VMS Help TCPIP Services, Command Syntax  *Conan The Librarian (sorry for the slow response - running on an old VAX)

    Use the following rules when you type a command line:

    o  DCL and UNIX command formats

       Most command descriptions specify both a DCL-style format and
       a UNIX style format. You can, therefore, type command lines
       in either format. For example, the following two command lines
       achieve the same results:

       TELNET> CONNECT BENTLEY
       TELNET> open bentley

    o  Keyword abbreviations

       You can abbreviate commands and qualifiers to the fewest
       number of characters, usually three, that uniquely identifies
       the keyword. For example, the following two command lines
       achieve the same results:

       $ RL RENT /USE=BUNNINGS
       $ RLOGIN RENT /USER_NAME=BUNNINGS

    o  Quotation marks

       Due to differences in OpenVMS and UNIX syntax, some command
       lines require quotation marks for selected keywords. These
       requirements apply to case sensitivity, slashes, and certain
       special characters (such as &, =, and \).

       UNIX is case sensitive; UNIX host names, user names, and
       passwords are usually lowercase. All UNIX directory names
       contain slashes.

       Refer to each individual component for its specific command
       syntax.

    o  Names and addresses

       Unless otherwise stated, whenever you specify a host on a
       command line, you can use its host name, a fully qualified
       domain name, or its IP address. The relative name of a host
       is a simple name that does not include the fully qualified
       domain name. That is, it does not include one or more periods
       (.). For example, the relative host name VENDOR might have a
       fully qualified domain name such as VENDOR.GOODS.IGCORP.COM.
       The following two examples show two ways to enter the TELNET
       command to connect to host VENDOR at IP address 17.22.3.4.

       $ TELNET VENDOR
       Trying...17.22.3.4
       Connected to VENDOR.
       Escape character is '^]'.

       UNIX V5 (vendor.goods.igcorp.com)
       login:

       or

       $ TELNET 17.22.3.4
       Trying...17.22.3.4
       Connected to 17.22.3.4.
       Escape character is '^]'.

       UNIX V5 (vendor.goods.igcorp.com)
       login:

    o  File and directory names

       When you specify OpenVMS directory names and file names,
       follow OpenVMS file specification rules, as explained in
       the OpenVMS documentation. Likewise, when you specify UNIX
       directory names and file names, follow UNIX file specification
       rules, as explained in the documentation supplied with the
       UNIX system.

    o  Multiple values for parameters

       To specify multiple values for command parameters, such as
       host names and directories, follow these guidelines:

       o  Separate elements with commas.

       o  Wildcards are valid.

       o  A space between multiple elements is optional.

       The following FTP GET command copies the files PROJ1.TXT and
       GROUP1.TXT, using a comma to separate the file names in the
       command line:

       FTP> GET PROJ1.TXT, GROUP1.TXT

       The following FTP GET command uses the asterisk (*) wildcard
       to copy all files starting with the letters "PROJ1":

       FTP> GET PROJ1*.*

    o  Multiple values for qualifiers

       To specify multiple values for qualifiers, enclose them in
       parentheses as follows:

       /qualifier=(value1,value2,value3)

       For example, the following LPRM command deletes three jobs
       from a remote print queue:

       $ LPRM EST_4_1997_Q /ENTRY=(555,556,558)

    o  Numeric values

       Unless stated otherwise, all values are decimal.

    o  Brackets and braces Command format descriptions include braces
       and brackets. You should understand the meaning of the braces
       and brackets:

       o  Braces ( { } ) - You must specify at least one of the
          enclosed values. Occasionally, you may need to specify
          all of the enclosed values (this case is always noted).

          Example 1:

          This example shows the format line for the FTP SET DEFAULT
          command. The choices for the directory specification
          parameter are enclosed in braces, which means that you must
          specify one of these values (either an OpenVMS directory
          name or a UNIX path name).

          FTP> SET DEFAULT  /LOCAL
                            {vms_directory_name}
                            {unix/path/name}

          Example 2:

          In this TELNET example, you must specify either CHAR or
          LINE.

          TELNET> SET MODE  {CHAR} {LINE}

       o  Brackets ( [ ] ) - The enclosed values are optional.

          Example 1:

          The last two parameters for the TELNET CONNECT command are
          enclosed in brackets, which means they are optional. In
          this example, the port can be specified without a terminal
          type, and the host without a port.

          TELNET> CONNECT  host [ port [terminal_type ] ]

          Example 2:

          The format of the RSH command shows that all the qualifiers
          and the remote_command parameter are optional.

          $ RSH  host
                 [ /EIGHTBIT ]
                 [ /ESCAPE_CHARACTER=character ]
                 [ /LOG_FILE=file ]
                 [ /[NO]LOWERCASE ]
                 [ /PASSWORD=password ]
                 [ /[NO]SYSERROR ]
                 [ /TERMINAL_SPEED=n ]
                 [ /TERMINAL_TYPE=type ]
                 [ /[NO]TRUNCATE_USER_NAME ]
                 [ /USER_NAME=remote_user_name ]
                 [ remote_command ]