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HP-UX Reference > Ffspec(4)HP-UX 11i Version 2: December 2007 Update |
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NAMEfspec — format specification in text files DESCRIPTIONIt is sometimes convenient to maintain text files on the HP-UX system with non-standard tabs, (meaning tabs that are not set at every eighth column). Generally, such files must be converted to a standard format - frequently by replacing all tabs with the appropriate number of spaces - before they can be processed by HP-UX system commands. A format specification occurring in the first line of a text file specifies how tabs are to be expanded in the remainder of the file. A format specification consists of a sequence of parameters separated by blanks and surrounded by the brackets <: and :>. Each parameter consists of a keyletter, possibly followed immediately by a value. The following parameters are recognized:
Default values (assumed for parameters not supplied) are t-8 and m0. If the s parameter is not specified, no size checking is performed. If the first line of a file does not contain a format specification, the above defaults are assumed for the entire file. The following is an example of a line containing a format specification: * <:t5,10,15 s72:> * If a format specification can be disguised as a comment, it is not necessary to code the d parameter. Several HP-UX system commands correctly interpret the format specification for a file. Among them is ed, which can be used to convert files to a standard format acceptable to other HP-UX system commands. |
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