Re: documenting Unix command lines; more than one line

Subject: Re: documenting Unix command lines; more than one line
From: Sabahat Ashraf <sabahat_ashraf -at- MENTORG -dot- COM>
Date: Tue, 9 Sep 1997 12:34:58 EDT

On Sep 9, 11:38am, Alexia Prendergast wrote:
> Subject: Re: documenting Unix command lines; more than one line
> I wouldn't do this -- I'd end with a user trying to enter the backslash
> as part of the command.

What Bernice is preventing by adding the backslash is the eventuality that some
user [and you know there will be one out there] that, given the indented
multi-line command, will try to enter the first line of the command and then
try to press "Enter" and hope to enter the next line. The backslash is the
correct way to enter a command on multiple lines at a Unix prompt. And if you
are writing for Unix "power users" [to be p.c.], that is certainly the way to
go.

Sabahat.

> I usually indent the wrap-around lines.
>
> A.
>
> --
> Alexia Prendergast
> Senior Technical Writer
> Seagate Software
> mailto:alexiap -at- sems -dot- com
>
> >-----Original Message-----
> >To indicate that a UNIX command (or any other procedural command for that
> >matter) is continued on the next line you use a backslash at the end of the
> >line.
> >
> >Example:
> >
> >> Gds [-envf <GDS_ENV_FILE>] [-strmf <GDS_STREAM_FILE>] \
> > [-strmlib <GDS_LIBRARY_NAME>]


--
Sabahat_Ashraf -at- MentorG -dot- com
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"... of course, I am way out of line."
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