uux Command

Purpose

Runs a command on another UNIX-based system.

Syntax

uux [ -c | -C ] [ -n | -z ] [ - ] [ -aName ] [ -b ] [ -gGrade ] [ -j ] [ -p ] [ -e ] [ -r ] [ -sFile ] [  -xDebugLevel ] CommandString

Description

The uux command is a Basic Networking Utility (BNU) that runs a specified command on a specified UNIX-based system while enabling the user to continue working on the local system. Before running the requested command, the uux command gathers any necessary files from the designated systems. The user can direct the output from the command to a specific file on a specific system. For security reasons, many installations permit the uux command to run only the rmail command.

The uux commands on other systems create execute (X.*) files that run commands on the local system. In addition, the uux command on the local system creates both command (C.*) files and data (D.*) files for transfer to other systems. Execute files contain the command string to be executed on the designated system. Command files contain the same information as those created by the uucp command. Data files either contain the data for a remote command execution or else become X.* files on remote systems for remote command executions.

The full path name of an execute file is a form of the following:

/var/spool/uucp/System/X.SystemNxxxx

After creating the files in the spooling directory, the uux command calls the uucico daemon to transfer the files from the spooling directory on the local system to the designated remote system. Once the files are transferred, the uuxqt daemon on the remote system executes the CommandString on the specified system, placing any output from the command in the file designated by the original uux command request.

The CommandString argument is made up of one or more arguments that look like an operating system command line, except that CommandString argument may be prefixed by the name of the remote system in the form System!. The default System is the local system. Unless the user entering the uux command includes the -n flag, the command notifies that user if the remote system does not run the command. This response comes by mail from the remote system.

Source and Destination File Names

• When specifying the destination of the output of a command, the uux command can be entered in either one of the following formats:
  • uux [Options] "CommandString> Destination"
  • uux [Options] CommandString\ {Destination\}.
• Destination names can be either of the following:
  • A full path name
  • A full path name preceded by ~User, where User is a login name on the specified system. The uux command replaces this path name with the user's login directory.
• The shell pattern-matching characters ? (question mark), * (asterisk), and [ ... ] (brackets) can be used in the path name of a source file (such as files compared by the diff command); the appropriate system expands them. However, using the * character may occasionally produce unpredictable or unanticipated results. Shell pattern-matching characters should not be used in the destination path name.
• Place either two backslashes (\ . . . \) or a pair of quotation marks (" . . . ") around pattern-matching characters in a path name so the local shell cannot interpret them before the uux command sends the command to a designated system.
• If you are using the special shell characters > (greater than), < (less than), ; (semicolon), or | (vertical bar) in a path name, place either \ . . . \ or " . . . " around the individual character or around the entire command string.
• Do not use the shell redirection characters << or >> in a path name.
• The uux command attempts to move all files specified on the command line to the designated system. Enclose the names of all output files in parentheses so that the uux command does not try to transfer them.
• When specifying a System, always place it before the CommandString argument in the entry. System names can contain only ASCII characters.
• The ! (exclamation point) preceding the name of the local system in a command is optional. If you choose to include the ! to run a command on the local system using files from two different remote systems, use ! instead of System! to represent the local system, and add System! as the first entry in any path name on the remote systems.
• The exclamation point representing a system in BNU syntax has a different meaning in C shells. When running the uux command in a C shell, place a \ (backslash) before the exclamation point in a system name.

  Note: The notation ~ (tilde) is the shorthand way of specifying the public spooling directory, /var/spool/uucppublic.

Flags

Examples

1. To run the qprt command on a remote system, enter:

   uux merlin!qprt /reports/memos/lance

   In this example, the remote file /reports/memos/lance is printed on remote system merlin. Since neither the -n nor -z flag is specified, the uux command notifies the user only if the remote system fails to run the command. The response comes by the mail command from the remote system.
2. To run commands on two remote systems, enter the information on separate command lines:

   uux merlin!qprt /reports/memos/lance
   uux zeus!qprt /test/examples/examp1

   In this example, the remote /reports/memos/lance file is printed on remote system merlin, and the remote /test/examples/examp1 file is printed on remote system zeus. Since neither the -n nor -z flag is specified, the uux command notifies the user only if the remote system fails to run the command. The response comes by the mail command from the remote system.
3. To queue a job that compares a file on the local system with a file on a remote system, using the diff command on the local system, and get the job ID of the job, enter:

   uux  -j "/usr/bin/diff /usr/amy/f1 hera!/home/amy/f2 > ~/f1.diff"

   In this example, the /usr/amy/f1 file on the local system is compared to the /home/amy/f2 file on the remote system hera and the output is placed in the f1.diff file in the local public directory (the full path name of this file is /var/spool/uucppublic/f1.diff). The destination name must be entered either preceded by a > with the whole command string enclosed in " " (quotation marks) or entered enclosed in braces and backslashes, as \{ DestinationName \}. The -j flag causes the uux command to return the BNU job ID of the job.
4. To use the diff command on the local system to compare files that are located on two different remote systems, enter:

   uux "!/usr/bin/diff hera!/usr/amy/f1 venus!/home/amy/f2 > \ !f1.diff"

   In this example, the /usr/amy/f1 file from the remote system hera is compared to the /home/amy/f2 file from the remote system venus and the output is placed in the file f1.diff, located in the current working directory on the local system.

   The output file must be write-enabled. If you are uncertain about the permission status of a specific target output file, direct the results to the public directory. The exclamation points representing the local system are optional. The destination name must be entered either preceded by a > with the whole command string enclosed in " " (quotation marks) or entered enclosed in braces and backslashes, as \{ DestinationName \}.

5. To execute the diff command on two separate files from different systems, enter:

   uux "hera!/usr/bin/diff /tmp/out1 zeus/tmp/out2 > ~/DF"

   In this example, the diff file is on the remote system hera. The first source file is on the remote system hera, and the secondfile is on the system zeus. (zeus may be the local system or another remote system.) The output is directed to the file DF in the public directory on the local system.
6. To specify an output file on a different remote system, enter:

   uux hera!uucp venus!/home/amy/f1 \{merlin!/home/geo/test\}

   In this example, the uucp command is run on the remote system hera, and the /home/amy/f1 file, stored on system venus, is sent to user geo on system merlin as test. The destination name is entered enclosed in braces and backslashes.
7. To get selected fields from a file on a remote system and place them in a file on the local system, enter:

   uux "cut -f1 -d: hera\!/etc/passwd > ~/passw.cut"

   In this example, the cut command is run on the local system. The first field from each line of the password file on system hera is placed in the passw.cut file in the public directory on the local system. The uux command is running in a C shell, so a \ (backslash) must precede the exclamation point in the name of the remote system.
8. To use the uux piping option to specify a remote copy of the /tmp/example file to /tmp/examplecopy on system mercury use the following syntax:

   uux -p mercury!
   cp /tmp/example /tmp/examplecopy
     

   The user must enter a Ctrl-D in order to terminate the command input. After Ctrl-D is pressed, the command will be spooled for remote execution on system mercury.

Files