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ZSHPARAM(1)							   ZSHPARAM(1)

NAME
       zshparam - zsh parameters

DESCRIPTION
       A  parameter  has  a name, a value, and a number of attributes.	A name
       may be any sequence of alphanumeric characters and underscores, or  the
       single  characters `*', `@', `#', `?', `-', `$', or `!'.	 The value may
       be a scalar (a string), an integer, an array (indexed numerically),  or
       an  associative array (an unordered set of name-value pairs, indexed by
       name).  To declare the type of a parameter, or to assign	 a  scalar  or
       integer value to a parameter, use the typeset builtin.

       The  value  of  a  scalar  or integer parameter may also be assigned by
       writing:

	      name=value

       If the integer attribute, -i, is set for name, the value is subject  to
       arithmetic  evaluation.	 See  the section `Array Parameters' for addi‐
       tional forms of assignment.

       To refer to the value of a parameter, write `$name' or `${name}'.   See
       Parameter Expansion in zshexpn(1) for complete details.

       In  the	parameter lists that follow, the mark `<S>' indicates that the
       parameter is  special.	Special	 parameters  cannot  have  their  type
       changed, and they stay special even if unset.  `<Z>' indicates that the
       parameter does not exist when the shell initializes in sh or ksh emula‐
       tion mode.

ARRAY PARAMETERS
       To assign an array value, write one of:

	      set -A name value ...
	      name=(value ...)

       If  no  parameter  name exists, an ordinary array parameter is created.
       If the parameter name exists and is a scalar, it is replaced by	a  new
       array.  Ordinary array parameters may also be explicitly declared with:

	      typeset -a name

       Associative arrays must be declared before assignment, by using:

	      typeset -A name

       When  name refers to an associative array, the list in an assignment is
       interpreted as alternating keys and values:

	      set -A name key value ...
	      name=(key value ...)

       Every key must have a value in this case.  Note that  this  assigns  to
       the entire array, deleting any elements that do not appear in the list.

       To create an empty array (including associative arrays), use one of:

	      set -A name
	      name=()

   Array Subscripts
       Individual  elements  of an array may be selected using a subscript.  A
       subscript of the form `[exp]' selects the single element exp, where exp
       is  an arithmetic expression which will be subject to arithmetic expan‐
       sion as if it were surrounded by `$((...))'.  The elements are numbered
       beginning  with	1,  unless  the KSH_ARRAYS option is set in which case
       they are numbered from zero.

       Subscripts may be used inside braces used to delimit a parameter	 name,
       thus  `${foo[2]}' is equivalent to `$foo[2]'.  If the KSH_ARRAYS option
       is set, the braced form is  the	only  one  that	 works,	 as  bracketed
       expressions otherwise are not treated as subscripts.

       The  same  subscripting	syntax	is used for associative arrays, except
       that no arithmetic expansion is applied to exp.	However,  the  parsing
       rules  for  arithmetic  expressions  still apply, which affects the way
       that certain special characters must be protected from  interpretation.
       See Subscript Parsing below for details.

       A  subscript of the form `[*]' or `[@]' evaluates to all elements of an
       array; there is no difference between the two except when  they	appear
       within  double  quotes.	 `"$foo[*]"'  evaluates	 to  `"$foo[1] $foo[2]
       ..."', whereas `"$foo[@]"' evaluates to `"$foo[1]" "$foo[2]" ...'.  For
       associative  arrays, `[*]' or `[@]' evaluate to all the values (not the
       keys, but see Subscript Flags below), in no particular order.  When  an
       array  parameter is referenced as `$name' (with no subscript) it evalu‐
       ates to `$name[*]', unless the KSH_ARRAYS option is set in  which  case
       it  evaluates to `${name[0]}' (for an associative array, this means the
       value of the key `0', which may not exist even if there are values  for
       other keys).

       A subscript of the form `[exp1,exp2]' selects all elements in the range
       exp1 to exp2, inclusive. (Associative arrays are unordered, and	so  do
       not  support  ranges.) If one of the subscripts evaluates to a negative
       number, say -n, then the nth element from the end of the array is used.
       Thus `$foo[-3]' is the third element from the end of the array foo, and
       `$foo[1,-1]' is the same as `$foo[*]'.

       Subscripting may also be performed on non-array values, in  which  case
       the  subscripts	specify	 a substring to be extracted.  For example, if
       FOO is set to `foobar', then `echo $FOO[2,5]' prints `ooba'.

   Array Element Assignment
       A subscript may be used on the left side of an assignment like so:

	      name[exp]=value

       In this form of assignment the element or range	specified  by  exp  is
       replaced	 by  the  expression  on the right side.  An array (but not an
       associative array) may be created by assignment to a range or  element.
       Arrays  do  not nest, so assigning a parenthesized list of values to an
       element or range changes the number of elements in the array,  shifting
       the  other  elements  to accommodate the new values.  (This is not sup‐
       ported for associative arrays.)

