pg
PURPOSE
Formats files to the work station.
SYNOPSIS
pg [-number] [-p string] [-cefns] [+linenumber] [+/pattern/]
[ files ... ]
DESCRIPTION
The pg command reads files and writes them to standard
output one screen at a time. If you specify file as -
(minus) or run pg without arguments, pg reads standard
input. Each screen is followed by a prompt. If you
press the Enter key, another page is displayed. The pg
command lets you back up to review something that has
already passed.
To determine work station attributes, pg scans the file
terminfo for the work station type specified by the envi-
ronment variable TERM. The default type is dumb. See
AIX Operating System Technical Reference for information
on terminfo.
SUBCOMMANDS
When pg pauses and issues its prompt, you can issue a
subcommand. Some of these subcommands change the display
to a particular place in the file, some search for spe-
cific patterns in the text, and others change the envi-
ronment in which pg works.
The following commands display a selected place in the
file:
page Displays the specified page.
+num Displays the page num pages after the
current page.
-num Displays the page num pages before the
current page.
l Scrolls the display one line forward.
numl Displays a screen with the specified line
number at the top.
+numl Scrolls the display num lines forward.
-numl Scrolls the display num lines backward.
d Scrolls half a screen forward. Pressing
Ctrl-D also does this.
-d Scrolls half a screen backward. Pressing
-Ctrl-D also does this.
Ctrl-L Displays the current page again. A
single period also does this.
$ Displays the last page in the file. Do
not use this when the input is from a
pipeline.
The following commands search for text patterns in the
text. You can use the patterns described in "ed." They
must always end with a new line character, even if the -n
flag is used. In an expression such as [a-z], the minus
means "through" according to the current collating
sequence. A collating sequence may define equivalence
classes for use in character ranges. See the "Overview
of International Character Support" in Managing the AIX
Operating System for more information on collating
sequences and equivalence classes.
[num]/pattern/ Search for the numth occurrence of
pattern. The search begins immediately
after the current page and continues to
the end of the current file, without wrap
around. The default for num is 1.
num?pattern?
num^pattern^ Search backward for the numth occurrence
of pattern. The searching begins imme-
diately before the current page and con-
tinues to the beginning of the current
file, without wrap around. The ^
(circumflex) is useful for the Adds 100
work station, which cannot handle the ?.
The default for num is 1.
After searching, pg normally displays the line found at
the top of the screen. You can change this by adding m
or b to the search command to leave the line found in the
middle or at the bottom of the window with all succeeding
subcommands. Use the suffix t to return to displaying
the line with the pattern to the top of the screen.
You can change the pg environment with the following sub-
commands:
[num]n Begins examining the numth next file in
the command line. The default num is 1.
[num]p Begins examining the numth previous file
on the command line. The default num is
1.
[num]w Displays another window of text. If num
is present, sets the window size to num.
s file Saves the input in file. Only the
current file being examined is saved.
This command must always end with a new
line character, even if you specify the
-n flag.
h Displays an abbreviated summary of avail-
able subcommands.
q or Q Quits pg.
!AIX-cmd Sends the specified AIX command to the
shell named in the SHELL environment var-
iable. If this is not available, the
default shell is used. This command must
always end with a new line character,
even if the -n flag is used.
At any time when output is being sent to the work
station, you can press QUIT WITH DUMP (Ctrl-V) or INTER-
RUPT (Alt-Pause). This causes pg to stop sending output
and displays the prompt. Then you can enter one of the
above commands in the normal manner.
Note: Some output is lost when when you press QUIT WITH
DUMP (Ctrl-V) or INTERRUPT (Alt-Pause) because any char-
acters waiting in the output queue are purged when the
QUIT signal is received.
If standard output is not a work station, pg acts like
the cat command, except that a header displays before
each file.
While waiting for work station input, pg stops running
when you press INTERRUPT (Alt-Pause). Between prompts
these signals interrupt the current task and place you in
the prompt mode.
Notes:
1. When you use pg in a pipe, an Interrupt is likely to
end the other commands in the pipe.
2. If work station tabs are not set every eight posi-
tions, unpredictable results can occur.
3. When using pg in a pipe with other commands that
change work station I/O options, work station set-
tings may not be restored correctly.
FLAGS
-c Moves the cursor to the home position and
clears the screen before each page. This
flag is ignored if clear_screen is not
defined for your work station type in the
terminfo file.
-e Does not pause at the end of each file.
-f Does not split lines. Normally, pg splits
lines longer than the screen width.
-n Stops processing when a pg command letter is
entered. Normally, commands must end with a
new-line character.
-p string Uses string as the prompt. If the string
contains a %d, the %d is replaced by the
current page number in the prompt. The
default prompt is : (colon). If string con-
tains spaces, you must quote it.
-s Highlights all messages and prompts.
+linenum Starts at linenum.
-num Specifies the number of lines in the window.
On work stations that contain 24 lines, the
default is 23.
+/pattern/ Starts at the first line that contains
pattern.
FILES
/usr/lib/terminfo/*
/tmp/pg*
RELATED INFORMATION
The following commands: "ed" and "grep."
The terminfo file in AIX Operating System Technical Ref-
erence.
The "Overview of International Character Support" in Man-
aging the AIX Operating System.