nistest(1) User Commands nistest(1)
NAME
nistest - return the state of the NIS+ namespace using a conditional expression
SYNOPSIS
nistest [-ALMP] [-a rights | -t type] object
nistest [-ALMP] [-a rights] indexedname
nistest -c dir1 op dir2
DESCRIPTION
nistest provides a way for shell scripts and other programs to test for the existence, type, and access rights of objects and entries.
Entries are named using indexed names. See nismatch(1). With the -c option, directory names can be compared to test where they lie in rela-
tion to each other in the namespace.
OPTIONS
The following options are supported:
-a rights This option is used to verify that the current process has the desired or required access rights on the named object or
entries. The access rights are specified in the same way as the nischmod(1) command.
-A All data. This option specifies that the data within the table and all of the data in tables in the initial table's con-
catenation path be returned. This option is only valid when using indexed names or following links.
-L Follow links. If the object named by object or the tablename component of indexedname names a LINK type object, the link
is followed when this switch is present.
-M Master server only. This option specifies that the lookup should be sent to the master server of the named data. This guar-
antees that the most up to date information is seen at the possible expense that the master server may be busy.
-P Follow concatenation path. This option specifies that the lookup should follow the concatenation path of a table if the
initial search is unsuccessful. This option is only valid when using indexed names or following links.
-t type This option tests the type of object. The value of type can be one of the following:
D Return true if the object is a directory object.
G Return true if the object is a group object.
L Return true if the object is a link object.
P Return true if the object is a private object.
T Return true if the object is a table object.
-c Test whether or not two directory names have a certain relationship to each other, for example, higher than (ht) or lower
than (lt). The complete list of values for op can be displayed by using the -c option with no arguments.
EXAMPLES
Example 1: Using the nistest Command
When testing for access rights, nistest returns success (0) if the specified rights are granted to the current user. Thus, testing for
access rights:
example% nistest -a w=mr skippy.domain
Tests that all authenticated NIS+ clients have read and modify access to the object named skippy.domain.
Testing for access on a particular entry in a table can be accomplished using the indexed name syntax. The following example tests to see
if an entry in the password table can be modified:
example% nistest -a o=m '[uid=99],passwd.org_dir'
To test if a directory lies higher in the namespace than another directory, use the -c option with an op of ht (higher than) as in the fol-
lowing example (which would return true):
example% nistest -c dom.com. ht lower.dom.com.
ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
NIS_PATH If this variable is set, and the NIS+ name is not fully qualified, each directory specified will be
searched until the object is found. See nisdefaults(1).
EXIT STATUS
The following exit values are returned:
0 Successful operation.
1 Failure due to object not present, not of specified type, and/or no such access.
2 Failure due to illegal usage.
ATTRIBUTES
See attributes(5) for descriptions of the following attributes:
+-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
| ATTRIBUTE TYPE | ATTRIBUTE VALUE |
+-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
|Availability |SUNWnisu |
+-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
SEE ALSO
nis+(1), nischmod(1), nisdefaults(1), nismatch(1), attributes(5)
NOTES
NIS+ might not be supported in future releases of the SolarisTM Operating Environment. Tools to aid the migration from NIS+ to LDAP are
available in the Solaris 9 operating environment. For more information, visit http://www.sun.com/directory/nisplus/transition.html.
SunOS 5.10 10 Dec 2001 nistest(1)