       This syntax also works as an argument to the typeset command:

	      typeset "name[exp]"=value

       The value may not be a parenthesized  list  in  this  case;  only  sin‐
       gle-element assignments may be made with typeset.  Note that quotes are
       necessary in this case to prevent the brackets from  being  interpreted
       as filename generation operators.  The noglob precommand modifier could
       be used instead.

       To delete an element of an ordinary array, assign `()' to that element.
       To delete an element of an associative array, use the unset command:

	      unset "name[exp]"

   Subscript Flags
       If  the	opening	 bracket,  or  the  comma in a range, in any subscript
       expression is directly followed by an opening parenthesis,  the	string
       up  to the matching closing one is considered to be a list of flags, as
       in `name[(flags)exp]'.  The flags currently understood are:

       w      If the parameter subscripted is a scalar than  this  flag	 makes
	      subscripting  work  on words instead of characters.  The default
	      word separator is whitespace.

       s:string:
	      This gives the string that separates words (for use with	the  w
	      flag).

       p      Recognize	 the same escape sequences as the print builtin in the
	      string argument of a subsequent `s' flag.

       f      If the parameter subscripted is a scalar than  this  flag	 makes
	      subscripting work on lines instead of characters, i.e. with ele‐
	      ments separated by newlines.  This is a shorthand for `pws:\n:'.

       r      Reverse subscripting: if this flag is given, the exp is taken as
	      a	 pattern  and  the result is the first matching array element,
	      substring or word (if the parameter is an	 array,	 if  it	 is  a
	      scalar,  or if it is a scalar and the `w' flag is given, respec‐
	      tively).	The subscript used is the number of the matching  ele‐
	      ment,  so	 that  pairs of subscripts such as `$foo[(r)??,3]' and
	      `$foo[(r)??,(r)f*]' are possible.	 If the parameter is an	 asso‐
	      ciative  array,  only the value part of each pair is compared to
	      the pattern, and the result is that value.   Reverse  subscripts
	      may  be  used  for assigning to ordinary array elements, but not
	      for assigning to associative arrays.

       R      Like `r', but gives the last  match.   For  associative  arrays,
	      gives all possible matches.

       i      Like `r', but gives the index of the match instead; this may not
	      be combined with a second argument.  On  the  left  side	of  an
	      assignment,  behaves  like `r'.  For associative arrays, the key
	      part of each pair is compared to	the  pattern,  and  the	 first
	      matching key found is the result.

       I      Like `i', but gives the index of the last match, or all possible
	      matching keys in an associative array.

       k      If used in a subscript on an associative array, this flag causes
	      the  keys	 to  be interpreted as patterns, and returns the value
	      for the first key found where exp is matched by the  key.	  This
	      flag does not work on the left side of an assignment to an asso‐
	      ciative array element.  If used on another  type	of  parameter,
	      this behaves like `r'.

       K      On  an associative array this is like `k' but returns all values
	      where exp is matched by the keys.	 On other types of  parameters
	      this has the same effect as `R'.

       n:expr:
	      If  combined  with `r', `R', `i' or `I', makes them give the nth
	      or nth last match (if  expr  evaluates  to  n).	This  flag  is
	      ignored when the array is associative.

       b:expr:
	      If  combined  with `r', `R', `i' or `I', makes them begin at the
	      nth or nth last element, word, or character (if  expr  evaluates
	      to n).  This flag is ignored when the array is associative.

       e      This  flag has no effect and for ordinary arrays is retained for
	      backward compatibility only.  For associative arrays, this  flag
	      can  be  used  to force * or @ to be interpreted as a single key
	      rather than as a reference to all values.	 This flag may be used
	      on the left side of an assignment.

       See  Parameter  Expansion  Flags	 (zshexpn(1))  for  additional ways to
       manipulate the results of array subscripting.

   Subscript Parsing
       This discussion applies mainly to associative array key strings and  to
       patterns used for reverse subscripting (the `r', `R', `i', etc. flags),
       but it may also affect parameter substitutions that appear as  part  of
       an arithmetic expression in an ordinary subscript.

       The  basic rule to remember when writing a subscript expression is that
       all text between the opening `[' and the closing `]' is interpreted  as
       if  it  were in double quotes (see zshmisc(1)).	However, unlike double
       quotes which normally cannot nest,  subscript  expressions  may	appear
       inside  double-quoted strings or inside other subscript expressions (or
       both!), so the rules have two important differences.

