Guardian Procedure Calls Reference Manual

D File Names and Process Identifiers
This appendix summarizes the syntax for file names and process identifiers. It is in four principal
subsections.
The first subsection specifies reserved file names.
The second subsection describes the syntax that HP recommends for all new development. Any
system procedure that has a name ending with an underscore (_) expects this syntax when you
specify a file name or a process identifier as a parameter.
The third subsection describes the syntax that is supported in C-series software and is still supported
in some system procedures in subsequent RVUs. Most of the procedure calls that support C-series
file name syntax are marked in this manual as "superseded" and are listed in Appendix G:
Superseded Guardian Procedure Calls and Their Replacements.
The fourth subsection describes the syntax for OSS pathnames.
Reserved File Names
Subvolume names and file names beginning with the letter "Z" are reserved. You must not choose
such names in your application.
Syntax
This subsection summarizes the syntax for file names and process identifiers. It describes the syntax
for four categories of file names along with file-name patterns and process handles. The four
categories of file names are:
• Names that identify disk files
• Names that identify nondisk devices
• Names that identify unnamed processes
• Names that identify named processes
There is no distinction between external and internal file names. The system does not distinguish
between uppercase and lowercase alphabetic characters in a file name. If all the optional left-hand
parts of a file name are present, it is called a fully qualified file name; if any of the optional left-hand
parts are missing, it is called a partially qualified file name.
Disk File Names
The syntax for a file name that identifies a disk file is:
[node.][[volume.]subvol.]file-id
or
[node.][volume.]temp-file-id
node
specifies the name of the node on which the file resides. A node name consists of a backslash
(\) followed by one to seven alphanumeric characters; the first alphanumeric character must
be a letter.
volume
specifies the name of the volume on which the file resides. A volume name consists of a dollar
sign ($) followed by one to seven alphanumeric characters; the first alphanumeric character
must be a letter.
subvol
specifies the name of the subvolume on which the file resides. A subvolume name has one to
eight alphanumeric characters; the first character must be a letter.
1536 File Names and Process Identifiers