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.TH FRED 1C "06 Jan 1990"
.\" $Header: /f/osi/others/quipu/uips/fred/RCS/fred.1c,v 7.1 90/01/11 18:36:25 mrose Exp $
.\"
.\"
.\" $Log:	fred.1c,v $
.\" Revision 7.1  90/01/11  18:36:25  mrose
.\" real-sync
.\" 
.\" Revision 7.0  89/11/23  22:08:54  mrose
.\" Release 6.0
.\" 
.SH NAME
fred \- a white pages user interface (FRont-End to Dish)
.SH SYNOPSIS
.in +.5i
.ti -.5i
.B fred
\%[options]
\%[command\0arguments\0...]
.sp
.ti -.5i
.B whois
arguments\0...
(as in \*(lq\fBfred\0whois\fR\0rose\0\fB-org\fR\0psi\*(rq)
.in -.5i
.SH DESCRIPTION
The \fIfred\fR program is a front-end to the OSI Directory,
and in particular the \fIdish\fR\0(1c) program.
It is most useful as an interface to the white pages service.
.PP
The \fIfred\fR program is meant to be similar to the WHOIS service
familiar to most users of the network.
There are some differences however.
.PP
First,
users in the white pages are uniquely identified by
their \fIdistinguished name\fR, e.g.,
.sp
.in +.5i
.nf
\*(lq@c=US@o=NYSERNet Inc.@cn=Manager\*(rq
.fi
.in -.5i
.sp
In contrast,
users of the WHOIS service are uniquely identified by their WHOIS
handle,
a brief key, e.g., \*(lqMTR\*(rq.
Since distinguished names are much longer than WHOIS handles,
\fIfred\fR maintains a list of aliases during its execution.
When an entry for something is retrieved,
it is assigned a numeric alias for its name.
.PP
Second,
searches in the white pages are relative to an \*(lqarea\*(rq.
The default area is set by your system administrator.
It can be changed using the \fIarea\fR command.
Because the white pages are distributed,
searches occurring at higher areas are more expensive in terms of
time,
networking resources, etc.
.PP
Third,
the white pages are highly structured.
As such,
you can potentially retrieve much more detailed information about an entry.
Although the \fIfred\fR should prove useful for the majority of
queries,
it is purposefully limited in its searching capabilities.
Users desiring a more powerful interface,
should use \fIdish\fR\0(1c) directly.
.SH EXAMPLES
The command syntax,
while meant to be intuitive,
is tedious.
Here are a few simple examples:
.IP whois\0\*(lqsmith\*(rq
looks for any entries with this name in the default area
(choice of matching on the entry's surname or fullname is based on the
value of the `namesearch' variable).
.IP whois\0surname\0\*(lqsmith\*(rq
looks for any entries with this surname.
.IP whois\0fullname\0\*(lqjohn\0smith\*(rq
looks for any entries with this fullname.
.IP whois\0\*(lqsmith\*(rq\0\-org\0nyser
looks for any entries with this name in any organization with
\*(lqnyser\*(rq in its name.
This is probably the most common usage of the program.
.IP whois\0\*(lqsmith\*(rq\0\-area\0\*(lq@c=US@o=NYSERNet\0Inc.\*(rq
could be used if you already know the \*(lqarea\*(rq that the user resides in.
.IP whois\0\*(lqsmith\*(rq\0\-area\017
could be used if an alias were already established for this area.
.IP whois\0@c=US@cn=Manager
looks for the entry with this distinguished name (handle).
.IP whois\0!7
could be used if an alias were already established for this entry.
.IP whois\0mrose@cheetah.nyser.net
looks for any entries with the given mailbox.
.IP whois\0\-title\0operator
looks for any entries who are operators.
.IP whois\0-org\0*
reports on all registered organizations (in the default geographical area).
.IP whois\0-org\0*\0-geo\0@c=GB
reports on all registered organizations under @c=GB.
.PP
Here is a somewhat more common example:
.sp
.in +.5i
.nf
fred> whois schoffstall -org psi
Trying @c=US@o=Performance Systems International ...
3 matches found.
  2. Marvin Schoffstall                         marv@psi.com
  3. Martin Schoffstall                         schoff@psi.com
  4. Steve Schoffstall                          steve@psi.com

fred> whois !3
Martin Schoffstall (3)                          schoff@psi.com
    ...
