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sh(1b)									sh(1b)

NAME
       sh, Rsh - The Bourne shell, an interactive command interpreter and com‐
       mand programming language

SYNOPSIS
       sh [-ir] [+ | -Caefhkntuvx] [file]  [argument...]  [-ccommand_string  |
       -s]

       Rsh  [-ir]  [+ | -Caefhkntuvx] [file] [argument...] [-ccommand_string |
       -s]

       The shell carries out commands either interactively from a keyboard  or
       from a file.

OPTIONS
       The  following  options are interpreted by the shell only when you call
       it. Unless you specify either the -c or -s option,  the	shell  assumes
       that  the next argument is a command file (shell procedure).  It passes
       anything else on the command line to that command file (see  Positional
       Parameters).   Runs  commands read from command_string.	The shell does
       not read additional commands from standard input when you specify  this
       option.	 Makes the shell interactive, even if input and output are not
       from a terminal.	 In this case, the shell ignores  the  SIGTERM	signal
       (so  that kill 0 does not stop an interactive shell) and traps a SIGINT
       (so that you can interrupt wait).  In all cases, the shell ignores  the
       SIGQUIT	signal.	  (See	the  sigaction() system call and kill for more
       information about signals.)  Creates a restricted shell	(the  same  as
       running	Rsh).  Reads commands from standard input. Any remaining argu‐
       ments specified are passed as positional parameters to the  new	shell.
       Shell  output  is  written  to standard error, except for the output of
       built-in commands (see Built-In Commands).

       The remaining options and arguments are discussed in the description of
       the built-in set command (see Built-In Commands).

DESCRIPTION
       The  Bourne  shell is a command programming language that executes com‐
       mands read from a terminal or a file.   The  Rsh	 command  specifies  a
       restricted  version of the standard command interpreter sh; Rsh is used
       to set up login names and execution environments whose capabilities are
       more  controlled	 than those of the standard shell.  This allows you to
       create user environments that have a  limited  set  of  privileges  and
       capabilities.  (See Restricted Shell for more information.)

       A  file	from  which the shell carries out commands is usually called a
       shell script, a shell procedure, or a command file.

       A simple command is a sequence of words separated by spaces or tabs.  A
       word  is	 a  sequence of characters that contains no unquoted spaces or
       tabs.  The first word in the sequence (numbered as 0),  usually	speci‐
       fies  the  name	of  a command.	Any remaining words, with a few excep‐
       tions, are passed to that command. A space refers to  both  spaces  and
       tabs.

       The value of a simple command is its exit value if it ends normally, or
       (octal) 200 added to the signal number if it terminates due to  a  sig‐
       nal.  For a list of status values, see the signal() system call.

       A pipeline is a sequence of one or more commands separated by a | (ver‐
       tical bar) or, for historical compatibility, by a ^ (circumflex).  In a
       pipeline,  the  standard	 output	 of  each command becomes the standard
       input of the next command. Each command runs as a separate process, and
       the  shell  waits  for  the last command to end.	 A filter is a command
       that reads its standard input, transforms it in some way,  then	writes
       it  to its standard output. A pipeline normally consists of a series of
       filters.	 Although the  processes  in  a	 pipeline  (except  the	 first
       process)	 can  execute in parallel, they are synchronized to the extent
       that each program needs to read the output of its predecessor.

       The exit value of a pipeline is the exit value of the last command.

       A list is a sequence of one or more pipelines  separated	 by  ;	(semi‐
       colon),	&  (ampersand), && (two ampersands), or || (two vertical bars)
       and optionally ended by a ; (semicolon), an & (ampersand), a |& (copro‐
       cess), or a newline.  These separators and terminators have the follow‐
       ing effects: Causes sequential execution of the preceding pipeline; the
       shell  waits for the pipeline to finish.	 Causes asynchronous execution
       of the preceding pipeline; the shell does not wait for the pipeline  to
       finish.	 Causes	 the list following it to be executed only if the pre‐
       ceding pipeline returns a 0 (zero) exit value.  Causes the list follow‐
       ing  it to be executed only if the preceding pipeline returns a nonzero
       exit value.

	      The cd command is an exception; if it  returns  a	 nonzero  exit
	      value, no subsequent commands in a list are executed, regardless
	      of the separator characters.

       The ; and & separators have equal precedence, as do  &&	and  ||.   The
       single-character separators have lower precedence than the double-char‐
       acter separators. An unquoted newline character	following  a  pipeline
       functions the same as a ; (semicolon).

       The  shell  treats as a comment any word that begins with a # character
       and ignores that word and all characters following up to the next  new‐
       line character.

   Shell Flow Control Statements
       Unless  otherwise  stated, the value returned by a statement is that of
       the last simple command executed in the statement.  For each word, sets
       identifier  to  word and executes the commands in list.	If you omit in
       word ..., then the for command executes list for each positional param‐
       eter  that  is set.  Execution ends when there are no more words in the
       list.  Executes the commands in the list associated with the first pat‐
       tern  that  matches  word. Uses the same character-matching notation in
       patterns that you use for file name substitution (see File Name Substi‐
       tution), except that you do not need to match explicitly a / (slash), a
       leading (dot), or a (dot) immediately following a / (slash).   Executes
       the list following the if keyword. If it returns a 0 (zero) exit value,
       executes the list following the first then.   Otherwise,	 executes  the
       list  following	elif (if there is an elif), and if its exit value is 0
       (zero), executes the next then.	Failing that, executes the  list  fol‐
       lowing the else.	 If no else list or then list is executed, the if com‐
       mand returns a 0 (zero) exit value.  Executes the  list	following  the
       while.  If  the exit value of the last command in the list is 0 (zero),
       executes the list following do.	Continues looping  through  the	 lists
       until  the exit value of the last command in the while list is nonzero.
       If no commands in the do list are executed, the while command returns a
       0  (zero)  exit	value.	Executes the list following the until.	If the
       exit value of the last command in the list  is  nonzero,	 executes  the
       list  following do.  Continues looping through the lists until the exit
       value of the last command in the until list is 0 (zero).	  If  no  com‐
       mands in the do list are executed, the until command returns a 0 (zero)
       exit value.  Executes the commands in list in a subshell.  Executes the
       commands	 in  list  in the current shell process; does not spawn a sub‐
       shell.  Defines a function that is referenced by name.  The body of the
       function is the list of commands between the braces.

