bkexcept(1M) MISC. REFERENCE MANUAL PAGES bkexcept(1M)
NAME
bkexcept - change or display an exception list for incremen-
tal backups
SYNOPSIS
bkexcept [-t file] [-d patterns]
bkexcept [-t file] -a|-r patterns
bkexcept -C [files]
DESCRIPTION
The bkexcept command displays a list of patterns describing
files that are to be excluded when backup operations occur
using incfile. The list is known as the ``exception list.''
bkexcept may be executed only by a user with superuser
privilege. bkexcept -a adds patterns to the list. bkexcept
-d displays patterns from the list. bkexcept -r removes
patterns from the list.
Patterns
Patterns describe individual pathnames or sets of pathnames.
Patterns must conform to pathname naming conventions speci-
fied under DEFINITIONS on the intro(2) page. A pattern is
taken as a filename and is interpreted in the manner of
cpio. A pattern can include the shell special characters *,
?, and []. Asterisk (*) and question mark (?) will match
period (.) and slash(/). Because these are shell special
characters, they must be escaped on the command line.
There are three general methods of specifying entries to the
exception list:
- To specify all files under a particular directory,
specify the directory name (and any desired subdirec-
tories) followed by an asterisk:
/directory/subdirectories/*
- To specify all instances of a filename regardless of
its location, specify the filename preceded by an
asterisk:
*/filename
- To specify one instance of a particular file, specify
the entire pathname to the file:
/directory/subdirectories/filename
If pattern is a dash (-), standard input is read for a list
of patterns (one per line until EOF) to be added or deleted.
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Compatibility
Prior versions of the backup service created exception lists
using ed syntax. bkexcept -C provides a translation facil-
ity for exception lists created by ed. The translation is
not perfect; not all ed patterns have equivalents in cpio.
For those patterns that have no automatic translation, an
attempt at translation is made, and the translated version
is flagged with the word QUESTIONABLE. The exception list
translation is directed to standard output. Redirect the
standard output to a translation file, review the contents
of the translation file (correcting entries that were not
translated properly and deleting the QUESTIONABLE flags),
and then use the resulting file as input to a subsequent
bkexcept -a. For example, if the translated file was named
checkfile the -a option would appear as follows:
bkexcept -a - < checkfile
Options
-t file
The filename used in place of the default file.
-a pattern...
Adds pattern to the exception list where pattern is one
or more patterns (comma-separated or blank-separated
and enclosed in quotes) describing sets of paths.
-d pattern...
Displays entries in the exception list. If pattern
begins with a slash (/), -d displays all entries whose
names begin with pattern. If pattern does not begin
with a slash, -d displays all entries that include pat-
tern anywhere in the entry. If pattern is a dash (-),
input is taken from standard input. pattern is not a
pattern -- it matches patterns. pattern a*b matches
/a*b but does not match /adb. For files containing a
carriage return, a null exception list is returned.
For files of zero length (no characters), an error is
returned (search of table failed).
The entries are displayed in ASCII collating sequence
order (special characters, numbers, then alphabetical
order).
-r pattern...
Removes pattern from the exception list. pattern is
one or a list of patterns (comma-separated or blank-
separated and enclosed in quotes) describing sets of
paths. pattern must be an exact match of an entry in
the exception list for pattern to be removed. Pat-
terns that are removed are echoed to standard output,
stdout.
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-C [files]
Displays on standard output the translation of each
file (a prior version's exception list) to the new
syntax. Each file contains ed patterns, one per
line.
If file is omitted, the default UNIX exception list,
/etc/save.d/except, is translated. If file is a dash
(-), input is taken from standard input, one per
line.
DIAGNOSTICS
The exit codes for the bkexcept command are the following:
0 = the task completed successfully
1 = one or more parameters to bkexcept are invalid
2 = an error has occurred, causing bkexcept to fail to
complete all portions of its task
EXAMPLES
Example 1:
bkexcept -a /tmp/*,/var/tmp/*,/usr/rje/*,*/trash,
adds the four sets of files to the exception list, (all
files under /tmp, all files under /var/tmp, all files under
/usr/rje, and any file on the system named trash). Example
2:
bkexcept -d /tmp
displays the following patterns from those added to the
exception list in Example 1.
/tmp/*
bkexcept -d tmp
displays the following patterns from those added to the
exception list in Example 1.
/tmp/*, /var/tmp/*
displays one per line, with a heading. Example 3:
bkexcept -r /var/tmp/*,/usr/rje/*
removes the two patterns from the exception list. Example
4:
bkexcept -C /save.d/old.except > trans.except
translates the file /save.d/old.except from its ed format to
cpio format and sends the translations to the file
trans.except. The translations of /save.d/old.except may be
added to the current exception list by using bkexcept -a as
follows:
bkexcept -a - < trans.except
FILES
/etc/bkup/bkexcept.tab
the default exception list for UNIX System
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V Release 4.0.
/etc/save.d/except
the default exception list for UNIX pre-
System V Release 4.0.
SEE ALSO
backup(1M), incfile(1M).
cpio(1), ed(1), sh(1) in the User's Reference Manual.
intro(2) in the Programmer's Reference Manual.
``The Backup Service''chapter in the System Administrator's
Guide.
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