Museum

Home

Lab Overview

Retrotechnology Articles

Online Manuals

⇒ prefacea(0) — DG/UX 4.00

Media Vault

Software Library

Restoration Projects

Artifacts Sought



                                                               PREFACE(0)



        NAME

        preface - purpose, organization, conventions, related manuals


        PURPOSE OF THE MANUAL

        The System Manager's Reference for the DG/UX is written for
        system administrators and system programmers.  It describes the
        commands and application programs that report system status in
        detail, maintain system resources, and run system accounting
        procedures.  The manual also describes booting and maintenance
        procedures and special files that refer to hardware peripherals
        and system device drivers.


        ENTRY NUMBERING

        Entries in this manual are of the forms name(0), name(1M),
        name(7), or name(8).  The numbers have the following meanings:

             0    Title, table of contents, index, preface
             1M   System maintenance commands and programs
             7    Special files
             8    System maintenance procedures

        References to manual entries of the form name(1) point to the
        User's Reference for the DG/UX System or Programmer's Reference
        for the DG/UX System (Volume 1).  Entries name(2) are found in
        the Programmer's Reference for the DG/UX System (Volume 1).
        Entries name(3) through name(6) are found in the Programmer's
        Reference for the DG/UX System (Volume2).


        ORGANIZATION

        The manual has six major parts:

        Preface gives an overview of the manual.

        Table of Contents lists each entry with a one-line summary.

        Permuted Index is a KWIC index (see ``Using the Permuted Index''
        below).

        Chapter 1: System Maintenance Commands explains the syntax,
        options, and usage of each system maintenance command and
        application program.

        Chapter 2: Special Files describes hardware device files and
        device drivers.



        DG/UX 4.00                                                 Page 1
               Licensed material--property of copyright holder(s)





                                                               PREFACE(0)



        Chapter 3: System Maintenance Procedures describes maintenance
        procedures.


           Finding What You're Looking For

        Some entries may describe several routines or commands.  In those
        cases, the entry appears only once, under its ``major'' name.
        For example, mount and umount both appear under the entry
        mount(1M).  If you need information about a routine, but you
        don't know the ``major'' name under which it's located, look it
        up as a keyword in the index (see ``Using the Permuted Index''
        below).


        ENTRY FORMAT

        All entries follow the same format.  Some entries may not have
        all of the parts listed below.

             NAME gives the name(s) of the routine(s) described in the
             entry and briefly states its purpose.

             SYNTAX shows how the routine or command is used in a program
             or on a command line.

             DESCRIPTION discusses the subject at hand, describing
             effects and listing options.

             EXAMPLES shows how to use the command in context

             FILES lists the files the program uses.

             NOTES provides additional information specifically related
             to the entry.

             SEE ALSO gives pointers to other entries and/or other
             manuals to consult on the subject.

             DIAGNOSTICS discusses the diagnostic information that may be
             produced.  However, error messages that (a) are part of the
             program and (b) are deemed ``self-explanatory'' are not
             listed.

             WARNINGS and CAVEATS point out potential pitfalls.

             BUGS tells about known problems or deficiencies.  A possible
             fix may be suggested.






        DG/UX 4.00                                                 Page 2
               Licensed material--property of copyright holder(s)





                                                               PREFACE(0)



        SYNTAX CONVENTIONS

        We use the following syntax conventions under SYNTAX:

        Element        Meaning

        bold string    A literal to be typed just as it appears

        roman string   A place holder representing a literal or other
                       value that you supply

        [ ]            Delimiters for an optional argument

        ...            Optional repetition of the preceding argument

        arg1 | arg2    Choice between arg1 and arg2

        Under EXAMPLES, <nl> indicates the NEW LINE key, called RETURN or
        LINE FEED on some terminals.


        WARNING

        Many arguments to commands begin with a minus (-) or plus (+)
        sign.  Never give files names that begin with those symbols.
        Files named that way will cause at least an ``illegal option''
        error when they're put in a command line as arguments.  The
        command line parser may think that you're giving it a switch,
        rather than a filename.