.fi
.in -.5i
.SH COMMANDS
On start-up, \fIfred\fR will read a file called \fBfredrc\fR in the
ISODE system directory (usually \fB\*(ED\fR\0).
Then,
\fIfred\fR reads the file \fB\&.fredrc\fR in the user's home directory.
These files, if present, contain user-preference commands.
Afterwards,
\fIfred\fR prompts for commands.
.PP
Typing INTR at the top\-level does nothing,
but typing it twice in a row at the top\-level terminates \fIfred\fR;
typing INTR during additional prompting causes \fIfred\fR to abort
the command.
.TP
.B alias\fR\0\%[name]
With no arguments,
prints all aliases defined for this session.
With an argument,
defines a numeric alias for that name.
.TP
.B area\fR\0\%[\%[record-type] location]
With no arguments,
prints the default area used by the \fIwhois\fR command when
consulting the white pages.
With a single argument,
this sets the default area.
The distinguished value \*(lq\&.\&.\*(rq may be used to go up one
level in the tree.
If the value is relative (i.e., does not start with the
\*(lq@\*(rq-sign),
then the value is appended onto the current location.
With two arguments,
this sets the default area for searches of the indicated record type
(which are described in the next section).
This is particularly useful since it also provides heuristics to the
\fIwhois\fR command as to the depth to be used for searching.
.TP
.B edit
Invokes an editor to modify the user's entry in the white pages.
.TP
.B help\fR\0\%[command\0...]
Prints help information.
For detailed information, try \*(lqhelp\0?\*(rq.
.TP
.B manual
Prints this detailed documentation about \fIfred\fR.
.TP
.B quit
Terminates \fIfred\fR.
.TP
.B report\fR\0\%[subject]
Allows you to enter a report that is mailed to your local white pages manager.
.TP
.B set\fR\0\%[variable\0\%[value]]
Manipulates \fIfred\fR's settings:
.sp
.in +.5i
.nf
.ta \w'\fBnamesearch\fR  'u
\fBvariable\fR	\fBfunction\fR
debug	debug \fIfred\fR
manager	mail address of local white pages manager
namesearch	type of name used for matching
	(either \*(lqfullname\*(rq or \*(lqsurname\*(rq)
pager	program to use for terminal pagination
query	confirm two-step operations
soundex	use soundex for matching
	when no wildcards are present
timelimit	maximum number of seconds to
	spend searching
verbose	verbose interaction
watch	watch dialogue with \fIdish\fR
.re
.fi
.in -.5i
.TP
.B thisis\fR\0\%[name\0\%[password]]
Tells the white pages service who you are.
This is only needed when you want to modify your own entry.
Normally,
this is determined automatically when \fIfred\fR starts.
.TP
.B whois\fR\0\%[arguments\0...]
Consults the white pages.
.SH WHOIS
The syntax of the \fIwhois\fR command is similar to that provided by
the WHOIS service:
.sp
.in +.5i
.nf
input-field \%[record-type] \%[area-designator] \%[output-control]
.fi
.in -.5i
.sp
These four components may occur in any order.
Only the \fIinput-field\fR need be present.
.SS "INPUT FIELD"
This component tells the white pages what to look for.
.TP
.B \&.<name>\fR\0or\0\fBname\fR\0<name>
gives the name of the target.
.br
.B \fBsurname\fR\0<name>
.br
.B \fBfullname\fR\0<name>
.sp
Searching for names follows these rules:
if the \*(lq*\*(rq-sign appears at the beginning and/or end of the name,
then wildcard-style matching is used:
the \*(lq*\*(rq-sign matches zero or more characters at the beginning
or end of a name.
Otherwise,
if soundex has been enabled (set the variable `soundex' to `on'),
then imprecise matching occurs according to a Soundex algorithm.
Otherwise,
if searching is to occur for a person's surname,
then a case-insensitive match is used.
Finally,
as a last resort,
\fIfred\fR will force a rather liberal wildcard-style match.
.sp
For compatibility with the WHOIS service,
an input field of \*(lqNAME.\*(rq is equivalent to \*(lqNAME*\*(rq
(i.e., a partial match for names having the given prefix).
Similarly,
an input field of \*(lq*NAME\*(rq is equivalent to
\*(lqNAME\0expand\*(rq.
Thus, to have wildcard matching at the beginning of the name,
use two \*(lq*\*(rq-signs,
e.g., \*(lq**inc\*(rq matches names ending in \*(lqinc\*(rq.
