kaf
Purpose
Specifies how to process ddi keywords and their parame-
ters.
Description
Keyword Attribute Files, also called kaf files, define
how the devices command and customize helpers are to
process keywords used in ddi files. The kaf files:
o Contain instructions for processing device informa-
tion
o Control whether the devices command displays the
associated information
o Control whether a user can change the information
using the devices command
o Specify the input validation that the devices command
performs
o Determine the action that the customize helper takes.
The kaf information can be included in the ddi file for
the device, or it can appear in a separate file. If it
is contained in a separate file, then the stanza for the
device in the system file must name the kaf file as the
value of the kaf_file keyword. The kaf_use keyword (also
in the system file) specifies the stanza of the kaf file
to use.
The name of each stanza in a kaf file is the name of a
keyword that is used in ddi files. The stanza defines
how the devices command and customize helper programs
process that ddi keyword. The following section defines
the keywords that can appear in the stanzas of kaf files.
The use of extended characters in kaf files is not sup-
ported.
Directives to the Customize Helper
add Specifies the actions for the customize helper
to take during a vrmconfig -a (add) operation.
delete Specifies the actions for the customize helper
to take during a vrmconfig -d (delete) opera-
tion.
startup Specifies the actions for the customize helper
to take during a vrmconfig -startup operation.
shutdown Specifies the actions for the customize helper
to take during a vrmconfig -shutdown opera-
tion.
The value for each of the preceding keywords has the
format x/y, where x and y can be any of the following:
b Constructs the Define_Device Structure, including the
Block I/O Communication Area (BIOCA) device charac-
teristics. Appends other device characteristics
specified by the programmer. (See the discussion of
customize helpers in AIX Operating System Programming
Tools and Interfaces.) Performs the Define_Device
SVC by issuing an ioctl system call to the config
device driver.
n Constructs the Define_Device Structure. Appends
other device characteristics specified by the pro-
grammer. (See the discussion of customize helpers in
AIX Operating System Programming Tools and
Interfaces.) Performs the Define_Device SVC by
issuing an ioctl system call to the config device
driver.
u Constructs the AIX device driver structure and issues
an ioctl system call to the config device driver to
initialize the driver.
Action to Take After Customization
syschg Specifies the action the devices command takes
when the user changes a device characteristic.
The valid choices are:
a Rebuilds the kernel and IPLs the system
s Runs the special processing routine
specified by the specproc keyword in
the /etc/system stanza.
none Takes no special action.
Control over Display and Modification of the Keyword
display If set to true, then the devices command dis-
plays the device characteristic keyword and
allows the user to change its value.
dsrc Determines whether the devices command dis-
plays the adapter characteristic keyword from
the ddi file. The value is a list of adapter
numbers, separated by commas. The devices
command displays the keyword and allows the
user to change its value only if the number of
the adapter associated with the device appears
in the list.
required If set to true, the devices command displays
the keyword and advises the user to make sure
that its value matches the system configura-
tion. devices does not check to see whether
the entered value matches the system config-
uration.
rsrc Determines whether the devices command dis-
plays the adapter characteristic keyword from
the ddi file and requires the user to enter a
value. The value is a list of adapter
numbers, separated by commas. If the number
of the adapter associated with the device
appears in the list, then the devices command
displays the keyword and requires the user to
specify its value. devices does not check to
see whether the entered value matches the
system configuration.
User Input Validation
vtype Specifies the type of checking that the
devices command performs on values entered by
the user. vtype can be set to one of the fol-
lowing values:
0 No validation.
1 Mapping validation: the input value must
be one of the keywords found in the stanza
named by the map keyword.
3 Range validation: The input value must
have the data type specified by the type
keyword and must fall in the range speci-
fied by the range keyword.
map Names a stanza in the kaf file that contains a
list of keyword=value pairs against which the
input value is to be matched. If the input
matches a given keyword, then the corre-
sponding value is substituted in its place.
opts Specifies the options to search for in the
/etc/ddi/options file. opts is one of the
following:
k Keyword only
a Keyword followed by adapter name
c Keyword followed by device class
t Keyword followed by device type
s Keyword followed by device stanza name.
If the opts keyword is not specified, its
value defaults to k. See "options" for
details about the /etc/ddi/options file.
range Defines the valid range of values for a
keyword so that the devices command can verify
values entered by the user. The value of the
range keyword has the format first,last,incr,
where first is the first number in the range,
last is the last number, and incr is the
increment between values in the range. For
example, "range=2,10,2" specifies the values
2, 4, 6, 8, and 10.
type Defines the data type for the value of a
keyword. The devices comand ensures that the
values entered are the correct data type,
specified by one of the following:
F Floating-point (float)
H Hexadecimal (int)
I Integer (int)
L Long integer (long int)
S Short integer (short int)
U Unsigned integer (unsigned int).
Files
/etc/ddi/font.kaf
/etc/ddi/opprinter.kf
/etc/ddi/osprinter.kf
/etc/ddi/plotter.kaf
/etc/ddi/pprinter.kaf
/etc/ddi/sprinter.kaf
/etc/ddi/tty.kaf
/etc/mdkaf
Related Information
In this book: "attributes" "ddi," "descriptions,"
"system," and "config."
The discussion of customize helpers in AIX Operating
System Programming Tools and Interfaces.