Tuesday, July 31, 2001

Sorting files

Some times we save the data in certain order but we would like to read it in another order. I mean, we want to sort it :-) So here comes the sort command to the rescue…

sort

This will sort the file and list but will not save it

To save this

sort -o

This will save the output.

Needless to say this last example will overwrite the unsorted (original) file, so be careful when you use it.

You can sort things other than files. What I mean is that you can use sort to sort the output of other commands. For example, if you want to know the disk usage of all your directories you can try something like the following:


du -s * | sort -n

The du -s * tells the computer to find the disk usage of each file/subdirectory (and do not give the output of sub-subdirectories…, just a number per file/directory). Then the vertical line (called pipe) says that the output of du should be considered as the input of the next command. That next command tells to sort numerically. Since du output is a number (disk usage) and the name of the file, the sort will order the directories according to the disk space they use

By default sort uses blanks (spaces, tabs, etc) to differentiate between fields/words. Some times files store data with other characters to separate fields, for example the /etc/passwd file stores uses information with different fields separated by colons (:). You can use the -t option to sort with colons as the separator. For example, entries in the passord file have the following form:


user name: encrypted password:user id:group it:user real name:home directory:logging shell

If you want to sort the password by UIDs then you can try this:

sort -t : +2 -n /etc/passwd

Here is the explanation of the options:
  1. -t : says that the separation of fields is marked by colons;
  2. +2 says that sorting should start at the third field, that is the uid
  3. -n asks for numerical sorting (uids are numbers).

Saturday, July 28, 2001

Understand the Configuration Files in Linux

Understand the Configuration Files in Linux :

This article explains configuration files on a Linux system that control user permissions, system applications, daemons, services, and other administrative tasks in a multi-user, multi-tasking environment. These tasks include managing user accounts, allocating disk quotas, managing e-mails and newsgroups, and configuring kernel parameters. This article also classifies the config files present on a Red Hat Linux system based on their usage and the services they affect.

Introduction

Every Linux program is an executable file holding the list of opcodes the CPU executes to accomplish specific operations. For instance, the ls command is provided by the file /bin/ls, which holds the list of machine instructions needed to display the list of files in the current directory onto the screen. The behaviour of almost every program can be customized to your preferences or needs by modifying its configuration files.

Is there a standard configuration file format in Linux?

In a word, no. Users who are new to Linux (rightly) feel frustrated that each configuration file looks like a new challenge to figure out. In Linux each programmer is free to choose the configuration file format he or she prefers. Format options range from the /etc/shells file, which contains a list of possible shells separated by a newline, to Apache's complex /etc/httpd.conf file.

What are system configuration files?

The kernel itself may be considered a "program." Why does the kernel need configuration files? The kernel needs to know the list of users and groups in the system, and manage file permissions (that is, determine if a file can be opened by a specific user, according to the permissions, UNIX_USERS). Note that these files are not specifically read by programs, but by a function provided by a system library, and used by the kernel. For instance, a program needing the (encrypted) password of a user should not open the /etc/passwd file. Instead, it should call the system library function getpw(). This kind of function is also known as a system call. It is up to the kernel (through the system library) to open the /etc/passwd file and after that, search for the password of the requested user.

Most of the configuration files in the Red Hat Linux system are in the /etc directory unless otherwise specified. The configuration files can be broadly classified into the following categories:





Access files

/etc/host.confTells the network domain server how to look up hostnames. (Normally /etc/hosts, then name server; it can be changed through netconf.)
/etc/hostsContains a list of known hosts (in the local network). Can be used if the IP of the system is not dynamically generated. For simple hostname resolution (to dotted notation), /etc/hosts.conf normally tells the resolver to look here before asking the network nameserver, DNS or NIS.
/etc/hosts.allowMan page same as hosts_access. Read by tcpd at least.
/etc/hosts.denyMan page same as hosts_access. Read by tcpd at least.





