauses (except where the location of
information changes the optionality of a feature). Marking these as
comments but indicating that they are editorial speeds the process.
Please be aware that after balloting concludes the document will be
subjected to more sets of editors at the IEEE and ISO who are empowered
to make broad editorial changes and rewording (for example, to get the
text ready for translation into French.)
Thank you for your cooperation in this important balloting process.
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
Annex G Balloting Instructions 1103
P1003.2/D11.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY--POSIX
Hal Jespersen
END_RATIONALE
END_RATIONALE
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
1104 G Balloting Instructions
P1003.2/D11.2
Identifier Index
[ test - Evaluate expression {4.62} ....... 745
ar ar - Create and maintain library archives
{6.1} ................................ 809
asa asa - Interpret carriage-control
characters {C.1} ..................... 960
awk awk - Pattern scanning and processing
language {4.1} ....................... 317
basename basename - Return nondirectory portion of
pathname {4.2} ....................... 358
bc bc - Arbitrary-precision arithmetic
language {4.3} ....................... 362
break break - Exit from for, while, or until
loop {3.14.1} ........................ 296
c89 c89 - Compile Standard C programs {A.1}
...................................... 856
case case Conditional Construct {3.9.4.3} .... 272
cat cat - Concatenate and print files {4.4}
...................................... 383
cd cd - Change working directory {4.5} ..... 388
chgrp chgrp - Change file group ownership {4.6}
...................................... 392
chmod chmod - Change file modes {4.7} ......... 395
chown chown - Change file ownership {4.8} ..... 405
cksum cksum - Write file checksums and sizes
{4.9} ................................ 409
cmp cmp - Compare two files {4.10} .......... 416
colon colon - Null utility {3.14.2} ........... 297
comm comm - Select or reject lines common to
two files {4.11} ..................... 420
command command - Execute a simple command {4.12}
...................................... 424
_c_o_n_f_s_t_r() C Binding for Get String-Valued
Configurable Variables
{B.10.1} ............................. 955
continue continue - Continue for, while, or until
loop {3.14.3} ........................ 298
cp cp - Copy files {4.13} .................. 430
cut cut - Cut out selected fields of each
line of a file {4.14} ................ 440
date date - Write the date and time {4.15} ... 445
dd dd - Convert and copy a file {4.16} ..... 452
diff diff - Compare two files {4.17} ......... 462
dirname dirname - Return directory portion of
pathname {4.18} ...................... 471
dot dot - Execute commands in current
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
Identifier Index 1105
P1003.2/D11.2
environment {3.14.4} ................. 299
echo echo - Write arguments to standard output
{4.19} ............................... 475
ed ed - Edit text {4.20} ................... 479
env env - Set environment for command
invocation {4.21} .................... 498
eval eval - Construct command by concatenating
arguments {3.14.5} ................... 300
exec exec - Execute commands and open, close,
and/or copy file
descriptors {3.14.6} ................. 301
exit exit - Cause the shell to exit {3.14.7}
...................................... 302
export export - Set export attribute for
variables {3.14.8} ................... 303
expr expr - Evaluate arguments as an
expression {4.22} .................... 503
false false - Return false value {4.23} ....... 509
find find - Find files {4.24} ................ 511
_f_n_m_a_t_c_h() C Binding for Match Filename or Pathname
{B.6} ................................ 936
fold fold - Fold lines {4.25} ................ 521
for for Loop {3.9.4.2} ...................... 271
fort77 fort77 - FORTRAN compiler {C.2} ......... 964
_f_p_a_t_h_c_o_n_f() C Binding for Get Numeric-Valued
Configurable Variables
{B.10.2} ............................. 957
getconf getconf - Get configuration values {4.26}
...................................... 526
_g_e_t_e_n_v() C Binding for Access Environment
Variables {B.4} ...................... 927
_g_e_t_o_p_t() C Binding for Command Option Parsing
{B.7} ................................ 939
getopts getopts - Parse utility options {4.27} .. 531
_g_l_o_b() C Binding for Generate Pathnames Matching
a Pattern {B.8} ...................... 944
_g_l_o_b__t Description {B.8.2} ..................... 944
grep grep - File pattern searcher {4.28} ..... 537
head head - Copy the first part of files
{4.29} ............................... 545
id id - Return user identity {4.30} ........ 549
if if Conditional Construct {3.9.4.4} ...... 273
join join - Relational database operator
{4.31} ............................... 554
kill kill - Terminate or signal processes
{4.32} ............................... 559
lex lex - Generate programs for lexical tasks
{A.2} ................................ 868
ln ln - Link files {4.33} .................. 566
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
1106 Identifier Index
P1003.2/D11.2
locale locale - Get locale-specific information
{4.34} ............................... 570
localedef localedef - Define locale environment
{4.35} ............................... 577
logger logger - Log messages {4.36} ............ 583
logname logname - Return user's login name {4.37}
...................................... 586
lp lp - Send files to a printer {4.38} ..... 589
ls ls - List directory contents {4.39} ..... 595
mailx mailx - Process messages {4.40} ......... 605
make make - Maintain, update, and regenerate
groups of programs {6.2}
...................................... 818
mkdir mkdir - Make directories {4.41} ......... 610
mkfifo mkfifo - Make FIFO special files {4.42}
...................................... 614
mv mv - Move files {4.43} .................. 617
nohup nohup - Invoke a utility immune to
hangups {4.44} ....................... 623
od od - Dump files in various formats {4.45}
...................................... 627
paste paste - Merge corresponding or subsequent
lines of files {4.46} ................ 637
pathchk pathchk - Check pathnames {4.47} ........ 642
_p_a_t_h_c_o_n_f() C Binding for Get Numeric-Valued
Configurable Variables
{B.10.2} ............................. 957
pax pax - Portable archive interchange {4.48}
...................................... 648
_p_c_l_o_s_e() C Binding for Pipe Communications with
Programs {B.3.2} ..................... 921
_p_o_p_e_n() C Binding for Pipe Communications with
Programs {B.3.2} ..................... 921
pr pr - Print files {4.49} ................. 665
printf printf - Write formatted output {4.50} .. 672
pwd pwd - Return working directory name
{4.51} ............................... 679
read read - Read a line from standard input
{4.52} ............................... 682
readonly readonly - Set read-only attribute for
variables {3.14.9} ................... 304
_r_e_g_c_o_m_p() C Binding for Regular Expression Matching
{B.5} ................................ 927
_r_e_g_e_r_r_o_r() C Binding for Regular Expression Matching
{B.5} ................................ 927
_r_e_g_e_x_e_c() C Binding for Regular Expression Matching
{B.5} ................................ 927
_r_e_g_e_x__t Description {B.5.2} ..................... 927
_r_e_g_f_r_e_e() C Binding for Regular Expression Matching
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
Identifier Index 1107
P1003.2/D11.2
{B.5} ................................ 927
_r_e_g_m_a_t_c_h__t Description {B.5.2} ..................... 927
_r_e_g_o_f_f__t Description {B.5.2} ..................... 927
return return - Return from a function {3.14.10}
...................................... 305
rm rm - Remove directory entries {4.53} .... 686
rmdir rmdir - Remove directories {4.54} ....... 692
sed sed - Stream editor {4.55} .............. 695
set set - Set/unset options and positional
parameters {3.14.11} ................. 306
sh sh - Shell, the standard command language
interpreter {4.56} ................... 706
shift shift - Shift positional parameters
{3.14.12} ............................ 310
sleep sleep - Suspend execution for an interval
{4.57} ............................... 713
sort sort - Sort, merge, or sequence check
text files {4.58} .................... 716
strip strip - Remove unnecessary information
from executable files
{6.3} ................................ 844
stty stty - Set the options for a terminal
{4.59} ............................... 725
_s_y_s_c_o_n_f() C Binding for Get Numeric-Valued
Configurable Variables
{B.10.2} ............................. 957
_s_y_s_t_e_m() C Binding for Execute Command {B.3.1} ... 918
tail tail - Copy the last part of a file
{4.60} ............................... 736
tee tee - Duplicate standard input {4.61} ... 742
test test - Evaluate expression {4.62} ....... 745
touch touch - Change file access and
modification times
{4.63} ............................... 756
tr tr - Translate characters {4.64} ........ 762
trap trap - Trap signals {3.14.13} ........... 311
true true - Return true value {4.65} ......... 770
tty tty - Return user's terminal name {4.66}
...................................... 772
umask umask - Get or set the file mode creation
mask {4.67} .......................... 775
uname uname - Return system name {4.68} ....... 780
uniq uniq - Report or filter out repeated
lines in a file {4.69}
...................................... 784
unset unset - Unset values and attributes of
variables and functions
{3.14.14} ............................ 314
wait wait - Await process completion {4.70} .. 790
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
1108 Identifier Index
P1003.2/D11.2
wc wc - Word, line, and byte count {4.71} .. 795
while until Loop {3.9.4.6} .................... 275
while while Loop {3.9.4.5} .................... 274
_w_o_r_d_e_x_p() C Binding for Perform Word Expansions
{B.9} ................................ 949
_w_o_r_d_e_x_p__t Description {B.9.2} ..................... 950
xargs xargs - Construct argument list(s) and
invoke utility {4.72} ................ 799
yacc yacc - Yet another compiler compiler
{A.3} ................................ 885
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
Identifier Index 1109
P1003.2/D11.2
Alphabetic Topical Index
A AM/PM ... 102, 446
AND Lists ... 269
A/2047 ... 705 AND_IF ... 282-283
/ ... 126 AND/OR lists ... 261, 265, 269
// ... 358, 362, 471, 475 AND-OR ... 259
[ AND/OR ... 261
definition of ... 745 AND-OR ... 266
Abbreviations ... 57 AND ... 171, 265, 269, 306-307,
ABCDEF ... 201, 875 322, 324, 339, 343, 345, 349,
ABC ... 677 356, 515, 622, 690
absolute pathname angle brackets
definition of ... 29 definition of ... 29
access control ANSI ... 974
additional ... 433 a.out ... 856-857, 863, 867,
alternate ... 433 963-965, 970-971
Access Environment Variables Append Command ... 486
... 849, 994 Appending Redirected Output
ACK ... 63, 76, 84, 731 ... 251
ACM ... 415 APPEND ... 339, 342, 349
Actions Equivalent to POSIX.1 Application Conformance ... 17
Functions ... 169 application
Actions ... 331 definition of ... 54
{ACTSIZE} ... 902 apply ... 803
ACUTE ... 116-117 appropriate privileges ... 29,
adb ... 981 36-37, 46, 395, 403, 549, 577,
ADD_ASSIGN ... 339, 344-345, 349 579, 659, 661, 664
address space definition of ... 29
definition of ... 29 ar
affirmative response ... 29, 106, - Create and maintain library
120, 432-433, 435, 513, 516, archives ... 809, 993
576, 578, 618, 620, 656, 686- ... 809-810, 812-818, 858-
687, 689 859, 863, 966-967
definition of ... 29 definition of ... 809
A-F ... 382 ARFLAGS ... 832, 834
