|
APPENDIX A GLOSSARY
a system of permission assigned by users for their own segments and directories, determining who may see, change, and add to each one. See Section 7, "Access".
identify the types of access that may be set for a segment or directory. The access modes for segments are read (r), write (w), execute (e), and null (n); those for directories are status (s), modify (m), append (a), and null (n). See "Segment Access" in Section 7.
a list of the users who have access to a particular segment or directory, and a description (using access modes) of the degree of access allowed to each user. See "Segment Access" in Section 7.
within the qedx command, a character or character string that identifies one line of text. See "The qedx Editor" in Section 4.
an additional name for a segment or directory, assigned by the add_name command. A segment or directory can be referred to equally well by its original name or any of its alternate names. See "Naming Segments" in Section 5.
information included with a command on a command line. See "Argument Conventions" in Section 3.
acronym for American Standard Code for Information Interchange, the standard code used to represent printable text on Multics. With it, all the characters normally found on a typewriter keyboard, plus many special characters, may be represented. See Section 5, "Segments".
a characteristic of a segment. A segment has many attributes, such as its names, the author, its ACL, and its size; the attributes can be examined with the list command. See "Segment Attributes" in Section 5.
one or more lines, in a standard format, that begin or comprise certain computer messages; also called a header. See "Logging In" in Section 2.
within a text editing command (qedx or emacs), a temporary workspace in which you create and edit text. To store that work in a segment you must "write it out" (make a permanent copy) using the qedx "w" (write) request or the emacs ^X^W request. See Section 4, "Creating and Editing Text".
one group of characters unbroken by blanks; signifies one word to Multics. The characters may include alphabetic, numeric, and some other characters (periods, hyphens, and underscores). See "Command Names" in Section 3.
an instruction to Multics; the command name. See Section 3, "Basic Multics Commands".
the state the system is in when it is ready to accept a command from you. See also "request level". See "Logging In" in Section 2.
one complete instruction to Multics, including a command name, arguments to that command, if any, and a newline. See "Command Lines" in Section 3.
an optional command argument that begins with a hyphen. Control arguments are typed exactly as indicated in command descriptions. See "Login/Logout Variations" in Section 2.
an unplanned termination of computer operation, due to hardware or software difficulties.
the blinking square or underscore that marks your current position on a video terminal. See "Login Problems" in Section 2.
one of several system facilities that perform such services as dprinting segments on a line printer (IO.SysDaemon is the User_id for this facility) and saving copies of . segments as a means of backup (Dumper.SysDaemon). See "Segment Access" in Section 7.
the value or action that the system assumes when none has been specified by the user. See "Default Arguments" in Section 3.
a "catalogue" containing the names and other attributes of all segments and directories immediately beneath it in the storage system (the directory hierarchy). See Section 6, "Directories".
the directory that you work from when you first log in. The pathname for this directory is usually of the form >udd>Project_id>Person_id. See Section 6, "Directories".
the directory that you are currently working from. Your home directory is always the working directory when you log in; to move to another directory, use the change_wdir command (cwd) with the desired pathname. See Section 6, "Directories".
the organizational structure of the Multics storage system. It resembles an inverted tree, with the root directory at the top, and subordinate directories emanating downward as branches. The lowest levels of each branch, the "leaves", are segments. See Section 6, "Directories".
the command to print segments on a line printer rather than a terminal. The printed segments themselves are referred to as dprints. See "The dprint Command" in Section 5.
a mode of operation within a few interactive commands (qedx, send_mail) in which the command is ready to accept editing requests from you. See also "request level".
the "#" character; it erases the character, or continuous series of blanks or tabs, immediately preceding it. For example, both "tha#e" and "tha e###e" are seen by Multics as "the". See "Multics Conventions" in Section 1.
a message sent by Multics informing you that a command you typed was not carried out, and indicating what was wrong. For example, "Segment ! not found." is returned if you mistakenly type the exclamation point before a command. See "Login Problems" in Section 2.
the physical devices and electronic circuitry that comprise a computer. See "The Multics System" in Section 1.
connected directly and permanently to the computer; usually refers to terminals. See "Connecting The Terminal" in Section 2.
a segment containing information about a given command. Typing the help command, followed with the name of a command, prints the info segment for that command at your terminal. See "The help Command" in Section 3.
a mode of operation within many interactive commands (for example, qedx or send_message) in which the command is ready to accept text from you. Input mode is usually terminated by you with a special character (described in individual command descriptions, Appendix B). See "Sending Messages" in Section 3.
a mode of operation in which you and the computer exchange information directly and immediately, through a terminal. Multics is primarily an interactive system. See "The Multics System" in Section 1.
a command that communicates interactively with you: the command expects requests or other appropriate information from you (such as a password or the text of a message), and responds to you with messages or other prompts. Examples of interactive commands are qedx, send_message, help and print_mail. See "Sending Messages" in Section 3.
the "@" character; it deletes all previously-typed characters on the current line. For example, "Itdellet esall@ It" becomes " It" See "Multics Conventions" in Section 1.
