OSF

NAME

get − Creates a specified version of a Source Code Control System (SCCS) file

SYNOPSIS

get [-gmnpst] [-c cutoff][-i list] [-r SID] [-w string] [-x list] [-l | -lp] file ...  | -

get [-e | -k] [-bst] [-c cutoff] [-i list] [-r SID] [-x list] [-l | -lp] file ...  | -

The get command reads the specified versions of the named SCCS files, creates a text file for each file according to the specified flags, and writes each text file to a file with the same name as the original SCCS file without the s. (s period) prefix (the g-file). 

FLAGS

-bSpecifies that the delta to be created should have an SID in a new branch.  The new SID is numbered according to the rules stated in the table SID Determination.  You can use -b only with the -e flag.  It is only necessary when you want to branch from a leaf delta (a delta without a successor).  Attempting to create a delta at a nonleaf delta automatically results in a branch, even if the b header flag is not set.  If you do not specify the b header flag in the SCCS file, get ignores the -b flag because the file does not allow branching. 

-ccutoffSpecifies a cutoff date and time, in the form: yy[mm[dd[hh[mm[ss]]]]].  get includes no deltas to the SCCS file created after the specified cutoff in the g-file.  The values of any unspecified items in cutoff default to their maximum allowable values.  Thus, a cutoff date and time specified with only the year (yy) would specify the last month, day, hour, minute, and second of that year.  Any number of nonnumeric characters can separate the 2-digit items of the cutoff date and time.  This allows you to specify a date and time in a number of ways, as follows:

-c90/9/2,9:00:00
-c"90/9/2 9:00:00"
"-c90/9/2 9:00:00"

-eIndicates that the g-file being created is to be edited by the user applying get.  The changes are recorded later with the delta command.  get -e creates a p-file that prevents other users from issuing another get -e and editing a second g-file on the same SID before delta is run.  The owner of the file can override this restriction by allowing joint editing on the same SID through the use of the admin command with the -fj flag.  Other users, with permission, can obtain read-only copies by using get without the -e flag.  The get -e command enforces SCCS file protection specified via the ceiling, floor, and authorized user list in the SCCS file (see the admin command). 

-gSuppresses the actual retrieval of text from the SCCS file.  Use the -g flag primarily to create an l-file or to verify the existence of a particular SID.  Do not use it with the -e flag. 

-ilistSpecifies a list of deltas to be included in the creation of a g-file.  The SID list format consists of a combination of individual SIDs separated by commas and SID ranges indicated by two SIDs separated by a hyphen.  You specify the same SIDs with both the following command lines:

get -e -i1.4,1.5,1.6 s.file
get -e -i1.4-1.6 s.file

You can specify the SCCS Identification of a delta in any form shown in the SID Specified column of the table SID Determination.  get interprets partial SIDs as shown in the SID Retrieved column of the table. 

-kSuppresses replacement of identification keywords in the g-file by their values.  The -k flag is implied by the -e flag.  If you accidentally ruin the g-file created by get with an -e flag, you can recreate it by reissuing the get command with the -k flag in place of the -e flag. 

-l[p]Writes a delta summary to an l-file.  If you specify -lp, the delta summary is written to standard output, and get does not create the l-file.  Use this flag to determine which deltas were used to create the g-file currently in use. 

-mWrites before each line of text in the g-file the SID of the delta that inserted the line into the SCCS file.  The format is as follows:

SID tab line_of_text

-nWrites the value of the %M% keyword before each line of text in the g-file.  The format is the value of %M%, followed by a horizontal tab, followed by the text line.  When both the -m and -n flags are used, the format is as follows:

%M%_value tab  SID  tab  line_of_text

-pWrites the text created from the SCCS file to standard output and does not create a g-file.  get sends output normally sent to standard output to file descriptor 2 instead.  If you specify the -s flag with the -p flag, output normally sent to standard output does not appear anywhere.  Do not use -p with the -e flag. 

-rSIDSpecifies the SCCS identification string (SID) of the SCCS file version to be created.  Shows what version of a file is created and the SID of the pending delta as functions of the SID specified. 

-sSuppresses all output normally written to standard output.  Error messages (written to standard error output) remain unaffected. 

-tAccesses the most recently created delta in a given release or release and level.  Without the -r flag, get accesses the most recent delta regardless of its SID. 

-wstringSubstitutes string for the %W% keyword in g-files not intended for editing. 

