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Annotation of 43BSD/contrib/mh/conf/doc/msh.rf, revision 1.1

1.1     ! root        1: .\"    @(MHWARNING)
        !             2: .TH MSH 1 "April 22, 1986" MH [mh.6]
        !             3: .UC 6
        !             4: .SH NAME
        !             5: msh \- MH shell (and BBoard reader)
        !             6: .SH SYNOPSIS
        !             7: .in +.5i
        !             8: .ti -.5i
        !             9: msh
        !            10: \%[\-prompt\ string]
        !            11: \%[\-scan] \%[\-noscan]
        !            12: \%[\-topcur] \%[\-notopcur]
        !            13: \%[file]
        !            14: \%[\-help]
        !            15: .in -.5i
        !            16: .SH DESCRIPTION
        !            17: \fImsh\fR is an interactive program that
        !            18: implements a subset of the normal \fIMH\fR commands
        !            19: operating on a single file in \fIpackf\fR'd format.
        !            20: That is, \fImsh\fR is used to read a file that contains a number of
        !            21: messages,
        !            22: as opposed to the standard
        !            23: \fIMH\fR
        !            24: style of reading a number of files,
        !            25: each file being a separate message in a folder.
        !            26: \fImsh\fR's chief advantage is that the normal \fIMH\fR style does not allow
        !            27: a file to have more than one message in it.
        !            28: Hence, \fImsh\fR is ideal for reading \fIBBoards\fR,
        !            29: as these files are delivered by the transport system in this format.
        !            30: In addition, \fImsh\fR can be used on other files,
        !            31: such as message archives which have been \fIpack\fRed (see \fIpackf\fR\0(1)).
        !            32: Finally, \fImsh\fR is an excellent \fIMH\fR
        !            33: tutor.
        !            34: As the only commands available to the user are \fIMH\fR commands,
        !            35: this allows \fIMH\fR beginners to concentrate on how commands to
        !            36: \fIMH\fR are formed and (more or less) what they mean.
        !            37: 
        !            38: When invoked, \fImsh\fR reads the named file, and enters a command loop.
        !            39: The user may type most of the normal
        !            40: \fIMH\fR
        !            41: commands.
        !            42: The syntax and semantics of these commands typed to \fImsh\fR are
        !            43: identical to their \fIMH\fR
        !            44: counterparts.  In cases where the nature of \fImsh\fR would be inconsistent
        !            45: (e.g., specifying a `+folder' with some commands),
        !            46: \fImsh\fR will duly inform the user.
        !            47: The commands that \fImsh\fR currently supports
        !            48: (in some slightly modified or restricted forms) are:
        !            49: .sp 1
        !            50: .in +.5i
        !            51: ali
        !            52: .br
        !            53: burst
        !            54: .br
        !            55: comp
        !            56: .br
        !            57: dist
        !            58: .br
        !            59: folder
        !            60: .br
        !            61: forw
        !            62: .br
        !            63: inc
        !            64: .br
        !            65: mark
        !            66: .br
        !            67: mhmail
        !            68: .br
        !            69: msgchk
        !            70: .br
        !            71: next
        !            72: .br
        !            73: packf
        !            74: .br
        !            75: pick
        !            76: .br
        !            77: prev
        !            78: .br
        !            79: refile
        !            80: .br
        !            81: repl
        !            82: .br
        !            83: rmm
        !            84: .br
        !            85: scan
        !            86: .br
        !            87: send
        !            88: .br
        !            89: show
        !            90: .br
        !            91: sortm
        !            92: .br
        !            93: whatnow
        !            94: .br
        !            95: whom
        !            96: .in -.5i
        !            97: 
        !            98: In addition,
        !            99: \fImsh\fR has a \*(lqhelp\*(rq command which gives a brief overview.
        !           100: To terminate \fImsh\fR, type CTRL\-D, or use the \*(lqquit\*(rq command.
        !           101: If \fImsh\fR is being invoked from \fIbbc\fR,
        !           102: then typing CTRL\-D will also tell \fIbbc\fR to exit as well,
        !           103: while using the \*(lqquit\*(rq command will return control to \fIbbc\fR,
        !           104: and \fIbbc\fR will continue examining the list of BBoards
        !           105: that it is scanning.
        !           106: 
        !           107: If the file is writable and has been modified,
        !           108: then using \*(lqquit\*(rq will query the user if the file should be updated.
        !           109: 
        !           110: The `\-prompt string' switch sets the prompting string for \fImsh\fR.
        !           111: 
        !           112: You may wish to use an alternate \fIMH\fR profile for the commands that
        !           113: \fImsh\fR executes;
        !           114: see \fImh-profile\fR\0(5) for details about the \fB$MH\fR envariable.
        !           115: 
        !           116: When invoked from \fIbbc\fR,
        !           117: two special features are enabled:
        !           118: First,
        !           119: the `\-scan' switch directs \fImsh\fR to do a `scan\0unseen' on
        !           120: start\-up if new items are present in the BBoard.
        !           121: This feature is best used from \fIbbc\fR,
        !           122: which correctly sets the stage.
