OpenExtensions for z/VM

A list of the Single UNIX Specification commands by category

This list organizes the Single UNIX Specification commands and utilities (all supported by OpenExtensions for z/VM) by user task categories.

The following list presents OpenExtensions shell commands and utilities grouped by the task a user might want to perform. Similar tasks are organized together. Stub commands (cancel, cu and lpstat) are not listed because their functions are not supported by OpenExtensions.

The list shows the command name and its function. Functions marked with "|" were added in VM/ESA 2.3.0.

General Use

command Run a simple command
date Display the date and time
echo Write arguments to standard output
exec Run a command and open, close, or copy the file descriptors
print Return arguments from the shell
printf Write formatted output
sh Invoke a shell (command interpreter)
time Display processor and elapsed times for a command
whence Tell how the shell interprets a command name

Controlling Your Environment

alias Display or create a command alias
cms Run a CP/CMS command from the shell
env Display environments, or set an environment for a process
export Set the export attributes for variables, or show currently exported variables
fc Process a command history list
history Process a command history list
id Return the user identity
locale Get locale-specific information
logger Log messages
logname Return a user's login name
newgrp Change to a new group
r Process a command history list
readonly Mark a variable as read-only
return Return from a shell function or . (dot) script
set Set or unset command options and positional parameters
shift Shift positional parameters
stty Set or display terminal options
su Change the user ID connected with a session
touch Change the file access and modification times
tty Return the user's terminal name
unalias Remove alias definitions
uname Display the name of the current operating system
unset Unset values and attributes of variables and functions

Managing Directories

basename Return the nondirectory components of a pathname
cd Change the working directory
chgrp Change the group owner of a file or directory
chmod Change the mode of a group or directory
chown Change the owner or group of a file or directory
dirname Return the directory components of a pathname
ls List file and directory names and attributes
mkdir Make a directory
mv Rename or move a file or directory
pathchk Check a pathname
pwd Return the working directory name
rm Remove a directory entry
rmdir Remove a directory

Managing Files

cat Concatenate or display text files
cksum Calculate and write checksums and byte counts
cmp Compare two files
comm Show and select or reject lines common to two files
| compress Lempel-Ziv file compression
cp Copy a file
cut Cut out selected fields of each line of a file
dot or . Run a shell file in the current environment
dd Convert and copy a file
diff Compare two text files and show the differences
ed Use the ed line-oriented text editor
find Find a file meeting specified criteria
fold Break lines into shorter lines
head Display the first part of a file
iconv Convert characters from one code set to another
join Join two sorted, textual relational databases
ln Create a link to a file
mkfifo Make a FIFO special file
mknod Make a FIFO or character special file
mv Rename or move a file or directory
od Dump a file in a specified format
paste Merge corresponding or subsequent lines of a file
sed Start the sed noninteractive stream editor
sort Start the sort-merge utility
tail Display the last part of a file
tee Duplicate the output stream
tr Translate characters
umask Set or return the file mode creation mask
| uncompress Undo Lempel-Zev compression of a file
uniq Report or filter out repeated lines in a file
wc Count newlines, words, and bytes

Printing Files

lp Send a file to a printer
pr Format a file in paginated form and send it to standard output

Computing and Managing Logic

bc Use the arbitrary-precision arithmetic calculation language
break Exit from a for, while, or until loop in a shell script
colon or : Do nothing, successfully
continue Skip to the next iteration of a loop in a shell script
dot or . Run a shell file in the current environment
eval Construct a command by concatenating arguments
exec Run a command and open, close, or copy the file descriptors
exit Return to the parent process from which the shell was called or to TSO/E
expr Evaluate arguments as an expression
false Return a nonzero exit code
grep Search a file for a specified pattern
let Evaluate an arithmetic expression
test Test for a condition
trap Intercept abnormal conditions and interrupts
true Return a value of 0

Controlling Processes

bg Move a job to the background
fg Bring a job into the foreground
jobs Return the status of jobs in the current session
kill End a process or job, or send it a signal
nohup Start a process that is immune to hangups
ps Return the status of a process
sleep Suspend execution of a process for an interval of time
time Display processor and elapsed times for a command
times Get process and child process times
wait Wait for a child process to end

Writing Shell Scripts

getconf Get configuration values
getopts Parse utility options
read Read a line from standard input
type Tell how the shell interprets a name
typeset Assign attributes and values to variables
xargs Construct an argument list and run a command

Developing or Porting Application Programs

ar Create or maintain library archives
awk Process programs written in the awk language
c89 Compile C/VM source code and create an executable file
cxx Compile C++/VM and C/VM and create an executable file
lex Generate a program for lexical tasks
make Maintain program-generated and interdependent files
strip Remove unnecessary information from an executable file
yacc Use the yacc compiler

Communicating with the System or Other Users

mailx Send or receive electronic mail

Working with Archives

ar Create or maintain library archives
cpio Copy in/out file archives
pax Interchange portable archives
tar Manipulate the tar archive files to copy or back up a file