       The following reserved words are recognized only when they appear with‐
       out quotes as  the  first  word	of  a  command.	  if   esac  then case
       else for elif while fi	until do   done {  }

   Command Execution
       Each  time  the	shell executes a command, it carries out the substitu‐
       tions discussed in the following text.  If the command name matches one
       of the built-in commands discussed in Built-In Commands, it executes it
       in the shell process. If the command name does  not  match  a  built-in
       command	but  matches  the  name of a defined function, it executes the
       function in the shell process.  The shell sets the  positional  parame‐
       ters to the parameters of the function.

       If  the command name matches neither a built-in command nor the name of
       a defined function and the command names an executable file that	 is  a
       compiled	 (binary)  program, the shell (as parent) spawns a new (child)
       process that immediately runs the program.  If the file is marked  exe‐
       cutable	but  is not a compiled program, the shell assumes that it is a
       shell script. In this case, the shell spawns another instance of itself
       (a  subshell), to read the file and execute the commands included in it
       (note how this differs from the execution of functions). The shell also
       executes	 a  command  enclosed  in parentheses in a subshell.  From the
       perspective of an end user, a compiled program is run  in  exactly  the
       same way as a shell script.

       The shell normally searches for commands in two places in the file sys‐
       tem.  The shell first looks for the command in the  current  directory;
       if  it does not find the command there, it looks in the /usr/bin direc‐
       tory.  This search order is in effect if the PATH environment  variable
       is  not	set (or is set to :/usr/bin, as is the case by default on many
       systems).

       You can also give a specific pathname when you invoke  a	 command,  for
       example	/usr/bin/sort,	in  which  case	 the shell does not search any
       directories other than the one you specify in  the  pathname.   If  the
       command	name  contains	a / (slash), the shell does not use the search
       path (note that the restricted shell will not execute  such  commands).
       You can give a full pathname that begins with the root directory (as in
       /usr/bin/sort), or a pathname relative to the  current  directory,  for
       example	bin/myfile.  In this last case, the shell looks in the current
       directory for a directory named bin and in that directory for myfile.

       You can change the  particular  sequence	 of  directories  searched  by
       resetting the PATH variable (see Variables Used by the Shell).

       The  shell  remembers  the location in the search path of each executed
       command (to avoid unnecessary exec commands later).  If the command was
       found  in  a relative directory (one whose name does not begin with /),
       the shell must redetermine its location whenever the current  directory
       changes.	  The  shell  forgets  all  remembered	locations whenever you
       change the PATH variable or execute the hash -r command	(see  Built-In
       Commands).

   Signals
       The  shell ignores SIGINT and SIGQUIT signals for an invoked command if
       the command is terminated with a & (that is, if it is  running  in  the
       background).  Otherwise, signals have the values inherited by the shell
       from its parent, with the exception of signal 11 (see also the built-in
       trap command in Built-In Commands).

   Initialization Files
       When  you  log in, the shell is called to read your commands. Before it
       does that, however, it checks to	 see  if  a  file  named  /etc/profile
       exists  on  the system, and if it does, it reads commands from it (this
       file sets variables needed by all users). After this, the  shell	 looks
       for a file named in your login directory.  If it finds one, it executes
       commands from it. Finally, the shell is ready  to  read	commands  from
       your standard input.

   File Name Substitution
       Command arguments are very often file names. You can automatically pro‐
       duce a list of file names as arguments on a command line by  specifying
       a pattern that the shell matches against the file names in a directory.

       Most  characters	 in  such a pattern match themselves, but you can also
       use some special pattern-matching characters  in	 your  pattern.	 These
       special characters are as follows: Matches any single character, except
       a newline character.  Matches any string, including  the	 null  string.
       Matches	any one character.  Matches any one of the characters enclosed
       in brackets.  Matches any character other than those  that  follow  the
       exclamation point within brackets.

       Inside brackets, a pair of characters separated by a - (dash) specifies
       a set of all characters lexically within the inclusive  range  of  that
       pair according to the current collating sequence.  The LANG and LC_COL‐
       LATE environment variables control the collating sequence.

       The current  collating  sequence	 groups	 characters  into  equivalence
       classes for the purpose of defining the endpoints of a range of charac‐
       ters.  For example, if the collating sequence defines the lexical order
       to  be  AaBbCc  ...  and groups uppercase and lowercase characters into
       equivalence classes, then all the following have the same  effect:  [a-
       c], [A-C], [a-C], and [A-c].

       Pattern	matching  has  some  restrictions. If the first character of a
       file name is a . (dot), it can be matched only by a pattern that begins
       with  a	dot.   For example, * (asterisk) matches the file names myfile
       and yourfile, but not the file names and use a pattern such as the fol‐
       lowing: .*file

       If  a pattern does not match any file names, then the pattern itself is
       returned as the result of the attempted match.

       File and directory names should not contain the characters *, ?, [,  or
       ],  because  this requires quoting those names in order to refer to the
       files and directories.

   Shell Variables and Command-Line Substitutions
       The shell has several mechanisms for creating  variables	 (assigning  a
       string  value to a name).  Certain variables, positional parameters and
       keyword parameters, are normally set only on  a	command	 line.	 Other
       variables  are simply names to which you or the shell can assign string
       values.

   Positional Parameters
       When you run a shell script, the shell  implicitly  creates  positional
       parameters that reference each word on the command line by its position
       on the command line. The word in position 0 (the	 procedure  name),  is
       called  $0, the next word (the first parameter) is called $1, and so on
       up to $9. To refer to command-line parameters numbered higher  than  9,
       use the built-in shift command (see Built-In Commands).

       You can also assign values to these positional parameters explicitly by
       using the built-in set command (see Built-In Commands).

       When an argument for a position is not specified, its positional param‐
       eter is set to null.

       Positional  parameters  are  global  and	 can be passed to nested shell
       scripts.

