Conventions

UPPERCASE

Within syntax descriptions, characters in uppercase must be entered in exactly the order shown, though you can enter them in either uppercase or lowercase. For example: SHOWJOBValid entries: showjob ShowJob SHOWJOB
Invalid entries: shojwob ShoJob SHOW_JOB

italics

Within syntax descriptions, a word in italics represents a formal parameter or argument that you must replace with an actual value. In the following example, you must replace filename with the name of the file you want to release:

punctuation

Within syntax descriptions, punctuation characters (other than brackets, braces, vertical parallel lines, and ellipses) must be entered exactly as shown.

{ }

Within syntax descriptions, braces enclose required elements. When several descriptions are provided, you must select one. In the following example, you must select ON or OFF:

[ ]

Within syntax descriptions, brackets enclose optional elements. In the following example, brackets around ,TEMP indicate that the parameter and its delimiter are optional:

When several descriptions with brackets are stacked, you can select any one of the elements or none. In the following example, you can select devicename or deviceclass or neither:

Within syntax descriptions, a horizontal ellipsis enclosed in brackets indicates that you can repeatedly select elements that appear within the immediately preceding pair of brackets or braces. In the following example, you can select itemname and its delimiter zero or more times. Each instance of itemname must be preceded by a comma:

If a punctuation character precedes the ellipsis, you must use that character as a delimiter to separate repeated elements. However, if you select only one element, the delimiter is not required. In the following example, the comma cannot precede the first instance of itemname:

Within syntax descriptions, a horizontal ellipsis enclosed in parallel vertical lines indicates that you can select more than one element that appears within the immediately preceding pair of brackets or braces. However, each element can be selected only one time. In the following example, you must select ,A or ,B or ,A,B or ,B,A:

A or B or A,B or B,A (the first element is not preceded by a comma):

Within examples, horizontal or vertical ellipses indicate where portions of the example are omitted.

base prefixes

The prefixes %, #, and $ specify the numerical base of the value that follows:

When no base is specified, decimal is assumed.

CTRL char

CTRL char indicates a control character. For example, CTRL Y means you have to press the Y key while holding down the CTRL key.

Bit (bit:length)

When a parameter contains more than one piece of data within its bit field, the different data fields are described in the format Bit (bit:length), where bit is the first bit in the field and length is the number of consecutive bits in the field. For example, Bits (13:3) indicates bits 13, 14, and 15 (see Figure 1 “bit:length Example”.)

computer font

Denotes information displayed by the computer (for example, login:), file names (for example, /usr/include/stdio.h), and command names (for example, vi).