Museum

HELP SHELL                  83/08/02


  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.



  o  ENTERING A SHELL COMMAND

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

         $ DATE <RETURN>

     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.


  o  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

  o  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  <RETURN>

     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



  o  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.