vc(1) (Source Code Control System Utilities) vc(1)
NAME
vc - version control
SYNOPSIS
vc [-a] [-t] [-cchar] [-s] [keyword=value ... keyword=value]
DESCRIPTION
This command is obsolete and will be removed in the next release.
The vc command copies lines from the standard input to the standard
output under control of its arguments and of ``control statements''
encountered in the standard input. In the process of performing the
copy operation, user-declared keywords may be replaced by their
string value when they appear in plain text and/or control
statements.
The copying of lines from the standard input to the standard output
is conditional, based on tests (in control statements) of keyword
values specified in control statements or as vc command arguments.
A control statement is a single line beginning with a control
character, except as modified by the -t keyletter (see below). The
default control character is colon (:), except as modified by the -c
keyletter (see below). Input lines beginning with a backslash (\)
followed by a control character are not control lines and are copied
to the standard output with the backslash removed. Lines beginning
with a backslash followed by a non-control character are copied in
their entirety.
A keyword is composed of 9 or less alphanumerics; the first must be
alphabetic. A value is any ASCII string that can be created with ed;
a numeric value is an unsigned string of digits. Keyword values may
not contain blanks or tabs.
Replacement of keywords by values is done whenever a keyword
surrounded by control characters is encountered on a version control
statement. The -a keyletter (see below) forces replacement of
keywords in all lines of text. An uninterpreted control character
may be included in a value by preceding it with \. If a literal \ is
desired, then it too must be preceded by \.
The following options are valid:
-a Forces replacement of keywords surrounded by control
characters with their assigned value in all text lines
and not just in vc statements.
-t All characters from the beginning of a line up to and
including the first tab character are ignored for the
purpose of detecting a control statement. If a control
statement is found, all characters up to and including
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the tab are discarded.
-cchar Specifies a control character to be used in place of the
``:'' default.
-s Silences warning messages (not error) that are normally
printed on the diagnostic output.
vc recognizes the following version control statements:
:dcl keyword[, ..., keyword]
Declare keywords. All keywords must be declared.
:asg keyword=value
Assign values to keywords. An asg statement overrides the
assignment for the corresponding keyword on the vc command line
and all previous asg statements for that keyword. Keywords
that are declared but are not assigned values have null values.
:if condition
...
:end
Skip lines of the standard input. If the condition is true,
all lines between the if statement and the matching end
statement are copied to the standard output. If the condition
is false, all intervening lines are discarded, including
control statements. Note that intervening if statements and
matching end statements are recognized solely for the purpose
of maintaining the proper if-end matching.
The syntax of a condition is:
<cond> ::= [ ``not'' ] <or>
<or> ::= <and> | <and> ``|'' <or>
<and> ::= <exp> | <exp> ``&'' <and>
<exp> ::= ``('' <or> ``)'' | <value> <op> <value>
<op> ::= ``='' | ``!='' | ``<'' | ``>''
<value> ::= <arbitrary ASCII string> | <numeric
string>
The available operators and their meanings are:
= equal
!= not equal
& and
| or
> greater than
< less than
( ) used for logical groupings
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vc(1) (Source Code Control System Utilities) vc(1)
not may only occur immediately after the if, and
when present, inverts the value of the entire
condition
The > and < operate only on unsigned integer values (e.g., :
012 > 12 is false). All other operators take strings as
arguments (e.g., : 012 != 12 is true).
The precedence of the operators (from highest to lowest) is:
= != > < all of equal precedence
&
|
Parentheses may be used to alter the order of precedence.
Values must be separated from operators or parentheses by at
least one blank or tab.
::text
Replace keywords on lines that are copied to the standard
output. The two leading control characters are removed, and
keywords surrounded by control characters in text are replaced
by their value before the line is copied to the output file.
This action is independent of the -a keyletter.
:on
:off Turn on or off keyword replacement on all lines.
:ctl char
Change the control character to char.
:msg message
Print message on the diagnostic output.
:err message
Print message followed by:
ERROR: err statement on line ... (915)
on the diagnostic output. vc halts execution, and returns an
exit code of 1.
EXAMPLE
If you have a file named note containing,
:dc1 NAME PLACE
:NAME:,
Just a note to remind you that we
have a meeting scheduled Monday
morning at :PLACE:,
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vc(1) (Source Code Control System Utilities) vc(1)
The command,
VC -a NAME=JOE PLACE=WIDGET INC. < note
will produce,
Joe
Just a note to remind you that we have
a meeting Monday morning at Widget Inc..
SEE ALSO
help(1).
ed(1) in the User's Reference Manual.
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