Manual Pages for UNIX Operating System command usage for man helpdate

User Commands                                           ckdate(1)



NAME
     ckdate, errdate, helpdate, valdate - prompts for  and  vali-
     dates a date

SYNOPSIS
     ckdate [-Q] [-W width] [-f format] [-d default] [-h help]
          [-e error] [-p prompt] [-k pid [-s signal]]


     /usr/sadm/bin/errdate [-W width] [-e error] [-f format]


     /usr/sadm/bin/helpdate [-W width] [-h help] [-f format]


     /usr/sadm/bin/valdate [-f format] input


DESCRIPTION
     The  ckdate  utility  prompts  a  user  and  validates   the
     response.  It  defines, among other things, a prompt message
     whose response should be a date, text  for  help  and  error
     messages, and a default value (which will be returned if the
     user responds with a  RETURN). The user response must  match
     the defined format for a date.


     All messages are limited in length to 70 characters and  are
     formatted automatically. Any white space used in the defini-
     tion (including newline) is stripped. The -W option  cancels
     the  automatic  formatting.  When  a  tilde is placed at the
     beginning or end of a message definition, the  default  text
     will  be  inserted  at that point, allowing both custom text
     and the default text to be displayed.


     If the prompt, help or error message  is  not  defined,  the
     default message (as defined under NOTES) will be displayed.


     Three visual tool modules are linked to the ckdate  command.
     They  are  errdate (which formats and displays an error mes-
     sage), helpdate (which formats and displays a help message),
     and  valdate  (which  validates  a  response). These modules
     should be used in conjunction  with  FML  objects.  In  this
     instance,  the FML object defines the prompt. When format is
     defined in the errdate and helpdate  modules,  the  messages
     will describe the expected format.

OPTIONS
     The following options are supported:




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User Commands                                           ckdate(1)



     -d default    Defines the  default  value  as  default.  The
                   default  does not have to meet the format cri-
                   teria.


     -e error      Defines the error message as error.


     -f format     Specifies the format against which  the  input
                   will  be  verified. Possible formats and their
                   definitions are:

                   %b  =    abbreviated  month  name  (jan,  feb,
                            mar)


                   %B  =    full month name %d  =  day  of  month
                            (01 - 31)


                   %D  =    date as %m/%d/%y (the default format)


                   %e  =    day of month (1 - 31;  single  digits
                            are preceded by a blank)


                   %h  =    abbreviated month name, identical  to
                            %b%


                   %m  =    month number (01 - 12)


                   %y  =    year within  century  (for  instance,
                            89)


                   %Y  =    year as CCYY (for instance, 1989)



     -h help       Defines the help messages as help.


     -k pid        Specifies that process ID pid is to be sent  a
                   signal if the user chooses to abort.


     -p prompt     Defines the prompt message as prompt.





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User Commands                                           ckdate(1)



     -Q            Specifies that quit will not be allowed  as  a
                   valid response.


     -s signal     Specifies that the process ID pid defined with
                   the  -k  option   is  to be sent signal signal
                   when quit is chosen.  If no signal is   speci-
                   fied, SIGTERM is used.


     -W width      Specifies that prompt, help and error messages
                   will be formatted to a line length of width.


OPERANDS
     The following operand is supported:

     input    Input to be verified against format criteria.


EXIT STATUS
     The following exit values are returned:

     0    Successful execution.


     1    EOF on input, or negative width on  -W option, or usage
          error.


     3    User termination (quit).


     4    Garbled format argument.


ATTRIBUTES
     See attributes(5) for descriptions of the  following  attri-
     butes:



     ____________________________________________________________
    |       ATTRIBUTE TYPE        |       ATTRIBUTE VALUE       |
    |_____________________________|_____________________________|
    | Availability                | SUNWcs                      |
    |_____________________________|_____________________________|


SEE ALSO
     attributes(5)




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User Commands                                           ckdate(1)



NOTES
     The default prompt for ckdate is:

       Enter the date [?,q]:




     The default error message is:

       ERROR - Please enter a date.  Format is .




     The default help message is:

       Please enter a date. Format is .




     When the quit option is chosen (and allowed), q is  returned
     along  with  the  return code 3. The valdate module will not
     produce any output. It returns zero for success and non-zero
     for failure.





























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