Format of command explanations
This section describes the format of the command explanations, the specification method for commands, and the symbols used to explain the command syntax.
- Organization of this page
Command specification method
The command specification format is as follows:
(1) indicates an option, and (2) indicates the arguments.
Symbols used to explain the command syntax
The following table lists the symbols used to explain the command syntax:
Symbol |
Description and example |
---|---|
| (vertical bar) |
Only one of the options separated by a vertical bar can be used at one time. Example: A|B|C indicates A, or B, or C. |
{ } (curly brackets) |
One of the items enclosed in braces and separated by a vertical bar must be specified. Example: {A|B|C} indicates that one of the items from A, or B, or C must be specified. |
[ ] (square brackets) |
The item or items enclosed in brackets are optional. Example: [A] indicates the specification of A or nothing. [B|C] indicates the specification of B or C, or nothing. |
... (ellipsis) |
The item or items preceding the ellipsis (...) can be repeated. To specify multiple items, use a one-byte space to delimit them. Example: A B ... indicates that B can be specified as many times as necessary after A. |
_ (underline) |
The underlined characters are the system default when you omit all the items enclosed in brackets. Example: [A|B] indicates that the system uses A if you do not specify either A or B. |
Wildcard characters
You can specify wildcard characters in a command so that the command's processing applies to multiple services or host names. The supported wildcard characters are as follows:
-
*: Indicates a string of any number of characters (including a single character)
-
?: Indicates any single character
In UNIX, a wildcard character must be enclosed in double quotation marks (") so that it is not analyzed by the shell.