.\" This troff source is processed to create all forms of the .\" 9FRONT DASH 1 book and the http://fqa.9front.org website. .\" NOTE: Purely experimental. Methods employed may change. .\" troff -ms -mpictures fqa8.ms | page .\" htmlroff -u -ms -mhtml fqa8.ms >fqa8.html .de FG \" .FG .ie h .html - .el .BP \\$1.ps .br .. .po 1i \" page offset (from left) .fp 1 R LucidaSans .fp 2 I LucidaSansI .fp 3 B LucidaSansB .fp 4 BI LucidaSansI .fp 5 CW LucidaCW .paragraph 0 .margin 0 .HTML "FQA 8 - Using 9front .html - .html - FQA INDEX | .html - FQA 7 - System Management | .html - FQA 9 - Troubleshooting .html -
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FQA 8 - Using 9front .ihtml h1 .NL .R .html - html | .html - pdf | .html - troff .FG using9front jpg .FG rails jpg When applied consistently, simple conventions can combine to provide powerful results. In Plan 9, .I conventions are preferred to .I rules . This section explores the Plan 9 approach to actually using the computer. .bp .html - .ihtml h2

.SH 8.1 - rc .R .ihtml h2 .DS .I rc was a startup script from very early times in Unix, shortened, as Ken was wont to do, from runcom, the nearest thing CTSS had to a shell\(emit could run up to six prespecified commands in background. The name runcom came to be applied to the scripts as well as to their interpreter. .R \(em Doug McIlroy .DE .html -
The .CW rc shell was written by .ihtml a Tom Duff .ihtml a for .ihtml a Research UNIX v10. .ihtml a It was later adopted as the shell for Plan 9. Some of its conventions are unusual compared with other command interpreters influenced by the .ihtml a Bourne shell. .ihtml a Although its syntax may seem strange at first, have patience; .CW rc was designed this way on purpose. Once its (few, but powerful) features are internalized, .CW rc simply gets out of the way. Read: .ihtml a .I Rc - The Plan 9 Shell, .R .ihtml a .ihtml a .CW rc(1) .ihtml a .html - .ihtml h3

.SH 8.1.1 - Prompts .R .ihtml h3 Creating an .CW rc function with the same name as your prompt allows you to easily double-click to select at the end of a previously typed line and then .CW send it using the mouse button 2 menu (see the discussion of .CW rio menus, below). This can be used to approximate a form of command history (see also the commands .ihtml a " .ihtml a and .ihtml a "", .ihtml a which print and execute the previous command, respectively). Add something like this to your .CW $home/profile : .P1 fn term%{ $* } .P2 In .CW rc the .CW ; character forces the end of a line and is treated as a noop when it appears alone, so it is also possible to create a simple prompt that would require no special prompt function in order for the prompt to be effectively ignored when selecting and sending: .P1 prompt=\'; \' .P2 Obviously, the prompt can be named however the user sees fit. .html - .ihtml h3

.SH 8.1.2 - /env .R .ihtml h3 .B Note: Contents of the .CW /env directory are provided by the kernel and represent a separate accounting of the shell's environment; .CW rc reads .CW /env only on startup, and flushes/writes .CW /env only before executing programs. .html - .ihtml h2

.SH 8.2 - rio .R .ihtml h2 .html -
.FG what jpg .CW rio is the Plan 9 window system. More accurately, .CW rio multiplexes input devices with, and serves a file interface to, a series of rectangles, inside the boundaries of which are drawn an arbitrary arrangement of pixels. Controlling the rectangles is more straightforward, and at the same time more flexible, than what is commonly expected from most "window managers." Read: .ihtml a .CW rio(1) , .ihtml a .ihtml a .CW rio(4) .ihtml a To effectively use .CW rio , you need a three button mouse. If you only have a two button mouse you can emulate the middle button by holding down the .CW shift key whilst pressing the right button. .B Note: Button 1, 2, and 3 are used to refer to the left, middle, and right buttons respectively. .html - .ihtml h3

.SH 8.2.1 - The Pop-up Menu .R .ihtml h3 Pressing and holding down mouse button 3 on the gray desktop or on a shell window will give you a menu with the following options: .ihtml ul