.MH "The File System and Related Utilities"
.#
.#
.bq
Users spend much of their time creating, deleting, modifying and
manipulating files.
The utilities discussed in this section
perform these tasks.
.eq
.#
.#
.SH "Creating Files"
.#
.#
The most common way to create a file is to write the contents of a text editor
to a new filename.  Another common way (especially for creating small
files) is to use the 'cat' command.
Both of these methods are covered later in this guide.
Right now, we prefer that you not be concerned with creating
large, elaborate files or with knowing about more advanced features
of the Subsystem.
Instead, we will show you a simple method for creating one-line files.
(Although you may  not understand the command format at this
point in time, don't worry because you will by the time you get
through the tutorial).
.pp
You can use the command 'echo' to create files as in the examples below:
.be 3 [set 1 0]
.ta 52
] [bf echo xxxx >file_of_x]\([num +1])
] [bf echo contents of myfile >myfile]\([num +1])
.ee
.fi [set 1 0]
.in +10
.ta 6
.HI 5 ([num +1])
Creates a file named "file_of_x" containing "xxxx".
.HI 5 ([num +1])
Creates a file named "myfile" containing the line "contents of myfile".
.in -10
.pp
In case you were wondering, you can only use letters, digits,
underscores, and periods in file names.
(You
can actually use a few other characters in names, but that
can get you into trouble.)
The names must not start
with a digit, and can be no longer than 32 characters.
.#
.#
.SH "Looking at the Contents of Files"
.#
.#
There are several ways of looking at the contents of a file.
One command that you can use is the 'cat' command.
'Cat' is an alias for Kernighan and Plauger's program 'concat',
which appears on page 78 of
.ul
Software Tools.
It has a simple
function:  to concatenate the files named in its argument
list, and print them on standard output.  If no files are
named, it takes input from standard input.  (More on standard
input and output in a subsequent section, which has examples using 'cat.'
For now, just assume that standard input comes from the terminal
and standard output goes to the terminal.)
.pp
Here are some samples of how to use 'cat'.  For more
important and useful ones, see the following section.
.be 3 [set 1 0]
.ta 52
] [bf cat myfile]\([num +1])
] [bf cat part1 part2 part3]\([num +1])
] [bf cat]\([num +1])
.ee
.in +10
.fi [set 1 0]
.ta 6
.HI 5 ([num +1])
Prints the file named "myfile" on the user's terminal; i.e.,
"myfile" is concatenated with nothing and printed on
standard output.
.HI 5 ([num +1])
Prints the concatenation of the files named "part1", "part2", and "part3"
on the terminal.
.HI 5 ([num +1])
Copies standard input to standard output.  On
a terminal, this would cause anything you typed to 'cat'
to be echoed back to you.  (If you try this, the way
to stop is to type a control-c as the first character on the line.
As we said before, lots of programs use this end-of-file convention.)
.in -10
.#
.#
.SH "Deleting Files"
.#
.#
Sooner or later, you will find it necessary to get rid of some
files.
The 'del' command serves this need very nicely. It is used like this:
.be
del  file1  file2  file3  ...
.ee
to remove as many files as you wish.  Remember that each file
can be specified by a pathname, so you are not limited to deleting
files in your current directory; but of course, you can delete
only files that belong to you.
.#
.#
.SH "The 'Lf' Command"
.#
.#
The 'lf' (for "[ul l]ist [ul f]iles") command is the preferred method for
obtaining information about files.
Used by itself without any arguments, 'lf'
prints the names of all the files in your current directory in a
multi-column format. This, however, is by no means all that 'lf' can do.
In fact,
used in its general form, an 'lf' command looks something like this:
.be
lf  options  files
.ee
.pp
The "files" part is simply a list of files and/or directories
that you want information about.
If the "files" part is omitted, 'lf' assumes you mean the
current directory.
For each file in the list, information about that file is printed;
for each directory listed, information about each file within that
directory is printed.
.pp
The "options" part of the command controls what
information is to be printed.
It is composed of a dash ("-") followed by a string of single character
option specifiers. Some of the more useful options are the following:
.in +10
.ne 9
.ta 6
.HI 5 c
print information in a single column format.
.HI 5 d
for each directory in the list, print information about the directory
itself instead of about its contents.
.HI 5 l
print all known information about the named files.
.HI 5 w
print the size (in 16-bit words) of each named file.
.in -10
.sp
(As always, if you would like complete information on 'lf', just
use 'help'.)
As we said above, if no options are given, then only the names of the files
are printed.
.pp
Here are some examples of 'lf' commands:
.be 4 [set 1 0]
.ta 52
] [bf lf]\([num +1])
] [bf lf -l]\([num +1])
] [bf lf //lkj]\([num +1])
] [bf lf -cw //lkj =extra=/news]\([num +1])
.fi [set 1 0]
.ta 6
.HI 5 ([num +1])
List the names of all files in the current directory,
in a multi-column format.
.HI 5 ([num +1])
List the names of all files in the current directory,
including all information that is known about each file.
.HI 5 ([num +1])
List the names of all files in the directory named "lkj".
.HI 5 ([num +1])
List the names and sizes of lkj's files in a single-column
format, followed by the names and sizes of all files in directory
"=extra=/news".
.ee
.#
.#
.SH "The Primos File System"
.#
.#
Primos files are stored on several disk packs, each
with a unique name.
Each pack contains a
master file directory (mfd), which contains a pointer to each
primary directory on that disk.  Each of these primary
directories (one for each user, and several special
ones for the system) may contain sub-directories, which
may themselves contain further sub-directories, ad infinitum.
Any directory
may also contain ordinary files of text, data, or program code.