   User-Defined Variables
       The shell also recognizes alphanumeric variables to which string values
       can  be	assigned.  You	assign	a  string value to a name, as follows:
       name=string

       A name is a sequence of letters, digits, and  underscores  that	begins
       with an underscore or a letter. To use the value that you have assigned
       to a variable, add a $ (dollar sign) to	the  beginning	of  its	 name.
       Thus, $name yields the value string. Note that no spaces surround the =
       (equal sign) in an assignment statement.	 (Positional parameters cannot
       appear  in  an  assignment statement; they can only be set as described
       earlier.)  You can put more than one assignment on a command line,  but
       remember: the shell performs the assignments from right to left.

       If  you	surround  string with quotes, either " " (double) or ' ' (sin‐
       gle), the shell does not treat spaces, tabs,  semicolons,  and  newline
       characters  within  it  as word delimiters but embeds them literally in
       the string.

       If you surround string with double quotes, the shell  still  recognizes
       variable	 names	in the string and performs variable substitution; that
       is, it replaces references to positional parameters and other  variable
       names  that  are prefaced by $ with their corresponding values, if any.
       The shell also performs command substitution (see Command Substitution)
       within strings that are surrounded by double quotes.

       If  you	surround string with single quotes, the shell does no variable
       or command substitution	within	the  string.  The  following  sequence
       illustrates this difference:

       You  enter: stars=***** asterisks1="Add $stars" asterisks2='Add $stars'
       echo $asterisks1

       The system displays: Add *****

       You enter: echo $asterisks2

       The system displays: Add $stars

       The shell does not reinterpret spaces  in  assignments  after  variable
       substitution  (see  Interpretation  of  Spaces).	 Thus,	the  following
       assignments result  in  $first  and  $second  having  the  same	value:
       first='a string with embedded spaces' second=$first

       When  you  reference  a variable, you can enclose the variable name (or
       the digit designating a	positional  parameter)	in  {  }  (braces)  to
       delimit	the variable name from any following string. In particular, if
       the character immediately following the name is	a  letter,  digit,  or
       underscore  and	the  variable  is not a positional parameter, then the
       braces are required:

       You enter: a='This is a' echo "${a}n example"

       The system displays: This is an example

       You enter: echo "$a test"

       The system displays: This is a test

       See Conditional Substitution for a different use of braces in  variable
       substitutions.

   A Command's Environment
       All  the	 variables  (with their associated values) that are known to a
       command at the beginning of its execution constitute  its  environment.
       This  environment  includes  variables that a command inherits from its
       parent process and variables specified as  keyword  parameters  on  the
       command line that calls the command.

       The  shell  passes to its child processes the variables that were named
       as arguments to the built-in export command. The export command	places
       the  named  variables in the environments of both the shell and all its
       future child processes.

       Keyword parameters are variable-value pairs that appear in the form  of
       assignments,  normally before the procedure name on a command line (but
       see also the -k option, discussed under the  set	 command  in  Built-In
       Commands).  Such	 variables are placed in the environment of the proce‐
       dure being called.

       For example, given the following simple procedure that echoes the  val‐
       ues of two variables (saved in a command file named key_command):

       # cat key\(ulcommand echo $a $b #

       The following command lines produce the output shown:

       You enter: a=key1 b=key2 key_command

       The system displays: key1 key2

       You enter: a=tom b=john key_command

       The system displays: tom john

       A  procedure's  keyword	parameters  are	 not included in the parameter
       count stored in $#.

       A procedure can access the values of any variables in its  environment;
       however,	 if  it	 changes  any  of  these values, these changes are not
       reflected in the shell environment.  They are local to the procedure in
       question.  To place these changes in the environment that the procedure
       passes to its child processes, you must export these values within that
       procedure.

       To  obtain  a list of variables that were made exportable from the cur‐
       rent shell, enter: export

       (You will also get a list of variables that were made  read  only.)  To
       get a list of name-value pairs in the current environment, enter: env

   Conditional Substitution
       Normally,  the  shell replaces $variable with the string value assigned
       to variable, if there is one. However, there is a special notation that
       allows  conditional  substitution, depending on whether the variable is
       set and is not null.  By definition,  a	variable  is  set  if  it  was
       assigned	 a  value.   The  value	 of a variable can be the null string,
       which you can assign to a variable in any one of the following ways:

       A= bcd="" Efg='' set '' ""

       The first three of these examples assign the null string to each of the
       corresponding  variable names. The last example sets the first and sec‐
       ond positional parameters to the null string and unsets all other posi‐
       tional parameters.

       The  following  is  a  list of the available expressions you can use to
       perform conditional substitution: If the variable  is  set,  substitute
       the  value of variable in place of this expression.  Otherwise, replace
       this expression with the value of string.  If the variable is  set  and
       is  not null, substitute the value of variable in place of this expres‐
       sion.  Otherwise, replace this expression with the value of string.  If
       the  variable is set, substitute the value of variable in place of this
       expression.  Otherwise, set variable to string and then substitute  the
       value  of  the variable in place of this expression.  You cannot assign
       values to positional parameters in this fashion.	 If  the  variable  is
       set  and is not null, substitute the value of variable in place of this
       expression.  Otherwise, set variable to string and then substitute  the
       value  of  the variable in place of this expression.  You cannot assign
       values to positional parameters in this fashion.	 If  the  variable  is
       set,  substitute	 the  value  of	 variable in place of this expression.
       Otherwise, display a message of the form:

	      variable: string

	      and exit from the current shell, unless the shell is  the	 login
	      shell.   If  you	do  not specify string, the shell displays the
	      following message:

	      variable: parameter null or not set If the variable is  set  and
	      not  null,  substitute  the  value  of variable in place of this
	      expression.  Otherwise, display a message of the form:

	      variable: string

	      and exit from the current shell, unless the shell is  the	 login
	      shell.   If  you	do  not specify string, the shell displays the
	      following message:

	      variable: parameter null or not set If the variable is set, sub‐
	      stitute the value of string in place of this expression.	Other‐
	      wise, substitute the null string.	 If the variable  is  set  and
	      not  null,  substitute  the  value  of  string  in place of this
	      expression.  Otherwise, substitute the null string.

