context(5)

NAME

context − process context

DESCRIPTION

The context is a set of character strings associated with each process. Each string corresponds to a characteristic of the machine the process is running on. The strings included in the context of every process include:

• cnode name

• types of executable files that can be run by the hardware

• type of cnode (“localroot” or “remoteroot”)

• the string “default”

The process context is used to access context dependent files (see cdf(4)).

Multiple strings may be present in the context that indicate the ability to run executable code for the designated hardware. When two or more strings appear in the same context, they appear in the order listed.

Series 300 and 400 strings include:

HP-MC68040
HP98248A
HP-MC68881
HP98635A
HP-MC68020
HP-MC68010

Valid Series 700 and 800 strings are:

PA-RISC1.1
HP-PA

Note that presence of a string does not mean that the designated hardware itself is present. For example, since the MC68020 processor supports a superset of the MC68010 instruction set, processes running on a system with an MC68020 processor will have HP-MC68010 in their context, as well as HP-MC68020. The string HP-MC68010 is present on all series 300 systems.

Similarly, since the PA-RISC version 1.1 processor supports a superset of the HP-PA (PA-RISC version 1.0) instruction set, processes running on a system with a PA-RISC version 1.1 processor will have HP-PA in their context, as well as PA-RISC1.1.

EXAMPLE

A process running on an HP9000 model 350 workstation, with cnode name william could have the following strings in its context:

william
remoteroot
HP-MC68881
HP-MC68020
HP-MC68010
default

Note that this hardware is capable of running executables with the instruction sets for the MC68881, MC68020, and the MC68010. Every process’s context ends with the string default. Also note that the system call getcontext(2) and the command getcontext(1) show the context as a single string:

william remoteroot HP-MC68881 HP-MC68020 HP-MC68010 default

WARNINGS

Unless an order is specified, users and applications should not depend on the order of strings within the context. However, default is always the last string. Other aspects of this order may vary between releases.

AUTHOR

context was developed by HP.

Hewlett-Packard Company — HP-UX Release 9.0: August 1992

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