Entering the Multics system. This can be accomplished with the login command. The login command is an interactive command. See Section 2, "Entering and Leaving Multics".
Leaving the Multics system (with the logout command). See Section 2, "Entering and Leaving Multics".
a specially protected segment used to store messages and mail from other users. Typically, each person has a mailbox named Person_id.mbx under the home directory. A permanent mailbox is created for you the first time you type the accept_messages command (am) or the print_mail command (prm). See "Communicating With Other Users" in Section 3.
the computer hardware in which all segments are stored. See "User Identification" in Section 2.
the machinery that transmits electronic signals between a terminal, a telephone, and the computer. See "Connecting The Terminal" in Section 2.
the newline, caused by typing the key labeled "RETURN" (or another key designated for this purpose, such as "CR" or "LF"), consists of two actions: a carriage return and a linefeed. It is the signal to Multics that a command line is ready to be processed. See "Command Lines" in Section 3.
tne system software that supervises the processing of commands, controls system hardware, and organizes the tasks to be accomplished. See "The Multics System" in Section 2.
the smallest unit of storage that is allocated to segments. One page contains up to 4096 characters. See "Segment Attributes" in Section 5.
A character string known only to you. The system knows only an encoded form of your password. A password is assigned to you when you are registered on the system. The password is used when you log in, along with the Person_id, to verify your identity. See "User Identification" in Section 2.
a name of a segment or directory that specifies its location in the storage system. A pathname is either absolute or relative. See "Pathname Arguments" in Section 3 and "Pathnames" in Section 6.
a segment or directory name preceded by the series of directory names that lead from the root to that segment; each level in the pathname is preceded by a ">". For example, the absolute pathname for a segment under a user's home directory is designated this way:
All absolute pathnames begin with ">". See "Absolute Pathnames" in Section 6.
the pathname that uniquely locates a segment or directory relative to your working directory, by listing only that part of the absolute pathname that comes after the name of the working directory. For example, the relative pathname for a segment that resides in a directory one level under the working directory is designated this way:
All relative pathnames begin WITHOUT ">". See "Relative Pathnames" in Section 6.
A unique user identification; the first component of the User_id. See "User Identification" in Section 2.
Within this manual, this term is used for those people who have special access privileges that enable them to register new users, control the allocation of their system resources, and perform other administrative functions. At your site these functions may be shared among several people, perhaps having several different titles (system administrator and registrar, for instance). See "Login Problems" in Section 2.
The second component of the User_id; used for accounting purposes. See "User Identification" in Section 2.
one session with Multics, usually from login to logout. For the user, this means one terminal session.
a signal to Multics that you want to interrupt its current action. To send this signal you press the key labeled "ATTN", "BREAK", or "INTERRUPT"; the system responds with a QUIT banner and a ready message from a new command level. Type "release -all" to return to the first command level. The QUIT signal has nothing to do with the "quit" requests of interactive commands. See "Stopping A Command" in Section 3.
the signal that Multics is at command level, ready for the next command. Ready messages may differ from site to site, but often- include information such as the current time and date, and some measure of total system resource usage. See "Logging In" in Section 2.
within an interactive command, an instruction to the command, given at request level; the requests of an interactive command are analogous to the commands of the Multics system. See "Sending Messages" in Section 3.
the state in which an interactive command (for example qedx or send_mail) is ready to receive either appropriate information (text, a message) or a request from the command's list of accepted requests. Within the qedx command, request level is called "edit mode". See "Sending Messages" in Section 3.
the directory at the top of the Multics storage system; all other directories are subordinate to it. In absolute pathnames it is referred to by the initial ">". See Section 6, "Directories".
a unit of information (for example, text or a computer program), which is created and named by a user, and stored in the storage system. Each segment has a set of attributes, such as its primary and alternate names and its ACL. See Section 5, "Segments".
the shortened version of a command or control argument name, used interchangeably with the full name. The short names are listed in individual command descriptions (Appendix B). See "Command Names" in Section 3.
the programs that control the activities of the computer. See "The Multics System" in Section 1.
the combination of hardware and software that Multics uses for storing information. The information is grouped into segments and catalogued in directories. See also "directory hierarchy". See Section 6, "Directories".
in command descriptions, the line that demonstrates the structure of a complete command line for that particular command. See "Argument Conventions" in Section 3.
a typewriter-like piece of hardware that allows a user to interact directly with the computer system. See "The Multics System" in Section 1 and "Login Problems" in Section 2.
a very powerful interactive command that allows you to enter text into the system and to edit it. See Section 4, "Creating and Editing Text".
the ability of the computer system to allow many users, with tasks of all sizes, to use the system simultaneously. See "The Multics System" in Section 1.
A unique three-component name assigned to each Multics user. The User_id discussed in this manual consists most often of tne first two components, separated by a period:
The third component, the "tag", is discussed in Section 7. See also "User Identification" in Section 2.
<< Previous Section Appendix B >> Contents | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | A | B
|