TH PH 1L "30-Jul-1992"
SH NAME
ph \- CCSO Nameserver client (on-line phone book)
SH SYNOPSIS
B ph
[
BI \-s\  server
] [
BI \-p\  port
] [
BI \-t\  type
] [
BI \-f\  field1,field2,...
] [
B \-mMrRbBTlLF
] query
br
B ph
[
BI \-s\  server
] [
BI \-p\  port
] [
BI \-t\  type
] [
BI \-f\  field1,field2,...
] [
BI \-h\  topic
] [
B \-mMnNrRbBTlLFcC
SH DESCRIPTION
I Ph
queries the CCSO Nameserver, a database of University faculty,
staff, and students.
The database contains nearly all the information in the
I "Student/Staff Directory"
(the University phone book), as well as other information,
including electronic mail addresses.
PP
I Ph
may be used in two ways; interactively or with command-line arguments.
PP
If given arguments,
I ph
will treat the arguments as a query and return the results of the query.
For example,
IP
ft CR
ph paul pomes
ft
PP
would return the entry for the maintainer of
I ph ,
Paul Pomes.
For more information on what types of queries you may make, see the
SM
B QUERIES
section below.
PP
If given no arguments,
I ph
will enter interactive mode, print a prompt, and wait for commands.
Interactive mode will be discussed in detail below.
PP
I Ph
is not intended for the generation of mailing lists.
Therefore, it will refuse any requests resulting in more than a
small number of matches.
This is not negotiable.
PP
SH OPTIONS
I Ph
recognizes the following options.
They may be specified in the
I PH
environment variable,
given on the command line, or set with the
B switch
command from inside
IR ph .
Options given with the
B switch
command override all others;
options given on the command line override those in the
I PH
environment variable.
TP 5
B \-n
Do not read the
I .netrc
file.
This option has meaning only when using
I ph
in interactive mode
(see below for descriptions of the
I .netrc
file and interactive mode).
TP 5
B \-N
Do read the
I .netrc
file.
This is the default.
TP 5
B \-r
Do not reformat
I alias
and
I email
fields to show alias-based e-mail addresses.
TP 5
B \-R
Reformat
I alias
and
I email
fields to show alias-based e-mail addresses.
This is the default.
TP 5
B \-b
Do not beautify query responses; print them in gory detail,
complete with response codes.
TP 5
B \-B
Beautify query responses.
This is the default.
TP 5
B \-m
Do not use a paging program (like
IR more (1))
when printing responses.
TP 5
B \-M
Use a paging program.
This is the default.
TP 5
B \-l
Do not label field values with field names when printing queries.
TP 5
B \-L
Label field values with field names when printing queries.
This is the default.
TP 5
BI \-t\  type
Use
I type
as a default type on queries.
This is just like adding
BI type= type
to all queries.
The
B \-t
option can be overriden by specifying an explicit type in the query,
as in, "\f(CRph pomes type=phone\fP".
TP 5
B \-T
Do not specify any type by default; this is the default.
TP 5
BI \-s\  server
Use
I server
as a Nameserver host, instead of the default host.
A list of suitable servers may be found with the query
"\f(CRph alias=ns\-servers\fP".
TP 5
BI \-p\  port
Connect to the tcp port
IR port ,
instead of the default port.
TP 5
B \-c
Do not wait for confirmation of edit commands.
This is the default.
TP 5
B \-C
Wait for confirmation of edit commands (see
B edit
below).
TP 5
BI \-f\  field1,field2,...
Return fields
I field1,field2,...
instead of the default list of fields,
if no return clause is specified on queries.
This is just like adding "\f(CRreturn field1 field2 ...\fP" to all queries.
TP 5
B \-F
Return default list of fields; this is the default.
TP 5
BI \-h\  topic
Display a list of on-line help topics.
If the
B \-h
option is followed by the name of one of the on-line help topics,
the help screen for
I topic
will be displayed.
SH QUERIES
The Nameserver's database contains over 70,000 entries.
Each entry is comprised of multiple
IR fields ,
each containing information about the entry.
Each field has a name that is descriptive of what the field contains;
for example, the field named
I address
contains the office mail address of the person in question
(for more information on fields, see the description of the
B fields
command in the
SM
B INTERACTIVE
section below).
PP
By default, queries are assumed to refer to the
I name
or
I nickname
field of the entry.
Therefore, saying "\f(CRph john doe\fP" looks for entries whose
I name
or
I nickname
field contains "john" and "doe".
Fields other than the
I name
and
I nickname
fields must be specified; for example,
IP
ft CR
ph pomes address=DCL
ft
PP
would return entries with
I name
or
I nickname
"pomes" whose
I address
contained "DCL."
PP
Matching in
I ph
is done on a word-by-word basis.
That is, both the query and the entry are broken up into words,
and the individual words are compared.