Booting and login/logout

/etc/issue & /etc/issue.netThese files are read by mingetty (and similar programs) to display a "welcome" string to the user connecting from a terminal (issue) or through a telnet session (issue.net). They include a few lines stating the Red Hat release number, name, and Kernel ID. They are used by rc.local.
/etc/redhat-releaseIncludes one line stating the Red Hat release number and name. Used by rc.local.
/etc/rc.d/rcNormally run for all run levels with level passed as argument. For example, to boot your machine in the Graphics mode (X-Server), run the following command from your command line: init 5. The runlevel 5 is starts the system in graphics mode.
/etc/rc.d/rc.localNot official. May be called from rc, rc.sysinit, or /etc/inittab.
/etc/rc.d/rc.sysinitNormally the first script run for all run levels.
/etc/rc.d/rc/rcX.dScripts run from rc (X stands for any number from 1 to 5). These directories are "run-level" specific directories. When a system starts up, it identifies the run-level to be initiated, and then it calls all the startup scripts present in the specific directory for that run-level. For example, the system usually starts up and the message "entering run-level 3" is shown after the boot messages; this means that all the init scripts in the directory /etc/rc.d/rc3.d/ will be called.





File system

The kernel provides an interface to display some of its data structures that can be useful for determining the system parameters like interrupts used, devices initialised, memory statistics, etc. This interface is provided as a separate but dummy filesystem known as the /proc filesystem. Many system utilities use the values present in this filesystemf or displaying the system statistics. For example, the file /proc/modules lists the currently loaded modules in the system. This information is read by the command lsmod, which then displays it in a human readable format. In the same way, the file mtab specified in the following table reads the /proc/mount file, which contains the currently mounted filesystems.

/etc/mtabThis changes continuously as the file /proc/mount changes. In other words, when filesystems are mounted and unmounted, the change is immediately reflected in this file.
/etc/fstabLists the filesystems currently "mountable" by the computer. This is important because when the computer boots, it runs the command mount -a, which takes care of mounting every file system marked with a "1" in the next-to-last column of fstab.
/etc/mtools.confConfiguration for all the operations (mkdir, copy, format, etc.) on a DOS-type filesystem.





System administration

/etc/groupContains the valid group names and the users included in the specified groups. A single user can be present in more than one group if he performs multiple tasks. For example, is a "user" is the administrator as well as a member of the project group "project 1", then his entry in the group file will look like: user: * : group-id : project1
/etc/nologinIf the file /etc/nologin exists, login(1) will allow access only to root. Other users will be shown the contents of this file and their logins refused.
etc/passwdSee "man passwd". Holds some user account info including passwords (when not "shadowed").
/etc/rpmrcrpm command configuration. All the rpm command line options can be set together in this file so that all of the options apply globally when any rpm command is run on that system.
/etc/securettyContains the device names of tty lines (one per line, without leading /dev/) on which root is allowed to login.
/etc/usertty
/etc/shadow
Contains the encrypted password information for users' accounts and optionally the password aging information. Included fields are:
  • Login name
  • Encrypted password
  • Days since Jan 1, 1970 that password was last changed
  • Days before password may be changed
  • Days after which password must be changed
  • Days before password is to expire that user is warned
  • Days after password expires that account is disabled
  • Days since Jan 1, 1970 that account is disabled
/etc/shellsHolds the list of possible "shells" available to the system.
/etc/motdMessage Of The Day; used if an administrator wants to convey some message to all the users of a Linux server.





