Museum

SHELL                               Aegis                                SHELL



NAME
     shell - General Information

DESCRIPTION
     shell commands

     Programs which perform frequently required tasks, such as printing a file
     or creating a link, are called utilities.  A program called the shell
     invokes the selected utility when you type the appropriate shell command.
     Use the shell commands to compile and run programs, copy files and
     directories, etc.

     Entering a shell command

     Enter a shell command beside the "$" prompt.  For example, to display the
     current date and time, type:

          $ date

     The date utility prints the current system date and time.  You can enter
     shell commands in uppercase or lowercase.   Remember to press <RETURN> at
     the end of each command line.

     Shell Command Names

     Most shell commands are abbreviations of command descriptions.  For
     example,

          $ cpf

     stands for "copy a file".  Many commands consist of a verb and a noun
     (copy file, list directory, etc.).  Some command names consist of nouns
     or verbs alone and imply the rest. For example,

          $ date

     implies display the date.

     For a complete list of command names, type:

          $ help commands

     For a list of commands arranged by topic, type:

           $ help shell commands

         or

           $ help dm commands

     Shell Command Arguments

     Most shell commands accept command arguments.  A command argument
     specifies the object upon which the command will act.  Very often, the
     required argument is a pathname.   For example,

          $ crd //dickens/barb/ref_guide

     creates the subdirectory "ref_guide" in the directory "barb".  In this
     example, the pathname, //dickens/barb/ref_guide is the command argument.
     You can specify more than one argument for many of the shell commands.
     Separate commands from arguments, and one argument from another, with a
     blank space.  For more information on pathnames, type:

          $ help pathname

     Shell Command Options

     You can modify most shell commands by specifying one or more command
     options.  Precede each option with a space and a hyphen.  Do not include
     a space between the hyphen and the option.  For example,

          $ prf my_file -pr spin

     prints a copy of my_file on a spinwriter.  The -pr name option specifies
     the printer name.

     Redirecting Shell Command Input and Output

     When you use a shell command, the shell normally reads your input from
     the shell command line and directs output to the process transcript pad.
     You can change where the the shell gets input and sends output. For
     information about how to do so, type

          $ help shell i_o