This diagram shows a simple structure that we will
use as an example:
.be 7
.in -5
.tc #
       _______ sys _______              users
      /         |         \           /     \
    bin       extra                 edward  kate
  /  |  \       |                  /  |      |  \
lf  cat ...   users               p1  p2     p2  kdir
                                                   |
                                                  kfl
.tc \
.in +5
.ee
In this example, the mfds are named "sys" and "users", while
there are primary directories named "bin", "extra", "edward",
and "kate".
.pp
The  Subsystem allows you to specify
the location of any file with a construct known as a
"pathname."  Pathnames have several elements.
.ns
.bq
.ta 4
.HI 3 [bf .]
The first characters of a pathname may be a slash, followed by a
disk packname or [ul octal] logical disk number,
followed by another slash (e.g. "sys" in the diagram above
could be referred to as "/0/" or "/sys/").
The named disk is the starting point for the search
of the rest of the pathname.
The disk name may be omitted, implying that all disks are to be
searched.  For example,
"//edward" would cause a search for a primary directory
named "edward" starting its search at "sys" and then "users" where
"//edward" is found.
.HI 3 [bf .]
When a pathname does not begin with a slash, the file search operation
begins with your current directory.  You can think of your current directory
as your
"location" in the file system at the time you use the pathname.
For instance, if your current directory was "/users/edward" and you
used the name "p2", you would get the file "p2" under "/users/edward";
however, if your current directory was "/users/kate"
you would get the file "p2" under "/users/kate".
Later, you will see how find out the name of your current directory
and how to "move around" the file system by changing your
current directory.
.HI 3 [bf .]
The remainder of the pathname consists of "nodes", separated
by slashes.
Each node contains the name of a sub-directory
[cc]mc |
or a file.
(For revisions of Primos below Rev 19, which have passworded
directories, you may have to specify nodes as a name
possibly followed by a colon (":") and a password.)
[cc]mc
For example
.be 3
kdir
extra
[cc]mc |
sys:xxxxxx[tc](pre-Rev[bl]19[bl]Primos)
[cc]mc
.ee
are nodes.
.eq
.ns
.ne 10
.pp
When nodes are strung together, they describe a path to
a file, from anywhere in the file system.
Hence the term "pathname."  For example,
.be
/sys/bin
.ee
names the primary directory named "bin", located on
the disk whose packname is "sys".
.be
//extra/users
.ee
names the file named "users" in the primary directory named "extra"
on some unknown disk (all disks will be searched);
.be
p2
.ee
names the file "p2" in "/users/edward" if your current
directory is "/users/edward" or the file "p2" in "/users/kate"
if your current directory is "/user/kate".
.be
kdir:pwd/kfl
.ee
names the file "kfl" in the directory "kdir" (with password
[cc]mc |
"pwd"), in a pre-Rev[bl]19 Primos file system,
only if your current directory is "/user/kate".
[cc]mc
.pp
Certain important Subsystem directories have been given alternative
names, called "templates," in order to allow the Subsystem manager
to change their location on disk without disturbing existing programs
(or users).
A template consists of a name surrounded by equals signs ("=").
For example, the Subsystem command directory is named "bin".
which could be referred to on a standard system as "//bin."
If the Subsystem Manager at your installation had changed the location
of the command directory, the command above would not work.
To avoid this problem, you could use the template for "bin", "=bin=".
which would correctly reference "bin" regardless
of its location.
There exist templates for all of the most important Subsystem directories;
for more information on them, and on pathnames in general, see the
.ul
User's Guide to the Primos File System.
[cc]mc |
.pp
A word on upper and lower case:  The Primos file system does [ul not]
distinguish between upper and lower case, thus "//BIN", "//Bin", and
"//bin" are all the same.  However, the Subsystem template mechanism
[ul does] distinguish between upper and lower case, so "=BIN=", "=Bin=",
and "=bin=" are three different templates.
This can be a subtle trap for the unwary.
.#
.#
[cc]mc
.SH "Directories"
.#
.#
Directories can be created with the 'mkdir' ("[ul m]a[ul k]e [ul dir]ectory)
command; e.g.
.be
] [bf mkdir /users/edward]
.ee
will create the directory "edward" under the master file
directory "users".
The command
.be
] [bf mkdir edward]
.ee
will create the directory "edward" in the current directory.
.ne 6
.pp
As mentioned above, the 'lf' command can be used to list information
about directories and the files and subdirectories contained
therein; e.g.,
.be 3
] [bf lf /users/edward]
] [bf lf edward]
.ee
.pp
Finally, directories, like files, can be deleted with
'del'.  However, unlike files, directories cannot be
deleted until all the files and subdirectories contained
in them have
been deleted.
If "edward" is an empty directory it can be deleted
with the command
.be
] [bf del edward]
.ee
If "edward" is not an empty directory then it can be deleted
with the command
.be
] [bf del -ds edward]
.ee
[cc]mc |
where the the "-ds" specifies to delete the contents of the directory,
[cc]mc
then the directory itself.
[cc]mc *
[cc]mc
.#
.#
.SH "Moving Around in the File System"
You can change your current directory with the 'cd' (change directory)
command.  Simply type 'cd' followed by the pathname of the directory
to which you wish to move and, as long as its a valid directory name,
you will be promptly deposited there; e.g.
.be
] [bf cd /users/edward]
] [bf cd kdir]
.ee
Note that in the second example, since the pathname 'kdir' is
not preceded by slashes, your current directory must be
"/users/kate" for it to work.
.tc !
.ne 4
.pp
You can move "up" in the file system with
.be
] [bf cd \]
.ee
For instance, if you were in "/users/kate/kdir" and you typed
"cd[bl]\", your current directory would then be "/user/kate".
.tc
.pp
Finally, if you get lost, you can find out where you are with
the command
.be
] [bf cd -p]
.ee
It will print the full name of your current directory.