-xlistExcludes a list of deltas in the creation of a file.  See the -i flag for the SID list format. 

DESCRIPTION

The flags and files can be specified in any order, and all flags apply to all named files.  If you specify a directory in place of file, get performs the requested actions on all the files in the directory that begin with the s. prefix.  If you specify a - (dash) in place of file, get reads standard input and interprets each line as the name of an SCCS file.  get continues to read input until it reads an End-of-File character. 

If the effective user has write permission in the directory containing the SCCS files but the real user does not, then only one file can be named when the -e flag is used. 

SCCS Files

In addition to the file with the s. prefix (the s-file), get can create several auxiliary files: the g-file, l-file, p-file, and z-file.  These files are identified by their tag, which is the letter before the dash.  get names auxiliary files by replacing the leading s. in the SCCS filename with the proper tag, except for the g-file, which is named by removing the s. prefix.  So, for a file named s.sample, the auxiliary filenames would be sample, l.sample, p.sample, and z.sample. 

These files serve the following purposes:

s-fileContains the original file text and all the changes (deltas) made to the file.  It also includes information about who can change the file contents, who has made changes, when those changes were made, and what the changes were.  You cannot edit this file directly, because the file is read-only.  It contains the information needed by the SCCS commands to build the g-file, the file you can edit. 

g-fileA text file that contains the text of the SCCS file version that you specify with the -r flag (or the latest trunk version by default).  You can edit this file directly.  When you have made all your changes and you want to make a new delta to the file, you can then apply the delta command to the file.  get creates the g-file in the current directory.  The get command creates a g-file whenever it runs, unless the -g flag or the -p flag is specified.  The real user owns it (not the effective user).  If you do not specify the -k or the -e flag, the file is read-only.  If the -k or the -e flag is specified, the owner has write permission for the g-file.  You must have write permission in the current directory to create a g-file. 

l-fileThe get command creates the l-file (a read-only file) when the -l flag is specified.  It contains a table showing which deltas were applied in generating the g-file.  You must have write permission in the current directory to create an l-file.  Lines in the l-file have the following format:

       •A space if the delta was applied; an ∗ (asterisk) appears otherwise. 

       •A space if the delta was applied or was not applied and ignored; an ∗ appears if the delta was not applied and was not ignored. 

       •A code indicating a special reason why the delta was or was not applied:

spaceIncluded or excluded normally. 

IIncluded using the -i flag. 

XExcluded using the -x flag. 

CCut off using the -c flag. 

       •The SID. 

       •The date and time the file was created. 

       •The username of person who created the delta.  Comments and MR data follow on subsequent lines, indented one horizontal tab character.  A blank line ends each entry. For example, for a delta cut off with the -c flag, the entry in the l-file might be:

∗∗C 1.3 90/03/13 12:44:16 pat

and the entry for the initial delta might be:

1.1 90/02/27 15:42:20 pat
date and time created 90/02/27 15:42:20 by pat

p-fileThe get command creates the p-file when the -e or the -k flag is specified.  The p-file passes information resulting from a get -e to a delta command.  The p-file also prevents a subsequent execution of get with an -e flag for the same SID until delta is run or the joint edit keyletter (j) is set in the SCCS file.  The j keyletter allows several gets on the same SID.  The p-file is created in the directory containing the SCCS file.  To create a p-file in the SCCS directory, you must have write permission in that directory.  The permission code of the p-file is read-only to all but its owner, and it is owned by the effective user.  The p-file contains:

       •The current SID. 

       •The SID of new delta to be created. 

       •The username. 

       •The date and time of the get. 

       •The -i flag, if it was present. 

       •The -x flag, if it was present.  The p-file contains an entry with the preceding information for each pending delta for the file.  No two lines have the same new delta SID.

z-fileThe z-file is a lock mechanism against simultaneous updates.  It contains the binary process number of the get command that created it.  It is created in the directory containing the SCCS file and exists only while the get command is running. 

When you use the get command, it displays the SID being accessed and the number of lines created from the SCCS file.  If you specify the -e flag, the SID of the delta to be made appears after the SID accessed and before the number of lines created.  If you specify more than one file, or a directory, or standard input, get displays the filename before each file is processed.  If you specify the -i flag, get lists included deltas below the word Included.  If you specify the -x flag, get lists excluded deltas below the word Excluded. 

