lif(4)							     Kernel Interfaces Manual							    lif(4)

NAME

       lif - logical interchange format description

DESCRIPTION

       LIF  (Logical Interchange Format) is a Hewlett-Packard standard mass-storage format that can be used for interchange of files among various
       HP computer systems.  A LIF volume contains a header (identifying it as a LIF volume) and a  directory  that  defines  the  contents  (i.e.
       files)  of  the	volume.  The size of the directory is fixed when the volume is initialized (see lifinit(1)) and sets an upper bound on the
       number of files that can be created on the volume.

       HP-UX contains a set of utilities (referred to as lif*(1)) that can be used to:

	      o  Initialize a LIF volume (i.e. create a header and an empty directory),
	      o  Copy files to and from LIF volumes,
	      o  List the contents of LIF volumes,
	      o  Remove LIF files,
	      o  Rename LIF files.

       The lif*(1) utilities are the only utilities within HP-UX where the internal structure of a LIF volume is known.  To the rest of  HP-UX,  a
       LIF  volume is simply a file containing some unspecified data.  The term LIF volume should in no way be confused with the HP-UX notion of a
       file system volume or mountable volume.

       LIF utilities on HP-UX currently support three file types, ASCII (1), BINARY (-2) and BIN (-23951).

       Three copying modes are associated with these file types:

	      If the copying mode is
			ASCII and an HP-UX file is being copied to a LIF volume, the utility strips the trailing  LF  (line-feed)  character,  and
			inserts  two  bytes  of  record length in front of each record.  These records are then written to a LIF-formatted medium.
			When copying a LIF ASCII file to HP-UX the two-byte record length is stripped  and  a  trailing  LF  is  appended.   These
			records  are  then written to the destination.	In this mode of copying, the length of the file is preserved.  The default
			file type for this mode of copying is ASCII (1).

	      If the copying mode is
			and an HP-UX file is being copied to a LIF volume, the utility simply inserts two bytes for record length in front of each
			1-Kbyte  record.  A trailing fractional block has a count reflecting the number of bytes in that block.  No interpretation
			is placed on the content of the records.  These records are then written to a LIF-format medium.  When copying a LIF  file
			to  an	HP-UX  file in copying mode, the record lengths are stripped and the content of records is directly written to the
			destination.  In this mode of copying, the length of the binary file is preserved.  The default file type for this mode of
			copying is (-2).

	      If the copying mode is
			RAW,  and  an HP-UX file is being copied to a LIF volume, the utility simply copies the raw data to the destination.  File
			sizes that are not integer multiples of 256 bytes are padded with nulls to the	next  higher  multiple.   Therefore,  When
			copying  a  LIF file to an HP-UX file in RAW mode, the information is copied directly without any interpretation placed on
			the content of the source.  The default file type for this mode of copying is (-23951).

       A LIF volume can be created on any HP-UX file (either regular disk file or device special  file)  that  supports  random  access  via  (see
       lseek(2)).   lif*(1)  utilities.   See  lifinit(1) for details.	Within a LIF volume, individual files are identified by 1- to 10-character
       file names.  File names can consist of uppercase alphanumeric characters (A through Z, 0 through 9) and the underscore character (_).   The
       first  character  of  a	LIF  file name must be a letter (A through Z).	The lif*(1) utilities accept any file name (including illegal file
       names generated on other systems), but can only create legal names.  This means that files whose names contain  lowercase  letters  can	be
       read but not created.

       LIF  file  names  are  specified  to the lif*(1) utilities by concatenating the HP-UX path name for the LIF volume followed by the LIF file
       name, separating the two with a colon For example:

	      specifies 	    LIF file accessed via HP-UX device special file
	      specifies 	    LIF file within HP-UX disk file

       Note that this file-naming convention is applicable only for use as arguments to the lif*(1) utilities, and does not constitute valid  path
       naming for any other use within the HP-UX operating system.

       lif*(1) utilities.

SEE ALSO

       lifcp(1), lifinit(1), lifls(1), lifrename(1), lifrm(1).

																	    lif(4)