Aim of Character Mnemonics ARGC-1 ... 352
... 1045 ARGC
<alert> awk variable ... 327
definition of ... 29 ARGC ... 319, 327, 352-353
Algorithms ... 902 {ARG_MAX} ... 208-209, 212, 220,
Allow Historical Conforming 258, 799, 803, 805
Applications ... 7
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
Alphabetic Topical Index 1111
P1003.2/D11.2
{ARG_MAX} ... 853 Expressions ... 322
Argument Processing with _g_e_t_o_p_t() Expressions in Decreasing
... 942 Precedence ... 322
argument Functions ... 334
definition of ... 29 Grammar ... 339
_a_r_g_v ... 29 Input/Output and General
ARGV Functions ... 336
awk variable ... 327 Lexical Conventions ... 346
ARGV ... 319, 327, 352-353 Output Statements ... 332
Arithmetic Expansion ... 245 Patterns ... 330
Arithmetic Functions ... 334 Regular Expressions ... 328
Arithmetic Precision and String Functions ... 335
Operations ... 170 User-Defined Functions ... 338
ARPANET ... 608 Variables and Special Variables
asa ... 326
- Interpret carriage control AWK ... 10, 353-354, 974
characters ... 996 A-Z ... 768
- Interpret carriage-control
characters ... 960
... 959-963 B
definition of ... 960
ASCII ... 55-56, 66-67, 84, 118, B.3 ... 925
150-151, 154, 459-462, 635-636, background process group
735, 816, 963 definition of ... 30
ASCII to EBCDIC Conversion background process
... 459 definition of ... 30
ASCII to IBM EBCDIC Conversion background ... 30, 40
... 460 background ... 30, 40, 151, 185,
ASSIGNMENT ... 279 190-191, 229-230, 265, 268,
ASSIGNMENT_WORD ... 281-282, 285 565, 730, 793-794, 977
ASSIGN_OP ... 25, 364, 367-368 backquote
asterisk definition of ... 30
definition of ... 30 BACKREF ... 142-143
Asynchronous Lists ... 267 backslash
at ... 981-982 definition of ... 30
AT&T ... 11, 659, 677 <backspace>
awk definition of ... 30
- Pattern scanning and Balloting Instructions ... 1091
processing language basename
... 317, 988 - Return nondirectory portion
... 6, 28, 47, 50, 68, 150, of pathname ... 358, 988
169, 180, 185, 188, 191, ... 359-362, 474-475
193, 202, 210, 249, 317-321, basename
325-330, 332-334, 336, 338- definition of ... 30
339, 346, 350, 353-354, basename
356-357, 381, 678, 883 definition of ... 358
Arithmetic Functions ... 334 basic regular expression
definition of ... 317 definition of ... 30
Escape Sequences ... 347
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
1112 Alphabetic Topical Index
P1003.2/D11.2
Basic Regular Expressions ... 130 braces
bc definition of ... 31
- Arbitrary-precision bracket expression ... 131
arithmetic language brackets
... 362, 988 definition of ... 31
... 28, 50, 180, 204, 362- BRE [ERE] matching a single
364, 367, 371, 375-382, 678, character
982 definition of ... 129
definition of ... 362 BRE [ERE] matching multiple
Grammar ... 364 characters
Lexical Conventions ... 367 definition of ... 129
Operations ... 369 BRE Expression Anchoring ... 135
Operators ... 370 BRE Ordinary Characters ... 130
{BC_BASE_MAX} ... 208, 370 BRE Precedence ... 135
BC_BASE_MAX ... 204 BRE Special Characters ... 130
{BC_BASE_MAX} ... 204 BRE
BC_BASE_MAX ... 206, 914 abbreviation ... 57
{BC_BASE_MAX} ... 914, 958 break ... 228, 273, 297, 331
{BC_DIM_MAX} ... 208, 369 definition of ... 296
BC_DIM_MAX ... 204 BRE/ERE Grammar Lexical
{BC_DIM_MAX} ... 204 Conventions ... 140
BC_DIM_MAX ... 206, 914 BRE/ERE ... 140
{BC_DIM_MAX} ... 914, 958 BRE ... 128-131, 134-136, 148-
{BC_SCALE_MAX} ... 208, 370 149, 159-160, 538-539
BC_SCALE_MAX ... 204 BREs Matching a Single Character
{BC_SCALE_MAX} ... 204 or Collating Element ... 130
BC_SCALE_MAX ... 206, 914 BREs Matching Multiple Characters
{BC_SCALE_MAX} ... 914, 958 ... 134
{BC_STRING_MAX} ... 367 BRE Precedence ... 136
BC_STRING_MAX ... 204 BRKINT ... 727
{BC_STRING_MAX} ... 204 BSD/32V ... 705
BC_STRING_MAX ... 206, 914 BSD
{BC_STRING_MAX} ... 914, 958 4.2 ... 461
BEGIN ... 318-319, 321, 327-328, 4.3 ... 379, 403, 408, 437,
330-331, 339, 348, 352, 354- 469, 474, 518, 622, 626
356, 878-879 4.4 ... 816
BEL ... 63, 731 BSD ... 5-6, 10-11, 54, 216, 223,
Bibliography ... 973 254, 378, 385-386, 391, 394,
/bin ... 126 402-404, 408, 414, 437, 451,
blank line 461-462, 469-470, 477-479,
definition of ... 30 495-497, 519-520, 545, 548,
<blank> 553, 558, 569, 585, 594, 603-
definition of ... 30 605, 609, 622, 635-636, 659-
block special file ... 420 662, 671, 704-705, 735, 740-
definition of ... 30 741, 744, 750-755, 761-762,
BNF ... 11 768-769, 803, 817, 834-835,
BODY ... 892-893 837, 840-842, 865-866, 884-885,
980-981, 986
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
Alphabetic Topical Index 1113
P1003.2/D11.2
BUFSIZ ... 210 C Binding for Pipe Communications
Built-in Utilities ... 58, 978 with Programs ... 921
built-in utility C Binding for Regular Expression
definition of ... 31 Matching ... 927, 995
builtin ... 428 C Binding for Shell Command
BUILTIN_FUNC_NAME ... 339, 344- Interface ... 917, 995
345, 349 C Bindings for Numeric-Valued
built-in ... 23, 31, 34, 41, 52, Configurable Variables ... 958
58-60, 208, 215-216, 228-229, C Compile-Time Symbolic Constants
255, 259, 261-264, 270, 276- ... 916
277, 289, 295-296, 298, 303, C Execution-Time Symbolic
305, 307, 312, 314, 317, 329- Constants ... 916
330, 334, 339, 349, 353-354, C Language Bindings Option
391, 424-425, 427 ... 909, 995
builtin ... 428 C Language Definitions ... 910,
built-in ... 429, 499, 502, 513, 995
535, 537, 565, 624, 627, 647, C Language Development Utilities
681, 685, 711, 771, 778, 792, Option ... 855, 994
801, 818, 820, 823, 827, 829, C Macros for Symbolic Limits
838, 840, 978, 980 ... 914
byte C Numerical Limits ... 913, 995
definition of ... 31 C Shell ... 216, 240, 278, 295,
391, 564, 753
C Standard Operators and Functions
C ... 171
C Standard ... 3, 25, 31-32, 49-
C Binding for Access Environment 54, 56-57, 70, 82, 93, 99-100,
Variables ... 927, 995 122, 151-153, 156, 169-172,
C Binding for Command Option 176, 179, 202, 207, 209, 246,
Parsing ... 939, 995 322-325, 331, 334, 348, 353-
C Binding for Execute Command 354, 356-357, 386, 451, 636,
... 918 647, 675, 677-678, 744, 798,
C Binding for Generate Pathnames 856, 864-865, 868, 872, 883,
Matching a Pattern ... 944, 885, 890, 910, 912-913, 918-
995 920, 923, 934-935
C Binding for Get Numeric-Valued definition of ... 57
Configurable Variables ... 957 c89
C Binding for Get POSIX - Compile Standard C programs
Configurable Variables ... 856, 995
... 955, 996 ... 4, 179, 631, 636, 839,
C Binding for Get String-Valued 856-859, 861-863, 865-867,
Configurable Variables ... 955 871, 879, 885, 889, 901-902,
C Binding for Locale Control 904, 970, 972, 982-983
... 958, 996 definition of ... 856
C Binding for Match Filename or can
Pathname ... 936, 995 definition of ... 26
C Binding for Perform Word CAN ... 63, 76, 84, 731
Expansions ... 949, 996
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
1114 Alphabetic Topical Index
P1003.2/D11.2
carriage-control characters Character Set Description File
... 960 ... 61
<carriage-return> Character Set ... 61, 978
definition of ... 32 character set
case conversion ... 77 definition of ... 54
case ... 227, 246, 259, 272-273, portable ... 61
281, 287, 292 character special file ... 420
Conditional Construct ... 272 definition of ... 32
definition of ... 272 character
cat definition of ... 32
- Concatenate and print files {CHAR_BIT} ... 53, 497
... 383, 988 charmap file ... 61, 63, 66-68,
... 185, 302, 383-387, 703, 73, 86, 88, 115, 571, 573-574,
744 577-579, 581-582, 735, 997,
definition of ... 383 1000, 1049, 1081
C_BIND ... 212, 530, 861 CHARMAP ... 64, 115
cc ... 179-180, 839, 864-866 {CHAR_MAX} ... 99-100
CC CHAR ... 108-109
variable ... 189 CHARSET
CCITT ... 608 variable ... 1000
cd CHARSYMBOL ... 107-109
- Change working directory _c_h_d_i_r() ... 168
... 388, 988 chgrp
... 58-60, 123, 168, 263, - Change file group ownership
289-290, 388-391, 427 ... 392, 988
definition of ... 388 ... 392-395, 408
C_DEV ... 212-213, 916, 957-958 definition of ... 392
CDPATH {CHILD_MAX} ... 208, 268, 793
variable ... 123, 388-391 {CHILD_MAX} ... 853
CFLAGS ... 832-834, 837, 840 chmod
CH-1211 ... 13, 973 - Change file modes ... 395,
Change Command ... 486 988
Changing the Current Working ... 4, 6, 395-396, 401-404,
Directory ... 168 519, 602, 610, 613-614, 776,
character attributes ... 77 780
character case conversion ... 77 definition of ... 395
character class expression Grammar ... 400
... 133 _c_h_m_o_d() ... 4, 36-37, 165, 401,
character class 403
definition of ... 32 chown
character classification ... 77 - Change file ownership
Character Mnemonics Classes ... 405, 988
... 1046 ... 405-408
Character Mnemonics Guidelines definition of ... 405
... 1045 _c_h_o_w_n() ... 392, 405, 408
Character Set and Symbolic Names C_IDENTIFIER ... 896-897, 906
... 62 circumflex
definition of ... 32
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
Alphabetic Topical Index 1115
P1003.2/D11.2
cksum COLUMNS
- Write file checksums and variable ... 123, 597
block counts ... 988 Combination Modes ... 731
- Write file checksums and comm
sizes ... 409 - Select or reject lines common
... 6, 409-412, 414-415, to two files ... 420, 988
835, 986 ... 7, 420-423
definition of ... 409 definition of ... 420
Clean Up the Interfaces ... 5 command language interpreter
{CLK_TCK} ... 852 definition of ... 34
CLK_TCK ... 527 Command Option Parsing ... 850,
CLOBBER ... 282, 286 994
CLOCAL ... 727 Command Search and Execution
cmp ... 261
- Compare two files ... 416, Command Substitution ... 242
988 command
... 416-419 - Execute a simple command
definition of ... 416 ... 424
Code file ... 888 - Select or reject lines common
col ... 982 to two files ... 988
collating element ... 58, 60, 124, 216, 257,
definition of ... 32 264, 424-429, 501, 626, 804
collating symbol ... 132-133 command
collating-element definition of ... 33
Keyword ... 86 command
collating-symbol definition of ... 424
Keyword ... 87 command.c ... 840
Collation Order ... 89 COMMENT_CHAR ... 837
collation sequence compile C programs ... 856
definition of ... 33 compile FORTRAN programs ... 964
collation sequences Compile-Time Symbolic Constants
defining ... 82 for Portability Specifications
collation ... 915
definition of ... 33 Completing the Program ... 901
COLLELEMENT ... 107-108, 110-111 Compound Commands ... 270
COLL_ELEM ... 142, 145 Concepts Derived from the C
COLLSYMBOL ... 108, 110-111 Standard ... 169
{COLL_WEIGHTS_MAX} ... 33, 83, Concurrent Execution of Processes
88, 90, 209, 581, 998 ... 163
COLL_WEIGHTS_MAX ... 204 Configuration Values ... 204, 979
{COLL_WEIGHTS_MAX} ... 204 Conflicts ... 898
COLL_WEIGHTS_MAX ... 206, 914 conformance document
{COLL_WEIGHTS_MAX} ... 914, 958 definition of ... 26
colon - Null utility ... 297 Conformance ... 14, 978
colon conformance ... 2-3, 12, 14-19,
definition of ... 297 26-27, 60, 124, 161, 178-179,
column position 186-187, 382, 496, 548, 595,
definition of ... 33 740, 809, 847, 855, 909, 959,
974, 978, 993-994
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
1116 Alphabetic Topical Index
P1003.2/D11.2
conforming application ... 7, csh ... 627
119, 150, 173-174, 188, 195, CSMA/CD ... 973
217, 707, 768, 816, 857, 864, _CS_PATH ... 124, 427-428, 527,
882, 965 955
Conforming Implementation Options CS_PATH ... 124, 427-428, 527,
... 16 955
Conforming POSIX.2 Application csplit ... 982
Using Extensions ... 18 CSTOPB ... 727
Conforming POSIX.2 Application _c_s_y_s_c_o_n_f() ... 956-957
... 17 <ctype.h> ... 861
_c_o_n_f_s_t_r() ... 526-527, 529, 851, current working directory ... 162
921, 935, 955-957 definition of ... 33, 52
definition of ... 955 cut
confstr() - Cut out selected fields of
_n_a_m_e Values ... 955 each line of a file
Consequences of Shell Errors ... 440, 989
... 255 ... 209, 211, 440, 442-445,
continue ... 297-298, 331 524, 641
definition of ... 298 definition of ... 440