Getting Read-Only File Versions

The get command creates read-only versions as well as editable versions of a file.  Use read-only versions of files any time the application does not require that the file contents be changed.  Read-only versions of source code files can be compiled.  Text files can be displayed or printed from read-only versions. 

The difference between an editable version and a read-only version is important when using identification keywords.  Identification keywords are symbols that are expanded to some text value when the get command retrieves the file as read-only.  In editable versions, keywords are not expanded.  Identification keywords can appear anywhere in an SCCS file (see the prs command for further information on identification keywords). 

Identification Keywords

You can use identification keywords in your files to insert identifying information.  These keywords are replaced by their values in the g-file when get is invoked without the -e or -k flag.  The following identification keywords can be used in SCCS files:

Identifying Values:

%M%Module name: the value of the m flag in the SCCS file

%I%The SID (%R%.%L%.%B%.%S%) of the g-file

%R%Release

%L%Level

%B%Branch

%S%Sequence

%D%Date of the current get (yy/mm/dd)

%H%Date of the current get (mm/dd/yy)

%T%Time of the current get (hh:mm:ss)

%E%Date newest applied delta was created (yy/mm/dd)

%G%Date newest applied delta was created (mm/dd/yy)

%U%Time newest applied delta was created (hh:mm:ss)

Names:

%F%SCCS filename

%P%Full pathname of the SCCS file

Flag Value:

%Q%The value of the q flag in the file

%Y%Module type: the value of the t flag in the SCCS file

Line Number:

%C%The current line number.  This keyword is intended for identifying messages output by the program.  It is not intended to be used on every line to provide sequence numbers. 

Constructing what Strings:

%W%A shorthand notation for constructing what strings for OSF/1 program files.  Its value is the characters and keyletters:

%W% =  %Z%%M%<tab>%I%

%Z%The 4-character string @(#) recognized by the what command. 

The following table illustrates how get determines the SID of the file it retrieves, and what the pending SID is.  The column SID Specified shows the various ways the SID can be specified with the -r flag.  The next two columns illustrate the various conditions that can exist, including whether or not the -b flag is used with the get -e.  The SID Retrieved column indicates the SID of the file that makes up the g-file.  The SID of Delta to be Created column indicates the SID of the version that will be created when delta is applied. 

SID Determination Table

SID	−b	Other	SID	SID of Delta
Specified	Used	Conditions	Retrieved	to be Created
None (1)	No	R defaults	mR.mL	mR.(mL+1)
		to mR(2)
None (1)	Yes	R defaults to mR	mR.mL	mR.mL.(mB+1).1
(R)elease	No	R > mR	mR.mL	R.1 (3)
R	No	R = mR	mR.mL	mR.(mL+1)
R	Yes	R > mR	mR.mL	mR.mL.(mB+1).1
R	Yes	R = mR	mR.mL	mR.mL.(mB+1).1
R	N/A	R < mR and	hR.mL (4)	hR.mL.(mB+1).1
		R does not exist
R	N/A	R < mR and	R.mL	R.mL.(mB+1).1
		R exists
R.(L)evel	No	No trunk	R.L	R.(L+1)
		successor
R.L	yes	No trunk	R.L	R.L(mB+1).1
		successor
R.L	N/A	Trunk	R.L	R.L.(mB+1).1
		successor in
		release ≥ R
R.L.(B)ranch	No	No branch	R.L.B.mS	R.L.B.(mS+1)
		successor
R.L.B	Yes	No branch	R.L.B.mS	R.L.(mB+1).1
		successor
R.L.B.(S)equence	No	No branch	R.L.B.S	R.L.B.(S+1)
		successor
R.L.B.S	Yes	No branch	R.L.B.S	R.L.(mB+1).1
		successor
R.L.B.S	N/A	Branch	R.L.B.S	R.L.(mB+1).1
		successor

(1) Applies only if the d (default SID) flag is not present in the file (see admin). 

(2) The mR indicates the maximum existing release. 

(3) Forces creation of the first delta in a new release. 

(4) The hR is the highest existing release that is lower than the specified, nonexistent, release R. 

EXAMPLES

The following examples and descriptions illustrate the differences between read-only and editable versions of SCCS files. 

     1.To insert the current date and SID in a file, enter the following symbols in the file:

%H% %I%

%H% is the symbol for the current date and %I% is the symbol for the SID.  When get retrieves a file as editable, it leaves the symbols in the file and does not do text value substitution. 

