| I don't use a lot of complex notations in the book. Here are a few simple conventions I've used to make the examples clear and the text easy to follow: | $ and # | The HP-UX command prompt. Every command issued in the book is preceded by a command prompt. Either one of these two will be used or a system name are usually used as prompts. | | italics | Italics are used for variable values and when referring to functional areas and menu picks in the System Administration Manager (SAM). | | bold and " " | Bold text is the information you would type, such as the command you issue after a prompt or the information you type when running a script. Sometimes information you would type is also referred to in the text explaining it, and the typed information may appear in quotes. | | <---- | When selections have to be made, this convention indicates the one chosen for the purposes of the example. | | [] | Brackets indicate optional items and command descriptions. | | {} | Curly braces indicate a list from which you must choose. | | | | A vertical bar separates items in a list of choices. | | <Enter> | Indicates that the "Enter" key has been pressed on the keyboard. Sometimes <Return> is used to indicate that the return key has been pressed. |
One additional convention is that used for command formats. I don't use command formats more than I have to because I could never do as thorough a job describing commands as the HP-UX manual pages. The manual pages go into detail on all HP-UX commands. Here is the format I use when I cover commands: | form 1 | command [option(s)] [arg(s)] | | form 2 | command [option(s)] [arg(s)] | | form n | command [option(s)] [arg(s)] |
I try not to get carried away with detail when covering a command, but there are sometimes many components that must be covered in order to understand a command. Here is a brief description of the components listed above: form # - There are sometimes many forms of a command. If there is more than one form of a command that requires explanation, then I will show more than one form. command - The name of the executable. option(s) - Several options may appear across a command line. cmd_arg(s) - Command arguments such as path name. | 