Control Character Set ... 63 {CUT_FIELD_MAX} ... 208
Control Modes ... 726 {CUT_LINE_MAX} ... 209
control operator C_VERSION ... 912, 915
definition of ... 217
controlling terminal ... 162
Conventions ... 21, 978 D
CONVFMT
awk variable ... 327 da_DK
CONVFMT ... 323, 333, 356 - (Example) Danish National
Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) Locale ... 1001
... 451 Danish Locale Model ... 998
Copy Command ... 492 date formats ... 102
core ... 841 date
Covered Coded Character Sets - Write the date and time
... 1045 ... 445, 989
cp ... 5, 102, 105, 123, 309,
- Copy files ... 430, 988 445-446, 448-451, 599, 814
... 430-439, 570, 622, 660, definition of ... 445
662-663, 691 DATE ... 450
definition of ... 430 DBL_MANT_DIG ... 636
cpio ... 75, 653, 659-661, 663- DC1 ... 63, 76, 84, 731
664, 815 DC2 ... 63, 76, 84, 731
CRC ... 409, 412, 414-415 DC3 ... 63, 76, 84, 731
CREAD ... 727 DC4 ... 63, 76, 84, 731
_c_r_e_a_t() ... 36, 461, 661, 756 dc ... 379-380, 982
create ... 647 dd
cron ... 981-982 - Convert and copy a file
CSA ... 115 ... 452, 989
... 5, 452-453, 455-461,
662, 982, 986
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
Alphabetic Topical Index 1117
P1003.2/D11.2
definition of ... 452 directory ... 21-23, 33-38, 41,
DEAD 43-45, 48, 52-53, 59-60, 119-
variable ... 123, 606, 609 121, 123-124, 126-127, 162,
Debugging the Parser ... 901 164-166, 168, 181, 184, 186,
DECIMAL_CHAR ... 108-109 192-193, 195-196, 209, 231-232,
Declarations Section ... 890 234-236, 260, 264, 277, 289,
DECR ... 339, 344-345, 349 294-295, 299, 313, 358, 361,
Default Rules ... 832 388-392, 394-395, 397, 401-405,
DEFAULT ... 831 407-408, 427-428, 430-431, 434,
Definitions ... 26, 978 436-439, 444, 463-465, 468-471,
Delete Command ... 486 474, 480-481, 511-512, 514-515,
DEL ... 63, 76, 87, 731 518, 520, 529-530, 548, 566-
Dependencies on Other Standards 567, 569-570, 595-597, 600-604,
... 161, 978 606, 610-613, 616-619, 622-624,
{DEPTH_MAX} ... 209, 211 641-642, 645, 647-651, 654,
/dev ... 126 658-661, 663-664, 670, 679-680,
/dev/null ... 126-127, 255, 268- 686-687, 689-692, 694, 7 07,
269, 545, 606-607, 609, 950, 709, 724, 746, 753, 755, 811,
952, 954 822, 832, 856, 858, 860, 864-
/dev/tty ... 126-127, 162, 255, 865, 885, 905, 920, 938, 944-
651, 655, 663, 671 946, 956, 964-965, 967, 970,
DGREAT ... 282, 286 983, 988-991, 997
DIAERESIS ... 117 dirname
diff - Return directory portion of
- Compare two files ... 462, pathname ... 471, 989
989 ... 361-362, 472-475
... 6, 462-466, 468-470, definition of ... 471
803, 986 Examples ... 474
c or C Output Format ... 466 DIS ... 1045
Default Output Format ... 465 DIV_ASSIGN ... 339, 344-345, 349
definition of ... 462 DK-2900 ... 997
Directory Comparison Format DLE ... 63, 76, 84, 731
... 464 DLESSDASH ... 282, 286
e Output Format ... 466 DLESS ... 282, 286
DIGIT ... 881 do ... 271-272, 356
{DIGIT} ... 881 document
directory entry ... 34-35, 38, conformance ... 26
41, 43, 45, 165, 193, 566-567, Documentation ... 15
596, 686, 688, 690-692, 694, documentation
991 system ... 27
definition of ... 34 document ... 1-2, 4, 10-16, 18-
directory 19, 24-28, 40, 56, 61, 68, 71,
current working ... 33 75, 146, 175, 178, 186-188,
definition of ... 34 197, 209, 217, 220-221, 224,
empty ... 35 239, 243, 252, 254-256, 261,
parent ... 43 273, 280, 288, 293, 309, 354,
root ... 48 386, 403, 423, 461, 463, 496,
working ... 52 508-509, 519, 544, 558, 565,
570, 589, 595, 704-705, 723-
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
1118 Alphabetic Topical Index
P1003.2/D11.2
724, 741, 755, 799, 816, 855, ECHO ... 729, 878
864-865, 873, 882, 902, 906, ECMA ... 1045
908, 913, 943, 946, 970-971, ed
973-975, 985 - Edit text ... 479, 989
dollar-sign ... 6, 28, 50, 146-147,
definition of ... 34 165, 187-188, 209, 335, 463,
done ... 271-272 466, 479-485, 488, 490-491,
dot 494-497, 636, 652-653, 663,
- Execute commands in current 704, 883, 983
environment ... 299 Addresses ... 483
dot ... 35, 38, 45 Commands ... 484
dot ... 277, 299 definition of ... 479
dot Regular Expressions ... 482
definition of ... 34 {ED_FILE_MAX} ... 187, 209, 496
dot ed.hup ... 481
definition of ... 299 Edit Command ... 486
dot-dot ... 35, 38, 43, 45 Edit Without Checking Command
definition of ... 34 ... 487
DOUBLE ... 833 EDITOR
double-quote variable ... 124
definition of ... 34 Editorial Conventions ... 21
Double-Quotes ... 221 {ED_LINE_MAX} ... 209, 496
DSEMI ... 282, 284 effective group ID ... 34, 37,
DUP_COUNT ... 141-142, 144-146 41, 48, 50, 162, 164, 550, 552,
Duplicating an Input File 706
Descriptor ... 252 definition of ... 34
Duplicating an Output File effective user ID ... 34, 39, 48,
Descriptor ... 253 51, 162, 164, 395, 550-552, 706
definition of ... 34
EFL ... 883
E egrep ... 146, 149, 538, 543, 882
Eighth Edition UNIX ... 428
E.4 ... 8, 993, 995-996 [EINTR]
[EACCES] ... 124 EINTR ... 22, 922, 926
EBCDIC ... 66-67, 459-462 [EINVAL] ... 924, 956
[ECHILD] ... 924 elif ... 274
echo ELLIPSIS ... 108, 110-111
- Write arguments to standard else ... 274, 356
output ... 475, 989 empty directory
... 6, 53, 224 definition of ... 35
echo: ... 352 empty line
echo ... 475-479, 585, 603, 677- definition of ... 35
678, 801, 835, 842, 953 empty string
definition of ... 475 definition of ... 35
ECHOE ... 729 END ... 64, 72, 77, 87, 96, 101,
ECHOK ... 729 103, 106, 110-115, 117-118,
ECHONL ... 729 319, 322, 327-328, 330-332,
339, 348, 352, 354, 577
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
Alphabetic Topical Index 1119
P1003.2/D11.2
[ENOENT] ... 428, 501, 627, 804 EREs Matching a Single Character
[ENOEXEC] ... 124, 262-263 or Collating Element ... 136
ENQ ... 63, 76, 84, 731 EREs Matching Multiple Characters
entire regular expression ... 138
definition of ... 128 ERE Precedence ... 139
env _e_r_r_f_u_n_c() ... 946-947
- Set environment for command Error Handling ... 899
invocation ... 498, 989 Error Numbers ... 913
... 58, 257, 428, 498-502, ERR ... 313
576, 626, 804 esac ... 272-273
definition of ... 498 Escape Character (Backslash)
ENV ... 221
variable ... 232, 428 Escape Sequences ... 199
ENVIRON ESC ... 63, 76, 85, 731
awk variable ... 327 Establish the Locale ... 168
ENVIRON ... 321, 327, 352-353 ETB ... 63, 76, 84, 731
EOF ... 126, 364-365, 369, 418, /etc/Makefile ... 838
730, 943 ETX ... 63, 76, 84, 731
EOL ... 108-114, 730 eval
EOT ... 63, 76, 84, 731 - Construct command by
[EPERM] ... 437 concatenating arguments
Epoch ... 48 ... 300
definition of ... 35 ... 300
equivalence class definition definition of ... 300
... 83 ex ... 497, 934, 983
equivalence class expression Example Regular Expression
... 133 Matching ... 933
equivalence class (Example)
definition of ... 35 Danish Charmap Files ... 1049
equivalence classes ... 83 Danish National Profile
ERASE ... 30, 55, 729-730, 732, ... 998
734 Examples ... 241
ERE Alternation ... 139 [EXDEV] ... 618
ERE Bracket Expression ... 138 exec ... 259, 289, 301
ERE Expression Anchoring ... 140 _e_x_e_c ... 428, 501, 626, 804
ERE Grammar ... 145 exec
ERE Ordinary Characters ... 137 definition of ... 301
ERE Precedence ... 139 _e_x_e_c
ERE Special Characters ... 137 family ... 34-35, 48, 58, 124,
ERE 212, 264, 278, 296, 429,
abbreviation ... 57 799, 805, 917, 919
definition of ... 57 _e_x_e_c() ... 301, 805
ERE ... 57, 128-129, 136-140, _e_x_e_c_l() ... 918
145-146, 148-149, 159-160, 249, _e_x_e_c_l_p() ... 502, 917
317-318, 322, 329, 335-336, executable file
339, 344-345, 348-349, 354, definition of ... 35
539, 544, 874-875, 877-878, 882 Execute Shell Command ... 848
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
1120 Alphabetic Topical Index
P1003.2/D11.2
execute F
definition of ... 35
Execution Environment Utilities f77 ... 970
... 317, 980 false
Execution-Time Symbolic Constants - Return false value ... 509,
for Portability Specifications 989
... 916 ... 58, 60, 247, 509-510
_e_x_e_c_v() ... 948 definition of ... 509
_e_x_e_c_v_e() ... 262-264, 841, 948 FAX ... 997
_e_x_e_c_v_p() ... 502, 917, 948 _f() ... 864
exit FCEDIT
- Cause the shell to exit variable ... 232
... 302 FD_CLOEXEC ... 920
... 302, 306, 332, 350, 711 feature test macro
definition of ... 302 definition of ... 36
_e_x_i_t() ... 924 feature test macros ... 910
EXIT ... 302, 311, 313-314, 646 Features Inherited from POSIX.1
__e_x_i_t() ... 924 ... 161
expand FFLAGS ... 832-834
definition of ... 217 fgrep ... 538-539, 543, 545
export fi ... 272
- Set export attribute for Field Splitting ... 248
variables ... 303 field
... 277, 289, 303, 305 definition of ... 217
definition of ... 303 FIFO special file
expr definition of ... 36
- Evaluate arguments as an FIFO ... 36, 38, 45, 164, 416,
expression ... 503, 989 420, 433, 463, 515, 596, 600,
... 204, 246, 503-504, 614, 616-617, 708, 737, 741,
506-508 746, 990
definition of ... 503 file access permissions ... 45
Expressions ... 505 File Access Permissions ... 163
Expression Patterns ... 331 file access permissions
Expressions ... 322 definition of ... 36
{EXPR_NEST_MAX} ... 208-209, 505 File Contents ... 167
EXPR_NEST_MAX ... 204 file descriptor ... 37, 43, 45,
{EXPR_NEST_MAX} ... 204 162, 167, 249-255, 301-302,
EXPR_NEST_MAX ... 206, 914 432-433, 623, 691, 746, 865,
{EXPR_NEST_MAX} ... 914, 958 920, 923
extended regular expression definition of ... 37
definition of ... 36 file descriptors ... 162
Extended Regular Expressions File Format Notation ... 198, 979
... 136 file group class
extended security controls definition of ... 37
definition of ... 36 file hierarchy
EXTENDED_REG_EXP ... 108, 112 definition of ... 38
External Symbols ... 862, 969 file mode bits
definition of ... 38
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
Alphabetic Topical Index 1121
P1003.2/D11.2
file mode creation mask ... 162 FILENAME
file mode awk variable ... 327
definition of ... 38 filename
file offset definition of ... 38
definition of ... 38 FILE ... 880, 917, 921, 926
file other class filter
definition of ... 39 definition of ... 40
file owner class find
definition of ... 39 - Find files ... 511, 989
file permission bits ... 36-38 ... 5, 58, 166, 209-210,
definition of ... 39 227, 292, 404, 408, 470,
file permissions ... 34, 36-39, 511-517, 519-520, 661, 803-
42, 50 804, 938, 983
File Removal ... 165 definition of ... 511
file serial number {FIND_DEPTH_MAX} ... 209
definition of ... 39 {FIND_FILESYS_MAX} ... 210
file system ... 8, 39-40, 47, 53, {FIND_NEWER_MAX} ... 210
58-59, 127, 165, 168-169, 186, flex ... 884
190, 195-196, 210, 216, 278, FLT_MANT_DIG ... 636
428, 470, 520, 601-602, 604, FMN_PATHNAME ... 938
619, 622-623, 642-643, 653, _f_n_m_a_t_c_h() ... 292, 850, 936-938,
663-664, 746, 816, 818, 983 947
definition of ... 39 definition of ... 936
read-only ... 47 _f_l_a_g_s Argument ... 937
File Time Values ... 166 <fnmatch.h> ... 936-937
file times update FNM_NOESCAPE ... 936-937
definition of ... 39 FNM_NOMATCH ... 937
file type (see _f_i_l_e) FNM_PATHNAME ... 936-938
file type FNM_PERIOD ... 936-937
definition of ... 40 FNM ... 911
file ... 983 FNR
file awk variable ... 327
access permissions ... 36 FNR ... 337, 353
block special ... 30 fo_DK
character special ... 32 - (Example) Faroese LC_TIME and
definition of ... 36 LC_MESSAGES ... 1042
FIFO special ... 36 fold
hierarchy ... 38 - Filter for folding lines
locale definition ... 72 ... 989
mode ... 38 - Fold lines ... 521
offset ... 38 ... 210-211, 444, 521-525,
permission bits ... 39 553, 592
regular ... 47 definition of ... 521
serial number ... 39 foo ... 183
times update ... 39 for ... 227, 231, 271-272, 280-
File-Name Command ... 487 281, 287, 296, 298, 324, 331,
filename portability 356, 648, 805
definition of ... 38 definition of ... 271
Loop ... 271
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
1122 Alphabetic Topical Index
P1003.2/D11.2
foreground process group Get Numeric-Valued Configurable