        ONLINE INFORMATION

        All of the entries in this manual, the User's Reference for the
        DG/UX System, and the Programmer's Reference for the DG/UX System
        are supplied in machine-readable form on the appropriate DG/UX
        (Trademark) system release tape.  Whether they are actually
        online depends on your system manager.  See man(1) for
        instructions on how to use the entries.


        USING THE PERMUTED INDEX

        This manual uses a KWIC (keyword in context) index.  This index
        lists each entry in the manual under a number of keywords.  The
        keywords always include:

        1.  The entry's name, followed by a colon if the entry does not
            share a name with one of the routines or commands discussed
            under it.




        DG/UX 4.00                                                 Page 3
               Licensed material--property of copyright holder(s)





                                                               PREFACE(0)



        2.  The complete set of routines or commands discussed in the
            entry.

        3.  The words from concise phrase that describes the entry.  The
            phrase used is the same one listed under the NAME part of the
            entry; it also appears as the entry's description in the
            Table of Contents.

        To look up something in the index, first pick a keyword.  Let's
        say that you're looking for a command that mount a file system.
        Take ``mount'' as your keyword.  Then trace down the column of
        space in the center of the page.  All index lines are
        alphabetized by the word to the right of that column.

        You will find more than one line that has ``mount'' in that
        position.  Read those lines and pick the one that sounds like the
        one you want.  In this case, the line would look like this:

             mount, umount: mount and dismount file system.

        Trace that line to the right margin, and there you will see the
        name of the manual entry that has the information you want, in
        this case mount(1M).  This means look in Chapter 1; since entries
        within a chapter appear in alphabetical order, mount(1) is easy
        to find.


           In case of frustration

        If you can't find an entry for your keyword, try another keyword.
        It's likely that some entries have keywords that you wouldn't
        have picked as first choice.


        MANUAL SET

        The rest of the DG/UX System manual set comprises these books:

        User's Reference for the DG/UX System (093-701007).  For all
             DG/UX System users.  This book contains one chapter,
             ``Commands and Application Programs,'' which lists
             everything that can be invoked from the command line.  The
             introduction provides an overview of all the commands and
             application programs.

        Programmer's Reference for the DG/UX System (093-701041).  For
             programmers and advanced users.  This book lists programming
             features of the DG/UX System, including commands and system
             calls.

        Programmer's Reference for the DG/UX System (093-701042).  This



        DG/UX 4.00                                                 Page 4
               Licensed material--property of copyright holder(s)





                                                               PREFACE(0)



             book lists programming features of the DG/UX System,
             including runtime libraries, file formats, and networking
             protocols.


        RELATED MANUALS

        Other related manuals are as follows:

        ECLIPSE MV/4000 Diagnostic and Maintenance Manual (015-000118).
             For operators implementing a maintenance strategy tailored
             to MV/4000-based equipment.  This manual describes the
             MV/4000 system's mechanical parts and explains the
             diagnostic software and hardware features available for
             testing MV/4000 systems.

        ECLIPSE MV/8000 System Control Operator's Manual (014-000649).
             For operators using the System Control Processor on
             MV/8000-based equipment.

        ECLIPSE MV/8000 II and MV/6000 System (014-000781).  For
             operators using the System Control Processor on an MV/8000
             II or an MV/6000 computer.

        ECLIPSE MV/10000 System Control Operator's Manual (014-000740).
             For operators using the System Control Processor on
             MV/10000-based equipment.

        GDC/1000 Graphics Display Controller User's Manual (014-701004).
             For programmers wishing to access the controller for the
             GDC/1000 graphics terminal.

        How to Use DTOS (015-000103) and DTOS Summary (015-000082).
             These books explain how to load and run Data General's DTOS
             diagnostic operating system.

        ZDKP FMTR Moving Head Disk Formatter (096-000471).  For operators
             and field engineers.  Available on microfiche, this document
             describes how to use the ZDKP hardware formatter.















        DG/UX 4.00                                                 Page 5
               Licensed material--property of copyright holder(s)



Typewritten Software • bear@typewritten.org • Edmonds, WA 98026