       In conditional substitution, the shell does not evaluate	 string	 until
       it  uses it as a substituted string, so that, in the following example,
       the shell executes the pwd command only if d is not  set	 or  is	 null:
       echo ${ d:-`pwd` }

   Variables Used by the Shell
       The  shell  uses the following variables.  The shell sets some of them,
       and you can set or reset all of them.   The  search  path  for  the  cd
       (change	directory)  command.   The  name  of your login directory, the
       directory that becomes the  current  directory  upon  completion	 of  a
       login.	The  login  program initializes this variable.	The cd command
       uses the value of $HOME as its default value.  If you use this variable
       in  your shell scripts rather than using the full pathname, your proce‐
       dures run even if your login directory is changed or  if	 another  user
       runs  them.  Specifies the locale of your system, which is comprised of
       three parts: language, territory, and codeset.  The default  locale  is
       the C locale, which specifies the value English for language, U.S.  for
       territory, and ASCII for codeset. The locale  specified	for  the  LANG
       variable controls the language applied to messages.  Unless set explic‐
       itly, the LC_COLLATE, LC_CTYPE, LC_MESSAGES,  LC_MONETARY,  LC_NUMERIC,
       and  LC_TIME  variables	also derive their settings from the locale set
       for LANG.  Specifies the collating sequence to use when	sorting	 names
       and  when character ranges occur in patterns.  The default value is the
       collating sequence for  American	 English.  If  absent,	the  collating
       sequence	 may  be taken from the LANG variable.	If both LC_COLLATE and
       LANG are absent, the ANSI C collating sequence is used.	Specifies  the
       character  classification  information  to  use	on  your  system.  The
       default value is American English.  Specifies  the  language  that  the
       system  expects for user input of yes and no strings. The default value
       is American English.  Specifies the monetary format  for	 your  system.
       The  default value is the monetary format for American English.	Speci‐
       fies the numeric format for your system.	  The  default	value  is  the
       numeric	format for American English.  Specifies the date and time for‐
       mat for your system.  The default value is the date and time format for
       American English.  Your login name, marked readonly in the /etc/profile
       file.  The pathname of the file used by the mail system to  detect  the
       arrival of new mail.  If MAIL is set, the shell periodically checks the
       modification time of this file and displays the value of	 $MAILMSG,  if
       this time changes and the length of the file is greater than 0 (zero).

	      Set  MAIL	 in  your  file.  The value normally assigned to it by
	      users of the mail or mailx commands is /var/spool/mail/$LOGNAME.
	      The number of seconds that the shell lets elapse before checking
	      again for the arrival of mail in	the  files  specified  by  the
	      MAILPATH	or  MAIL  variables.  The default value is 600 seconds
	      (10 minutes).  If you set	 MAILCHECK  to	0  (zero),  the	 shell
	      checks  before each prompt.  A list of file names separated from
	      one another by a : (colon). If you set this variable, the	 shell
	      informs you of the arrival of mail in any of the files specified
	      in the list. You can follow each file name by a % (percent sign)
	      and a message to be displayed when mail arrives.	Otherwise, the
	      shell uses the value of MAILMSG or, by default, the message  you
	      have mail.

	      When  MAILPATH  is  set,	these files are checked instead of the
	      file set by MAIL.	 To check the files set by  MAILPATH  and  the
	      file set by MAIL, specify the MAIL file in your list of MAILPATH
	      files.  The mail notification message.  If  you  explicitly  set
	      MAILMSG  to  a  null string (MAILMSG=), no message is displayed.
	      Specifies a list of directories to search to find message	 cata‐
	      logs.   An  ordered  list	 of  directory	pathnames separated by
	      colons. The shell searches these directories  in	the  specified
	      order  when it looks for commands. A null string anywhere in the
	      list represents the current directory.

	      The PATH variable is normally initialized	 in  the  /etc/profile
	      file,  usually  to  :/usr/bin  (by  definition, a null string is
	      assumed in front of the leading  colon).	 You  can  reset  this
	      variable	to  suit  your own needs.  Thus, if you wish to search
	      your current directory last rather than first, you would	enter:
	      PATH=/usr/bin:

	      If  you  have  a personal directory of commands (say, $HOME/bin)
	      that you want searched before the standard  system  directories,
	      set your PATH as follows: PATH=$HOME/bin:/usr/bin:

	      The  best	 place	to  set	 your PATH to something other than the
	      default value is in your file (see the file).  You cannot	 reset
	      PATH  if	you  are executing commands under the restricted shell
	      (Rsh).  The string to be used as the primary system prompt.   An
	      interactive  shell  displays  this prompt string when it expects
	      input. The default value of PS1 is $ followed by a  space.   The
	      value of the secondary prompt string.  If the shell expects more
	      input when it encounters a newline character in  its  input,  it
	      prompts  with  the  value of PS2.	 The default value of PS2 is >
	      followed by a space.  The characters  that  are  internal	 field
	      separators  (the characters that the shell uses during interpre‐
	      tation of spaces, see Interpretation of Spaces). The shell  ini‐
	      tially  sets  IFS to include the space, tab, and newline charac‐
	      ters.  The name of a file that you own.	If  this  variable  is
	      set,  the shell writes an accounting record in the file for each
	      shell script executed.  You can use accounting programs such  as
	      acctcom  and  acctcms to analyze the data collected.  A pathname
	      whose simple part (the part after the last /) contains an	 r  if
	      you  want	 the  shell  to	 become restricted when invoked.  This
	      should be set and exported by the $HOME/.profile	file  of  each
	      restricted  login.   A  number of minutes.  After the shell dis‐
	      plays its prompt, you have TIMEOUT minutes to enter  a  command.
	      If  you fail to do so, the shell exits; in the login shell, such
	      an exit is a logout.  Setting TIMEOUT to 0 (zero) inhibits auto‐
	      matic logout.

   Predefined Special Variables
       Several	variables have special meanings; the following are set only by
       the shell: The number of positional parameters passed to the shell, not
       counting	 the  name  of	the  shell script itself. The $# variable thus
       yields the number of the highest-numbered positional parameter that  is
       set.   One  of  the  primary  uses of this variable is to check for the
       presence of the required number of arguments.  The exit	value  of  the
       last  command  executed.	 Its value is a decimal string.	 Most commands
       return 0 (zero) to indicate successful completion.   The	 shell	itself
       returns the current value of $?	as its exit value.  The process number
       of the current process. Because process numbers are  unique  among  all
       existing	 processes,  this string of up to five digits is often used to
       generate unique names for temporary files. The following example illus‐
       trates the recommended practice of creating temporary files in a direc‐
       tory used only for that purpose: temp=$HOME/temp/$$  ls	>$temp	     .
	    .	     .	rm $temp The process number of the last process run in
       the background (using the & terminator).	 Again, this is a string of up
       to  five	 digits.   A  string  consisting of the names of the execution
       options (see Built-In Commands) currently set in	 the  shell.   If  the
       parameter  is  * or @, then all the positional parameters starting with
       $1 are substituted (separated by spaces).