Although
I ph
is insensitive to case,
it otherwise requires words to match exactly, with no characters left over;
"john" does
B not
match "johnson", for example.
This behavior may be overriden by the use of normal shell metacharacters
("?" to match any single character, "*" to match zero or more characters,
and "[]" to match a single character from a set of characters).
PP
I Ph
will display only entries that match
B all
of the specifications in the query.
For example,
IP
ft CR
ph paul pomes
ft
PP
will return all entries with
B both
"paul" and "pomes" in the
I name
or
I nickname
fields.
PP
I Ph
returns a certain set of fields by default.
It is possible to ask for different fields in a query.
This is done by specifying the
I return
keyword and listing the fields of interest.
For example,
IP
ft CR
ph paul pomes return email
ft
PP
would print only the electronic mail address of the maintainer of
IR ph .
You may also ask for all fields in the entry by using "all" as a field name.
This will show you every field you are allowed to see in the entry.
PP
All output from
I ph
is sent through
IR more (1)
(or whatever program is specified in the
I PAGER
environment variable).
PP
SH "INTERACTIVE MODE"
PP
If
I ph
is given no arguments, it enters interactive mode,
where it prompts for, executes,
and displays the results of Nameserver commands.
Interactive mode provides access to more Nameserver features than mere queries.
Some of these features require the user to identify him/her self to
I ph
by use of the
B login
command; others do not.
Commands may be abbreviated,
provided enough characters are given to distinguish them from other commands.
TP 5
IR .netrc\  file
I Ph
reads the same
I .netrc
file as does ftp (see
IR ftp (1)).
If it finds a
I machine
named "ph" that has a login and a password specified for it,
I ph
will automatically do a
I login
command, using the values from the
I .netrc
file.
I Ph
will silently refuse to use a
I .netrc
file that has any permissions
for group or other (see
IR chmod (1)).
PP
B "Public Commands"
PP
The following commands do not require the user to be logged in
to the Nameserver:
TP 10
BI help\  [topic]
Provides explanations of Nameserver commands.
Given no arguments,
B help
lists the available help topics.
Given a
I topic
as an argument,
B help
will print help for that topic.
A list of commands and a one-line description of each command may be
obtained by requesting the topic
IR commands .
TP 10
B query
Performs Nameserver queries exactly like non-interactive
I ph
queries except that metacharacters do not have to be quoted.
TP 10
B fields
Lists the fields currently in use in the Nameserver.
For each field, a display like the following (admittedly ugly) is produced:
IP
nf
ft CR
\-200:2:email:max 64 Lookup Public Default Change
\-200:2:email:Preferred electronic mail address.
\&...
ft
fi
IP
The leading number is a reply code from the Nameserver.
The next number is the field number.
Following the field number is the name of the field,
the maximum length of the field,
and the attributes for the field.
The second line has, in addition to repeated reply code, number, and name,
a one-line description of the field.
IP
The attributes determine how a field may be used.
I Lookup
means the field may be searched in a query.
I Indexed
means the field is indexed (at least one
I Indexed
field must be included in every query).
I Default
means the field is displayed by default.
I Change
means that users may change the field.
TP 10
BI set\  option[=value]
Allows Nameserver options to be set.
These options are for future use.
TP 10
BI switch\ \  \-option\ [value]
Allows
I ph
options to be set.
See the
SM
B OPTIONS
section above.
TP 10
B quit
Exits
IR ph .
TP 10
BI login\  alias
Identifies the user to the Nameserver.
I Alias
is your Nameserver alias, a unique name for you in the Nameserver;
it is printed in
I ph
queries, as the first thing after "email to:":
IP
ft CR
email to: p\[email protected] ([email protected])
ft
IP
In this case, the alias is "p\-pomes".
You will be prompted for your Nameserver password when you give the
B login
command, unless you are using
I ph
from the login in your email field
(the one in parentheses on the "email to:" line),
and your system administrator has made
I ph
"setuid root", in which case no password will be required.
IP
Your Nameserver password is
B not
the same as your system password;
the only way to discover your Nameserver password is to bring yourself and
a University ID to the CCSO Accounting Office in 1420 DCL.
Because of abuses in the past, passwords cannot be given out via email,
phone, or to third parties.
IP
You are allowed to change your Nameserver alias;
there are, however, restrictions on Nameserver aliases;
they must be unique within the Nameserver,
they cannot be common names ("david" is right out),
and they can only contain letters, digits, dashes (\-) and periods (.).
PP
B "Commands Requiring Login"
PP
The following commands require that the user executing them be
logged in to the Nameserver.
TP 10
BI passwd\  [alias]
Changes your Nameserver password.
You will be asked to type your new password twice.
I Ph
will complain if your password is too short
or contains only numbers (although it does allow such passwords).
Privileged users may change the passwords of certain other users by
specifying the alias of the other user when giving the
B passwd
command.
TP 10
B me
Lists the Nameserver entry of the currently logged-in user.