       The first difference is that brackets (`[' and `]') must appear as bal‐
       anced  pairs  in	 a  subscript expression unless they are preceded by a
       backslash (`\').	 Therefore, within a subscript expression (and	unlike
       true  double-quoting) the sequence `\[' becomes `[', and similarly `\]'
       becomes `]'.  This applies even in cases where a backslash is not  nor‐
       mally required; for example, the pattern `[^[]' (to match any character
       other than an open bracket) should be written `[^\[]' in a reverse-sub‐
       script pattern.	However, note that `\[^\[\]' and even `\[^[]' mean the
       same thing, because backslashes are always stripped  when  they	appear
       before brackets!

       The  same rule applies to parentheses (`(' and `)') and braces (`{' and
       `}'): they must appear either in balanced pairs or preceded by a	 back‐
       slash,  and  backslashes that protect parentheses or braces are removed
       during parsing.	This is because parameter expansions may be surrounded
       balanced	 braces, and subscript flags are introduced by balanced paren‐
       thesis.

       The second difference is that a double-quote (`"') may appear  as  part
       of  a  subscript	 expression without being preceded by a backslash, and
       therefore that the two characters `\"' remain as two characters in  the
       subscript (in true double-quoting, `\"' becomes `"').  However, because
       of the standard shell quoting rules, any double-quotes that appear must
       occur  in balanced pairs unless preceded by a backslash.	 This makes it
       more difficult to write a subscript expression  that  contains  an  odd
       number  of  double-quote characters, but the reason for this difference
       is so that  when	 a  subscript  expression  appears  inside  true  dou‐
       ble-quotes, one can still write `\"' (rather than `\\\"') for `"'.

       To  use	an  odd number of double quotes as a key in an assignment, use
       the typeset builtin and an enclosing pair of double quotes; to refer to
       the value of that key, again use double quotes:

	      typeset -A aa
	      typeset "aa[one\"two\"three\"quotes]"=QQQ
	      print "$aa[one\"two\"three\"quotes]"

       It  is  important  to  note that the quoting rules do not change when a
       parameter expansion with a subscript is nested inside another subscript
       expression.  That is, it is not necessary to use additional backslashes
       within the inner subscript expression; they are removed only once, from
       the  innermost  subscript  outwards.  Parameters are also expanded from
       the innermost subscript first, as each expansion is encountered left to
       right in the outer expression.

       A  further complication arises from a way in which subscript parsing is
       not different from double quote parsing.	 As  in	 true  double-quoting,
       the  sequences `\*', and `\@' remain as two characters when they appear
       in a subscript expression.  To use a literal `*' or `@' as an  associa‐
       tive array key, the `e' flag must be used:

	      typeset -A aa
	      aa[(e)*]=star
	      print $aa[(e)*]

       A  last	detail	must  be  considered when reverse subscripting is per‐
       formed.	Parameters appearing in the  subscript	expression  are	 first
       expanded	 and then the complete expression is interpreted as a pattern.
       This has two effects: first, parameters behave as if GLOB_SUBST were on
       (and  it	 cannot	 be  turned  off); second, backslashes are interpreted
       twice, once when parsing the array subscript and again when parsing the
       pattern.	  In  a	 reverse  subscript,  it's necessary to use four back‐
       slashes to cause a single backslash to match literally in the  pattern.
       For complex patterns, it is often easiest to assign the desired pattern
       to a parameter and then refer  to  that	parameter  in  the  subscript,
       because	then  the  backslashes,	 brackets, parentheses, etc., are seen
       only when the complete expression is converted to a pattern.  To	 match
       the  value of a parameter literally in a reverse subscript, rather than
       as a pattern, use `${(q)name}' (see zshexpn(1)) to quote	 the  expanded
       value.

       Note  that  the `k' and `K' flags are reverse subscripting for an ordi‐
       nary array, but are not reverse subscripting for an associative	array!
       (For an associative array, the keys in the array itself are interpreted
       as patterns by those flags; the subscript is a  plain  string  in  that
       case.)

       One final note, not directly related to subscripting: the numeric names
       of positional parameters (described below) are parsed specially, so for
       example	`$2foo'	 is  equivalent	 to `${2}foo'.	Therefore, to use sub‐
       script syntax to extract a substring from a positional  parameter,  the
       expansion must be surrounded by braces; for example, `${2[3,5]}' evalu‐
       ates to the third through fifth characters  of  the  second  positional
       parameter,  but	`$2[3,5]'  is the entire second parameter concatenated
       with the filename generation pattern `[3,5]'.

POSITIONAL PARAMETERS
       The positional parameters provide access to the command-line  arguments
       of a shell function, shell script, or the shell itself; see the section
       `Invocation', and also the section `Functions'.	The parameter n, where
       n  is  a	 number, is the nth positional parameter.  The parameters *, @
       and argv are arrays containing  all  the	 positional  parameters;  thus
       `$argv[n]', etc., is equivalent to simply `$n'.