(A terrible hack, but that's the price one pays to be consistent with the
WHOIS service.)
.TP
.B !<handle>\fR\0or\0\fBhandle\fR\0<handle>
gives the unique handle (distinguished name) of the target.
This may be an alias rather than a distinguished name.
.TP
.B mailbox\fR\0<mailbox>
gives the mailbox of the target.
.PP
If a keyword is not given,
then \fIfred\fR attempts to intuit which kind of input field is being provided.
In most cases,
\fIfred\fR will treat field as a name,
unless it contains the \*(lq@\*(rq-sign,
which makes it either a handle or a mailbox.
.SS "RECORD TYPE"
This component tells the white pages what kind of entry to look for.
.sp
.in +.5i
.nf
\fIperson\fR or \fI-title\fR\0NAME,
\fIorganization\fR,
\fIunit\fR (a division under an organization),
\fIrole\fR (a role within an organization),
\fIlocality\fR, or
\fIdsa\fR (a white pages server).
.fi
.in -.5i
.sp
If this component is not present,
\fIfred\fR will not limit its search to any particular kind of entry.
.SS "AREA DESIGNATOR"
This component takes one of two forms.
The most common form is one of the switches:
.sp
.in +.5i
.nf
\fI-org\fR (short for \fI-organization\fR\0),
\fI-unit\fR, or,
\fI-locality\fR,
.fi
.in -.5i
.sp
followed by a name.
For example,
.sp
.in +.5i
.nf
\&\-org nyser
.fi
.in -.5i
.sp
tells \fIfred\fR to limit the search to those organizations whose name
contains \*(lqnyser\*(rq.
.PP
In addition
the switch `-geo' followed by a location in the white pages may be
used to override the default area for searching for these objects.
For example,
.sp
.in +.5i
.nf
\&\-org ucl \&\-area @c=GB
.fi
.in -.5i
.sp
tells \fIfred\fR to limit the search to those organizations whose name
contains \*(lqucl\*(rq that reside directly under @c=GB.
.PP
In the second form,
the area designator consists of the switch \fI-area\fR followed by a
location in the white pages;
e.g.,
.sp
.in +.5i
.nf
\&\-area \*(lq@c=US@o=NYSERNet Inc.\*(rq
.fi
.in -.5i
.sp
Note the use of double-quotes to make the string following area appear
as a single argument.
If an alias has already been established for this location,
then the number of the alias can be used instead.
.SS "OUTPUT CONTROL"
.TP
.B expand\fR\0or\0\fB*\fR
give a detailed listing and show children of matched entries.
.TP
.B \~
The opposite of \fIexpand\fR.
(Included for compatibility with the WHOIS service.)
.TP
.B subdisplay\fR\0or\0\fB%\fR
give a one-line listing and show children of matched entries.
.TP
.B full\fR\0or\0\fB|\fR
give a detailed listing,
even on ambiguous matches
.TP
.B summary\fR\0or\0\fB$\fR
give a one-line listing,
even on unique matches.
.SH OPTIONS
.TP
.B \-f
Inhibits reading of the user's \fB\&.fredrc\fR on startup.
.TP
.B \-v
Sets \fBverbose\fR (default for interactive use).
.TP
.B \-w
Sets \fBwatch\fR.
.SH FILES
.nf
.ta \w'\*(EDdsaptailor  'u
\*(EDdsaptailor	system QUIPU tailoring file
$HOME/\&.quipurc	user's QUIPU tailoring file
\*(EDfredrc	system runcom file
$HOME/\&.fredrc	user's runcom file
.re
.fi
.SH "SEE ALSO"
dish(1c),
.br
\fINYSERNet White Pages Pilot Project: User's Guide\fR,
.br
\fIThe ISO Development Environment: User's Manual--Volume 5: QUIPU\fR
.SH DIAGNOSTICS
All obvious.
.SH AUTHOR
Marshall T. Rose,
NYSERNet Inc.
.SH BUGS
The emulation of the old \fIwhois\fR command format is imperfect.
Most notably,
you need to quote names so they appear as a single token to the \fIfred\fR.
For example:
.sp
.in +.5i
% fred whois\0\*(lqDal\0Santo\*(rq
.in -.5i
.sp
won't work,
whilst
.sp
.in +.5i
% fred whois\0'\*(lqDal\0Santo\*(rq'
.in -.5i
.sp
will work (the shell strips off one layer of quoting).
That's progress for you.
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