msh(1) [osf1 man page]
msh(1) General Commands Manual msh(1) NAME
msh - MH shell (only available within the message handling system, mh) SYNOPSIS
msh [-help] [-prompt string] [file] OPTIONS
Prints a list of the valid options for this command. Sets the prompt for msh. If the string you specify includes white space, you must enclose it in double quotes ("). If you do not specify this option, the default prompt is (msh). The following defaults are used by msh: file defaults to -prompt (msh) DESCRIPTION
The command msh is an interactive program that implements a subset of the normal MH commands operating on a single file in packf format. That is, msh is used to read a file that contains a number of messages, as opposed to the standard MH style of reading a number of files, each file being a separate message in a folder. The chief advantage of msh is that, unlike the normal MH style, it allows a file to have more than one message in it. In addition, msh can be used on other files, such as message archives which have been packed using packf. When invoked, msh reads the named file, and enters a command loop. You can type most of the normal MH commands. The syntax and semantics of these commands typed to msh are identical to their MH counterparts. In cases where the nature of msh would be inconsistent with the way MH works (for example, specifying a +folder with some commands), msh will duly inform you. The commands that msh currently supports are: ali burst comp dist folder forw inc mark mhmail msgchk next packf pick prev refile repl rmm scan send show sortm whatnow whom In addition, msh has a help command which gives a brief overview of all the msh options. To terminate msh, either type <CTRL/D>, or use the quit command. If the file is writable and has been modified, then using quit will ask you if the file should be updated. A redirection facility is supported by msh. Commands may be followed by one of the following standard symbols: Open an interprocess chan- nel; connect output to another command. Write output to file. Append output to file. If file starts with a tilde (~), then a C-shell-like expansion takes place. Note that commands are interpreted by sh(1). When parsing commands to the left of any redirection symbol, msh will honor the backslash () as the quote next-character symbol, and dou- ble quotes (") as quote-word delimiters. All other input tokens are separated by white space (spaces and tabs). You may wish to use an alternative profile for the commands that msh executes; see mh_profile(4) for details of the $MH environment vari- able. RESTRICTIONS
The msh shell is not the C-shell, and a lot of the facilities provided by the latter are not present in the former. In particular, msh does not support back-quoting, history substitutions, variable substitutions, or alias substitutions. msh does not understand back-quoting. The only effective way to use pick inside msh is to always use the seq select option. If you add the following line to your pick will work equally well from both the shell and msh: pick: -seq select -list There is a strict limit of messages per file in packf format which msh can handle. Usually, this limit is 1000 messages. PROFILE COMPONENTS
Path: To determine your Mail directory Msg-Protect: To set protections when creating a new file fileproc: Program to file messages showproc: Program to show messages FILES
The user profile. The system customization file. SEE ALSO
csh(1), packf(1), sh(1), mh_profile(4) msh(1)
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MSH(1) [nmh-1.5] MSH(1) NAME
msh - nmh shell (and BBoard reader) SYNOPSIS
msh [-prompt string] [-scan | -noscan] [-topcur | -notopcur] [file] [-version] [-help] DESCRIPTION
msh is an interactive program that implements a subset of the normal nmh commands operating on a single file in packf'dformat. That is, msh is used to read a file that contains a number of messages, as opposed to the standard nmh style of reading a number of files, each file being a separate message in a folder. msh's chief advantage is that the normal nmh style does not allow a file to have more than one mes- sage in it. Hence, msh is ideal for reading BBoards, as these files are delivered by the transport system in this format. In addition, msh can be used on other files, such as message archives which have been packed (see packf(1)). Finally, msh is an excellent nmh tutor. As the only commands available to the user are nmh commands, this allows nmh beginners to concentrate on how commands to nmh are formed and (more or less) what they mean. When invoked, msh reads the named file, and enters a command loop. The user may type most of the normal nmh commands. The syntax and semantics of these commands typed to msh are identical to their nmh counterparts. In cases where the nature of msh would be inconsistent (e.g., specifying a +folder with some commands), msh will duly inform the user. The commands that msh currently supports (in some slightly modified or restricted forms) are: ali burst comp dist folder forw inc mark mhmail mhn msgchk next packf pick prev refile repl rmm scan send show sortm whatnow whom In addition, msh has a help command which gives a brief overview. To terminate msh, type CTRL-D, or use the quit command. If the file is writable and has been modified, then using quit will query the user if the file should be updated. The -prompt string switch sets the prompting string for msh. You may wish to use an alternate nmh profile for the commands that msh executes; see mh-profile(5) for details about the $MH environment variable. The exit command is identical to the quit command in msh. msh supports an output redirection facility. Commands may be followed by one of ^> file~^write output to file ^>> file~^append output to file ^| command~^pipe output to UNIX command If file starts with a " " (tilde), then a csh-like expansion takes place. Note that command is interpreted by sh. Also note that msh does NOT support history substitutions, variable substitutions, or alias substitutions. When parsing commands to the left of any redirection symbol, msh will honor `' (back-slash) as the quote next-character symbol, and `"' (double-quote) as quote-word delimiters. All other input tokens are separated by whitespace (spaces and tabs). FILES
$HOME/.mh_profile The user profile /etc/nmh/mts.conf nmh mts configuration file PROFILE COMPONENTS
Path: To determine the user's nmh directory Msg-Protect: To set mode when creating a new `file' fileproc: Program to file messages showproc: Program to show messages SEE ALSO
packf(1) DEFAULTS
`file' defaults to "./msgbox" `-prompt (msh) ' `-noscan' `-notopcur' CONTEXT
None BUGS
The argument to the -prompt switch must be interpreted as a single token by the shell that invokes msh. Therefore, one must usually place the argument to this switch inside double-quotes. There is a strict limit of messages per file in packf'd format which msh can handle. Usually, this limit is 1000 messages. Please remember that msh is not the C-Shell, and that a lot of the nice facilities provided by the latter are not present in the former. In particular, msh does not understand back-quoting, so the only effective way to use pick inside msh is to always use the -seq select switch. Clever users of nmh will put the line pick: -seq select -list in their .mh_profile file so that pick works equally well from both the shell and msh. sortm always uses -noverbose and if -textfield field is used, -limit 0. The msh program inherits most (if not all) of the bugs from the nmh commands it implements. MH.6.8 11 June 2012 MSH(1)