       Positional parameters may be changed after the shell or function starts
       by using the set builtin, by assigning to the argv array, or by	direct
       assignment  of  the  form  `n=value' where n is the number of the posi‐
       tional parameter to be changed.	This also creates (with empty  values)
       any of the positions from 1 to n that do not already have values.  Note
       that, because the positional parameters form an array, an array assign‐
       ment  of	 the  form  `n=(value  ...)' is allowed, and has the effect of
       shifting all the values at positions greater than n by  as  many	 posi‐
       tions as necessary to accommodate the new values.

LOCAL PARAMETERS
       Shell function executions delimit scopes for shell parameters.  (Param‐
       eters are dynamically scoped.)  The typeset builtin, and	 its  alterna‐
       tive  forms  declare, integer, local and readonly (but not export), can
       be used to declare a parameter as being local to the innermost scope.

       When a parameter is read or assigned to, the innermost existing parame‐
       ter  of	that  name  is	used.  (That is, the local parameter hides any
       less-local parameter.)  However, assigning to a non-existent parameter,
       or  declaring  a	 new parameter with export, causes it to be created in
       the outermost scope.

       Local parameters disappear when their scope ends.  unset can be used to
       delete  a  parameter while it is still in scope; any outer parameter of
       the same name remains hidden.

       Special parameters may also be made local; they	retain	their  special
       attributes  unless  either  the existing or the newly-created parameter
       has the -h (hide) attribute.  This may have unexpected  effects:	 there
       is  no  default	value,	so  if there is no assignment at the point the
       variable is made local, it will be set to an empty value	 (or  zero  in
       the case of integers).  The following:

	      typeset PATH=/new/directory:$PATH

       is  valid  for temporarily allowing the shell or programmes called from
       it to find the programs in /new/directory inside a function.

       Note that the restriction in older versions of zsh that	local  parame‐
       ters were never exported has been removed.

PARAMETERS SET BY THE SHELL
       The following parameters are automatically set by the shell:

       ! <S>  The process ID of the last background command invoked.

       # <S>  The  number of positional parameters in decimal.	Note that some
	      confusion may occur with the syntax  $#param  which  substitutes
	      the  length of param.  Use ${#} to resolve ambiguities.  In par‐
	      ticular, the sequence `$#-...' in an  arithmetic	expression  is
	      interpreted as the length of the parameter -, q.v.

       ARGC <S> <Z>
	      Same as #.

       $ <S>  The process ID of this shell.

       - <S>  Flags  supplied  to  the	shell  on  invocation or by the set or
	      setopt commands.

       * <S>  An array containing the positional parameters.

       argv <S> <Z>
	      Same as *.  Assigning  to	 argv  changes	the  local  positional
	      parameters,  but argv is not itself a local parameter.  Deleting
	      argv with unset in any function deletes it everywhere,  although
	      only  the	 innermost positional parameter array is deleted (so *
	      and @ in other scopes are not affected).

       @ <S>  Same as argv[@], even when argv is not set.

       ? <S>  The exit value returned by the last command.

       0 <S>  The name used  to	 invoke	 the  current  shell.	If  the	 FUNC‐
	      TION_ARGZERO  option  is	set,  this is set temporarily within a
	      shell function to the name of the function, and within a sourced
	      script to the name of the script.

       status <S> <Z>
	      Same as ?.

       pipestatus <S> <Z>
	      An  array containing the exit values returned by all commands in
	      the last pipeline.

       _ <S>  The last argument of the previous command.  Also, this parameter
	      is  set in the environment of every command executed to the full
	      pathname of the command.

       CPUTYPE
	      The machine type (microprocessor class  or  machine  model),  as
	      determined at run time.

       EGID <S>
	      The effective group ID of the shell process.  If you have suffi‐
	      cient privileges, you may change the effective group ID  of  the
	      shell  process  by  assigning to this parameter.	Also (assuming
	      sufficient privileges), you may start a single  command  with  a
	      different effective group ID by `(EGID=gid; command)'

       EUID <S>
	      The  effective user ID of the shell process.  If you have suffi‐
	      cient privileges, you may change the effective user  ID  of  the
	      shell  process  by  assigning to this parameter.	Also (assuming
	      sufficient privileges), you may start a single  command  with  a
	      different effective user ID by `(EUID=uid; command)'

       ERRNO <S>
	      The  value  of  errno (see errno(3)) as set by the most recently
	      failed system call.  This	 value	is  system  dependent  and  is
	      intended for debugging purposes.

       GID <S>
	      The  real group ID of the shell process.	If you have sufficient
	      privileges, you may change the group ID of the shell process  by
	      assigning	 to  this parameter.  Also (assuming sufficient privi‐
	      leges), you may start a single command under a  different	 group
	      ID by `(GID=gid; command)'

       HOST   The current hostname.

       LINENO <S>
	      The  line	 number of the current line within the current script,
	      sourced file, or shell function being  executed,	whichever  was
	      started most recently.  Note that in the case of shell functions
	      the line number refers to the function as	 it  appeared  in  the
	      original	definition,  not necessarily as displayed by the func‐
	      tions builtin.

