val(CP)                        6 January 1993                        val(CP)


 Name

    val - validate SCCS file

 Syntax

    val [-] [-s] [-rSID] [-mname] [-ytype] files
    val -

 Description

    The val command determines if the specified file is an SCCS file meeting
    the characteristics specified by the optional argument list.  Arguments
    to val may appear in any order.

    The val command has a special argument, -, which causes reading of the
    standard input until an end-of-file condition is detected.  Each line
    read is independently processed as if it were a command line argument
    list.

    This permits one val command with different values for key letters and
    file arguments.  For example:

       val  - -yc  -mabc  s.abc -mxyz  -ypl1  s.xyz

    val first checks whether file s.abc has a value c for its type flag and
    value abc for the module name flag.  Once this is done, val processes the
    remaining file, in this case, s.xyz.

    val generates diagnostic messages on standard output for each command
    line and file processed, and also returns a single 8-bit exit code as
    described below.

    The effects of any argument apply independently to each named file on the
    command line.  The arguments are defined as follows:

    -s       The presence of this argument silences the diagnostic message
             normally generated on standard output for any error detected
             while processing each named file on the command line.

    -rSID    The argument value SID (SCCS identification string) is an SCCS
             delta number.  A check is made to determine if the SID is ambi-
             guous (for example, -r1 is ambiguous because it does not exist
             but implies 1.1, 1.2, etc., which may exist) or invalid (for
             example, -r1.0 and -r1.1.0 are invalid because neither is a
             valid delta number).  If the SID is valid and unambiguous, a
             check is made to determine if it actually exists.

    -mname   The argument value name is compared with the SCCS %M% keyword in
             file.

    -ytype   The argument value type is compared with the SCCS %Y% keyword in
             file.

    The 8-bit code returned by val is a disjunction of the possible errors,
    that is, it can be interpreted as a bit string where (moving from left to
    right) set bits are interpreted as follows:

    bit 0 = missing file argument;
    bit 1 = unknown or duplicate argument;
    bit 2 = corrupted SCCS file;
    bit 3 = cannot open file or file not SCCS;
    bit 4 = SID is invalid or ambiguous;
    bit 5 = SID does not exist;
    bit 6 = %Y%, -y mismatch;
    bit 7 = %M%, -m mismatch;

    Note that val can process two or more files on a given command line and
    in turn can process multiple command lines (when reading standard input).
    In these cases an aggregate code is returned - a logical OR of the codes
    generated for each command line and file processed.

 Diagnostics

    Use help(CP) for explanations.

 Notes

    val can process up to 50 files on a single command line.  Any number
    above 50 will produce a core dump.

 See also

    admin(CP), delta(CP), get(CP), help(CP), prs(CP)

 Standards conformance

    val is conformant with:
    AT&T SVID Issue 2;
    and X/Open Portability Guide, Issue 3, 1989.