"dd conv=unblock cbs=80 "

Paul Gillingwater paul at csnz.nz
Mon Aug 1 23:58:17 AEST 1988


In article <10479 at ulysses.homer.nj.att.com> ggs at ulysses.homer.nj.att.com (Griff Smith) writes:
>In article <736 at esl.UUCP>, mac at esl.UUCP writes:
>...
>>    dd if=/dev/rmt0 ibs=64k cbs=80 conv=unblock ...
>> 	... isn't in any ATT man page.
>> 
>> 	/bin/dd never read the man page, and fully supports the undocumented
>>    cbs and conv=unblock/block options.
>> 
>Not quite true.  I have a fine version of the manual page on my system
>at AT&T.  It's the same one I sent to Summit a few years ago, along
>with the SVr3 re-write of dd.  

So why not post the man page for dd already?  Some of us at the end of
the UNIX pipe(line) would appreciate it - New Zealand isn't exactly
geographically close to Murray Hill, and Olivetti (the vendor who sold
us our 3B2) have several month's of hysteresis on such fixes....

>Sorry to be so devious, but this place was really strange a few
>years ago.  

I really liked your description of bypassing the system... it reminds me
of a book called "The Dream of Ravan", (anon.), which was published by
Dublin University's magazine last century.  It is based very loosely on
the Hindu epic that rivals the Iliad, the Ramayana.  The bit I liked was
about some spells called "astras" - it listed a whole load of different
ones, e.g. various magical weapons, curses, blights, plagues etc.  But the
one that cast the most fear into the enemy was translated as "the noose of
law" - the one that involves you in delays, bureaucratese, litigation,
lawsuits etc.  A terrible curse indeed!

>Griff Smith	AT&T (Bell Laboratories), Murray Hill

Thanks Griff.  Hope you enjoyed my little digression!

-- 
Paul Gillingwater, Computer Sciences	Call this BBS - Magic Tower (24 hours)
paul at csnz.nz  (vuwcomp!dsiramd!csnz)	NZ +64 4 753 561 8N1 TowerNet software
P.O.Box 929, Wellington, NEW ZEALAND	V21/V23/V22/V22bis/Bell 103/Bell 212A
Vox: +64 4 846194, Fax: +64 4 843924	"All things must parse"-ancient proverb



More information about the Comp.unix.wizards mailing list