       LOGNAME
	      If the corresponding variable is not set in the  environment  of
	      the  shell, it is initialized to the login name corresponding to
	      the current login session. This parameter is exported by default
	      but this can be disabled using the typeset builtin.

       MACHTYPE
	      The  machine  type  (microprocessor  class or machine model), as
	      determined at compile time.

       OLDPWD The previous working directory.  This is set when the shell ini‐
	      tializes and whenever the directory changes.

       OPTARG <S>
	      The  value  of the last option argument processed by the getopts
	      command.

       OPTIND <S>
	      The index of the last option argument processed by  the  getopts
	      command.

       OSTYPE The operating system, as determined at compile time.

       PPID <S>
	      The process ID of the parent of the shell.

       PWD    The  present working directory.  This is set when the shell ini‐
	      tializes and whenever the directory changes.

       RANDOM <S>
	      A random integer from 0 to 32767, newly generated each time this
	      parameter	 is  referenced.   The	random number generator can be
	      seeded by assigning a numeric value to RANDOM.

       SECONDS <S>
	      The number of seconds since shell invocation.  If this parameter
	      is assigned a value, then the value returned upon reference will
	      be the value that was assigned plus the number of seconds	 since
	      the assignment.

       SHLVL <S>
	      Incremented by one each time a new shell is started.

       signals
	      An array containing the names of the signals.

       TTY    The name of the tty associated with the shell, if any.

       TTYIDLE <S>
	      The idle time of the tty associated with the shell in seconds or
	      -1 if there is no such tty.

       UID <S>
	      The real user ID of the shell process.  If you  have  sufficient
	      privileges, you may change the user ID of the shell by assigning
	      to this parameter.  Also (assuming sufficient  privileges),  you
	      may  start  a  single  command  under  a	different  user	 ID by
	      `(UID=uid; command)'

       USERNAME <S>
	      The username corresponding to the real  user  ID	of  the	 shell
	      process.	 If you have sufficient privileges, you may change the
	      username (and also the user ID and group ID)  of	the  shell  by
	      assigning	 to  this parameter.  Also (assuming sufficient privi‐
	      leges), you may start a single command under a  different	 user‐
	      name  (and  user	ID  and group ID) by `(USERNAME=username; com‐
	      mand)'

       VENDOR The vendor, as determined at compile time.

       ZSH_NAME
	      Expands to the basename of  the  command	used  to  invoke  this
	      instance of zsh.

       ZSH_VERSION
	      The version number of this zsh.

PARAMETERS USED BY THE SHELL
       The following parameters are used by the shell.

       In  cases  where	 there are two parameters with an upper- and lowercase
       form of the same name, such as path and PATH, the lowercase form is  an
       array and the uppercase form is a scalar with the elements of the array
       joined together by colons.  These are similar to tied  parameters  cre‐
       ated  via `typeset -T'.	The normal use for the colon-separated form is
       for exporting to the environment, while the array  form	is  easier  to
       manipulate  within  the	shell.	Note that unsetting either of the pair
       will unset the other; they retain their special properties when	recre‐
       ated, and recreating one of the pair will recreate the other.

       ARGV0  If  exported,  its value is used as the argv[0] of external com‐
	      mands.  Usually used in constructs like `ARGV0=emacs nethack'.

       BAUD   The baud rate of the current connection.	Used by the line  edi‐
	      tor update mechanism to compensate for a slow terminal by delay‐
	      ing updates until necessary.  This may be profitably  set	 to  a
	      lower value in some circumstances, e.g.  for slow modems dialing
	      into a communications server which is connected to a host via  a
	      fast  link;  in this case, this variable would be set by default
	      to the speed of the fast link, and not the modem.	 This  parame‐
	      ter  should  be  set to the baud rate of the slowest part of the
	      link for best performance. The  compensation  mechanism  can  be
	      turned off by setting the variable to zero.

       cdpath <S> <Z> (CDPATH <S>)
	      An  array	 (colon-separated  list) of directories specifying the
	      search path for the cd command.

       COLUMNS <S>
	      The number of columns  for  this	terminal  session.   Used  for
	      printing select lists and for the line editor.

       DIRSTACKSIZE
	      The  maximum  size  of  the  directory stack.  If the stack gets
	      larger than this, it will be truncated automatically.   This  is
	      useful with the AUTO_PUSHD option.

