ckstr(1)							   User Commands							  ckstr(1)

NAME

       ckstr, errstr, helpstr, valstr - display a prompt; verify and return a string answer

SYNOPSIS

       ckstr [-Q] [-W width] [ [-r regexp] [...]] [-l length]
	    [-d default] [-h help] [-e error] [-p prompt]
	    [-k pid [- s signal]]

       /usr/sadm/bin/errstr [-W width] [-e error] [-l length]
	    [ [-r regexp] [...]]

       /usr/sadm/bin/helpstr [-W width] [-h help] [-l length]
	    [ [-r regexp] [...]]

       /usr/sadm/bin/valstr [-l length] [ [-r regexp] [...]] input

DESCRIPTION

       The  ckstr  utility  prompts a user and validates the response. It defines, among other things, a prompt message whose response should be a
       string, text for help and error messages, and a default value (which are returned if the user responds with a RETURN).

       The answer returned from this command must match the defined regular expression and be no longer than the length specified. If  no  regular
       expression  is  given,  valid  input  must  be a string with a length less than or equal to the length defined with no internal, leading or
       trailing white space. If no length is defined, the length is not checked.

       All messages are limited in length to 79 characters and are formatted automatically. Tabs and newlines are removed  after  a  single  white
       space  character  in  a message definition, but spaces are not removed. When a tilde is placed at the beginning or end of a message defini-
       tion, 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 EXAMPLES) is displayed.

       Three visual tool modules are linked to the ckstr command. They are errstr (which formats and displays an error	message  on  the  standard
       output), helpstr (which formats and displays a help message on the standard output), and valstr (which validates a response).

OPTIONS

       The following options are supported:

       -d default    Defines the default value as default. The default is not validated and so does not have to meet any criteria.

       -e error      Defines the error message as  error.

       -h help	     Defines the help message as  help.

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

       -l length     Specifies the maximum length of the input.

       -p prompt     Defines the prompt message as prompt.

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

       -r regexp     Specifies	a  regular  expression,  regexp, against which the input should be validated. May include white space. If multiple
		     expressions are defined, the answer need match only one of them.

       -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
		     specified, 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 length and/or regular expression criteria.

EXAMPLES

       Example 1 Default prompt

       The default prompt for ckstr is:

	 example% ckstr
	 Enter an appropriate value [?,q]:

       Example 2 Default error message

       The  default  error  message is dependent upon the type of validation involved. The user will be told either that the length or the pattern
       matching failed. The default error message is:

	 example% /usr/sadm/bin/errstr
	 ERROR: Please enter a string which contains no embedded,
	 leading or trailing spaces or tabs.

       Example 3 Default help message

       The default help message is also dependent upon the type of validation involved.  If a regular expression has been defined, the message is:

	 example% /usr/sadm/bin/helpstr -r regexp
	 Please enter a string which matches the following pattern:
	 regexp

       Other messages define the length requirement and the definition of a string.

       Example 4 Using the quit option

       When the quit option is chosen (and allowed), q is returned along with the return code 3. Quit input gets a trailing newline.

       Example 5 Using the valstr module

       The valstr module will produce a usage message on stderr. It returns 0 for success and non-zero for failure.

	 example% /usr/sadm/bin/valstr
	 usage: valstr [-l length] [[-r regexp] [...]] input

EXIT STATUS

       The following exit values are returned:

       0    Successful execution.

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

       2    Invalid regular expression.

       3    User termination (quit).

ATTRIBUTES

       See attributes(5) for descriptions of the following attributes:

       +-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
       |      ATTRIBUTE TYPE	     |	    ATTRIBUTE VALUE	   |
       +-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
       |Availability		     |SUNWcsu			   |
       +-----------------------------+-----------------------------+

SEE ALSO

       signal.h(3HEAD), attributes(5)

SunOS 5.11							    14 Sep 1992 							  ckstr(1)