Distributed Name Service (DNS) Management Operations Manual

DNSCOM Interfaces and Operating Modes
Using DNSCOM
31258 Tandem Computers Incorporated 6–11
Using a Command File A command file is useful in situations where you expect the same sequence of
commands to be used numerous times. Command files permit you to type the full
form of the commands only once, and later initiate execution of a command file with a
single command (abbreviated if desired). You not only save time but also reduce the
possibilities of typing errors. The command file below contains examples of the
options discussed in the following paragraphs.
You can write multiple DNSCOM commands on a line, using a semicolon (;) as a
separator. In addition, you can use the ampersand character (&) as a continuation
character at the end of a line that is to be continued.
START DNS; == Now DNS is STARTED == STATUS DNS, DETAIL
ALTER COMPOSITE RDS_T1, LU $LINE2.#LU5, &
TERM TERM5 UNDER $PM
== Now execute the normal shutdown file
OBEY DNS.SHUTDOWN
You can also enter comment lines on a command line by preceding them with two
equal signs (==) and terminating them with another pair of equal signs. However, you
do not have to use the termination symbol if the remainder of the line (or the
remainder of a continued command) is only comment information. Comment lines are
not interpreted by DNSCOM.
It is possible for the command file to contain OBEY commands, in which case
command execution can be made to branch to some other command file and then
return on completion. In fact, such obey files can be nested (to a depth of four), and
can be located on different volumes and system nodes.
To execute a command file, you must first create an EDIT file that contains the
sequence of DNSCOM commands that you want processed. To process the commands
in the EDIT file, run DNSCOM and name the EDIT file as the input file with the IN
option. From the TACL prompt, the general command syntax to execute an existing
command file is:
DNSCOM / IN infile [, OUT outfile ] / [ \ system | manager ]
infile is the name of the EDIT file from which DNSCOM reads its commands.
outfile is the file to which all command responses are written; if you omit this
parameter, output is directed to the current TACL output file, typically your terminal.
\ system , as in the interactive case, allows you to specify the system where you want
DNSCOM to open the name manager. manager directly specifies which name
manager to open.
DNSCOM automatically terminates after executing the final command in the
command file; or if it encounters an error, and the ALLOW ERRORS option has not
been set; or if it encounters an EXIT command.