       FCEDIT The default editor for the fc builtin.

       fignore <S> <Z> (FIGNORE <S>)
	      An array (colon separated list) containing the suffixes of files
	      to be ignored during filename completion.	 However, if the  com‐
	      pletion  generates only files which would match if this variable
	      would be ignored, than these files are completed anyway.

       fpath <S> <Z> (FPATH <S>)
	      An array (colon separated list) of  directories  specifying  the
	      search  path  for	 function  definitions.	 This path is searched
	      when a function with the -u attribute is referenced.  If an exe‐
	      cutable  file is found, then it is read and executed in the cur‐
	      rent environment.

       histchars <S>
	      Three characters used by the shell's history and lexical	analy‐
	      sis  mechanism.  The first character signals the start of a his‐
	      tory expansion (default `!').  The second character signals  the
	      start  of a quick history substitution (default `^').  The third
	      character is the comment character (default `#').

       HISTCHARS <S> <Z>
	      Same as histchars.  (Deprecated.)

       HISTFILE
	      The file to save the history in when an interactive shell exits.
	      If unset, the history is not saved.

       HISTSIZE <S>
	      The  maximum  number  of	events	stored in the internal history
	      list.  If you use	 the  HIST_EXPIRE_DUPS_FIRST  option,  setting
	      this  value larger than the SAVEHIST size will give you the dif‐
	      ference as a cushion for saving duplicated history events.

       HOME <S>
	      The default argument for the cd command.

       IFS <S>
	      Internal field separators (by default space,  tab,  newline  and
	      NUL),  that are used to separate words which result from command
	      or parameter expansion and words read by the read builtin.   Any
	      characters  from	the  set space, tab and newline that appear in
	      the IFS are called IFS white space.  One or more IFS white space
	      characters  or  one  non-IFS white space character together with
	      any adjacent IFS white space character delimit a field.	If  an
	      IFS  white  space	 character  appears twice consecutively in the
	      IFS, this character is treated as if it were not	an  IFS	 white
	      space character.

       KEYTIMEOUT
	      The  time the shell waits, in hundredths of seconds, for another
	      key to be pressed when reading bound multi-character sequences.

       LANG <S>
	      This variable determines the locale category  for	 any  category
	      not specifically selected via a variable starting with `LC_'.

       LC_ALL <S>
	      This variable overrides the value of the `LANG' variable and the
	      value of any of the other variables starting with `LC_'.

       LC_COLLATE <S>
	      This variable determines the locale category for character  col‐
	      lation  information within ranges in glob brackets and for sort‐
	      ing.

       LC_CTYPE <S>
	      This variable determines the locale category for character  han‐
	      dling functions.

       LC_MESSAGES <S>
	      This  variable  determines the language in which messages should
	      be written.  Note that zsh does not use message catalogs.

       LC_NUMERIC <S>
	      This variable affects the decimal point character and  thousands
	      separator character for the formatted input/output functions and
	      string conversion functions.  Note that zsh ignores this setting
	      when parsing floating point mathematical expressions.

       LC_TIME <S>
	      This  variable  determines the locale category for date and time
	      formatting in prompt escape sequences.

       LINES <S>
	      The number of lines for this terminal session.  Used for	print‐
	      ing select lists and for the line editor.

       LISTMAX
	      In the line editor, the number of matches to list without asking
	      first. If the value is negative, the list will be	 shown	if  it
	      spans  at most as many lines as given by the absolute value.  If
	      set to zero, the shell asks only if the top of the listing would
	      scroll off the screen.

       LOGCHECK
	      The interval in seconds between checks for login/logout activity
	      using the watch parameter.

       MAIL   If this parameter is set and mailpath  is	 not  set,  the	 shell
	      looks for mail in the specified file.

       MAILCHECK
	      The interval in seconds between checks for new mail.

       mailpath <S> <Z> (MAILPATH <S>)
	      An  array	 (colon-separated  list) of filenames to check for new
	      mail.  Each filename can be followed by a `?' and a message that
	      will  be printed.	 The message will undergo parameter expansion,
	      command substitution and arithmetic expansion with the  variable
	      $_  defined  as  the  name  of  the  file that has changed.  The
	      default message is `You have new mail'.	If  an	element	 is  a
	      directory	 instead  of  a	 file the shell will recursively check
	      every file in every subdirectory of the element.

       manpath <S> <Z> (MANPATH <S> <Z>)
	      An array (colon-separated list) whose value is not used  by  the
	      shell.   The manpath array can be useful, however, since setting
	      it also sets MANPATH, and vice versa.

       module_path <S> <Z> (MODULE_PATH <S>)
	      An array (colon-separated list)  of  directories	that  zmodload
	      searches	for dynamically loadable modules.  This is initialized
	      to a standard  pathname,	usually	 `/usr/local/lib/zsh/$ZSH_VER‐
	      SION'.   (The  `/usr/local/lib' part varies from installation to
	      installation.)  For security reasons, any value set in the envi‐
	      ronment when the shell is started will be ignored.

	      These parameters only exist if the installation supports dynamic
	      module loading.