Networking

/etc/gated.confConfiguration for gated. Used only by the gated daemon.
/etc/gated.versionContains the version number of the gated daemon.
/etc/gatewayOptionally used by the routed daemon.
/etc/networksLists names and addresses of networks accessible from the network to which the machine is connected. Used by route command. Allows use of name for network.
/etc/protocolsLists the currently available protocols. See the NAG (Network Administrators Guide) and man page.
C interface is getprotoent. Should never change.
/etc/resolv.confTells the kernel which name server should be queried when a program asks to "resolve" an IP Address.
/etc/rpcContains instructions/rules for RPC, which can be used in NFS calls, remote file system mounting, etc.
/etc/exportsThe file system to be exported (NFS) and permissions for it.
/etc/servicesTranslates network service names to port number/protocol. Read by inetd, telnet, tcpdump, and some other programs. There are C access routines.
/etc/inetd.confConfig file for inetd. See the inetd man page. Holds an entry for each network service for which inetd must control daemons or other servicers. Note that services will be running, but comment them out in /etc/services so they will not be available even if running. Format:
/etc/sendmail.cfThe Mail program sendmail's configuration file. Cryptic to understand.
/etc/sysconfig/networkIndicates NETWORKING=yes or no. Read by rc.sysinit at least.
/etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/if*Red Hat network configuration scripts.





System commands

System commands are meant exclusively to control the system, and make everything work properly. All the programs like login (performing the authentication phase of a user on the console) or bash (providing the interaction between a user and the computer) are system commands. The files associated with them are therefore particularly important. This category has the following files of interest to users and administrators.

/etc/lilo.confContains the system's default boot command line parameters and also the different images to boot with. You can see this list by pressing Tab at the LILO prompt.
/etc/logrotate.confMaintains the log files present in the /var/log directory.
/etc/identd.confIdentd is a server that implements the TCP/IP proposed standard IDENT user identification protocol as specified in the RFC 1413 document. identd operates by looking up specific TCP/IP connections and returning the user name of the process owning the connection. It can optionally return other information instead of a user name. See the identd man page.
/etc/ld.so.confConfiguration for the Dynamic Linker.
/etc/inittabThis is chronologically the first configuration file in UNIX. The first program launched after a UNIX machine is switched on is init, which knows what to launch, thanks to inittab. It is read by init at run level changes, and controls the startup of the main process.
/etc/termcapA database containing all of the possible terminal types and their capabilities.





Daemons

A daemon is a program running in non-interactive mode. Typically, daemon tasks are related to the networking area: they wait for connections, so that they can provide services through them. Many daemons are available for Linux, ranging from Web servers to ftp servers.

/etc/syslogd.confThe configuration file for the syslogd daemon. syslogd is the daemon that takes care of logging (writing to disk) messages coming from other programs to the system. This service, in particular, is used by daemons that would not otherwise have any means of signaling the presence of possible problems or sending messages to users.

/etc/httpd.conf
The configuration file for Apache, the Web server. This file is typically not in /etc. It may be in /usr/local/httpd/conf/ or /etc/httpd/conf/, but to make sure, you need to check the particular Apache installation.
/etc/conf.modules or /etc/modules.confThe configuration file for kerneld. Ironically, it is not the kernel "as a daemon". It is rather a daemon that takes care of loading additional kernel modules "on the fly" when needed.





User programs

In Linux (and UNIX in general), there are countless "user" programs. A most common user program config file is /etc/lynx.cfg. This is the configuration file for lynx, the well-known textual browser. Through this file you can define the proxy server, the character set to use, and so on. The following code sample shows a part of the lynx.cfg file that can be modified to change the proxy settings of the Linux system. These settings apply (by default) to all the users running lynx in their respective shells, unless a user overrides the default config file by specifying --cfg = "mylynx.cfg.


