bpatch(1)bpatch(1)NAMEbpatch - binary patch and dump file utility
SYNOPSISbpatch [ -b blksize ] [ -d ] [ -D pagecnt ] [ -e ] [ -p ] [ -r reclen ]
[ -s ] [ -x ] file...
DESCRIPTION
Bpatch allows the viewing and/or modification of files, independent of
file type (text, executable, data file, and so forth). Bpatch allows
the data to either be examined at the terminal, dumped to a print
device or file, or edited in the general manner of vi(1). The data in
the file is dumped or displayed in pages of 256 bytes.
Options
-b blksize The -b option specifies the blocksize of the data file.
This is used primarily with tapes, and is allowed only with
one of the dump (-d or -D) options. When this option is
specified, the file is opened in readonly mode.
-d The -d option indicates that a dump (no terminal manipula‐
tion) is to be performed. The entire file will be dumped
to standard output. No editing of the data is allowed and
the file is opened in readonly mode. <DEL> interrupts a
continuous display, producing a pause after the current
record is displayed; at this point, a second <DEL> exits
and and other character begins display of the next file.
-D pagecnt The -D option is similar to the -d option, with the follow‐
ing exception: the pagecnt argument limits the dump to the
specified number of pages.
-e The -e option indicates that the file contains EBCDIC data
and should be converted in the character portion of the
dump.
-p Used with one of the dump options, this option causes the
program to pause between pages. The program will then wait
for the user to press either the return key to continue, or
the DEL (or rubout) key to stop the dump.
-r reclen The -r option indicates the record length of the data
within the dump. When specified, this option causes bpatch
to place a colon (:) between the last byte of one record
and the first byte of the next.
-s This option turns on the byte swap option. It may be tog‐
gled dynamically during execution (see -x under Commands
below).
-x This option specifies the suppression of pages that contain
only NUL characters. The result is that only the page
header (name and page number) will appear for such a page.
This option may only be used with one of the dump options.
Arguments
file Any number of files may be specified.
Commands
All commands are valid only in the non-dump, interactive mode. Com‐
mands may be entered in either upper or lower case. Commands of the
form '^x' indicate that the control character x is to be entered.
All commands that request movement within a file or between files can‐
not be executed if any changes have been made. To proceed in this
case, the user must either enter the w command, the u command, or the r
command.
Requesting a next or previous file when there is no such will cause the
issuance of an error message.
Note that certain commands allow/require either some text or numeric
value. In those cases, the user should type in characters and end the
string with either a <cr> or <DEL>.
? Display the help screen. The help screen will remain until the
user either redraws the screen (see ^r) or changes pages or
files.
! Execute the following command in the shell.
backslash
Display the previous page.
<cr> Display the next page.
DEL Quit the program if no changes have been made.
/ This command initiates an ASCII search. The text entered on the
command line will be used as a search string, and the file will
be searched starting with the current page. When the string is
found, the page containing the string will be displayed. If the
string is not found, an apapropriate message will be displayed.
^f Open a named file whose name will be entered on the command line
and followed either by <cr> or DEL.
^n Open the next file and display the first page.
^p Open the previous file and display the first page.
^q Quit without writing current changes.
^r Redraw the screen.
NNN Entering a numeric value requests that the specified page be dis‐
played.
-x Toggle the command line option represented by x:
a Toggle display to ascii (assume data is ascii).
e Toggle display to dbcdic (assume data is ebcdic).
s Toggle byte swap.
a Edit the ASCII display. End edits by pressing the DEL key. All
other characters will be treated as valid input. Cursor movement
keys (arrows and home) allow movement within the edit window.
Nonprinting characters are displayed as dot (.) in this window.
f Display the first page in the current file.
g Display the page containing the byte address typed in following
the command.
h Edit the HEXADECIMAL display. End edits by pressing DEL key.
Cursor movement keys (arrows and home) allow movement within the
edit window. Two keystrokes are required to modify a byte, and
both must be valid hexadecimal values (0-9 and a-f). To cancel a
change after typing one character, press DEL.
l Display the last page in the current file.
q Quit the file. A warning will be issued if any changes have been
made but not written out.
r Reread the current page.
u Undo all changes to the current page.
w Write out the current page.
SEE ALSOod(1)4th Berkeley Distribution Benetics Local bpatch(1)