definition of ... 40 Variables ... 851
foreground process Get POSIX Configurable Variables
definition of ... 40 ... 851, 994
foreground ... 30, 40 Get String-Valued Configurable
foreground ... 30, 40, 288 Variables ... 851
_f_o_r_k() ... 46, 163, 301, 917-919, getconf
923-924, 954 - Get configuration values
<form-feed> ... 526, 989
definition of ... 40 ... 60, 124, 204, 207-208,
fort77 212-213, 427-429, 497, 526-
- FORTRAN compiler ... 964, 530, 636, 861
996 definition of ... 526
... 959, 964-965, 967-971 _g_e_t_e_n_v() ... 849, 927
definition of ... 964 definition of ... 927
FORT_DEV ... 212, 916, 958 _g_e_t_g_r_g_i_d() ... 513
FORTRAN-66 ... 970 _g_e_t_g_r_n_a_m() ... 513
FORTRAN-8X ... 970 GETLINE ... 339, 346
FORTRAN ... 14, 16, 55, 212, 832, _g_e_t_l_o_g_i_n() ... 586
855, 883, 916, 959-960, 962- getopt ... 535
964, 966-967, 969-970, 993, 996 _g_e_t_o_p_t() ... 179-180, 310, 533,
FORTRAN Development and Runtime 536-537, 641, 711, 850, 939-
Utilities Options ... 959, 996 940, 943
FORT_RUN ... 212, 916, 958 definition of ... 939
_f_p_a_t_h_c_o_n_f() ... 851-852, 957 getopts
definition of ... 957 - Parse utility options
_f_r_e_a_d() ... 917 ... 531, 989
FS ... 58-59, 123, 231, 307,
awk variable ... 327 531-537, 940, 943
_f_s_t_a_t() ... 36-37, 40 definition of ... 531
FTAM ... 997 _g_e_t_p_w_n_a_m() ... 235, 515
FTP ... 997 _g_e_t_p_w_u_i_d() ... 513
FUNC_NAME ... 339-340, 344-345, _g_i_d__t ... 41, 51
349 GLOB_ABORTED ... 946-947
Function Definition Command Global Command ... 487
... 276 Global Non-Matched Command
Functions ... 334 ... 493
_f_w_r_i_t_e() ... 917 GLOB_APPEND ... 945-946, 948-949
_g_l_o_b() ... 850, 944-949, 953
definition of ... 944
G Error Return Values ... 947
_f_l_a_g_s Argument ... 945
gawk ... 357 GLOB_DOOFFS ... 945-946, 948
General Terms ... 29 GLOB_ERR ... 945-947
General ... 1, 977 _g_l_o_b_f_r_e_e() ... 850, 944-946
Generate Pathnames Matching a <glob.h> ... 944-945, 947
Pattern ... 850, 994 GLOB_MARK ... 945
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
Alphabetic Topical Index 1123
P1003.2/D11.2
GLOB_NOCHECK ... 945, 947 Headers and Function Prototypes
GLOB_NOESCAPE ... 945 ... 912
GLOB_NOMATCH ... 947 Help Command ... 488
GLOB_NOSORT ... 945 Help-Mode Command ... 488
GLOB_NOSPACE ... 947 Here-Document ... 252
GLOB ... 911 HEX_CHAR ... 108-109
_g_l_o_b__t hexdump ... 634
definition of ... 944 hierarchy
GMT0 ... 446, 451 file ... 38
GNU make ... 839 HIGH ... 88, 92, 132
GNU ... 357, 834-835, 839, 842- HISTFILE
843, 884 variable ... 232
Grammar Conventions ... 24 HISTSIZE
Grammar Rules ... 892 variable ... 232
GRAVE ... 116-117 home directory
GREATAND ... 282, 286 definition of ... 41
grep HOME
- File pattern searcher variable ... 23, 119, 231,
... 537, 989 235-236, 304, 313, 388-389,
... 6, 54, 146, 148, 184, 391, 480-481, 606, 623-624,
538-539, 541-543, 545, 559, 709
835, 934, 983 $HOME/nohup.out ... 625-626
definition of ... 537 HOME ... 23, 159, 241-242, 304-
group ID 305, 313, 625-626
definition of ... 41 HP-UX ... 798
effective ... 34 HUPCL ... 727
real ... 47 HUP ... 311
saved set- ... 48
supplementary ... 50
Grouping Commands ... 270 I
groups ... 553
groups IBM ... 66, 460-462
multiple (see supplementary ICANON ... 729
group ID) ICRNL ... 728
id
- Return user identity
H ... 549, 990
... 162, 549-550, 552-553
hard link definition of ... 549
definition of ... 41 IDENTIFIER ... 896-898
hd ... 634 IEEE P1003.2 ... 848, 977
head IEEE P1003.2a ... 807
- Copy the first part of files IEEE P1003.3.2 ... 974
... 545, 990 IEEE P1003.3 ... 974
... 187, 545-549, 740 IEEE Std 100 ... 974
definition of ... 545 IEEE Std 754 ... 634
Header file ... 888 IEEE ... 8-9, 13, 54, 76, 415,
807, 915, 974, 977
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
1124 Alphabetic Topical Index
P1003.2/D11.2
IEXTEN ... 729 Input Grammar ... 895
if ... 272-274, 298, 307, 324, Input Language ... 889
356 Input Modes ... 727
Conditional Construct ... 273 _i_n_p_u_t() ... 880, 883, 885
definition of ... 273 Input/Output and General Functions
IFS ... 336
variable ... 123, 229-234, Insert Command ... 489
242, 248-249, 428, 508, 683, Interactive Global Command
709, 711 ... 488
IFS ... 231, 261, 428 Interactive Global Not-Matched
IGNBRK ... 727 Command ... 493
IGNCR ... 728 interactive shell
IGNORE ... 89-92, 95, 111, 117, definition of ... 218
819, 825-826, 841 Interface to the Lexical Analyzer
IGNPAR ... 727 ... 900
III ... 10, 451 Internal Macros ... 830
Implementation Conformance ... 14 Internationalization Proposal
implementation defined ... 15, Areas ... 153
17, 26, 29, 31, 36, 38, 44, 47, Internationalization Requirements
61, 65, 69, 71-72, 74, 78-80, ... 150
104, 119-122, 124, 165, 168, Internationalization Syntax
181, 250, 309, 327-328, 336, ... 155
347, 358, 361-362, 388, 391, Internationalization Technical
395, 399, 403, 431, 433-434, Background ... 151
438-439, 471, 475-476, 479, interval expression ... 135, 139
489, 512, 566-567, 571, 576- INT ... 311, 313-314
579, 581-582, 593, 595-600, INTR ... 727, 729-730
604, 606, 617, 631, 649-652, invoke
654-656, 658-660, 663, 701, definition of ... 41
725, 729, 747, 758, 765, 780, IO_NUMBER ... 279, 282, 285
782, 784, 824-825, 828, 838, IRV ... 68, 631, 633, 636
857-859, 862, 865-866, 870-871, IS1 ... 63, 76, 85
873, 875, 888, 902, 907, 960, IS2 ... 63, 76, 85
965-967, 969, 981, 984-985 IS3 ... 63, 76, 85
definition of ... 26 IS4 ... 63, 76, 85
implementation _i_s_a_t_t_y() ... 772
definition of ... 26 ISIG ... 729
in ... 227, 271-272, 326 ISO 10646 ... 1045-1046
INCLUDE ... 842, 970 ISO 1539 ... 14, 964, 968
incomplete line ISO 2022 ... 973
definition of ... 41 ISO 2047 ... 973, 1046
INCR_DECR ... 364, 367, 369 ISO 3166 ... 973, 1000
INCR ... 339, 344-345, 349 ISO 4217 ... 14, 96
Inference Rules ... 828 ISO 4873 ... 14, 67, 1045
INITIAL ... 879 ISO 639 ... 973, 1000
INLCR ... 728 ISO 6429 ... 973, 1000, 1046
INPCK ... 728 ISO 646 ... 1045-1046
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
Alphabetic Topical Index 1125
P1003.2/D11.2
ISO 6937-2 ... 973, 1045 {JOIN_LINE_MAX} ... 210
ISO 6937 ... 94 JTC1 ... 974
ISO 7- ... 13
ISO 8802-3 ... 409, 973
ISO 8806 ... 973 K
ISO 8859-1 ... 14, 66, 152, 1000
ISO 8859-2 ... 14, 66 kill
ISO 8859 ... 66-67, 973, 1000, - Terminate or signal processes
1045 ... 559, 990
ISO 8- ... 14 ... 58-60, 162, 312, 559-
ISO 9999-1 ... 22 561, 563-565, 792-793, 985
ISO_10646 definition of ... 559
Charmap ... 1049 _k_i_l_l() ... 559-561
ISO_10646 ... 1000, 1049 KILL ... 563, 729-730, 732, 734
ISO_8859-1 kl_DK
Charmap ... 1081 - (Example) Greenlandic LC_TIME
ISO_8859 ... 1049, 1081 and LC_MESSAGES ... 1043
ISO/AFNOR ... 54, 974 KornShell ... 10, 219-220, 223,
ISO/IEC 10367 ... 974 226, 228, 230, 232, 235-236,
ISO/IEC 10646 ... 67, 974, 1000 239-240, 243-244, 246-249, 254,
ISO/IEC 646 ... 13, 34, 43, 54, 257, 264, 273, 277-278, 293,
56, 66, 68, 76, 631, 633, 636, 295, 299, 301, 306, 308-309,
677, 735, 1000 313, 391, 428, 501, 536, 564,
ISO/IEC 9899 ... 14, 57 626, 711-712, 753, 755, 794,
ISO/IEC 9945-1 ... 14, 57, 912 804, 975
ISO/IEC Conforming POSIX.2 ksh ... 257, 309
Application ... 18
_i_s_s_p_a_c_e() ... 798
ISTRIP ... 728 L
IX.1991 ... 451
IXOFF ... 728 LALR ... 898, 902-904, 975
IXON ... 728 L_ANCHOR ... 142-143
LANG
variable ... 119, 121-123,
J 189, 232, 320, 359, 363,
384, 389, 393, 396, 406,
JCL ... 460 410, 417, 421, 425, 435,
JIS ... 974, 1047, 1049 442, 448, 456, 464, 472,
job control ... 41, 48, 59-60, 476, 480, 499, 504, 516,
216, 311, 560, 565, 712, 730, 523, 528, 533-534, 541,
736, 794, 986 546-547, 550, 556, 561-562,
definition of ... 41 567-568, 572-573, 576, 579,
Join Command ... 489 583-584, 587, 590, 598, 606,
join 611-612, 615, 620, 624,
- Relational database operator 629-630, 639, 643-644, 655,
... 554, 990 668, 673, 679-680, 683, 688,
... 5, 210, 554-558 693, 696, 709, 713-714, 719,
definition of ... 554 732, 738, 743, 749, 759,
763, 773, 777, 782, 786,
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
1126 Alphabetic Topical Index
P1003.2/D11.2
791, 796, 801, 812, 821, 697, 709, 719, 764, 869
844-845, 859, 869, 887, 961, LC_COLLATE ... 32-33, 71, 73, 82,
967 84, 86-88, 93-94, 110-111, 115,
LANG ... 575 117, 152, 155, 204, 571, 575-
language binding ... 1, 10, 14, 576, 578, 581, 765-766, 905,
16, 18-19, 29-30, 32, 40, 42, 1001
49, 100, 204, 208, 212, 249, LC_CTYPE locale category ... 30,
847-852, 855, 909, 913, 927, 32, 46, 52, 71, 73, 76-77, 81-
957, 995 82, 115, 133, 142, 153, 155-
Language-Independent System 156, 336, 455, 571, 576, 581,
Services ... 847, 994 630-631, 638, 717, 765-766, 905
LC_* LC_CTYPE ... 76
definition of ... 57 LC_CTYPE
LC_* variable ... 55, 69, 120-121,
variable ... 121-122, 168, 123, 232, 320, 359, 363,
232, 572-573, 576, 579 384, 389, 393, 396, 406,
LC_ALL locale category ... 122, 410, 417, 421, 425, 435,
576, 887, 905 442, 448, 456, 464, 473,
LC_ALL 479, 481, 499, 504, 516,
variable ... 119, 121, 189, 523, 528, 534, 541, 547,
232, 320, 359, 363, 384, 551, 557, 562, 568, 572,
389, 393, 396, 406, 410, 580, 584, 590, 598, 607,
417, 421, 425, 435, 442, 612, 615, 620, 625, 630,
448, 456, 464, 472, 476, 639, 644, 656, 668, 673,
480, 499, 504, 516, 523, 683, 688, 693, 697, 709,
528, 533-534, 541, 546-547, 714, 719, 732, 738, 743,
550, 556, 561-562, 567-568, 749, 759, 764, 773, 777,
572-573, 579, 583-584, 587, 782, 786, 791, 796, 801,
590, 598, 606, 611-612, 615, 812, 821, 845, 860, 869,
620, 624, 629-630, 639, 887, 961, 967
643-644, 655, 668, 673, LC_CTYPE ... 30, 32, 46, 52, 71,
679-680, 683, 688, 693, 696, 73, 76-77, 81-82, 109-110, 115,
709, 713-714, 719, 732, 738, 133, 142, 153, 155-156, 336,
743, 749, 759, 763, 773, 455, 571, 575-576, 578, 581,
777, 782, 786, 791, 796, 630-631, 638, 717, 765-766, 905
801, 812, 821, 844-845, 859, LC_MESSAGES locale category
869, 887, 961, 967 ... 29, 42, 71, 106, 118, 435,
LC_ALL ... 122, 573, 575-576, 516, 551, 620, 656, 688, 958
887, 905 LC_MESSAGES ... 106
LC_COLLATE locale category LC_MESSAGES
... 32-33, 71, 73, 84, 86-88, variable ... 69, 107, 120-121,
93-94, 115, 117, 152, 155, 204, 123, 191, 232, 320, 359,
571, 576, 581, 765-766, 905 363, 384, 389, 393, 396,
LC_COLLATE ... 82 406, 410, 417, 421, 425,
LC_COLLATE 435, 442, 448, 456, 464,
variable ... 69, 119, 121, 473, 476, 481, 499, 504,
123, 232, 320, 421, 435, 516, 523, 528, 534, 541,
481, 504, 516, 541, 556, 547, 551, 557, 562, 568,
580, 598, 620, 656, 688, 572, 580, 584-585, 587, 591,
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
Alphabetic Topical Index 1127
P1003.2/D11.2
598, 607, 612, 615, 620, LC_TIME ... 71, 102-103, 105,
625, 630, 639, 644, 656, 114, 118, 447, 451, 575, 578,
668, 673, 680, 683, 689, 599, 669, 1000, 1042-1043
693, 697, 710, 714, 720, LC_TYPE ... 1001
732, 739, 743, 749, 759, LCURL ... 896-897
764, 773, 777, 782, 786, LDBL_MANT_DIG ... 636
791, 796, 802, 812, 821, LDFLAGS ... 832-833
845, 860, 870, 887, 961, 967 leap seconds ... 450
LC_MESSAGES ... 29, 42, 71, 106, LEFT ... 896-897, 906
112, 118, 435, 516, 551, 575, LESSAND ... 282, 286
578, 620, 656, 688, 958, 1000, LESSGREAT ... 282, 286
1042-1043 LETTER ... 364, 366-368, 376-377
LC_MONETARY locale category lex
... 71, 96, 99, 117-118 - Generate programs for lexical
LC_MONETARY ... 96 tasks ... 868, 995
LC_MONETARY ... 4, 28, 47, 50, 150,
variable ... 69, 120-121, 123 160, 191, 193, 202, 861,
LC_MONETARY ... 71, 96, 99, 102, 866, 868-875, 877-884, 889,
112-113, 117-118, 575, 578 904, 970
LC_NUMERIC locale category Actions ... 878
... 71, 100-101, 118, 201, definition of ... 868
323, 357, 576 Definitions ... 872
LC_NUMERIC ... 100 ERE Precedence ... 877
LC_NUMERIC Escape Sequences ... 875
variable ... 69, 120-121, 180, Regular Expressions ... 874
320, 630, 673, 720 Rules ... 873
LC_NUMERIC ... 71, 100-102, 113- Table Size Declarations
