usage

NAME

SYNOPSIS

usage [ what ]

AVAILABILITY

DESCRIPTION

To print the usage of the additional commands, all ASCII files in the defined directories and the user login files $ENV and $HOME/.cshrc (depending on the used shell) are searched for the pattern # usage: command ... .

To list commands in the usage output, add the following line to your commands:

  # usage: my_command [ options ]      - short command description

Ensure that the alignment is precisely done as in this example, otherwise the output of usage is not aligned and looks messy.

For binary files or not self developed commands to be listed with usage the convention is to add a usage.list file into a searched directory containing the # usage: entries.

Add the [helper] "tag" to the usage string

  # usage: my_command [ options ]      - [helper] short command description

to indicate that the command is not a fully honed command, but a "helper" script which provides output or functionality which needs further manual intervention.

OPTIONS

-h

usage message. The usage message also prints a template of the searched # usage: string that can be added to new commands.

-t

print usage entry template.

what

select commands starting with what from the whole usage list output.

ENVIRONMENT

$USAGE_PATH

colon separated path of directories where to scan files for the # usage: pattern and to search for the usage.list files.

If $USAGE_PATH is not set the directories edrc/bin/, edrc/lib/, edrc/lib/ksh/, edrc/lib/perl/, edrc/lib/python/, edrc/lib/lua/ and edrc/lib/daemon/ are searched by default.

EXIT STATUS

0

no error.

4

usage printed.

FILES

usage.list

usage list of 3rd party commands or compiled commands.

$HOME/.cshrc

C-shell initialization file.

$ENV

Bourne-, Bourne-Again shell initialization file.

EXAMPLES

SEE ALSO

NOTES

BUGS

AUTHOR

COPYRIGHT

This is free software; see edrc/doc/COPYING for copying conditions. There is ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY; not even for MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.