       NULLCMD <S>
	      The command name to assume if a redirection is specified with no
	      command.	 Defaults to cat.  For sh/ksh behavior, change this to
	      :.  For csh-like behavior, unset this parameter; the shell  will
	      print an error message if null commands are entered.

       path <S> <Z> (PATH <S>)
	      An  array	 (colon-separated  list)  of directories to search for
	      commands.	 When this parameter is set, each directory is scanned
	      and all files found are put in a hash table.

       POSTEDIT <S>
	      This  string  is output whenever the line editor exits.  It usu‐
	      ally contains termcap strings to reset the terminal.

       PROMPT <S> <Z>
       PROMPT2 <S> <Z>
       PROMPT3 <S> <Z>
       PROMPT4 <S> <Z>
	      Same as PS1, PS2, PS3 and PS4, respectively.

       prompt <S> <Z>
	      Same as PS1.

       PS1 <S>
	      The primary prompt string, printed before	 a  command  is	 read.
	      the  default  is `%m%# '.	 It undergoes a special form of expan‐
	      sion before being displayed; see the section `Prompt Expansion'.

       PS2 <S>
	      The secondary prompt, printed when the shell needs more informa‐
	      tion  to	complete a command.  It is expanded in the same way as
	      PS1.  The default is `%_> ', which displays any shell constructs
	      or quotation marks which are currently being processed.

       PS3 <S>
	      Selection	 prompt	 used within a select loop.  It is expanded in
	      the same way as PS1.  The default is `?# '.

       PS4 <S>
	      The execution trace prompt.  Default is `+%N:%i> ',  which  dis‐
	      plays  the name of the current shell structure and the line num‐
	      ber within it.  In sh or ksh emulation, the default is `+ '.

       psvar <S> <Z> (PSVAR <S>)
	      An array (colon-separated list) whose first nine values  can  be
	      used in PROMPT strings.  Setting psvar also sets PSVAR, and vice
	      versa.

       READNULLCMD <S>
	      The command name to assume if  a	single	input  redirection  is
	      specified with no command.  Defaults to more.

       REPORTTIME
	      If  nonnegative,	commands whose combined user and system execu‐
	      tion times (measured in seconds) are  greater  than  this	 value
	      have timing statistics printed for them.

       REPLY  This  parameter  is reserved by convention to pass string values
	      between shell scripts and shell builtins in situations  where  a
	      function call or redirection are impossible or undesirable.  The
	      read builtin and the select complex command may set  REPLY,  and
	      filename generation both sets and examines its value when evalu‐
	      ating certain expressions.  Some modules also employ  REPLY  for
	      similar purposes.

       reply  As REPLY, but for array values rather than strings.

       RPROMPT <S>
       RPS1 <S>
	      This  prompt  is	displayed on the right-hand side of the screen
	      when the primary prompt is being displayed on  the  left.	  This
	      does  not	 work  if  the	SINGLELINEZLE  option  is  set.	 It is
	      expanded in the same way as PS1.

       SAVEHIST
	      The maximum number of history events  to	save  in  the  history
	      file.

       SPROMPT <S>
	      The  prompt  used	 for  spelling	correction.  The sequence `%R'
	      expands to the string which presumably  needs  spelling  correc‐
	      tion,  and  `%r'	expands to the proposed correction.  All other
	      prompt escapes are also allowed.

       STTY   If this parameter is set in a command's environment,  the	 shell
	      runs  the stty command with the value of this parameter as argu‐
	      ments in order to set up the terminal before executing the  com‐
	      mand. The modes apply only to the command, and are reset when it
	      finishes or is suspended. If the command is suspended  and  con‐
	      tinued  later with the fg or wait builtins it will see the modes
	      specified by STTY, as if it were not  suspended.	 This  (inten‐
	      tionally)	 does  not apply if the command is continued via `kill
	      -CONT'.  STTY is ignored if the command  is  run	in  the	 back‐
	      ground,  or  if  it  is  in the environment of the shell but not
	      explicitly assigned to in the input line.	 This  avoids  running
	      stty  at	every  external	 command by accidentally exporting it.
	      Also note that STTY should not be used for window size  specifi‐
	      cations; these will not be local to the command.

       TERM <S>
	      The type of terminal in use.  This is used when looking up term‐
	      cap sequences.  An assignment to TERM causes zsh to  re-initial‐
	      ize  the	terminal,  even	 if  the  value does not change (e.g.,
	      `TERM=$TERM').  It is necessary to make such an assignment  upon
	      any  change to the terminal definition database or terminal type
	      in order for the new settings to take effect.

       TIMEFMT
	      The format of process time reports with the time	keyword.   The
	      default is `%E real  %U user  %S system  %P %J'.	Recognizes the
	      following escape sequences:

	      %%     A `%'.
	      %U     CPU seconds spent in user mode.
	      %S     CPU seconds spent in kernel mode.
	      %E     Elapsed time in seconds.
	      %P     The CPU percentage, computed as (%U+%S)/%E.
	      %J     The name of this job.