   Command Substitution
       To capture the output of any command as an argument to another command,
       place  that  command  line within ` ` (grave accents).  This concept is
       known as command substitution. The shell first executes the command  or
       commands enclosed within the grave accents, and then replaces the whole
       expression, grave accents and all, with their output.  This feature  is
       often used in assignment statements: today=`date`

       This  statement assigns the string representing the current date to the
       today variable.	The following assignment saves, in the files variable,
       the number of files in the current directory: files=`ls | wc -l`

       You perform command substitution on any command that writes to standard
       output by enclosing that command in grave accents. You can nest command
       substitutions  by  preceding  each  of the inside sets of grave accents
       with a \ (backslash): logmsg=`echo Your login directory is \`pwd\``

       You can also give values to shell variables  indirectly	by  using  the
       built-in	 read  command.	  The  read command takes a line from standard
       input (usually your keyboard), and assigns consecutive  words  on  that
       line to any variables named: read first middle last

       Thus, read will accept the following input line: Jane C. Chen

       and  it	will have the same effect as if you had entered the following:
       first=Jane init=C. last=Chen

       The read command assigns any excess words to the last variable.

   Quoting Mechanisms
       The following characters have a special meaning to the shell and	 cause
       termination  of a word unless quoted: ; & ( ) | ^ < > <newline> <space>
       <tab>

       Using ' ' (single) and " " (double) quotes to surround a string or a  \
       (backslash)  before  a  single character enables the character to stand
       for itself, instead of conveying special meaning to the shell.

       Within single quotes, all characters (except the single quote character
       itself),	 are taken literally, with any special meaning removed.	 Thus,
       entering: stuff='echo $? $*; ls * | wc'

       results only in the literal string echo $? $*; ls * | wc being assigned
       to  the stuff variable; the echo, ls, and wc commands are not executed,
       nor are the variables $?	 and $* and the special character  *  expanded
       by the shell.

       To  verify  this	 you  could export the variable stuff with the command
       export stuff, and then use the command printenv stuff to view it.  This
       is different from the simple command echo $stuff.

       Within  double quotes, the special meaning of certain characters ($, `,
       and ") does persist, while all other characters	are  taken  literally.
       Thus,  within  double  quotes,  command and variable substitution takes
       place.  In addition, the quotes do not affect  the  commands  within  a
       command	substitution  that is part of the quoted string, so characters
       there retain their special meanings.

       Consider the following sequence:

       You enter: ls *

       System displays: file1 file2 file3

       You enter: message="This directory contains `ls * ` " echo $message

       System displays: This directory contains file1 file2 file3

       This shows that the * special character inside the command substitution
       was expanded.

       To  hide	 the special meaning of $, `, and " within double quotes, pre‐
       cede these characters with a \ (backslash). Outside of  double  quotes,
       preceding  a  character	with \ (backslash) is equivalent to placing it
       within single quotes.  Hence, a \ (backslash) immediately preceding the
       newline	character  (that  is,  a \ (backslash) at the end of the line)
       hides the newline character and allows you to continue the command line
       on the next physical line.

   Redirection of Input and Output
       In  general,  most  commands do not know or care whether their input or
       output is associated with the keyboard, the display screen, or a	 file.
       Thus, a command can be used conveniently either at the keyboard or in a
       pipeline.

   Standard Input and Standard Output
       When a command begins running, it usually expects that three files  are
       already	open:  standard	 input,	 standard  output,  and standard error
       (sometimes called error output or  standard  error  output).  A	number
       called a file descriptor is associated with each of these files as fol‐
       lows: Standard input Standard output Standard error

       A child process normally inherits these	files  from  its  parent;  all
       three  files  are  initially  assigned to the terminal. Conventionally,
       commands read from standard input (0), write to	standard  output  (1),
       and write error messages to standard error (2).	The shell permits them
       to be redirected elsewhere before control is passed to a command.   Any
       argument	 to  the  shell in the form <file or >file opens the specified
       file as the standard input or output, respectively.

       In the case of output, this process destroys the previous  contents  of
       file, if it already exists and write permission is available.  An argu‐
       ment in the form >>file directs the standard output to the end of file,
       thus  allowing  you  to	add data to it without destroying its existing
       contents.  If file does not exist, the shell creates it.

       Such redirection arguments are subject only  to	variable  and  command
       substitution;  neither interpretation of spaces nor pattern matching of
       file names occurs after	these  substitutions.	Thus,  entering:  echo
       'this is a test' > *.ggg

       produces a 1-line file named *.ggg, and entering: cat < ?

       produces	 an  error  message,  unless  you  have a file named ?	(a bad
       choice for a file name).

   Diagnostic and Other Output
       Diagnostic output from commands is normally directed to the file	 asso‐
       ciated  with file descriptor 2. You can redirect this error output to a
       file by immediately preceding either output redirection	symbol	(>  or
       >>)  with  a  2	(the  number of the file descriptor). There must be no
       space between the file descriptor and the  redirection  symbol;	other‐
       wise,  the  shell  interprets  the number as a separate argument to the
       command.

       You can also use this method to redirect the output associated with any
       of  the	first  10  file	 descriptors  (numbered	 0  to 9) so that, for
       instance, if a command writes to file descriptor 9  (although  this  is
       not  a recommended programming habit), you can capture that output in a
       file named savedata as follows: command 9> savedata

       If a command writes to more than one output, you can independently  re‐
       direct each one.	 Suppose that a command directs its standard output to
       file descriptor 1, directs its error output to file descriptor  2,  and
       builds  a  data	file  on file descriptor 9. The following command line
       redirects each of these outputs to a different file: command > standard
       2> error 9> data

   Inline Input (Here) Documents
       When  the  shell	 sees  a  command  line	 of  the following form, where
       eof_string is any string that contains no pattern-matching  characters,
       the  shell  takes the subsequent lines as the standard input of command
       until it reads a line consisting of only eof_string (possibly  preceded
       by one or more tab characters): command << eof_string

       The  lines  between  the first eof_string and the second are frequently
       referred to as a here document.	If a - (dash) immediately follows  the
       <<, the shell strips leading tab characters from each line of the input
       document before it passes the line to the command.