TP 10
BI edit\  field\ [alias]
Allows
I ph
users to change those fields in their entry that have the
I Change
attribute set.
I Edit
will retrieve the value of the named field (if a value exists),
and will allow the user to edit the value with
IR vi (1)
(the
I EDITOR
environment variable may be used to override the use of
IR vi ).
The changed value will then be reinserted in the Nameserver.
If the
B \-C
option is in effect, the message, "Change the value [y]?" will be printed
after the editing is finished.
Pressing return alone, or anything beginning with "y", will make
I ph
change the value;
anything beginning with "n" will make
I ph
discard the changes.
TP 10
BI make\  field=value\ [field2=value2...]
Allows
I ph
users to change those fields in their entry that have the
I Change
attribute set.
B Make
will set the specified field(s) to the specified value(s)
in the entry of the currently logged in user.
TP 10
B add
Adds entries to the Nameserver.
This is a privileged command.
TP 10
B delete
Deletes entries from the Nameserver.
This is a privileged command.
TP 10
B logout
Undoes the effects of a
B login
command.
SH "QUERY EXAMPLES"
Here are some examples to clarify
I ph
queries.
Each example is preceded by a description of the desired effect.
It is assumed that the queries are being done with
I ph
from the command line, rather than by using the interactive mode of
IR ph .
The only difference for interactive mode is that metacharacters
would not have to be quoted or escaped.
PP
Find the
I ph
entry for Paul Pomes:
IP
ft CR
ph paul pomes
ft
PP
Find the
I ph
entry for P. Pomes, where the rest of the first name is not known:
IP
ft CR
ph p\\* pomes
ft
PP
Find Alonzo Johnson (or is that JohnsEn?):
IP
ft CR
ph alonzo johns\\?n
ti -4n
or
br
ph alonzo johns\\[eo\\]n
ft
PP
Find Paul P., where the rest of the last name is unknown:
IP
ft CR
ph paul p\\*
ft
PP
The last query fails because it matches too many entries.
It is therefore necessary to narrow the search.
Suppose it is known that Paul P. has an office in DCL:
IP
ft CR
ph paul p\\* address=DCL
ft
PP
Alternately, suppose Paul P. works for CCSO.
You might try:
IP
ft CR
ph paul p\\* department=CCSO
ft
PP
When that failed, a good next guess would be:
IP
ft CR
ph paul p\\* department=computing
ft
PP
The moral of the story is that fields in
I ph
generally contain whatever the user wishes them to contain,
and, hence, there may be many different spellings and abbreviations
for any particular field (some fields are exceptions, including the
I name
field, which is always the full name, as known to the University,
of the person involved).
It pays to make liberal use of metacharacters and creativity when
searching fields other than
IR name .
PP
Suppose all that is wanted is the full name and electronic mail address of
P. Pomes:
IP
ft CR
ph p\\* pomes return name email
SH "RENAMING PH"
PP
If
I ph
is invoked with a name other than
IR ph ,
slightly different option processing is done.
For the sake of an example, let us assume
I ph
was invoked with the name, "unit".
The following consequences obtain:
PP
I Ph
will assume an option of "\-t unit".
I Ph
will read the
I UNIT
environment variable,
B after
reading the
I PH
environment variable, and
B before
reading command-line options.
PP
This feature allows the easy installation of entry-type specific
lookup commands, as well as custom configuration of those commands.
PP
SH BUGS
PP
Separate words in a query are allowed to match the same word in the entry;
"\f(CRph s\\* smith\fP" is functionally equivalent to "\f(CRph smith\fP",
because the "s*" is allowed to match "smith".
PP
I Ph
does some looking about in the commands you give it,
but does not understand the full syntax of Nameserver commands.
This can occasionally lead to mistakes,
especially when dealing with quoted strings.
SH DISTRIBUTION
PP
Source code for
I ph
is available by anonymous ftp to \f(CRuxc.cso.uiuc.edu\fP,
in the file \f(CRpub/ph.tar.Z\fP.
The complete system, including source for the
IR qi (8)
server side is in the file \f(CRpub/qi.tar.Z\fP.
This source works on 4.[23]BSD UNIX systems.
Any troubles encountered porting
I ph
to a particular system are of interest to the maintainer of
IR ph ,
as are ports done to other operating systems.
SH "SEE ALSO"
IR "The CCSO Nameserver \- An Introduction" ,
by Steven Dorner; updated by Paul Pomes.
br
IR "The CCSO Nameserver \- Server\-Client Protocol" ,
by Steven Dorner; updated by Paul Pomes.
br
IR qi (8)
SH AUTHOR
Steve Dorner ([email protected]),
Qualcomm, Inc.
(formerly at the University of Illinois Computing and Communications
Services Office)
PP
The code is now maintained by Paul Pomes (p\[email protected]),
University of Illinois Computing and Communications Services Office.

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