114, 118, 201, 323, 357, 575- ... 873
576, 578 User Subroutines ... 874
LC_COLLATE Category Definition in Lexical Structure of the Grammar
the POSIX Locale ... 84 ... 889
LC_CTYPE Category Definition in LEX ... 189, 832-833
the POSIX Locale ... 76 lex.yy.c ... 193, 868, 871-872,
LC_MESSAGES Category Definition in 874, 878, 884
the POSIX Locale ... 106 LFLAGS ... 832-833
LC_MONETARY Category Definition in /lib ... 126
the POSIX Locale ... 96 libc.a ... 858, 862
LC_NUMERIC Category Definition in LIBDIR ... 236
the POSIX Locale ... 101 libf.a ... 965, 969
LC_TIME Category Definition in the libl.a ... 858, 862, 884
POSIX Locale ... 102 libm.a ... 858, 862
LC_TIME locale category ... 71, Libraries ... 830
102-103, 118, 447, 599, 669 liby.a ... 858, 862
LC_TIME ... 102 LIGATURE ... 116-117
LC_TIME {LIMIT} ... 204
variable ... 69, 120-121, 123, Limits ... 902
448, 464, 598, 656, 669, <limits.h> ... 22, 912, 914
812, 814
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
1128 Alphabetic Topical Index
P1003.2/D11.2
Line Number Command ... 494 locale ... 570-572, 575-576
line ... 983 Locale ... 978
line locale
definition of ... 41 definition of ... 42
{LINE_MAX} ... 51, 54, 73, 187- locale
188, 207, 209-212, 220, 320, definition of ... 570
334, 444, 496-497, 522, 546, _l_o_c_a_l_e_c_o_n_v() ... 99
553, 605, 608, 641, 705, 737, localedef
788, 799-800, 803, 915 - Define locale environment
{LINE_MAX} ... 22 ... 577, 990
LINE_MAX ... 204 ... 23, 50, 66-70, 72-73,
{LINE_MAX} ... 204 75, 104, 122, 451, 573-574,
LINE_MAX ... 206, 914 576-582
{LINE_MAX} ... 914, 958 definition of ... 577
LINENO LOCALEDEF ... 212, 916, 958
variable ... 232 <locale.h> ... 912, 958
link (see directory entry) locale ... 5, 16, 23, 29-30, 32-
link count 33, 42, 46, 50, 52, 55-56, 61,
definition of ... 41 66-76, 78, 82-84, 93, 96, 99-
link 110, 112-116, 119-123, 128,
definition of ... 41 133, 142, 152-153, 155, 168,
_l_i_n_k() ... 4, 41, 566, 569 178, 180, 188, 201, 204, 212-
{LINK_MAX} ... 210 213, 257, 295, 306, 320, 323,
{LINK_MAX} ... 853 326, 335-336, 357, 359, 363,
List Command ... 489 372, 381, 384, 389, 393, 396,
Lists ... 266 406, 410, 417, 419-422, 425,
ln 435, 442, 446-448, 450-451,
- Link files ... 566, 990 456, 464, 471-473, 476, 480-
... 4, 41, 54, 438, 566-570 481, 499, 504-505, 516, 523,
definition of ... 566 528, 533-534, 540-541, 546-547,
Local Modes ... 729 550-551, 556-557, 561-562,
/local ... 126 567-568, 570-584, 587, 590,
local ... 277 592, 595, 598-599, 605-607,
/local/bin ... 181 611-612, 615,
Locale Control ... 852, 994 620, 624-625, 629-631, 633,
locale definition file ... 72 635-636, 639, 643-644, 655-656,
Locale Definition Grammar ... 107 668-669, 671, 673, 677, 679-
Locale Definition ... 71 680, 683, 688, 693, 696-697,
Locale Grammar ... 108 709, 713-714, 716-717, 719-720,
Locale Lexical Conventions 732-733, 738, 743, 749, 759,
... 107 763-766, 773, 777, 782, 786,
Locale String Definition Guideline 791, 796, 801, 812, 814, 821,
... 1000 844-845, 847, 852, 859-860,
locale 869, 883, 887, 905, 912, 916,
- Get locale-specific 930, 958, 961, 967, 978, 990,
information ... 570, 990 994, 996-1001, 1049
Locale ... 69 locate ... 520
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
Alphabetic Topical Index 1129
P1003.2/D11.2
LOC_NAME ... 108-109 M
logger
- Log messages ... 583, 990 macro
... 583-586, 609 feature test ... 36
definition of ... 583 MACRO ... 842
login name Macros ... 827
definition of ... 42 macros
login session feature test ... 910
definition of ... 54 Mail ... 609
login MAIL
definition of ... 42 variable ... 123
logname MAILRC
- Return user's login name variable ... 123, 607, 609
... 586, 990 mailto ... 609
... 586-588 mailx
definition of ... 586 - Process messages ... 605,
LOGNAME 990
variable ... 120, 125, 235, ... 123, 168, 586, 605-609,
588 984
logout ... 313 definition of ... 605
{LONG_MAX} ... 170, 176 _m_a_i_n() ... 880, 887, 889, 901,
{LONG_MIN} ... 176 904, 934, 939, 949
LONG_NAME_OS ... 161 make ... 4, 28, 50, 166, 181,
LOWER-CASE ... 116-117 186, 189, 220, 236, 278, 815,
LOWER ... 117 817-830, 832, 834-843, 905
LOW ... 92 definition of ... 818
LOW_VALUE ... 116-117 GNU version ... 839
lp Makefile Execution ... 824
- Send files to a printer Makefile Syntax ... 823
... 589, 990 ./Makefile ... 824
... 123, 211, 525, 586, ./makefile ... 824
589-590, 592-594, 609, 962 ./Makefile ... 838
definition of ... 589 ./makefile ... 838
LPDEST MAKEFLAGS
variable ... 123, 589, 591- variable ... 123, 820-822,
592, 594 824, 837, 839, 841
{LP_LINE_MAX} ... 211 MAKEFLAGS ... 820, 822
lpr ... 594 MAKE ... 832, 835
ls {MAKE} ... 835
- List directory contents MAKE ... 837, 839
... 595, 990 {MAKE} ... 839
... 94, 123, 161, 166, 176, MAKESHELL
241, 264, 399, 403, 520, variable ... 840
595, 597-598, 601-604, 657, _m_a_l_l_o_c() ... 933, 948, 956
660-661, 803, 813, 817 many-to-many substitution ... 83
definition of ... 595 Mark Command ... 489
_l_s_e_e_k() ... 36, 745, 867, 971 MARK ... 896
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
1130 Alphabetic Topical Index
P1003.2/D11.2
matched MUL_ASSIGN ... 339, 344-345, 349
definition of ... 128 MUL_OP ... 364, 367, 369
Matching Expression ... 506 multibyte character ... 32
matching list ... 132 multicharacter collating element
Mathematic Functions ... 170 definition of ... 42
<math.h> ... 861 multicharacter collating elements
{MAX_CANON} ... 210-211 ... 83
{MAX_CANON} ... 853 multiple groups (see supplementary
{MAX_INPUT} ... 211-212 group ID)
{MAX_INPUT} ... 853 multiple weights and equivalence
MAX ... 911 classes ... 83
may mv
definition of ... 26 - Move files ... 617, 990
mb_cur_max ... 63 ... 570, 617-623, 691
{MEMSIZE} ... 902 definition of ... 617
message formats ... 106 MVS/TSO ... 3
messaging ... 106 /mybin ... 501
META_CHAR ... 140, 142, 145 mygrep ... 501
MIL-STD-1753 ... 970
MIL-STD-1753 ... 970
MIN ... 731 N
Miscellaneous Conventions ... 25
mkdir ... 611 NAK ... 63, 76, 84, 731
mkdir name
- Make directories ... 610, definition of ... 218
990 login ... 42
... 610-613, 616 user ... 51
definition of ... 610 {NAME_MAX} ... 38, 44-45, 211,
_m_k_d_i_r() ... 36, 610, 613, 649 530, 642, 664, 815
mkfifo NAME_MAX ... 530
- Make FIFO special files {NAME_MAX} ... 853
... 614, 990 NAME ... 25, 279-282, 284-285,
... 614-617, 984 325, 339-343, 345, 349
definition of ... 614 <National Body> Conforming POSIX.2
_m_k_f_i_f_o() ... 36, 614, 617 Application ... 18
mknod ... 438, 984 nawk ... 353
mktemp ... 647 negative response
MOD_ASSIGN ... 339, 344-345, 349 definition of ... 42
mode <newline> ... 519
definition of ... 42 definition of ... 42
_m_o_d_e__t ... 53 NEWLINE ... 25, 279, 282, 286,
Modified Field Descriptors 339-341, 346, 364-367, 376
... 447 NEW ... 842
monetary formatting ... 96 next ... 331
more ... 254, 385 NF-1 ... 351
Move Command ... 490 NF
MS/DOS ... 3 awk variable ... 328
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
Alphabetic Topical Index 1131
P1003.2/D11.2
{NGROUPS_MAX} ... 50, 162, 211, NUL
529, 549 definition of ... 42
NGROUPS_MAX ... 530 Number Command ... 490
{NGROUPS_MAX} ... 853 NUMBER ... 108, 112-113, 324,
Ninth Edition UNIX ... 278, 379, 339, 344-345, 348, 364, 366,
479, 677 368, 896-897
NIX ... 184 number-sign
nl ... 984 definition of ... 43
{NNONTERM} ... 903 numeric formatting ... 100
NO-ACCENT ... 116-117
NO_ACCENT ... 117
noclobber option ... 251, 254- O
255, 307, 646-648
noexpr ... 42, 106, 118 O_APPEND ... 165, 251, 745
NOFLSH ... 730 object file
nohup definition of ... 43
- Invoke a utility immune to obsolescent features ... 5-6, 17,
hangups ... 623, 991 27-28, 120, 123, 158, 179, 236,
... 58, 257, 428, 501, 244, 272, 306, 308, 399, 461,
623-627, 804 478-480, 498, 514, 537-539,
definition of ... 623 544-546, 548, 554-555, 558-561,
nohup.out ... 623-625 564, 635, 670-671, 716-719,
./nohup.out ... 626 721-722, 724, 736-738, 740,
NO_MATCH ... 339, 343, 345, 349 756, 758, 761, 772-773, 775-
NONASSOC ... 896-897 776, 779, 784-785, 789, 868,
nonmatching list ... 132 983
nonprintable ... 54, 158, 489, obsolescent
496, 596, 631, 657, 668, 700, definition of ... 27
704, 717, 733 O_CREAT ... 432
Normative References ... 13, 978 OCTAL_CHAR ... 108-109
NOTE ... 287 od
NOTES ... 24 - Dump files in various formats
NOT ... 265, 324, 515, 622, 690 ... 627, 991
NPROC ... 839 ... 627-630, 633-636, 835
{NPROD} ... 903 definition of ... 627
NR Named Characters ... 632
awk variable ... 328 OFF ... 27, 52, 129, 219
nroff ... 444, 982 _o_f_f__t ... 927
{NSTATES} ... 903 OFMT
{NTERMS} ... 903 awk variable ... 328
Null Command ... 494 OFMT ... 327-328, 333, 355-356
null string OFS
definition of ... 35, 42 awk variable ... 328
NULL ... 117, 922, 933, 948, 956 OFS ... 326, 333, 351
NUL ... 42, 51, 54, 61, 76, 84, OLDPWD
89-90, 129, 131, 138, 291, 330, variable ... 391
347, 497, 631, 769, 875, 879, ONESHELL ... 841
890, 901
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
1132 Alphabetic Topical Index
P1003.2/D11.2
one-to-many mapping ... 83 O_WRONLY ... 432
O_NONBLOCK ... 167, 712
Open File Descriptors for Reading
and Writing. ... 253 P
open file
definition of ... 43 P.0 ... 721
_o_p_e_n() ... 36, 165, 167, 251, PARALLEL ... 839
432, 461, 712 Parameter Expansion ... 237
_o_p_e_n_d_i_r() ... 946 parameter
{OPEN_MAX} ... 211, 253 definition of ... 218
{OPEN_MAX} ... 853 Parameters and Variables ... 228,
operand 979
definition of ... 43 PARENB ... 726
operator parent directory
definition of ... 218 definition of ... 43
OPOST ... 729 parent process ID
OPTARG definition of ... 44
variable ... 123, 531-533, 536 parent process
OPTARG ... 536 definition of ... 44
OPTERR PARMRK ... 728
variable ... 536 PARODD ... 726
OPTIND passwd ... 588
variable ... 123, 531-532, paste
534, 536 - Merge corresponding or
OPTIND ... 536 subsequent lines of files
option ... 637, 991
definition of ... 43 ... 210, 444, 637, 639-641
Optional Facility Configuration definition of ... 637
Values ... 212 patch ... 469-470
option-argument path prefix
definition of ... 43 definition of ... 45
OR Lists ... 270 PATH
ORD_CHAR ... 141-143, 145-146 variable ... 58, 60, 120-121,
order_end 123-125, 189, 232, 236,
Keyword ... 93 262-263, 299, 304, 320, 352,
ordering by weights ... 83 391, 424-425, 427-429, 500-
order_start 501, 517, 529, 625, 707,
Keyword ... 88 710, 801, 921, 955-956
O_RDONLY ... 167 pathchk
OR_IF ... 282-283 - Check pathnames ... 642, 991
ORS ... 254, 642-644, 646-647
awk variable ... 328 definition of ... 642
ORS ... 333 _p_a_t_h_c_o_n_f() ... 44, 207, 527,
O_TRUNC ... 165, 432, 461 851-852, 957
Output Modes ... 729 definition of ... 957
Output Statements ... 332 {PATH_MAX} ... 44, 204, 211, 511,
Overall Program Structure ... 321 642, 691
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
Alphabetic Topical Index 1133
P1003.2/D11.2
PATH_MAX ... 530 847, 850, 936, 944
{PATH_MAX} ... 853 Pattern Matching Notation ... 980
pathname component Pattern Matching ... 850, 994
definition of ... 44 Pattern Ranges ... 331
Pathname Expansion ... 249 pattern
pathname resolution ... 29 definition of ... 45
Pathname Resolution ... 168 Patterns Matching a Single
pathname resolution Character ... 291
definition of ... 44 Patterns Matching Multiple
pathname Characters ... 293
absolute ... 29 Patterns Used for Filename
definition of ... 44 Expansion ... 294
relative ... 48 Patterns ... 330
pathname ... 21-23, 29-30, 34, pax
38, 40, 43-46, 48, 52, 54, 69, - Portable archive interchange
119, 121-125, 162, 167-168, ... 648, 991
181, 184, 215, 231, 233, 235, ... 292, 439, 636, 645,
237, 243-244, 249-250, 254, 648-655, 657-664, 815, 835,
262-263, 280, 292, 294-295, 938, 982
307, 318-319, 327, 332, 337, definition of ... 648
358, 361-362, 383, 385, 388- _p_c_l_o_s_e() ... 332, 337, 849, 921,
390, 393, 396, 406, 410-411, 923-926
416, 420, 430, 434, 436, 441, definition of ... 921