Proxy settings in /etc/lynx.cfg


.h1 proxy
.h2 HTTP_PROXY
.h2 HTTPS_PROXY
.h2 FTP_PROXY
.h2 GOPHER_PROXY
.h2 NEWS_PROXY
.h2 NNTP_PROXY
# Lynx version 2.2 and beyond supports the use of proxy servers that can act as
# firewall gateways and caching servers. They are preferable to the older
# gateway servers. Each protocol used by Lynx can be mapped separately using
# PROTOCOL_proxy environment variables (see Lynx Users Guide). If you have
# not set them externally, you can set them at run time via this configuration file.
# They will not override external settings. The no_proxy variable can be used
# to inhibit proxying to selected regions of the Web (see below). Note that on
# VMS these proxy variables are set as process logicals rather than symbols, to
# preserve lowercasing, and will outlive the Lynx image.
#
.ex 15
http_proxy:http://proxy3.in.ibm.com:80/
ftp_proxy:http://proxy3.in.ibm.com:80/
#http_proxy:http://penguin.in.ibm.com:8080
#ftp_proxy:http://penguin.in.ibm.com:8080/

.h2 NO_PROXY
# The no_proxy variable can be a comma-separated list of strings defining
# no-proxy zones in the DNS domain name space. If a tail substring of the
# domain-path for a host matches one of these strings, transactions with that
# node will not be proxied.
.ex
no_proxy:demiurge.in.ibm.com, demiurge






Changing configuration files

When changing a configuration file, make sure that the program using that configuration is restarted if it's not controlled by the system administrator or the kernel. A normal user doesn't usually have privileges to start or stop system programs and/or daemons.

The kernel

Changing configuration files in the kernel immediately affects the system. For example, changing the passwd file to add a user immediately enables that user. Also there are some kernel tunable parameters in the /proc/sys directory on any Linux system. The write-access to all these files is given only to the super-user; other users have only readonly access. The files in this directory are classified in the same manner as the Linux kernel source. Every file in this directory represents a kernel data structure that can be dynamically modified to change the system performance.

Note: Before changing any value in any of these files, make sure you know everything about the file to avoid irreparable damage to the system.
Files in the /proc/sys/kernel/ directory

File name Description
threads-maxThe maximum number of tasks the kernel can run.
ctrl-alt-delIf 1, then pressing this key sequence cleanly reboots the system.
sysrqIf 1, then Alt-SysRq is active.
osreleaseDisplays the release of the operating system.
ostypeDisplays the type of the operating system.
hostnameThe host name of the system.
domainnameNetwork domain of which the system is a part.
modprobeSpecifies whether modprobe should be automatically run at startup, and load the necessary modules.

Daemons and system programs

A daemon is a program that is always running in background, quietly carrying out its task. Common ones are in.ftpd (ftp server daemon), in.telnetd (telnet server daemon), and syslogd (system logging daemon). Some daemons, while running, keep a close watch on the configuration file and reload it automatically when it changes. But most of the daemons do not reload automatically. We need to "tell" them somehow that the configuration file has changed and that it should be reloaded. This can be achieved (on Red Hat Linux systems) by restarting the services using the service command.

For example, if we have changed the network configuration, we need to issue:
service network restart.

Note: The services are most commonly the scripts present in the /etc/rc.d/init.d/* directory and are started by the init when the system is booted. So, to restart the service you can also do the following:
/etc/rc.d/init.d/ start | stop | status
start, stop, and status are the values that these scripts take as input to perform the action.

User programs

A user or system program reads its configuration file every time it is launched. Remember, though, that some system programs are spawned when the computer is turned on, and their behaviour depends on what they read in the configuration files in /etc/. So, the first time a user program is started, the default configuration is read from the files present in the /etc/ directory. Later, the user can customise the programs by using rc and . (dot) files as explained in the next section.






User configuration files: . (dot) files and rc files

We have seen how programs can be easily configured. But what if someone does not like the way a program has been configured in /etc/? A "normal" user cannot simply go into /etc and change the configuration files; they are owned -- from the filesystem's point of view -- by root! This is why most user programs define two configuration files: the first one at a "system" level, located in /etc/; and the other one, "private" to the user, that can be found in his or her home directory.