     2.The following example builds the version with the highest SID, because no version of the file is specified:

$ ls

s.test.c

$ get s.test.c

3.5
59 lines

$ ls

s.test.c test.c

     3.In the next two command lines, the -r flag specifies which version to get:

$ get -r1.3 s.test.c

1.3
67 lines

$ get -r1.3.1.4 s.test.c

1.3.1.4
50 lines

     4.If you specify only the release number of the SID, get finds the file with the highest level within that release number:

$ get -r2 s.test.c

2.7
21 lines

     5.If the SID specified is greater than the highest existing SID, get retrieves the highest existing SID and displays an error message. If the SID specified is lower than the lowest existing SID, SCCS writes an error message.  In the following example, release 7 is the highest existing release:

$ get -r9 s.test.c
ERROR [s.test.c]
The SID specified does not exist.
Use the sact command to check the P-file
for existing SID numbers. (cm20)

7.6
400 lines

     6.The -t flag gets the top version in a given release or level.  The top version is the most recently created delta, independent of its location.  In the next example, the highest existing delta in release 3 is 3.5, while the most recently created delta is 3.2.1.5:

$ get -t -r3 s.test.c

3.2.1.5
46 lines

All of the previous examples use the get command to get a read-only file.  To create a copy of the file that can be edited to create a new delta, use the -e flag.  The get command works differently when using the -e flag (see also the admin command).  Use unget to undo the effect of the get -e commmand and discard any changes made to the file before a delta is created. 

     7.The following example shows how to use the -e flag:

$ ls

s.test.c

$ get -e s.test.c

1.3
new delta 1.4
67 lines

$ ls

p.test.c s.test.c test.c

The working file is test.c.  If you edit test.c and save the changes with the delta command, SCCS creates a new delta with an SID of 1.4.  The file p.test.c is a temporary file used by SCCS to keep track of file versions. 

     8.In the previous example, you could have used the -r flag to get a specific version.  Assuming delta 1.3 already exists and is the highest delta in release, the following three uses of the get command produce the same results:

$ get -e s.test.c
$ get -e -r1 s.test.c
$ get -e -r1.3 s.test.c

     9.To start using a new (higher in value) release number, get the file with the -r flag and specify a release number greater than the highest existing release number.  In the next example, release 2 does not yet exist:

$ get -e -r2 s.test.c

1.3
new delta 2.1
67 lines

Notice that get indicates the version of the new delta that will be created if the delta command stores changes to the SCCS file.  If the example did not include the -e flag, get would build the highest existing SID (1.3) and would not indicate a new delta, even though the -r2 flag requests a version 2.1. 

     10.To create a branch delta, use the -r flag and specify the release and level where the branch occurs.  In the next example, deltas 1.3 and 1.4 already exist:

$ get -e -r1.3 s.test.c

1.3
new delta 1.3.1.1
67 lines

Create deltas on branches using the same methods. Several different editable versions of an SCCS file can exist as long as each one is in a different directory.  If you try to get the same editable file version more than once into the same directory without using the delta command, SCCS writes an error message.  To get the same editable file version more than once, set the j option in the SCCS file with the admin command.  Set the j option using the -f flag.  You can then get the same SID several times from different directories, creating a separate file for each get command.  Although the files originate from a single SID, SCCS gives each of them a unique new SID. 

     11.In the following example, the pwd command displays the current directory.  Then the j option is set with the admin command:

$ pwd

/u/dan/sccs

$ admin -fj s.test.c

     12.Then use the get command to retrieve the latest version of the file:

$ get -e s.test.c

1.1
new delta 1.2
5 lines

     13.Change to directory /u/new and issue the get command again:

$ cd /u/new
$ get -e /u/dan/sccs/s.test.c

1.1
WARNING: 1.1 1.2 dan 90/08/21 09:03:45 is being edited.
This if an informational message only. (ge18)
new delta 1.1.1.1
5 lines

Notice that SCCS creates two deltas, 1.2 and 1.1.1.1, from the single original file version of 1.1.  The p.test.c file shows a separate entry for each version currently in use.  The p.test.c file remains in the directory until you take care of both file versions with either the delta command or the unget command.  (Note that you must have write permission in both directories to issue the preceding commands.) 

RELATED INFORMATION

Commands:  admin(1), cdc(1), comb(1), delta(1), prs(1), rmdel(1), sact(1), sccsdiff(1), sccshelp(1), unget(1), val(1), what(1). 

Files: sccsfile(4). 

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