453, 463, 465, 467, 471, 474- PDT ... 450, 469
475, 480, 486-487, 491, 493- PECULIAR ... 116-117
494, 507-508, 511-514, 517-518, Perform Word Expansions ... 851,
522, 526-527, 539-540, 546-547, 994
556, 558, 566-567, 578-579, period
590, 596-599, 606, 611, 614, definition of ... 45
617, 619, 621, 624, 629, 638, Periods in BREs ... 131
642-645, 64 7-648, 650, 653- Periods in EREs ... 138
657, 660, 665, 668, 679-680, permission
686-689, 692, 696, 707-709, file ... 39
719, 738, 742, 745, 757-758, permissions
761, 773, 775, 785, 796-797, definition of ... 45
810-811, 819, 824, 828, 838, file access ... 36, 45
844, 847, 850-851, 856-858, _p_i_d__t ... 46-47
860, 869, 886, 918, 923, 926, Pipe Communications with Programs
936, 938, 944-948, 950, 953, ... 849
961, 964-967, 988-989, 991, pipe ... 38
994-995 definition of ... 45
PATH ... 22, 232, 235-236, 264, _p_i_p_e() ... 45, 924
304, 352, 428, 501, 527 {PIPE_BUF} ... 211
pattern matching notation ... 83, {PIPE_BUF} ... 853
91, 232, 238, 249, 272 Pipelines ... 264
Pattern Matching Notation ... 291 pipe ... 6, 38, 45, 123, 167,
pattern matching notation 187, 202, 210, 229, 258, 264-
... 291, 293-295, 513, 516, 266, 283, 290, 307, 320, 327,
518-519, 655-656, 662, 709, 332, 336-337, 353, 381, 427,
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
1134 Alphabetic Topical Index
P1003.2/D11.2
470, 519, 592, 626-627, 660, 784, 794, 799, 805, 848-849,
737, 741, 744, 746, 803, 849, 851-852, 856-857, 861, 866,
921, 923-924, 926, 962 909-910, 912-913, 915, 917-919,
PL/1 ... 378 921, 923-927, 946, 948, 955-
_p_o_p_e_n() ... 2, 9, 58, 60, 215, 959, 964-965, 977, 984
332, 337, 849, 917, 921, 923- POSIX.2
925, 957 abbreviation ... 57
definition of ... 921 definition of ... 57
portable character set ... 45, {POSIX2_C_BIND} ... 16, 213
61, 66-67, 70, 218, 318-319, _POSIX2_C_BIND ... 861
348, 483, 489, 582, 825, 827 {POSIX2_C_DEV} ... 16, 213
definition of ... 45 {_POSIX2_C_DEV} ... 957
portable filename character set {POSIX2_FORT_DEV} ... 16, 213
definition of ... 45 {POSIX2_FORT_RUN} ... 16
portable filenames ... 38 {_POSIX2_LINE_MAX} ... 915
positional parameter {POSIX2_LOCALEDEF} ... 16, 69,
definition of ... 218 75, 577
Positional Parameters ... 228 POSIX.2 ... 2-4, 7-12, 15-18,
POSIX Locale ... 30, 52, 69-71, 25-27, 46-47, 52-57, 68, 70,
75-76, 84, 96, 101-102, 105- 82, 93, 95, 121-124, 126, 131,
106, 122, 133-134, 188, 357, 133, 148-149, 159-163, 166,
372, 417-418, 446-447, 449-450, 168, 170, 176, 179-180, 189,
457, 464-465, 467, 517, 540, 194, 197
551, 571, 576, 580, 599, 601- POSIX2 ... 204, 206
602, 605, 633, 669, 671, 731, POSIX.2 ... 207
733, 735, 774, 797, 814, 869- POSIX2 ... 207
870, 883, 905, 999 POSIX.2 ... 208-209
POSIX Symbols ... 910 POSIX2 ... 212-213
POSIX.1 C Numerical Limits POSIX.2 ... 216, 219-220, 223,
... 917 226-227, 234-235, 244, 247,
POSIX.1 253, 257-258, 263-265, 277-278,
definition of ... 57 295, 297, 299, 305, 312-313,
POSIX.1 ... 1-4, 8, 10, 12, 15, 315, 317, 354-355, 357, 380,
18-19, 21, 27-32, 34-60, 71, 402-403, 408, 412, 419, 427-
75, 106, 119, 121-124, 161-169, 429, 437-438, 450, 461, 495-
183, 187, 190, 204, 207-208, 498, 507, 519-520, 526, 529
210-211, 231, 235, 249, 251, POSIX2 ... 530
253, 256, 262-263, 289, 296, POSIX.2 ... 544, 549, 563-564,
311, 327, 361, 392, 395, 401, 585, 593, 595, 602, 604, 608-
403, 405, 408, 412, 419, 429- 609, 633, 636, 641, 650-651,
432, 439, 463, 470, 475, 502, 660, 662-663, 691, 695, 704-
511, 513, 515, 519-520, 526- 705, 711-712, 725, 734-735,
527, 549, 559-561, 563-564, 741, 750, 752-755, 768-769,
566, 586, 596-597, 599, 604, 771, 784, 793, 803-805, 815-
610, 613-614, 617-618, 622, 816, 834-835, 839-841, 843,
636, 642-643, 645, 647, 649, 849-852
653-656, 658, 660-662, 687, POSIX2 ... 861
712, 725-730, 734-736, 740,
755-756, 761, 772-773, 780,
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
Alphabetic Topical Index 1135
P1003.2/D11.2
POSIX.2 ... 863-866, 883-884, {_POSIX_VERSION} ... 957
908-912 POSIX_VERSION ... 861, 912, 915
POSIX2 ... 912 POW_ASSIGN ... 339, 344-345, 349
POSIX.2 ... 913-914 PPID
POSIX2 ... 914 variable ... 232
POSIX.2 ... 915 pr
POSIX2 ... 915-916 - Print files ... 665, 991
POSIX.2 ... 917, 919, 921, 923, ... 386, 592, 665-671, 984
925, 934, 956-957 definition of ... 665
POSIX2 ... 957-958 PRECIOUS ... 822, 826, 841
POSIX.2 ... 959, 963, 970, 974- PREC ... 896, 898
975, 998 Preserve Historical Applications
{POSIX2_SW_DEV} ... 16, 213 ... 5
_POSIX2_VERSION ... 912 Preserve Historical
{POSIX2_VERSION} ... 915 Implementations ... 7
{_POSIX2_VERSION} ... 957 Print Command ... 490
POSIX.3 ... 3, 12, 188 print ... 327-328
POSIX.5 ... 10 printable character
POSIX.6 ... 391, 603-604, 986 definition of ... 46
POSIX.7 ... 4, 8, 585 PRINTER
POSIX.9 ... 959, 970 variable ... 123, 589, 591,
{_POSIX_C_DEV} ... 957 594
POSIX_CHOWN_RESTRICTED ... 853 printf
posixconf ... 530 - Write formatted output
_p_o_s_i_x_c_o_n_f() ... 956 ... 672, 991
_POSIX_C_SOURCE ... 910 ... 6, 9, 180, 327-328,
POSIX_C_SOURCE ... 910-912 335, 478-479, 603, 641, 672,
{_POSIX_JOB_CONTROL} ... 41 674-678
POSIX_JOB_CONTROL ... 853 definition of ... 672
{_POSIX_LOCALEDEF} ... 213 _p_r_i_n_t_f() ... 180, 187, 191, 193,
posixlog ... 585 198, 202-203, 635, 677-678,
{_POSIX_NAME_MAX} ... 643 798, 865
{_POSIX_NO_TRUNC} ... 44, 647 privileges (see appropriate
POSIX_NO_TRUNC ... 853 privileges)
{_POSIX_PATH_MAX} ... 643 Process Attributes ... 162
POSIX.1 Numeric-Valued process group ID ... 46-47, 162,
Configurable Variables ... 853 563
POSIX.2 Reserved Header Symbols definition of ... 46
... 911 process group leader
_POSIX_C_SOURCE ... 911 definition of ... 47
{_POSIX_SAVED_IDS} ... 162 process group
POSIX_SAVED_IDS ... 853 background ... 30
POSIX_SOURCE ... 910, 917 definition of ... 46
{_POSIX_VDISABLE} ... 730-731, foreground ... 40
735 leader ... 47
POSIX_VDISABLE ... 22, 853 process ID ... 44, 47, 162-163,
_POSIX_VERSION ... 861 193, 229-230, 268, 289, 563-
564, 790, 792-794, 923
definition of ... 47
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
1136 Alphabetic Topical Index
P1003.2/D11.2
parent ... 44 RAW ... 735
process RCS ... 839
background ... 30 RCURL ... 896-897
definition of ... 46 RE and Bracket Expression Grammar
foreground ... 40 ... 142
parent ... 44 RE Bracket Expression ... 131
PROCESSING ... 646-647 RE
PROCLANG abbreviation ... 57
variable ... 125 Read Command ... 491
program read
definition of ... 47 - Read a line from standard
Programs Section ... 895 input ... 682, 991
Prompt Command ... 490 ... 58-59, 186-187, 231,
PS1 234, 307, 682-685, 708-709,
variable ... 123, 232, 712 983
PS2 definition of ... 682
variable ... 123, 232, 712 _r_e_a_d() ... 36, 167, 457
PS4 _r_e_a_d_d_i_r() ... 946
variable ... 232 read-only file system
PWB ... 753 definition of ... 47
pwd readonly
- Return working directory name - Set read-only attribute for
... 679, 991 variables ... 304
... 679-681 ... 304-305
definition of ... 679 definition of ... 304
PWD real group ID ... 41, 47, 162,
variable ... 232, 304, 391 551, 706
PWD ... 304-305 definition of ... 47
real user ID ... 47, 51, 162,
551, 706
Q definition of ... 47
Redirecting Input ... 251
q ... 497 Redirecting Output ... 251
Quit Command ... 490 redirection operator
Quit Without Checking Command definition of ... 218
... 491 Redirection ... 249, 979
QUIT ... 311, 313-314, 729-730 redirection
Quote Removal ... 249 definition of ... 218
QUOTED_CHAR ... 141-143, 145 {RE_DUP_MAX} ... 135, 139, 141,
Quoting ... 220, 979 211
RE_DUP_MAX ... 204
{RE_DUP_MAX} ... 204
R RE_DUP_MAX ... 207, 914
{RE_DUP_MAX} ... 914, 958
R_ANCHOR ... 142-143 REG_BADBR ... 931
range expression ... 133 REG_BADPAT ... 932
ranlib ... 817 REG_BADRPT ... 931
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
Alphabetic Topical Index 1137
P1003.2/D11.2
_r_e_g_c_o_m_p() ... 2, 148, 150, 849, Regular Expression General
927, 929, 931-932, 935, 938 Requirements ... 129
_c_f_l_a_g_s Argument ... 928 Regular Expression Grammar
definition of ... 927 ... 140
_r_e_g_e_x_e_c() Return Values Regular Expression Matching
... 932 ... 849, 994
REG_EBRACE ... 932, 935 Regular Expression Notation
REG_EBRACK ... 932 ... 128, 978
REG_ECOLLATE ... 932 regular expression ... 2, 5-6,
REG_ECTYPE ... 932 12, 28-30, 36, 42, 45, 47, 57,
REG_EESCAPE ... 932 75, 83, 91-92, 95, 106, 108,
REG_EPAREN ... 932 119, 128-131, 136-138, 140-143,
REG_ERANGE ... 932 145-151, 153, 157-158, 160-161,
_r_e_g_e_r_r_o_r() ... 927, 931, 933, 204, 238, 291-292, 318, 320,
935-936 327-330, 335-336, 348, 351,
definition of ... 927 353-354, 357, 435, 481-482,
REG_ESPACE ... 932 496, 504, 506, 508, 516, 538-
REG_ESUBREG ... 932 541, 620, 653, 656, 688, 697-
_r_e_g_e_x_e_c() ... 849, 927, 929-932, 699, 701-702, 704, 768-769,
934-936, 938 847, 849-850, 869, 871-875,
definition of ... 927 877-879, 882-884, 927-936, 978,
_e_f_l_a_g_s Argument ... 928 994-995
<regex.h> ... 927, 929, 931, 935 definition of ... 47
_r_e_g_e_x__t Regular Expressions ... 328
definition of ... 928 regular file
REG_EXTENDED ... 928-929, 933 definition of ... 47
REG_FILENAME ... 936, 938 rejected utilities ... 980
_r_e_g_f_r_e_e() ... 849, 927, 931 REJECT ... 878-879
definition of ... 927 relative pathname
REG_FSLASH ... 938 definition of ... 48
REG_ICASE ... 927, 934 REL_OP ... 364, 366, 369
_r_e_g_m_a_t_c_h() ... 933 _r_e_n_a_m_e() ... 618, 622-623
_r_e_g_m_a_t_c_h__t Required Files ... 126, 978
definition of ... 928 Requirements ... 14
REG_NEWLINE ... 927, 930 Reserved Words ... 226, 979
REG_NOMATCH ... 931 return
REG_NOSUB ... 927, 929, 933, 935 - Return from a function
REG_NOTBOL ... 927, 930, 932-933, ... 305
935 ... 276, 306
REG_NOTEOL ... 927, 930, 935 definition of ... 305
_r_e_g_o_f_f__t ... 927, 934 RIGHT ... 896-897
definition of ... 927 RING-ABOVE ... 117
REG ... 911, 931 RLENGTH
_r_e_g_s_u_b() ... 934 awk variable ... 328
Regular Built-in Utilities ... 58 RLENGTH ... 335, 353
Regular Expression Definitions rm
... 128 - Remove directory entries
... 686, 991
... 209, 569, 646, 686-691
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
1138 Alphabetic Topical Index
P1003.2/D11.2
definition of ... 686 Scope of Danish National Locale
{RM_DEPTH_MAX} ... 211 ... 1000
rmdir Scope ... 1, 978
- Remove directories ... 692, SC_POSIX_C_BIND ... 530
991 SC_POSIX_C_DEV ... 957
... 613, 692-695 SC_RE_DUP_MAX ... 958
definition of ... 692 SC_VERSION ... 957
_r_m_d_i_r() ... 166, 687 sdb ... 986
R_OK ... 942 seconds since the Epoch
root directory ... 162 definition of ... 48
definition of ... 48 security considerations ... 36
RS security controls
awk variable ... 328 additional ... 36
rsh ... 712 alternate ... 36
RSTART extended ... 36
awk variable ... 328 sed
RSTART ... 335, 353 - Stream editor ... 695, 991
RULES ... 833 ... 28, 47, 50, 187, 210-
211, 231, 385, 553, 636,
662, 695-696, 698-699, 703-
S 705, 741, 804, 982, 986
Addresses ... 698
Sample National Profile ... 997 definition of ... 695
Sample _p_c_l_o_s_e() Implementation Editing Commands ... 699
... 926 Regular Expressions ... 698
Sample _s_y_s_t_e_m() Implementation {SED_PATTERN_MAX} ... 211
... 922 sendto ... 609
saved set-group-ID ... 41, 162 Sequential Lists ... 269
definition of ... 48 session leader
saved set-user-ID ... 48, 51, 162 definition of ... 49
definition of ... 48 session lifetime
saved-set-group-ID ... 162 definition of ... 49
saved-set-user-ID ... 162 session membership ... 162
SC22 ... 1045 session ... 30, 40, 48
SC_2 ... 957-958 definition of ... 48
SC2 ... 974 session ... 30, 40, 48-49, 54,
_s_c_a_n_f() ... 198, 202-203 162, 204, 208, 258, 313
SC_BC_BASE_MAX ... 958 set
SC_BC_DIM_MAX ... 958 - Set/unset options and
SC_BC_SCALE_MAX ... 958 positional parameters
SC_BC_STRING_MAX ... 958 ... 306
SC_COLL_WEIGHTS_MAX ... 958 ... 228-229, 231, 251,
SCCS ... 518, 838-839, 981, 983, 254-255, 289, 306-310, 313,