	      A star may be inserted between the percent sign and flags print‐
	      ing  time.   This cause the time to be printed in `hh:mm:ss.ttt'
	      format (hours and minutes are  only  printed  if	they  are  not
	      zero).

       TMOUT  If  this	parameter  is  nonzero, the shell will receive an ALRM
	      signal if a command is not entered within the  specified	number
	      of  seconds  after  issuing  a  prompt.  If  there  is a trap on
	      SIGALRM, it will be executed and a new alarm is scheduled	 using
	      the  value  of the TMOUT parameter after executing the trap.  If
	      no trap is set, and the idle time of the terminal	 is  not  less
	      than  the	 value of the TMOUT parameter, zsh terminates.	Other‐
	      wise a new alarm is scheduled to TMOUT seconds  after  the  last
	      keypress.

       TMPPREFIX
	      A	 pathname  prefix  which  the shell will use for all temporary
	      files.  Note that this should include an initial	part  for  the
	      file  name  as  well  as	any  directory	names.	The default is
	      `/tmp/zsh'.

       watch <S> <Z> (WATCH <S>)
	      An  array	 (colon-separated  list)  of  login/logout  events  to
	      report.	If  it	contains  the  single  word  `all',  then  all
	      login/logout events are reported.	 If  it	 contains  the	single
	      word  `notme', then all events are reported as with `all' except
	      $USERNAME.  An entry in this list may consist of a username,  an
	      `@'  followed by a remote hostname, and a `%' followed by a line
	      (tty).  Any or all of these components  may  be  present	in  an
	      entry;  if  a  login/logout  event  matches  all	of them, it is
	      reported.

       WATCHFMT
	      The format of login/logout reports if  the  watch	 parameter  is
	      set.  Default is `%n has %a %l from %m'.	Recognizes the follow‐
	      ing escape sequences:

	      %n     The name of the user that logged in/out.

	      %a     The observed action, i.e. "logged on" or "logged off".

	      %l     The line (tty) the user is logged in on.

	      %M     The full hostname of the remote host.

	      %m     The hostname up to the first `.'.	If only the IP address
		     is	 available  or	the utmp field contains the name of an
		     X-windows display, the whole name is printed.

		     NOTE: The `%m' and `%M' escapes will work only  if	 there
		     is a host name field in the utmp on your machine.	Other‐
		     wise they are treated as ordinary strings.

	      %S (%s)
		     Start (stop) standout mode.

	      %U (%u)
		     Start (stop) underline mode.

	      %B (%b)
		     Start (stop) boldface mode.

	      %t
	      %@     The time, in 12-hour, am/pm format.

	      %T     The time, in 24-hour format.

	      %w     The date in `day-dd' format.

	      %W     The date in `mm/dd/yy' format.

	      %D     The date in `yy-mm-dd' format.

	      %(x:true-text:false-text)
		     Specifies a ternary expression.  The character  following
		     the  x  is arbitrary; the same character is used to sepa‐
		     rate the text for the "true" result  from	that  for  the
		     "false"  result.  Both the separator and the right paren‐
		     thesis may be escaped with a backslash.  Ternary  expres‐
		     sions may be nested.

		     The  test	character x may be any one of `l', `n', `m' or
		     `M', which indicate a `true' result if the	 corresponding
		     escape sequence would return a non-empty value; or it may
		     be `a', which indicates a `true' result  if  the  watched
		     user  has	logged	in,  or	 `false' if he has logged out.
		     Other characters evaluate to neither true nor false;  the
		     entire expression is omitted in this case.

		     If	 the result is `true', then the true-text is formatted
		     according	to  the	 rules	above  and  printed,  and  the
		     false-text	 is  skipped.	If  `false',  the true-text is
		     skipped and the  false-text  is  formatted	 and  printed.
		     Either  or	 both  of  the branches may be empty, but both
		     separators must be present in any case.

       WORDCHARS <S>
	      A list of non-alphanumeric characters considered part of a  word
	      by the line editor.

       ZBEEP  If set, this gives a string of characters, which can use all the
	      same codes as the bindkey command as described  in  the  zsh/zle
	      module entry in zshmodules(1), that will be output to the termi‐
	      nal instead of beeping.  This may have a visible instead	of  an
	      audible  effect;	for  example,  the  string `\e[?5h\e[?5l' on a
	      vt100 or xterm will have the effect of flashing reverse video on
	      and  off	(if  you usually use reverse video, you should use the
	      string `\e[?5l\e[?5h' instead).  This takes precedence over  the
	      NOBEEP option.

       ZDOTDIR
	      The  directory  to search for shell startup files (.zshrc, etc),
	      if not $HOME.

zsh 4.0.4		       October 26, 2001			   ZSHPARAM(1)
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