selang Reference Guide › The selang Command Language › CA ControlMinder Command Line Interpreter › Features of the selang Command Shell › Special Features

Special Features

You can use several additional techniques to save keystrokes in the selang command shell.

Note: Record and class names are case-sensitive on UNIX but not on Windows.

• Command Recognition

  selang recognizes which command you want to execute as soon as you have typed in enough characters to distinguish it from all the other available commands. For example, you can type ho to run the hosts command as it is the only command beginning with those letters. As soon as you type ho, selang can recognize the intended command. On the other hand, there are several commands that begin with the string new. You must add enough characters to distinguish between newusr, newgrp, newfile, and newres.

• Abbreviations

  Each command is also associated with a one‑ to four‑letter abbreviation. For example, because there are several commands beginning with the string new, you can also use the abbreviation nu for the command newusr. These abbreviations are documented as part of the command syntax for each command. You can enter commands in either uppercase or lowercase.

• Word Completion (UNIX only)

  Press Tab in the middle of a word to complete the word. Word completion is context‑sensitive. If more than one word matches the specified string, selang uses the shortest word or word fragment that matches the string. For example, if you type the letter n, selang supplies ew, to form the word new. If this is not the required word, type another one or two characters and press Tab again to complete the word. Press Ctrl+D to see all the possible options. This is useful if you are not sure which command to use. Using the example in the previous paragraph, if you add the letter u to the word new and press Tab, selang supplies sr, giving you the command newusr.

  Words that are not part of the selang commands are stored in memory for use by the word completion feature later on in the same session. For example, if you type newusr Mercedes, and then later type showusr Me followed by Tab, the abbreviation Me is expanded to Mercedes, as follows:

  showusr Mercedes
  

  This assumes that you have not entered any other user name that begins with "Me".