For example, in my system I have installed the very useful wget utility. In /etc/ there is an /etc/wgetrc file. In my home directory, there is a file named .wgetrc, which describes my customised configuration (which will be loaded only when I, the user run the wget command). Other users may also have the .wgetrc file in their home directory (/home/other); this file will be read, of course, only when the user runs the wget command. In other words, the /etc/wgetrc file provides "default" values for wget, while the /home/xxx/.wgetrc file lists the "customisations" for a certain user. It is important to understand that this is the "general rule," and is not necessarily true for all cases. A program like pine, for instance, does not have any files in /etc/, but only the custom configuration in the users' home directory, in a file named .pinerc. Other programs may only have a default configuration file in /etc/, and may not let users "customize" them (it's the case with only a few of the config. files in the /etc dir.).

Commonly used rc and . (dot) files

Filename Description
~/.bash_login Look at "man bash". Treated by bash like ~/.bash_profile if that doesn't exist.
~/.bash_logout Look at "man bash".Sourced by bash login shells at exit.
~/.bash_profile Sourced by bash login shells after /etc/profile.
~/.bash_history The list of commands executed previously.
~/.bashrc Look at "man bash". Sourced by bash non-login interactive shells (no other files are). Non-interactive shells source nothing unless BASH_ENV or ENV are set.
~/.emacs Read by emacs at startup.
~/.forward
If this contains an e-mail address, then all mail to owner of ~ will be forwarded to that e-mail address.
~/.fvwmrc ~/.fvwm2rc Config files for fvwm and fvwm2 (the basic X Window manager).
~/.hushlogin Look at "man login". Causes a "quiet" login (no mail notice, last login info, or MOD).
~/.mail.rc User init file for mail program.
~/.ncftp/ Directory for ncftp program; contains bookmarks, log, macros, preferences, trace. See man ncftp. The purpose of ncftp is to provide a powerful and flexible interface to the Internet standard File Transfer Protocol. It is intended to replace the stock ftp program that comes with the system.
~/.profile Look at "man bash". Treated by bash like ~/.bash_profile if that and ~/.bash_login don't exist, and used by other Bourn-heritage shells too.
~/.pinerc Pine configuration
~/.muttrc Mutt configuration
~/.exrc Configuration of vi can be controlled by this file.
Example: set ai sm ruler
Writing the above line in this file makes vi set the auto-indentation, matching brackets and displaying line number and rows-columns options.
~/.vimrc Default "Vim" configuration file. Same as .exrc.
~/.gtkrc GNOME Toolkit.
~/.kderc KDE configuration.
~/.netrc Default login names and passwords for ftp.
~/.rhosts Used by the r-tools: rsh, rlogin, etc. Very weak security since host impersonation is easy.
  1. Must be owned by user (owner of ~/) or superuser.
  2. Lists hosts from which users may access this account.
  3. Ignored if it is a symbolic link.
~/.rpmrc See "man rpm". Read by rpm if /etc/rpmrc is not present.
~/.signature Message text that will be appended automatically to the mail sent from this account.
~/.twmrc Config file for twm (The Window Manager).
~/.xinitrc Read by X at startup (not by xinit script). Mostly starts some progs.
Example: exec /usr/sbin/startkde
If the above line is present in this file, then the KDE Window Manager is started in when the startx command is issued from this account.
~/.xmodmaprc This file is passed to the xmodmap program, and could be named anything (~/.Xmodmap and ~/.keymap.km, for example).
~/.xserverrc Run by xinit as the X server if it can find X to execute.
~/News/Sent-Message-IDs Default mail history file for gnus.
~/.Xauthority Read and written by xdm program to handle authorization. See the X, xdm, and xauth man pages.
~/.Xdefaults,
~/.Xdefaults-hostname
Read by X applications during startup on hostname. If the -hostname file can't be found, .Xdefaults is looked for.
~/.Xmodmap Points to .xmodmaprc; Red Hat had (has) .xinitrc using this name.
~/.Xresources Usually the name for the file passed to xrdb to load the X resources database, to avoid the need for applications to read a long .Xdefaults file. (~/.Xres has been used by some.)