       The shell creates a temporary file containing the  input	 document  and
       performs variable and command substitution on its contents before pass‐
       ing it to the command.  It performs pattern matching on file names that
       are  a  part of command lines in command substitutions.	If you want to
       prohibit all substitutions, quote any character of eof_string:  command
       << \eof_string

       The here document is especially useful for a small amount of input data
       that is more conveniently placed in the shell script rather  than  kept
       in  a  separate	file (such as editor scripts). For instance, you could
       enter: cat <<- xyz This message is shown on the	display	 with  leading
       tabs removed.  xyz

       This  feature  is  most useful in shell scripts. Inline input documents
       cannot appear within grave accents (command substitution).

   I/O Redirection with File Descriptors
       As discussed previously, a command occasionally directs output to  some
       file  associated	 with  a  file descriptor other than 1 or 2. The shell
       also provides a mechanism for creating an output file associated with a
       particular  file	 descriptor.  For example, if you enter the following,
       where digit1 and digit2 are valid file descriptors, you can direct  the
       output that would normally be associated with file descriptor digit1 to
       the file associated with digit2: digit1>&digit2

       The default value for digit1 and digit2 is 1 (standard output). If,  at
       execution time, no file is associated with digit2, then the redirection
       is void.	 The most common use of this mechanism is to  direct  standard
       error  output  to the same file as standard output, as follows: command
       2>&1

       If you want to redirect both standard output and standard error	output
       to the same file, enter: command > file 2>&1

       The  order  here	 is  significant.   First,  the	 shell associates file
       descriptor 1 with file; then it associates file descriptor 2  with  the
       file  that  is  currently  associated  with  file descriptor 1.	If you
       reverse the order of the redirections, standard error  output  goes  to
       the display and standard output goes to file because at the time of the
       error output redirection, file descriptor 1 was still  associated  with
       the display.

       You  can also use this mechanism to redirect standard input.  You could
       enter: digit1<&digit2

       where digit1 refers to standard input and  digit2  refers  to  standard
       output,	to  cause both file descriptors to be associated with the same
       input file. For commands that run sequentially, the  default  value  of
       digit1  and  digit2  is 0 (standard input). For commands that run asyn‐
       chronously (commands terminated by &), the default value of digit1  and
       digit2  is  /dev/null.	Such  input redirection is useful for commands
       that use two or more input sources.

   Summary of Redirection Options
       The following can appear anywhere in a simple command or can precede or
       follow  a  command, but they are not passed to the command: Use file as
       standard input.	Use file as standard output.  If  the  file  does  not
       exist,  it  is  created. If the file exists and the noclobber option is
       on, this causes an error;  otherwise,  it  is  truncated	 to  0	(zero)
       length.	Same as >, except that it overrides the noclobber option.  Use
       file as standard output.	 Create the file if it does not exist;	other‐
       wise, append the output to the end of the file.	Read as standard input
       all lines from eof_string up to a line containing only eof_string or up
       to an End-of-File character.  If any character in eof_string is quoted,
       the shell does not expand or interpret  any  characters	in  the	 input
       lines;  otherwise,  it  performs	 variable and command substitution and
       ignores a quoted newline character (\newline).  Use a \ (backslash)  to
       quote characters within eof_string or within the input lines.

	      If  you add a - (dash) to <<, then all leading tabs are stripped
	      from eof_string and from the input  lines.   Associate  standard
	      input  with  file	 descriptor  digit.  Associate standard output
	      with file descriptor digit.  Close standard input.  Close	 stan‐
	      dard output.

       The restricted shell does not allow the redirection of output.

   Interpretation of Spaces
       After  the  shell  performs variable and command substitution, it scans
       the results for internal field separators (those	 defined  in  the  IFS
       shell  variable,	 see Variables Used by the Shell).  It splits the line
       into distinct words at each place it finds one of these characters.  It
       retains	explicit  null	arguments  (""	'') and discards implicit null
       arguments (those resulting from parameters that have no values).

   Built-In Commands
       Does nothing.  This null command returns a 0 (zero) exit value.	 Reads
       and executes commands from file and returns. Does not spawn a subshell.
       The search path specified by PATH is used to find  the  directory  con‐
       taining	file.	Exits from the enclosing for, while, or until loop, if
       any.  If n is specified, then breaks n levels.  Resumes the next itera‐
       tion  of	 the  enclosing	 for, while, or until loop. If n is specified,
       resumes at the nth enclosing loop.  Changes the	current	 directory  to
       directory.   If	no directory is specified, the value of the HOME shell
       variable is used.  The CDPATH shell variable defines  the  search  path
       for  directory. Alternative directory names appear in a list, separated
       from one another by a : (colon).	 A null pathname specifies the current
       directory,  which  is  the default path.	 This null pathname can appear
       immediately after the = (equal sign) in the assignment or  between  the
       colon  delimiters  anywhere else in the path list.  If directory begins
       with a / (slash), the shell does not use the search  path.   Otherwise,
       the  shell  searches each directory in the path.	 The cd command cannot
       be executed by the restricted shell.  Writes arguments to standard out‐
       put.   Reads arguments as input to the shell and executes the resulting
       commands.  The eval command is most often used in command substitution.
       For example, the following command sets up the shell's TERM and TERMCAP
       variables according to the type of terminal the user is logged  in  on:
       eval  `tset  -s	vt100`	Executes  the command specified by argument in
       place of this shell without creating a new process.  Input  and	output
       arguments can appear and, if no other arguments appear, cause the shell
       input or output to be modified (not a good idea with your login shell).
       If  this	 command  is  given  from your login shell, you are logged out
       after the specified command has been executed.  Causes a shell to  exit
       with  the  exit	value specified by n. If you omit n, the exit value is
       that of the last	 command  executed.   (Pressing	 the  End-of-File  key
       sequence also causes a shell to exit.)  The value of n can be from 0 to
       255, inclusive.	Marks the specified names for automatic export to  the
       environments  of subsequently executed commands.	 If you do not specify
       a name, the export command displays a list of all the  names  that  are
       exported	 in  this  shell.  You cannot export function names.  For each
       name, finds and remembers the location in the search path of  the  com‐
       mand  specified	by  name. The -r option causes the shell to forget all
       locations.  If you do not specify the option or any  names,  the	 shell
       displays	 information  about the remembered commands.  In this informa‐
       tion, hits is the number of times a command has been run by  the	 shell
       process.	  The  cost is a measure of the work required to locate a com‐
       mand in the search path.	 There are  certain  situations	 that  require
       that the stored location of a command be recalculated (for example, the
       location of a relative pathname when the	 current  directory  changes).
       Commands	 for which that might be done are indicated by an * (asterisk)
       next to the hits information.  The cost is incremented when the	recal‐
       culation	 is  done.   This  command  is	no  longer supported.  See the
       loader(5) reference page for information	 on  using  shared  libraries.
       Changes	the  primary group identification of the current shell process
       to group.  If you specify -, newgrp changes the	login  environment  to
       the login environment of the new group.	If you do not specify a group,
       newgrp changes the group identification to that specified for the  cur‐
       rent user in the /etc/passwd file.  The newgrp command recognizes group
       names only; it does not recognize group ID numbers.

