User Guide

6-4 Ampex 1308911-02
Model No.
Running Head
DD-2 Utilities Overview DD-2 Utilities Manual Pages
-stdout < output_spec>
The -stdout <output_spec> argument specifies the output stream written to stdout. It is
required for all DD2 Management Utilities that produce an output, unless you use the -help
argument.
The -stdout <output_spec> argument allows you to specify the following:
• Keywords [%field_name or %(field_name) as documented in the utility’s manual page]
that designate the fields in the output stream written to stdout. When specifying more
than one keyword, enclose the entire string in quotes and use spaces or parenthesis to
separate the individual keywords.
• Characters that the command copies literally to the output stream. A backslash (\) in the
output specification is not itself printed and causes the following character to be printed
literally, except for
\n which produces a newline. For example, you can use \% to
display a percent sign without having it interpreted as a keyword indicator.
Keywords that start with v_ (for example, %v_density) provide verbose output that displays
a descriptive string; all other keywords produce normal output that displays only the value
reported.
By default, the output stream contains a trailing newline. Use the -n option to suppress the
newline.
On output, the command formats the output values by stripping any leading zeroes from
numbers and any trailing spaces from strings. Tape cartridge barcode IDs (volume tags) are
considered to be strings.
6.2.5 Options
The options supported by more than one utility are described below. For other options, consult
each utility’s manual page.
-f <
device_special_file>
Specifies the device special file to use for the operation (see Appendix B). If omitted, the
device special file specified by the $TAPE environment variable is used. There is no default if
$TAPE is not defined.
-n
Prevents a trailing newline from being appended to the output stream. If omitted, the output
stream includes a trailing newline.
-n does not affect newlines embedded in the output stream.
-n is valid for all commands that output to stdout.