Rules for Input to format Commands

When you use the format utility, you need to provide various kinds of information. This section describes the rules for this information. For information on using format's help facility when you enter data, see Getting Help on the format Utility.

Specifying Numbers to format Commands

Several places in the format utility require an number as input. You must either specify the data or select a number from a list of choices. In either case, the help facility causes format to print the upper and lower limits of the number expected. Simply enter the number desired. The number is assumed to be in decimal format unless a base is explicitly specified as part of the number (for example, 0x for hexadecimal).

The following are examples of integer input:

Enter number of passes [2]: 34 
Enter number of passes [34] Oxf 

Specifying Block Numbers to format Commands

Whenever you are required to specify a disk block number, there are two ways to enter the information:

• Block number as an integer

• Block number in the cylinder/head/sector format

You can specify the information as an integer that represents the logical block number. You can specify the number in any base, but the default is decimal. The maximum operator (a dollar sign, $) can also be used here to let the format utility select the appropriate value. Logical block format is used by the SunOS disk drivers in error messages.

The other way to specify a block number is by the cylinder/head/sector designation. In this method, you must specify explicitly the three logical components of the block number: the cylinder, head, and sector values. These values are still logical, but they allow you to define regions of the disk that are related to the layout of the media.

If any of the cylinder/head/sector numbers are not specified, the value is assumed to be zero. You can also use the maximum operator in place of any of the numbers and let the format utility select the appropriate value. The following are some examples of cylinder, head, and sector entries:

Enter defective block number: 34/2/3
Enter defective block number: 23/1/
Enter defective block number: 457//
Enter defective block number: 12345
Enter defective block number: Oxabcd
Enter defective block number: 334/$/2
Enter defective block number: 892//$

The format utility always prints block numbers, in both formats. Also, the help facility shows you the upper and lower bounds of the block number expected, in both formats.

Specifying format Command Names

Command names are needed as input whenever the format utility displays a menu prompt. You can abbreviate the command names, as long as what you enter is sufficient to uniquely identify the command desired.

For example, use p to enter the partition menu from the format menu. Then, enter p to display the current slice table.

format> p
PARTITION MENU:
        0      - change `0' partition
        1      - change `1' partition
        2      - change `2' partition
        3      - change `3' partition
        4      - change `4' partition
        5      - change `5' partition
        6      - change `6' partition
        7      - change `7' partition
        select - select a predefined table
        modify - modify a predefined partition table
        name   - name the current table
        print  - display the current table
        label  - write partition map and label to the disk
        quit
partition> p

Specifying Disk Names to format Commands

There are certain times in the format utility when you must name something. In these cases, you are free to specify any string you want for the name. If the name has white space in it, the entire name must be enclosed in double quotation marks ("). Otherwise, only the first word of the name is used.

For example, if you want to identify a specific partition table for a disk, you can use the name sub-command available from the partition menu:

partition> name
Enter table name (remember quotes): "new disk3"

Getting Help on the format Utility

The format utility provides a help facility that you can use whenever the format utility is expecting input. You can request help about what input is expected by entering a question mark (?). The format utility displays a brief description of what type of input is needed.

If you enter a ? at a menu prompt, a list of available commands is displayed.

The man pages associated with the format utility include the following:

• format(1M) - Describes the basic format utility capabilities and provides descriptions of all command-line variables.

• format.dat(4) - Describes disk drive configuration information for the format utility.