	      Only a user with superuser  authority  can  change  the  primary
	      group of the shell to one to which that user does not belong.

	      Any  active  user-generated  shell is terminated when the newgrp
	      command is used.	Displays the current directory.	 See pwd for a
	      discussion  of  command  options.	  Reads one line from standard
	      input. Assigns the first word in the line to the first name, the
	      second  word  to the second name, and so on, with leftover words
	      assigned to the last name.  This	command	 returns  a  0	(zero)
	      unless  it encounters an end of file.  Marks the specified names
	      as read only. The values of these names cannot be reset.	If you
	      do  not  specify any names, the readonly command displays a list
	      of all readonly names.  Causes a function to exit with a	return
	      value  of	 n.  If you do not specify n, the function returns the
	      status of the last command executed in that function. This  com‐
	      mand  is valid only when executed within a shell function.  This
	      command is no longer supported.	See  the  loader(5)  reference
	      page  for	 information  on  using shared libraries.  Sets one or
	      more of the following options: Prevent existing files from being
	      overwritten  by the shell's redirection operator (>); the >| re‐
	      direction operator overrides this noclobber option for an	 indi‐
	      vidual  file.   Marks for export all variables that are modified
	      or changed.  Exits immediately if a command exits with a nonzero
	      exit  value.   Disables  file  name  substitution.   Locates and
	      remembers the commands called within functions as the  functions
	      are  defined.   (Normally	 these	commands  are located when the
	      function is executed; see the built-in  hash  command.)	Places
	      all  keyword  parameters	in  the environment for a command, not
	      just those that precede the command name.	 Reads	commands,  but
	      does  not	 execute  them.	 Exits after reading and executing one
	      command.	Treats an unset variable as an error  when  performing
	      variable	substitution.	Displays shell input lines as they are
	      read.  Displays commands and their arguments as  they  are  exe‐
	      cuted.   Does  not change any of the options.  This is useful in
	      setting the $1 positional parameter to a string beginning with a
	      - (dash).

	      Using a + (plus sign) rather than a - (dash) unsets options. You
	      can also specify these options on the shell command  line.   The
	      $- special variable contains the current set of options.

	      Any arguments to set are positional parameters and are assigned,
	      in order, to $1, $2, and so on. If you do not specify options or
	      arguments,  set  displays	 all names.  Shifts command-line argu‐
	      ments to the left; that is, reassigns the	 value	of  the	 posi‐
	      tional  parameters  by  discarding  the  current value of $1 and
	      assigning the value of $2 to $1, of $3 to $2,  and  so  on.   If
	      there  are  more	than nine command line arguments, the tenth is
	      assigned to $9 and any that remain are still  unassigned	(until
	      after  another  shift).  If there are nine or fewer arguments, a
	      shift unsets the highest-numbered positional parameter.

	      The command name ($0) is never shifted.  The command shift n  is
	      a	 shorthand  notation  for  n  consecutive shifts.  The default
	      value of n is 1.	Evaluates conditional expressions.   See  test
	      for  a  discussion of command options.  Displays the accumulated
	      user and system times for processes run from  the	 shell.	  Runs
	      the  command specified by command when the shell receives n sig‐
	      nals.  (Note that the shell scans command once when the trap  is
	      set  and	once  when  the trap is taken).	 The trap commands are
	      executed in order of signal number.  Any attempt to set  a  trap
	      on  a  signal  that was ignored on entry to the current shell is
	      ineffective.

	      If you do not specify a command, then all traps n are  reset  to
	      their  current values.  If command is a null string, this signal
	      is ignored by the shell and by the commands it invokes. If n  is
	      0	 (zero),  the  command is executed on exit from the shell.  If
	      neither a command or a signal (n) is specified, trap displays  a
	      list of commands associated with each signal number.

					    Note

	      Although n is an optional parameter, using command without spec‐
	      ifying a value for n will have no effect. This is not considered
	      an  error.   For	each  name  specified, indicates how the shell
	      interprets it as a command name.	Displays or adjusts  allocated
	      shell  resources.	  There are two modes for displaying the shell
	      resource settings, which can either be displayed individually or
	      as a group.  The default mode is to display resources set to the
	      soft setting, or the lower bound, as a group.   To  display  the
	      hard,  or	 upper	bound,	limits,	 use the -h option as the only
	      argument for this group. To display an  individual  soft	limit,
	      use  the option that corresponds to the required resource on the
	      command line.  To display an individual hard limit, use  the  -h
	      or the -Hoption along with the resource option.

	      The  H  and S options specify whether the hard limit or the soft
	      limit for the given resource is set.  A  hard  limit  cannot  be
	      increased	 once  it  is set. A soft limit can be increased up to
	      the value of the hard limit. If neither -H nor -S is  specified,
	      the  limit  applies  to  both.   The  current  resource limit is
	      printed when limit is omitted. In this case, the soft  limit  is
	      printed  unless  -H  is specified. You can set only one resource
	      limit at a time. If more than one resource option is  specified,
	      the  results  are	 undefined. By default, ulimit with only a new
	      value on the command line sets  the  file	 size  of  the	shell.
	      Therefore,  use  of  the	-f option is optional. You can use the
	      following options with ulimit:

	      -H Sets or displays the hard resource limit.