        !           123: Second,
        !           124: the \fImark\fR command in \fImsh\fR acts specially when you are reading
        !           125: a BBoard,
        !           126: since \fImsh\fR will consult the sequence \*(lqunseen\*(rq in determining
        !           127: what messages you have actually read.
        !           128: When \fImsh\fR exits, it reports this information to \fIbbc\fR.
        !           129: In addition, if you give the \fImark\fR command with no arguments,
        !           130: \fImsh\fR will interpret it
        !           131: as `mark\0\-sequence\0unseen\0\-delete\0\-nozero\0all'
        !           132: Hence, to discard all of the messages in the current BBoard you're
        !           133: reading, just use the \fImark\fR command with no arguments.
        !           134: 
        !           135: Normally, the \*(lqexit\*(rq command is identical to the \*(lqquit\*(rq
        !           136: command in \fImsh\fR.
        !           137: When run under \fIbbc\fR however, \*(lqexit\*(rq directs \fImsh\fR to mark
        !           138: all messages as seen and then \*(lqquit\*(rq.
        !           139: For speedy type\-in,
        !           140: this command is often abbreviated as just \*(lqe\*(rq.
        !           141: 
        !           142: When invoked from \fIvmh\fR,
        !           143: another special feature is enabled:
        !           144: The `topcur' switch directs \fImsh\fR to have the current message
        !           145: \*(lqtrack\*(rq the top line of the \fIvmh\fR scan window.
        !           146: Normally, \fImsh\fR has the current message \*(lqtrack\*(rq the center of the
        !           147: window (under `\-notopcur', which is the default).
        !           148: 
        !           149: \fImsh\fR supports an output redirection facility.
        !           150: Commands may be followed by one of
        !           151: 
        !           152: .nf
        !           153: .in +.5i
        !           154: .ta \w'| \fIcommand\fR  'u
        !           155: ^> \fIfile\fR~^write output to \fIfile\fR
        !           156: ^>> \fIfile\fR~^append output to \fIfile\fR
        !           157: ^| \fIcommand\fR~^pipe output to UNIX \fIcommand\fR
        !           158: .re
        !           159: .in -.5i
        !           160: .fi
        !           161: 
        !           162: If \fIfile\fR starts with a `\~' (tilde),
        !           163: then a \fIcsh\fR-like expansion takes place.
        !           164: Note that \fIcommand\fR is interpreted by \fIsh\fR\0(1).
        !           165: Also note that \fImsh\fR does NOT support
        !           166: history substitutions, variable substitutions, or alias substitutions.
        !           167: 
        !           168: When parsing commands to the left of any redirection symbol,
        !           169: \fImsh\fR will honor `\\' (back\-slash) as the quote next\-character symbol,
        !           170: and `"' (double\-quote) as quote\-word delimiters.
        !           171: All other input tokens are separated by whitespace
        !           172: (spaces and tabs).
        !           173: .Fi
        !           174: ^$HOME/\&.mh\(ruprofile~^The user profile
        !           175: ^@(MHETCPATH)/mtstailor~^tailor file
        !           176: .Pr
        !           177: ^Path:~^To determine the user's MH directory
        !           178: .Ps
        !           179: ^Msg\-Protect:~^To set mode when creating a new `file'
        !           180: .Ps
        !           181: ^fileproc:~^Program to file messages
        !           182: .Ps
        !           183: ^showproc:~^Program to show messages
        !           184: .Sa
        !           185: bbc(1)
        !           186: .De
        !           187: `file' defaults to \*(lq./msgbox\*(rq
        !           188: .Ds
        !           189: `\-prompt\ (msh)\ '
        !           190: .Ds
        !           191: `\-noscan'
        !           192: .Ds
        !           193: `\-notopcur'
        !           194: .Co
        !           195: None
        !           196: .Bu
        !           197: The argument to the `\-prompt' switch must be interpreted as a single token
        !           198: by the shell that invokes \fImsh\fR.
        !           199: Therefore,
        !           200: one must usually place the argument to this switch inside double\-quotes.
        !           201: 
        !           202: There is a strict limit of messages per file in \fIpackf\fR'd format which
        !           203: \fImsh\fR can handle.
        !           204: Usually, this limit is 1000 messages.
        !           205: 
        !           206: Please remember that \fImsh\fR is not the \fICShell\fR,
        !           207: and that a lot of the nice facilities provided by the latter are not
        !           208: present in the former.
        !           209: 
        !           210: In particular, \fImsh\fR does not understand back\-quoting,
        !           211: so the only effective way to use \fIpick\fR inside \fImsh\fR is to always use
        !           212: the `\-seq\0select' switch.
        !           213: Clever users of \fIMH\fR will put the line
        !           214: 
        !           215: .ti +.5i
        !           216: pick:\0\-seq\0select\0\-list
        !           217: 
        !           218: in their \&.mh\(ruprofile file so that \fIpick\fR works equally well from
        !           219: both the shell and \fImsh\fR.
        !           220: 
        !           221: The \fImsh\fR program inherits most (if not all) of the bugs from the
        !           222: \fIMH\fR commands it implements.
        !           223: .En

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