~/mbox

User's old mail.






Friday, July 13, 2001

Vi Editor Quick Reference

vi editor quick reference

n = number
c = character
(cr) = Return
del = delete

Cursor Movement Through Text:

l = character right h = character left
j = down a line k = up a line
w = word right b = word left
0 = beginning of line $ = end of line
( = beginning of sentence ) = end of sentence
{ = beginning of paragraph } = end paragraph
[[ = beginning of section ]] = end section
G = end of file nG = move to line n
- = beginning of next line up + or cr = start, next line down

Cursor Movement Through File:

nH = to top line down offset
nL = to bottom line up offset
M = to middle line
CTRL d = scroll down
CTRL u = scroll up
CTRL f = scroll forward 1 screen
CTRL b = scroll back 1 screen
CTRL e = scroll forward 1 line
CTRL y = scroll back 1 line
CTRL E = scroll forward,leave cursor
CTRL Y = scroll back,leave cursor

Text Operations:

d( = delete, cursor to start(sentence)
d) = delete, cursor to end(sentence)
x or dSPACE = delete a character
db = delete previous word
dw = delete a word
d0 = delete, cursor to start(line)
dd = delete a line
D = delete, cursor to end(line)
nJ = join n lines
i(cr) or a(cr) = split a line
. = repeat last command
u = undo last command
U = undo all commands to this line

Text Block Moving in Command Mode:

Marking and Returning:
mx = mark current line (x=some letter a-t)
`x = return to position prior to present position
'x = return to space of line marked x
" = return to position prior to commands. /,?, or G
d`x or d"x = del from here to mark x

Placing in buffer (unnamed & named)
y = yank from here to endpoint, if # given include lines
nyw = yank n words
nyy or nY = yank n lines
"anY = yank n lines, place in named buffer a, (a thru t)

Retrieving from buffer
p = put buffer contents after/below cursor
P = put buffer contents before/above cursor
"ap = put buffer a 's contents after cursor (a -t)
"np = recover the last 1-9 deletions of text
p = recover last deleted text, place after cursor
P = recover last deleted text, place before cursor

Buffer types
% = current buffer
# = alternate buffer
1 - 9 = buffers holding last 9 yanks/deletions
a - z = buffers holding explicit yanks/deletions
A - Z = buffers holding explicit yanks/deletions;
contents appended to
:m,nco# = copy lines m thru n after line #
:m,nm# = move lines m thru n after line #
>L = shift lines right 1 shiftwidth (23 line max,
cursor line and below)

cursor line and below)
>> = shift 1 line right 1 shiftwidth
#>> = shift # lines right 1 shiftwidth
<< = shift 1 line left 1 shiftwidth
#<< = shift # lines left 1 shiftwidth

Insert Mode or Text Mode from Command Mode:

r = replace a single character
R = replace; text overwrite from here to
i = insert before cursor
I = insert at front of line
a = append after cursor
A = append at end of line
o = open a line below
O = open a line above
s = substitute a character
S = substitute text with text
c = change from here to
cc= change # of lines
C = change from here to rest of line; if # given, then # following
lines also
CTRL t = shift right 1 shiftwidth (ai set)
CTRL d = shift left 1 shiftwidth (ai set)
CTRL v = quote(esc) next special character

Adding Text, Command Mode to Text Mode:

ncw = changes n words after cursor
C = change from cursor to end of line
ncc = changes n lines beginning with cursor linen

Search Commands from Command Mode:

CTRL g = find current line status
/word = find next occurrence of word, forward search
/ = find last requested searched for word
// or n = find next occurrence of the last searched for word
?word = find previous occurrence of word, backward search
N = search backwards for previous occurrence of last searched word
fc = find character c on current line
Fc = find previous c on current line
; = go to next/previous character on same line

Search patterns:

^ = first word of line $ = end of line
. = any one character .* = any characters
\< = beginning of word \> = end of word
\ = next char literally [a-z] = any character in range a-z
[str] = any chars in string [^str] = any char not in string

Global Substitution from Command Mode:

:g/s1/p = prints all lines with string "s1"
:g/^/s//string = prepend to each line
:g/$/s//string = append to each line
:g/s1/s//s2/ = sub 1st occurrence "s1" with "s2" on all lines
:g/s1/s//s2/g = sub all occurrences, all lines
:g/s1/s//s2/gc = " " " / " " , interactively
:g/\(ab\)\(cd\)/s//\2\1/g = swap patterns using numeric
position variable,all
:g/\(ab\)\(.\)/s//\2\1/g = swap patterns using numeric
position variable, all, without naming 2nd
variable ( . = any character)

File Manipulation from Command Mode:

!}fmt = format this paragraph
:w filename = writes contents to specified file
:w ! spell | fmt = To just see spelling errors:
:$r !spell % | fmt = To append spelling errors to buffer
:w !lpr = print the version currently in the edit buffer
:r filename = reads contents of filename into buffer after cursor
:r !cmd = read output of a command into buffer after cursor
:!cmd = execute ULTRIX commands in vi/ex mode
:!! = execute last shell cmd
:!lpr % = print it without leaving the editor
:pre } use this when OUT of file system space and can't write
:w /var/tmp} file normally, or look for owner id in
/usr/preserve or /var/tmp

To Exit:

Insert Mode to Command Mode: ESC
To save text and QUIT: ESC then ZZ
ESC then :wq (cr)
ESC then :x (cr)
To rename file: ESC then :f (cr)
To save text only: ESC then :w (cr)
To overwrite file ESC then :w! (cr)
To abort text: ESC then :q! (cr)
To edit next file in queue: ESC then ZZ then :n

File recovery after editor, system, or disk full crash, return to directory where file was opened and enter:

vi -r file

To start vi at line #x:

vi +x filename

To start vi at string, first occurrence:
vi +/string file

The following options can be setup in an .exrc file, or for each vi session (only):

noautoindent nonumber
autoprint open
noautowrite nooptimize
nobeautify paragraphs=IPLPPPQPP LIpplpipbp
directory=/tmp prompt
noedcompatible noreadonly
noerrorbells redraw
hardtabs=8 remap
ignorecase report=5
nolisp scroll=11
nolist sections=NHSHH HUnhsh
magic shell=/bin/csh
mesg shiftwidth=8
nomodeline noshowmatch
noslowopen tags=tags /usr/lib/tags
tabstop=8 taglength=0
term=vt100 noterse
ttytype=vt100 timeout
window=23 warn
wrapscan wrapmargin=1
nosourceany nowriteany

Wednesday, July 04, 2001

Brodacast Messages from Linux Server to Windows Host


Oh ;)

You can use samba and smbclient to do this:

Brodacast Messages from Linux Server to Windows Host

cat message.txt | smbclient -M COMPUTERNAME

I don't think you can do a workgroup-wide broadcast message; you have to
specify each windows box in the workgroup by name, but that should be easy
enough with a simple script.

How do I send a pop-up message?
A. The syntax of the net send command is:

net send {name | * | /domain[:name] | /users} message
To send a pop-up to all users in your domain, type:

net send /domain This is a message.
Note Windows NT-based client run the Messenger service by default. Other
Windows clients must be running Winpopup.exe to receive the message.

net send sriram hello - will send hello to Sriram, if he is logged
on.

net send /users hello will send hello to all users that are connected
to your computer.


Date reformatting in UNIX (useful when you need to send file with timestamp)

Date reformatting in UNIX (useful when you need to send file with timestamp)

Here is one way of reformatting the date:

date '+ %m%d%Y_ %H%M%S' to get the date in the format, 10052004_114643

The usage takes the format,
$ datetail=`date '+ %m%d%Y_%H%M%S'`
$ echo $datetail