	      If no option is given, -f is assumed.  Sets  your	 file-creation
	      mask  to	the octal value nnn (see the umask() system call).  If
	      you omit nnn, umask displays the current value of the mask.  For
	      each name, removes the corresponding variable, built-in command,
	      or function.  The PATH, PS1, PS2, MAILCHECK, and	IFS  variables
	      cannot be unset.	Waits for the child process whose process num‐
	      ber is n to end and reports its termination status.  If  you  do
	      not  specify  n,	then  the shell waits for all currently active
	      child processes and the return value is 0 (zero).

   Character Classes
       You can use the following notation to match file names within  a	 range
       indication: [:charclass:]

       This  format instructs the system to match any single character belong‐
       ing to charclass; the defined classes correspond to ctype() subroutines
       as follows: alnum alpha cntrl digit graph lower print punct space upper
       xdigit

       Your locale might define additional character properties, such  as  the
       following: [:vowel:]

       The  preceding  character  class could be TRUE for a, e, i, o, u, or y.
       You could then use [:vowel] inside a  set  construction	to  match  any
       vowel.	Refer to The LC_CTYPE Category section of the locale file for‐
       mat reference page for more information.

   Running the Shell
       The sh command can be run either as a login  shell  or  as  a  subshell
       under  the  login  shell. Only the login command can call sh as a login
       shell. It does this by using a special form of  the  sh	command	 name:
       -sh.  When  called  with an initial - (dash), the shell first reads and
       runs commands found in the system file and your $HOME/.profile, if  one
       exists.	It then accepts commands as described in the following discus‐
       sion of options.

       Once logged in and working under a login shell, you can	call  sh  with
       the  command name sh. This command runs a subshell, a second shell run‐
       ning as a child of the login shell.

   Restricted Shell
       The restricted shell, Rsh, is used to set up login names and  execution
       environments  whose  capabilities are more controlled than those of the
       standard shell.	The actions of Rsh  are	 identical  to	those  of  sh,
       except that the following are not allowed: Changing directory (with the
       cd command) Setting the value of PATH or SHELL Specifying pathnames  or
       command names containing / Redirecting output (with > and >>)

       A  restricted  shell  can be invoked in one of the following ways:  (1)
       Rsh is the file name part of the last entry in  the  /etc/passwd	 file;
       (2) the environment variable SHELL exists and Rsh is the file name part
       of its value; (3) the shell is invoked and Rsh is the file name part of
       argument 0 (zero); (4) the shell is invoked with the -r option.

       When  a	command	 to  be	 run  is  determined to be a shell script, Rsh
       invokes sh to run the command. Thus, it is possible to provide the  end
       user with shell scripts that have access to the full power of the stan‐
       dard shell, while imposing a limited  menu  of  commands;  this	scheme
       assumes	that  the end user does not have write and execute permissions
       in the same directory.

       The preceding restrictions are enforced after the file is  interpreted.
       Therefore,  the writer of the has complete control over user actions by
       performing set-up actions and leaving the user in an appropriate direc‐
       tory  (probably not the login directory). An administrator can set up a
       directory of commands in /usr/rbin that the Rsh command can invoke.

       When called with the name -rsh or  -Rsh,	 Rsh  reads  the  user's  from
       $HOME/.profile.	It  acts  as  the standard sh while doing this, except
       that an Interrupt causes an immediate exit instead of a return to  com‐
       mand level.

       The system administrator should be aware that use of Rsh does not imply
       that the system is secure.  A secure system  implements	a  system-wide
       framework to protect the system against unauthorized activity.  The Rsh
       command is not designed to implement this type of system security.

NOTES
       If a command is executed, and a command with the same name is installed
       in a directory in the search path before the directory where the origi‐
       nal command was found, the shell executes the  original	command.   Use
       the  hash command to correct this situation.  When the shell encounters
       the >> characters, it does not open the file in append  mode;  instead,
       the  shell  opens  the  file for writing and seeks to the end.  Failure
       (nonzero exit status) of a special command preceding a ||  symbol  pre‐
       vents the list following || from executing.  XPG4 and SVR4 compliance

	      To  make your shell environment XPG4 compliant, you must set the
	      value of the environment	to  “xpg4”,  by	 typing:  BIN_SH=xpg4;
	      export BIN_SH

	      When  you	 do  that,  the Bourne shell automatically invokes the
	      XPG4 compliant shell, which is currently the Korn shell.

	      The syntax for the C shell is: setenv BIN_SH xpg4

	      If you do not set or unset BIN_SH, the normal Bourne shell runs.
	      To unset BIN_SH, type: unset BIN_SH

	      The syntax for the C shell is: unsetenv BIN_SH xpg4

	      To  make your shell environment SVR4 compliant, you must set the
	      value of the environment	to  “svr4”,  by	 typing:  BIN_SH=svr4;
	      export BIN_SH

	      When  you	 do  that,  the Bourne shell automatically invokes the
	      SVR4 compliant shell.

	      The syntax for the C shell is: setenv BIN_SH svr4

	      The SVR4 version of the Bourne shell must have been installed by
	      the  system administrator or you get an error message. If you do
	      not set or unset BIN_SH, the normal Bourne shell runs. To	 unset
	      BIN_SH, type: unset BIN_SH

	      The syntax for the C shell is: unsetenv BIN_SH svr4

RETURN VALUES
       For  information	 about	exit values, see the following sections: Shell
       Flow Control Statements, Predefined Special  Variables,	Built-In  Com‐
       mands, and OPTIONS.

FILES
       User profile.  Contains user information.

SEE ALSO
       Commands:  acctcms(8),  acctcom(8),  cd(1),  csh(1),  echo(1),  env(1),
       ksh(1), login(1), mail(1), mailx(1), pwd(1), sh(1), sh(1p), test(1)

       Functions:  fcntl(2), exec(2), fork(2), pipe(2), sigaction(2), stat(2),
       umask(2)

       Routines:  ulimit(3)

       Files:  null(7)

       Miscellaneous:  loader(5)

									sh(1b)
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