985, 987 428, 647, 706, 711
SCCS/s.Makefile ... 838 definition of ... 306
SC_EXPR_NEST_MAX ... 958 _s_e_t_b_u_f() ... 386
SC_LINE_MAX ... 958 _s_e_t_b_u_f_f_e_r() ... 386
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
Alphabetic Topical Index 1139
P1003.2/D11.2
_s_e_t_g_i_d() ... 34, 47-48 Shell Grammar Rules ... 280
set-group-ID ... 162, 438 Shell Grammar ... 279, 980
set-group-ID-on-execution ... 38, shell script
397, 399 definition of ... 49
<setjmp.h> ... 861 shell
_s_e_t_l_o_c_a_l_e() ... 70, 152-153, 155, definition of ... 49
168, 357, 958 SHELL
_s_e_t_p_g_i_d() ... 48 variable ... 121, 124, 822,
_s_e_t_s_i_d() ... 48-49 828, 921
_s_e_t_u_i_d() ... 35, 47-48 shell ... 1-5, 7, 9, 11-12, 14,
set-user-ID scripts ... 712 28, 31, 33-34, 41, 47, 49, 51-
set-user-ID ... 162, 404, 438, 53, 56, 58-60, 68, 121, 124,
600, 746 126, 156, 170, 179, 194, 196,
set-user-ID-on-execution ... 38, 208, 212, 215-221, 223-226,
397, 399 228-234, 236, 238-240, 242-243,
_s_e_t_v_b_u_f() ... 386 245-250, 252, 254-268, 270-271,
SGML ... 9 273, 276-280, 283, 286, 288-
sh - Shell 293, 295-296, 299-309, 311-314,
the standard command language 350, 356-357, 361, 378, 385,
interpreter ... 706, 991 387-388, 391, 424, 427, 487,
sh ... 49, 123, 169, 186-187, 491, 493-494, 502, 507-508,
196, 215-216, 228-229, 231, 510, 518-519, 529, 531-537,
257-258, 307-309, 350, 706-712, 553, 560, 564-565, 569, 573,
752, 756, 828, 918, 921, 923- 576, 609, 616, 627, 640, 646-
924, 947, 954 648, 660, 678, 681-682, 685,
definition of ... 706 691, 706-712, 726, 734-735,
shall 750, 7 52-753, 755-756, 768,
definition of ... 27 771, 775, 778, 790, 792-794,
Shell Command Interface ... 848, 803, 805
994 SHELL ... 822, 828
Shell Command Language ... 215, shell ... 828, 835, 840-841,
979 847-849, 851, 917-918, 921,
Shell Commands ... 258, 980 923, 943, 947-950, 952-954,
Shell Definitions ... 217, 979 977, 979-980, 982-988, 991,
Shell Escape Command ... 494 994-995
shell execution environment shift
... 218, 230, 249, 259, 268 - Shift positional parameters
Shell Execution Environment ... 310
... 289 ... 308
shell execution environment definition of ... 310
... 289-290, 301, 388, 391, should
532, 535, 682, 685, 775, 778, definition of ... 27
790 SIGABRT ... 312, 561
Shell Execution Environment SIGALRM ... 312, 561, 714-715
... 980 SIG_BLOCK ... 922
Shell Grammar Lexical Conventions SIGCHLD ... 918-920, 922
... 279 SIG_DFL ... 919
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
1140 Alphabetic Topical Index
P1003.2/D11.2
SIGHUP ... 193, 312, 481, 560, S_IXGRP ... 397, 399
623, 625-627, 822, 841, 925 S_IXOTH ... 397, 399
SIG_IGN ... 922 S_IXUSR ... 397, 399
SIGINT ... 193, 269, 288, 312, slash
456, 481, 488, 560, 742-743, definition of ... 49
822, 841, 918-919, 922, 925 sleep
SIGKILL ... 311-313, 561, 563 - Suspend execution for an
signal interval ... 713, 991
definition of ... 49 ... 713-715
<signal.h> ... 861 definition of ... 713
Signals and Error Handling SLR ... 904
... 288, 980 Software Development Utilities
SIGNULL ... 564 Option ... 809, 993
SIG ... 311-312, 560, 562, 564, SOH ... 63, 76, 84, 731
793 sort ... 5, 33, 211, 554-555,
SIGQUIT ... 193, 269, 288, 312, 716, 719, 722, 724-725, 788
560, 627, 822, 841, 918-919, definition of ... 716
922, 925 {SORT_LINE_MAX} ... 211
SIG_SETMASK ... 922 source code
SIGSTOP ... 311, 313 definition of ... 49
SIGTERM ... 193, 312, 559-561, <space>
626-627, 822, 841 definition of ... 50
SIGTTOU ... 730 SPEC_CHAR ... 141-142, 145-146
SILENT ... 820, 823, 825-826, 841 Special Built-in Utilities
Simple Commands ... 259 ... 295, 980
SINGLE ... 833 special built-in ... 31, 34, 41,
single-quote 52, 58, 215-216, 228-229, 255,
definition of ... 49 259, 261, 263, 276-277, 289,
Single-Quotes ... 221 295-296, 298, 303, 305, 307,
S_IRGRP ... 164, 399, 614, 756 312, 314, 424-425, 429, 499,
S_IROTH ... 164, 399, 614, 756 624, 627, 681, 711, 771, 801,
S_IRUSR ... 164, 399, 614, 623, 980
756 Special Control Character
S_IRWXG ... 610, 649, 856, 964 Assignments ... 730
S_IRWXO ... 610, 649, 856, 964 special parameter
S_IRWXU ... 431, 610, 649, 658, definition of ... 218
856, 964 Special Parameters ... 229
S_ISGID ... 38, 399, 403, 434, Special Patterns ... 330
518, 618, 652, 780 split ... 496, 986
S_ISUID ... 38, 399, 403, 434, SQL ... 10
518, 618, 652, 780 _s_s_i_z_e__t ... 927
S_IWGRP ... 164, 399, 614, 756, standard error
779 definition of ... 50
S_IWOTH ... 164, 399, 518, 614, standard input
756, 779 definition of ... 50
S_IWUSR ... 164, 399, 614, 623, Standard Libraries ... 861, 968
756 standard output
definition of ... 50
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
Alphabetic Topical Index 1141
P1003.2/D11.2
standard utilities stty
definition of ... 50 - Set the options for a
START ... 728, 730, 896-897 terminal ... 725, 992
START/STOP ... 728 ... 9, 54, 725-727, 732-736
_s_t_a_t ... 756 Circumflex Control Characters
_s_t_a_t() ... 36-37, 40, 161, 181, ... 731
654, 946 Control Character Names
_s_t__a_t_i_m_e ... 39 ... 730
_s_t__c_t_i_m_e ... 39 definition of ... 725
STDIN_FILENO ... 923 _s_t__u_i_d ... 816
<stdio.h> ... 861, 912 STX ... 63, 76, 84, 731
<stdlib.h> ... 861 SUB_ASSIGN ... 339, 344-345, 349
STDOUT_FILENO ... 923 SUB ... 63, 76, 85, 731
_s_t__g_i_d ... 816 SUBSCRIPT-LOWER ... 116
sticky bit ... 403 SUBSEP
_s_t__m_o_d_e ... 816 awk variable ... 328
_s_t__m_t_i_m_e ... 39, 816 SUBSEP ... 326, 353
STOP ... 728, 730 subshell
_s_t_r_c_o_l_l() ... 93 definition of ... 218
stream Substitute Command ... 491
definition of ... 50 SUFFIXES ... 826, 828-829, 832
STREAMS ... 56 SUFFIX ... 833
_s_t_r_e_r_r_o_r() ... 935 sum ... 6, 412, 414
Strictly Conforming POSIX.2 SUPERSCRIPT-LOWER ... 116
Application ... 4, 7, 15, 17, super-user ... 439, 603, 661, 982
26-27, 121, 126, 131, 133, 150, supplementary group ID
158, 194, 207 definition of ... 50
String Functions ... 335 supplementary group IDs ... 162
String Operand ... 506 supplementary groups ... 38, 41,
<string.h> ... 861 50, 162, 549, 551-553
STRING ... 319, 329, 339, 344- SUSP ... 729-730
345, 347-348, 364-365, 367-368 SVID ... 975
strip SW_DEV ... 212, 916, 958
- Remove unnecessary switch ... 273
information from executable Symbolic Constants for Portability
files ... 844, 993 Specifications ... 212
... 844-846 Symbolic Limits ... 204
definition of ... 844 Symbolic Utility Limits ... 206
_s_t_r_t_o_d() ... 677-678 SYN ... 63, 76, 84, 731
_s_t_r_t_o_l() ... 677-678 _s_y_s_c_o_n_f() ... 204, 207-208, 212-
_s_t_r_t_o_u_l() ... 677-678 213, 526, 530, 851-852, 913-
Structure Type _g_l_o_b__t ... 944 916, 955-957
Structure Type _r_e_g_e_x__t ... 928 definition of ... 957
Structure Type _r_e_g_m_a_t_c_h__t ... 928 <sys/stat.h> ... 21
Structure Type _w_o_r_d_e_x_p__t ... 950 system documentation
_s_t_r_x_f_r_m() ... 93 definition of ... 27
_s_t__s_i_z_e ... 816 System III ... 474, 753
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
1142 Alphabetic Topical Index
P1003.2/D11.2
System V ... 5-6, 10, 56, 216, 332, 339, 362, 364, 386-387,
223, 249, 254, 278, 295, 306, 398, 400, 404, 437, 495-497,
308, 315, 379, 385-386, 391, 524, 564, 594, 596, 598, 603-
394, 402-403, 408, 414, 419, 604, 617, 622-623, 625, 663,
423, 444, 451, 461-462, 469, 665, 669, 686-687, 690, 707-
474, 477-479, 497, 519-520, 708, 711, 725-727, 731-736,
527, 535, 544-545, 594, 603- 746, 772-774, 807, 842, 891-
604, 609, 613, 635, 659-661, 894, 902-903, 907, 919, 926,
671, 678, 694-695, 704-705, 963, 982-988, 992
723-724, 735, 740-741, 750-755, Terminology and General
761, 768-769, 798, 803, 815- Requirements ... 21, 978
816, 834-835, 837, 839, 841- Terminology ... 26
842, 865-866, 882, 884, 906, TERM ... 311, 313-314, 565
975, 980, 986 test
system - Evaluate expression ... 745,
definition of ... 51 992
_s_y_s_t_e_m() ... 2, 9, 11, 58, 60, ... 166, 217, 247, 518,
196, 215, 224, 337, 530, 708, 602, 647, 745-747, 749-750,
824, 841, 848, 917-921, 957 752-756, 775, 983
definition of ... 918 definition of ... 745
<sys/types.h> ... 861 text column
definition of ... 51
text file ... 35, 43, 51, 54,
T 124-125, 159, 186, 188, 204,
262-264, 320, 356, 362-363,
<tab> 421, 442, 444, 463, 480, 482,
definition of ... 51 497, 522, 524-525, 541, 546,
tail 553, 556, 579, 590, 592, 606,
- Copy the last part of a file 639, 641-642, 655, 668, 683,
... 736, 992 695-697, 709, 716, 719, 738,
... 548-549, 736-741 740, 786, 798, 801, 804, 821,
definition of ... 736 857, 859-860, 869-871, 887-888,
tar ... 75, 654, 659-664, 815 907, 960-961, 967, 991
Target Rules ... 825 definition of ... 51
TCOS ... 9 then ... 274, 298
tee Tilde Expansion ... 235
- Duplicate standard input tilde
... 742, 992 definition of ... 51
... 742-744 TILDE ... 117
definition of ... 742 time formats ... 102
TERM time ... 228
variable ... 121 _t_i_m_e() ... 756
terminal device (see terminal) <time.h> ... 861
terminal TIME ... 450, 731
definition of ... 51 _t_m__h_o_u_r ... 48
terminal ... 9, 24-25, 29-30, 32, _t_m__m_i_n ... 48
38, 40-41, 49, 51, 55, 68, 121, /tmp ... 127
123, 126, 162, 167, 185, 190-
191, 199, 210, 212, 224, 254,
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
Alphabetic Topical Index 1143
P1003.2/D11.2
TMPDIR _t_t_y_n_a_m_e() ... 772-773
variable ... 121, 127, 192, TTY ... 671, 736
724, 860, 865, 967 Two-Character Mnemonics ... 1046
TMPDIR ... 647 TYPE ... 896-897
_t_m_p_n_a_m() ... 647 typeset ... 277
_t_m__s_e_c ... 48 Typographical Conventions ... 22
_t_m__y_d_a_y ... 48 TZ
_t_m__y_e_a_r ... 48 variable ... 121, 446, 448,
TOC ... 909, 913, 927 451, 464, 598, 669, 758-759,
Token Recognition ... 224, 979 761
token
definition of ... 219
TOKEN ... 279-281, 896-897 U
tolower ... 77, 80, 82, 320, 336,
339, 349, 354, 455, 765, 767 UCHAR_MAX ... 636
TOSTOP ... 730 UCS ... 974
touch UINT_MAX ... 636
- Change file access and {ULONG_MAX} ... 207
modification times ... 756, ULONG_MAX ... 636
992 umask
... 166, 181, 602, 756-762, - Get or set the file mode
820 creation mask ... 775, 992
definition of ... 756 ... 6, 58-59, 289-290,
toupper ... 77, 79-80, 82, 115, 775-779
320, 336, 339, 349, 354, 455, definition of ... 775
765, 767 uname
tr - Return system name ... 780,
- Translate characters 992
... 762, 992 ... 780-783
... 68, 147, 762-764, definition of ... 780
767-769 _u_n_a_m_e() ... 780, 784
definition of ... 762 undefined
trap definition of ... 27
- Trap signals ... 311 undefined ... 16-17, 27, 48, 54,
... 289, 312-313 65, 69
definition of ... 311 UNDEFINED ... 89-92, 111, 117
Trojan Horse ... 604 undefined ... 129-131, 134-135,
true 137, 139, 149-150, 159-160,
- Return true value ... 770, 173, 175-176, 186, 188, 195,
992 198, 200, 212, 222-223, 235-
... 19, 58, 60, 247, 258, 236, 243, 302, 306, 311, 319,
770-771 325, 327-328, 330-331, 333-334,
definition of ... 770 336, 338, 347-348, 350, 357,
tty 368-370, 373, 377-379, 381-382,
- Return user's terminal name 388, 391, 416, 420, 484, 487,
... 772, 992 497, 499, 513, 521, 528, 530-
... 772-775 531, 539, 544, 555, 561, 589,
definition of ... 772 591, 624, 685, 702, 707, 717,
766, 801, 809-811, 816, 822,
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
1144 Alphabetic Topical Index
P1003.2/D11.2
857, 872, 875, 878, 880, 884, 591-596, 605-607, 610, 621,
891, 894, 910, 916, 923-925, 623, 629, 632, 638, 649-651,
929-931, 947, 950, 952, 1045 653, 657, 666, 674-675, 689-
Undo Command ... 493 690, 699-702, 705, 708, 718,
unfunction ... 314 724-727, 732-733, 735, 737,
UNION ... 896-897 741, 748, 758, 765-766, 768,
uniq 775-776, 779, 785, 792-793,
- Report or filter out repeated 799, 801, 810-811, 814, 819-
lines in a file ... 784, 820, 822, 826, 828, 838, 840-
992 841, 844-845, 856-858, 860-862,
... 784, 786-789 864, 866, 868-870, 874, 879-
definition of ... 784 880, 882, 884, 886, 888, 895,
<unistd.h> ... 22, 861, 912, 901-902, 912, 918, 923, 931,
