packingrules(4) 						   File Formats 						   packingrules(4)

NAME

       packingrules - packing rules file for cachefs and filesync

SYNOPSIS

       $HOME/.packingrules

DESCRIPTION

       $HOME/.packingrules  is	a  packing  rules file for filesync and  cachefspack. $HOME/.packingrules contains a list of directories and files
       that are to be packed and synchronized.	It also contains a list of directories and files that  are to be specifically excluded from  pack-
       ing and synchronization.  See  filesync(1) and  cachefspack(1M).

       The  $HOME/.packingrules  file  is automatically created if users invoke filesync with filename arguments. By using filesync options, users
       can augment the packing rules in $HOME/.packingrules.

       Many users choose to manually create the packing rules file and edit it by hand. Users can edit $HOME/.packingrules (using any  editor)	to
       permanently  change  the  $HOME/.packingrules file, or to gain access to more powerful options that are not available from the command line
       (such as IGNORE commands). It is much easier to enter complex wildcard expressions by editing the $HOME/.packingrules file.

       Blank lines and lines that begin with a pound sign  (`#') are ignored.

       Any line can be continued by placing a backslash  (`') immediately before the  NEWLINE.

       All other lines in the  $HOME/.packingrules file have one of the following formats:

       PACKINGRULES		       major. minor.  This line is not actually required, but it should be the first  line of every packing  rules
				       file.  This  line identifies the packing rules file for the  file(1) command and specifies a format version
				       number. The current version number is 1.1. See file(1).

       BASE directory-1 [directory-2]  This line identifies a directory (or pair of directories) under which files should be packed  and  synchro-
				       nized.  At  least  one directory name must be specified. For rules that are to be used by filesync a second
				       directory name (where the copies are to be kept) must also be specified. The arguments must be fully quali-
				       fied path names, and may include environment variables.

       LIST name ...		       This line enumerates a list of files and sub-directories  (beneath the current
					BASE) that are to be kept  synchronized. This specification is recursive, in that specifying the name of a
				       directory automatically includes all  files  and  subdirectories  it  contains.	Regular  expressions   (as
				       described in glob  and gmatch) are permitted. See glob(1) and  gmatch(3GEN).

       IGNORE name ...		       This  line  enumerates  a  list of files that are not to be kept synchronized.  Regular expressions  (using
				       glob  and gmatch) are permitted.

       There are important differences between the arguments to LIST and IGNORE statements. The arguments to a LIST statement can contain  slashes
       and  are interpreted as file names relative to the  BASE directories. The arguments to an IGNORE statement are simpler names or expressions
       that cannot contain slashes. An IGNORE statement will not override a LIST statement. IGNORE statements only exclude files  that	are  found
       beneath LISTed directories.

       If the first name argument to a	LIST statement begins with an exclamation point  (`!'), the remainder of the statement will be executed as
       a command. The command will be run in the current BASE directory. The output of the command will be treated as a  list of newline separated
       file names to be packed/synchronized. The resulting file names will be interpreted relative to the enclosing  BASE directory.

       If the first name argument to an  IGNORE statement begins with an exclamation point  (`!'), the remainder of the statement will be executed
       as a command. The command will be run in the current BASE directory. The command will be expected to figure out which names should  not	be
       synchronized.  The output of the command will be treated as a list of newline separated file names that should be excluded from the packing
       and synchronization list.

       Commands will be broken into distinct arguments and run directly with  sh -c. Blanks can be embedded in an argument by escaping them with a
       backslash (`') or enclosing the argument in  double quotes (` " '). Double quotes can be passed in arguments by escaping the double quotes
       with a backslash (`').

       LIST lines only apply to the  BASE statement that precedes them. IGNORE lines can appear before any  BASE statement (in	which  case   they
       apply  to  all  BASEs)  or  after  a  BASE statement (in which case  they only apply to the  BASE that precedes them). Any number of  these
       statements can occur in any combination. The order is not important.

EXAMPLES

       Example 1: A sample $HOME.packingrules file.

       The use of these statements is illustrated in the following $HOME.packingrules file.

       #
       # junk files, not worth copying
       #
       IGNORE core *.o *.bak *%
       #
       # most of the stuff I want to keep in sync is in my $HOME
       #
       BASE /net/bigserver/export/home/myname $HOME
       # everything in my work sub-directory should be maintained
       LIST work
       # a few of my favorite mail boxes should be replicated
       LIST m/incoming
       LIST m/action
       LIST m/pending
       #
       # I like to carry around a couple of project directories
       # but skip all the postscript output
       #
       BASE /net/bigserver/export/projects $HOME/projects
       LIST poindexter epiphany
       IGNORE *.ps
       #
       # the foonly package should always be kept on every machine
       #
       BASE /net/bigserver/opt/foonly /opt/foonly
       LIST !cat .packinglist
       #
       # and the latest executables for the standard build environment
       #
       BASE /net/bigserver/export/buildenv $HOME/buildenv
       LIST !find . -type f -a -perm -111 -a -print

SEE ALSO

       file(1), filesync(1), cachefspack(1M)

SunOS 5.10							    23 Dec 1996 						   packingrules(4)