Name

dp − parse dates RFC 822-style

Syntax

/usr/lib/mh/dp [ −form file ] [ −format string ] [ −help ] [ −width columns ] dates

Description

The dp command parses dates according to the ARPA Internet standard. It also understands many non-standard formats, such as those produced by TOPS-20 sites and some UNIX sites using ctime(.). It is useful for seeing how MH will interpret a date.

The dp program treats each argument as a single date, and prints the date out in the official RFC 822 format. Hence, it is usually best to enclose each argument in double quotes (") for the shell.

Options

−form fileOverrides the default output format of dp. The output is formatted according to the instructions in the specified file. This must be a format file; see mh-format(.).

−format string
Overrides the default output format of dp. The output is formatted according to the instructions in the specified string. This must be a format string; see mh-format(.).

The argument to the −format option must be interpreted as a single token by the shell that invokes dp. Therefore, you should usually place the argument to this option inside double quotes (").

−helpPrints a list of the valid options to this command. 

−width columns
Specifies the width of the screen in columns.

The defaults for this command are as follows:

−width defaults to the width of the terminal

Examples

This is the default format string used by dp:

%<(nodate{text})error: %{text}%|%(pretty{text})%>

When an error is detected, this prints error: and the date that is in error.  Otherwise, it outputs the proper RFC 822 format of the date. 

Files

$HOME/.mh_profile
User profile.

See Also

ap(8mh)
Standard for the Format of ARPA Internet Text Messages (RFC 822)