915-916, 955, 957 937, 939, 945, 947, 950, 955,
UNIX ... 3-11, 54, 56, 67, 71, 958, 960, 963-966, 968-972
93, 151, 161, 179, 207, 210, until ... 272, 275, 296, 298, 307
277, 295, 408, 761, 975, 977, Loop ... 275
980-981 UPE ... 59, 124, 168, 189, 216,
_u_n_l_i_n_k() ... 166, 181, 432, 566, 218, 228, 232, 278, 385, 428,
687 565, 707, 711-712, 736, 794,
_u_n_p_u_t() ... 880 980, 984, 986
unset UPPER_CASE ... 88
- Unset values and attributes UPPER-CASE ... 116-117
of variables and functions UPPER ... 117
... 314 Usage
... 228, 304, 310, 314-315, Examples ... 548, 581, 608,
428 740
definition of ... 314 USD ... 117
unspecified USENET ... 469
definition of ... 27 user database
unspecified ... 16-17, 27, 29-30, definition of ... 51
32, 35, 40, 42-43, 50, 54, 61, user ID
70, 72, 79, 96-97, 99-101, definition of ... 51
104-106, 120-123, 133, 149, effective ... 34
158, 167, 184, 186-187, 189, real ... 47
191-192, 194-196, 209, 211, saved set- ... 48
215, 217, 219, 223, 227-228, user name
233, 235-236, 238, 243, 245, definition of ... 51
250, 252-253, 258-259, 261-262, User Portability Utilities Option
272, 280-281, 288, 292, 294, ... 807, 993
301, 304-305, 314, 323, 326, user
328, 331, 334-335, 357, 371, definition of ... 54
379, 386, 399, 419-420, 431, USER
433-434, 436-438, 445, 449-450, variable ... 125
452, 454-455, 461, 467, 474- User-Defined Functions ... 338
475, 485, 489, 492, 496-497, user-defined ordering of collating
506, 508-509, 517, 519, 522, elements ... 83
525, 530, 532 -535, 539, 554,
560, 571, 580, 583-584, 589,
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
Alphabetic Topical Index 1145
P1003.2/D11.2
USHORT_MAX ... 636 false ... 509
/usr ... 126, 659 find ... 511
/usr/bin ... 126 fold ... 521
/usr/lib ... 126 for ... 271
/usr/lib/libc.a ... 866 fort77 ... 964
/usr/lib/libf.a ... 971 getconf ... 526
/usr/local ... 126 getopts ... 531
/usr/local/bin ... 181 grep ... 537
/usr/man ... 126 head ... 545
/usr/tmp ... 126 id ... 549
ustar ... 660 if ... 273
UTC0 ... 446 join ... 554
UTC ... 451, 758, 761 kill ... 559
utilities lex ... 868
[ ... 745 ln ... 566
ar ... 809 locale ... 570
asa ... 960 localedef ... 577
awk ... 317 logger ... 583
basename ... 358 logname ... 586
bc ... 362 lp ... 589
break ... 296 ls ... 595
c89 ... 856 mailx ... 605
case ... 272 make ... 818
cat ... 383 mkdir ... 610
cd ... 388 mkfifo ... 614
chgrp ... 392 mv ... 617
chmod ... 395 nohup ... 623
chown ... 405 od ... 627
cksum ... 409 paste ... 637
cmp ... 416 pathchk ... 642
colon ... 297 pax ... 648
comm ... 420 pr ... 665
command ... 424 printf ... 672
continue ... 298 pwd ... 679
cp ... 430 read ... 682
cut ... 440 readonly ... 304
date ... 445 return ... 305
dd ... 452 rm ... 686
diff ... 462 rmdir ... 692
dirname ... 471 sed ... 695
dot ... 299 set ... 306
echo ... 475 sh ... 706
ed ... 479 shift ... 310
env ... 498 sleep ... 713
eval ... 300 sort ... 716
exec ... 301 strip ... 844
exit ... 302 stty ... 725
export ... 303 tail ... 736
expr ... 503 tee ... 742
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
1146 Alphabetic Topical Index
P1003.2/D11.2
test ... 745 VEOF ... 730
touch ... 756 VEOL ... 730
tr ... 762 VERASE ... 730
trap ... 311 Version 7 ... 3, 216, 277, 402,
true ... 770 462, 495, 705, 753
tty ... 772 VERSION ... 204, 957-958
umask ... 775 <vertical-tab>
uname ... 780 definition of ... 52
uniq ... 784 vi ... 273, 609, 934, 983
unset ... 314 VIII ... 451
wait ... 790 VII ... 451
wc ... 795 VINTR ... 730
while ... 274-275 VISUAL
xargs ... 799 variable ... 125, 315
yacc ... 885 VISUAL ... 315
Utility Argument Syntax ... 172 VKILL ... 730
Utility Conventions ... 172, 979 VM/CMS ... 3
Utility Description Defaults VMS ... 3
... 182, 979 VQUIT ... 730
Utility Limit Minimum Values VSTART ... 730
... 205 VSTOP ... 730
Utility Syntax Guidelines ... 177 VSUSP ... 730
utility
definition of ... 51
_u_t_i_m_b_u_f ... 757 W
_u_t_i_m_e() ... 756
UUCP ... 8, 987 wait
- Await process completion
... 790, 992
V ... 58-59, 288, 560,
790-794
Valid Character Class Combinations definition of ... 790
... 81 _w_a_i_t() ... 256, 794, 920-921,
validfnam ... 647 923, 926
variable assignment [assignment] _w_a_i_t_p_i_d() ... 23, 794, 918, 920-
definition of ... 219 921, 923, 925-926
variable wc ... 184, 795-796, 798
definition of ... 219 definition of ... 795
Variable-Length Character WEXITSTATUS ... 256
Mnemonics ... 1047 WG15 ... 56
VARIABLE ... 314 while ... 261, 272, 274-275, 287,
Variables and Special Variables 296, 298, 307, 324, 356, 510,
... 326 648
Variables ... 231 definition of ... 274-275
VAR ... 508 Loop ... 274
VAX-11 ... 975 white space
VAX ... 10 definition of ... 52
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
Alphabetic Topical Index 1147
P1003.2/D11.2
Word Expansions ... 233, 979 X/Open ... 10-11, 94, 153-154,
word 423, 975, 980
definition of ... 219 XPG3 ... 424, 769, 840
_w_o_r_d_e_x_p() ... 851, 949-954 XPG ... 769
definition of ... 949
_f_l_a_g_s Argument ... 951
Return Values ... 952 Y
<wordexp.h> ... 950, 952
_w_o_r_d_e_x_p__t yacc
definition of ... 950 - Yet another compiler compiler
_w_o_r_d_f_r_e_e() ... 851, 949-952, 954 ... 885, 995
WORD ... 279-282, 284-287 ... 24, 28, 50, 188, 840,
working directory 861, 866, 868, 885-895,
definition of ... 52 898-906
WRDE_APPEND ... 950-951 definition of ... 885
WRDE_BADCHAR ... 952 Internal Limits ... 903
WRDE_BADVAL ... 952 Library ... 901
WRDE_CMDSUB ... 952 YACC ... 832-833
WRDE_DOOFFS ... 950-952 yesexpr ... 29, 106, 118, 435,
WRDE_NOCMD ... 950, 952-953 516, 576, 620, 656, 688
WRDE_NOSPACE ... 952 YFLAGS ... 832-833
WRDE ... 911, 952 y.output ... 886, 906-907
WRDE_REUSE ... 950-951, 954 y.tab.c ... 886, 906
WRDE_SHOWERR ... 950, 952-954 y.tab.h ... 840, 886, 906
WRDE_SYNTAX ... 952 YYABORT ... 900
WRDE_UNDEF ... 950, 952 YYACCEPT ... 900
Write Command ... 493 YYDEBUG ... 901-902
write _y_y_e_r_r_o_r() ... 886, 889, 901
definition of ... 52 YYERROR ... 899-900
_w_r_i_t_e() ... 36, 867, 971 _y_y_l_e_x() ... 872, 874, 879-880,
884, 886, 889, 895, 900-902,
905
X _y_y_p_a_r_s_e() ... 886, 888, 901
YYRECOVERING ... 899
X/2047 ... 497 YYSTYPE ... 888, 892-894, 905
X.400 ... 608 _y_y_w_r_a_p() ... 880
X.400 ... 608
xarg ... 805
xargs
- Construct argument list(s)
and invoke utility ... 799,
992
... 53, 58, 257, 428, 501,
626, 799-805, 986
definition of ... 799
xd ... 634
XII ... 451
Copyright c 1991 IEEE. All rights reserved.
This is an unapproved IEEE Standards Draft, subject to change.
1148 Alphabetic Topical Index
P1003.2/D11.2
Acknowledgments
We wish to thank the following organizations for donating significant
computer, printing, and editing resources to the production of this
standard: Amdahl Corporation, AT&T, Concurrent Computer Corporation, the
POSIX Software Group, UniSoft Corporation, and the X/Open Group.
This document was also approved by ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC22/WG15 as
ISO/IEC 9945-2:199x. The IEEE wishes to thank the advisory groups of the
National Bodies participating in WG15 for their contributions: Austria,
Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Japan, Netherlands, United
Kingdom, USA, and USSR.
The IEEE also wishes to thank the delegates to WG15 for their
contributions:
AUSTRIA Yves Delarue UK
Gerhard Schmitt Eric Dumas Nigel Bevan
Wolfgang Schwabl Maurice Fathi Cornelia Boldyreff
Gerald Krummeck Dave Cannon
CANADA Herve Schauer Don Chacon
Joe Cote Hubert Zimmerman Dominic Dunlop
Patrick Dempster David Flint
George Kriger GERMANY Don E. Folland
Bernard Martineau Ron Elliot Martin Kirk
Major Douglas J. Moore Helmut Stiegler Neil Martin
Arnie Powell Claus Unger Brian Meek
Paul Renaud Rainer Zimmer Kevin Murphy
Richard Sniderman Ian Newman
IRELAND Philip Rushton
CEC Hans-Jurgen Kugler
Phil Bertrand USA
Manuel Carbajo JAPAN Robert Bismuth
Michel Colin Hiromichi Kogure Steven L. Carter
Shigekatsu Nakao Terence S. Dowling
DENMARK Yasushi Nakahara Ron Elliott
Peter E. Cordsen Nobuo Saito Dale Harris
Isak Korn John Hill
Keld Simonsen NETHERLANDS James D. Isaak
Claus Tondering J. Van Katwijk Hal Jespersen
Willem Wakker Roger J. Martin
FINLAND H.J. Weegenaar Shane McCarron
Jikka Haikala Barry Needham
SWEDEN Donn S. Terry
FRANCE Mat Linder Alan Weaver
Pascal Beyles
Christophe Binot USSR
Claude Bourstin V. Koukhar
Jean-Michel Cornu Ostapenko Georgy Pavlovich
1149
P1003.2/D11.2
Also we wish to thank the organizations employing the members of the
Working Group and the Balloting Group for both covering the expenses
related to attending and participating in meetings, and donating the time
required both in and out of meetings for this effort.
3M Company Mallinckrodt Institute
ACE Associated Computer Experts b.v. Martin Marietta Data Systems
Aeon Technologies, Inc. Masscomp
Alis Development Mercury Computer Systems
Amdahl Corporation* Microsoft Corporation
Apollo Computer Inc. Mindcraft, Inc.
Apple Computer Inc. Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
Ardent Computer Mortice Kern Systems Inc.
AT&T* Motorola Inc.
AT&T Bell Laboratories Myrias Research Corporation
AT&T UNIX Pacific Co., Ltd. NAPS International
Axon Data Information Systems NASA-KSC
BBN Communications Corporation National Institute of Standards and Technology
Bell Communications Research Naval Postgraduate School
BNR, Inc. NCR Corporation*
Bolt Beranek & Newman Northern Telecom, Inc.
BP Research International Novell, Inc.
British Telecom Ohio State University
British Telecom Research Labs Pacific Marine Tech
Charles River Data Systems* POSIX Software Group
Chemical Abstracts Service PRC
Chorus Systemes Prime Computer, Inc.
Commission of the European Communities R&D Associates
Computer X, Inc. Rabbit Software Corporation
Concurrent Computer Corporation* ROLM Mil Spec Computers
Control Data Corporation* Sandia National Laboratory*
Convergent Technologies Santa Cruz Operation Inc.
Convex Computer Corporation Saudia National Labs
Cray Research, Inc.* Sequent
Cyber-Dyne, Inc. Shia Systems Inc.
Datapoint Corporation Simpact Associates, Inc.
Data General Corporation SoHar
Digital Equipment Corporation* Sphinx Ltd.
Digital ETU St. Lawrence College
Douglas Aircraft Company Stellar Computer Inc.
Electrospace Systems, Inc. Sun Microsystems, Inc.*
Emerging Technology Group Inc. Syntactics
Emory University Computing Center Tandem Computers Inc.
Encore Computer Technical University of Vienna
ETA Systems, Inc. Tektronix, Inc.*
Federal Judicial Center Texas Instruments
Ford Motor Company The Instruction Set Ltd.
Free Software Foundation The MITRE Corp
General Electric Corporation Toshiba Corporation
Georgia Institute of Technology UFPb-GRC
1150
P1003.2/D11.2
Gilbert International Inc. UniForum*
Gould CSD UniSoft Corporation
Harris Corporation UniSoft Ltd.
HCR Corporation Unisys Corporation*
Hewlett-Packard Company* University Of California, Berkeley
Honeywell Bull, Inc. University of Hong Kong
HQ USAISC University of Indonesia
Hughes Aircraft Co. University of Maryland
IBM Corporation* University of Texas at Arlington
IBM Japan University of Utah
IBM Systems Integration Division University of Victoria
Icon International, Inc. University of Vienna
Intel USAF
Interactive Systems Corporation USAISEC
Ironwood Software USENIX Association*
KAIST US Army
Lachman Associates, Inc. US Army Ballistic Research Lab.
Lawrence Livermore National Lab US Army Computer Engineering Center
Loral Rolm MilSpec Computers US West Advanced Technologies
Lotus Development Corporation Videoton
Mahavishi International University Wang Laboratories
Whitesmiths, Ltd. X/Open Company Ltd.
Woods Hole Oceanographic Inst. XIOS Systems Corporation
In the preceding list, the organizations marked with an asterisk (*) have
hosted 1003 Working Group meetings since the group's inception in 1985,
providing useful logistical support for the ongoing work of the
committees.
1151
