bkexcept(1M) UNIX System V(System Administration Utilities) bkexcept(1M)
NAME
bkexcept - change or display an exception list for incremental backups
SYNOPSIS
bkexcept [-t file] [-d patterns]
bkexcept [-t file] -a|-r patterns
bkexcept -C [files]
DESCRIPTION
The bkexcept command displays a list of patterns describing files that
are to be excluded when backup operations occur using incfile. The list
is known as the ``exception list.''
bkexcept may be executed only by a user with superuser privilege.
bkexcept -a adds patterns to the list.
bkexcept -d displays patterns from the list.
bkexcept -r removes patterns from the list.
Patterns
Patterns describe individual pathnames or sets of pathnames. Patterns
must conform to pathname naming conventions specified under DEFINITIONS
on the intro(2) page. A pattern is taken as a filename and is
interpreted in the manner of cpio. A pattern can include the shell
special characters *, ?, and []. Asterisk (*) and question mark (?) will
match period (.) and slash(/). Because these are shell special
characters, they must be escaped on the command line.
There are three general methods of specifying entries to the exception
list:
- To specify all files under a particular directory, specify the
directory name (and any desired subdirectories) followed by an
asterisk:
/directory/subdirectories/*
- To specify all instances of a filename regardless of its location,
specify the filename preceded by an asterisk:
*/filename
- To specify one instance of a particular file, specify the entire
pathname to the file:
/directory/subdirectories/filename
If pattern is a dash (-), standard input is read for a list of patterns
(one per line until EOF) to be added or deleted.
Compatibility
Prior versions of the backup service created exception lists using ed
syntax. bkexcept -C provides a translation facility for exception lists
10/89 Page 1
bkexcept(1M) UNIX System V(System Administration Utilities) bkexcept(1M)
created by ed. The translation is not perfect; not all ed patterns have
equivalents in cpio. For those patterns that have no automatic
translation, an attempt at translation is made, and the translated
version is flagged with the word QUESTIONABLE. The exception list
translation is directed to standard output. Redirect the standard output
to a translation file, review the contents of the translation file
(correcting entries that were not translated properly and deleting the
QUESTIONABLE flags), and then use the resulting file as input to a
subsequent bkexcept -a. For example, if the translated file was named
checkfile the -a option would appear as follows:
bkexcept -a - < checkfile
Options
-t file
The filename used in place of the default file.
-a pattern...
Adds pattern to the exception list where pattern is one or more
patterns (comma-separated or blank-separated and enclosed in
quotes) describing sets of paths.
-d pattern...
Displays entries in the exception list. If pattern begins with a
slash (/), -d displays all entries whose names begin with pattern.
If pattern does not begin with a slash, -d displays all entries
that include pattern anywhere in the entry. If pattern is a dash
(-), input is taken from standard input. pattern is not a pattern
-- it matches patterns. pattern a*b matches /a*b but does not
match /adb. For files containing a carriage return, a null
exception list is returned. For files of zero length (no
characters), an error is returned (search of table failed).
The entries are displayed in ASCII collating sequence order
(special characters, numbers, then alphabetical order).
-r pattern...
Removes pattern from the exception list. pattern is one or a list
of patterns (comma-separated or blank-separated and enclosed in
quotes) describing sets of paths. pattern must be an exact match
of an entry in the exception list for pattern to be removed.
Patterns that are removed are echoed to standard output, stdout.
-C [files]
Displays on standard output the translation of each file (a prior
version's exception list) to the new syntax. Each file contains
ed patterns, one per line.
If file is omitted, the default UNIX exception list,
/etc/save.d/except, is translated. If file is a dash (-), input
is taken from standard input, one per line.
Page 2 10/89
bkexcept(1M) UNIX System V(System Administration Utilities) bkexcept(1M)
DIAGNOSTICS
The exit codes for the bkexcept command are the following:
0 = the task completed successfully
1 = one or more parameters to bkexcept are invalid
2 = an error has occurred, causing bkexcept to fail to
complete all portions of its task
EXAMPLES
Example 1:
bkexcept -a /tmp/*,/var/tmp/*,/usr/rje/*,*/trash,
adds the four sets of files to the exception list, (all files under /tmp,
all files under /var/tmp, all files under /usr/rje, and any file on the
system named trash).
Example 2:
bkexcept -d /tmp
displays the following patterns from those added to the exception list in
Example 1.
/tmp/*
bkexcept -d tmp
displays the following patterns from those added to the exception list in
Example 1.
/tmp/*, /var/tmp/*
displays one per line, with a heading.
Example 3:
bkexcept -r /var/tmp/*,/usr/rje/*
removes the two patterns from the exception list.
Example 4:
bkexcept -C /save.d/old.except > trans.except
translates the file /save.d/old.except from its ed format to cpio format
and sends the translations to the file trans.except. The translations of
/save.d/old.except may be added to the current exception list by using
bkexcept -a as follows:
bkexcept -a - < trans.except
FILES
/etc/bkup/bkexcept.tab
the default exception list for UNIX System V Release
4.0.
/etc/save.d/except
the default exception list for UNIX pre-System V Release
4.0.
SEE ALSO
backup(1M), incfile(1M).
cpio(1), ed(1), sh(1) in the User's Reference Manual.
intro(2) in the Programmer's Reference Manual.
``The Backup Service''chapter in the System Administrator's Guide.
10/89 Page 3