installf(1M)

installf -- add a file to the software installation database

Synopsis

installf [-c class] pkginst pathname [ftype [major minor] [mode owner group]]

installf [-c class] pkginst -

installf -f [-c class] pkginst

installf [[-c class] pkginst path1=path2 [l|s]

Description

installf is a tool available for use from within custom procedure scripts such as preinstall, postinstall, preremove, and postremove. When these scripts create or modify files, installf should be used to register the addition or change into the system's contents database.

When the second synopsis is used, the pathname descriptions will be read from standard input. These descriptions are the same as would be given in the first synopsis but the information is given in the form of a list. (The descriptions should be in the form: pathname [ftype [[major minor] [mode owner group]].)

When the last synopsis is invoked, the pathname argument is used to specify a link, where path1 indicates the link and path2 the file being linked to. The ftypes l and s are used to specify a hard link or symbolic link, respectively. If ftype is not specified, installf defaults to type l.

After all files have been appropriately created and/or modified, installf should be invoked with the -f synopsis to indicate that installation is final. Links will be created at this time and, if attribute information for a pathname was not specified during the original invocation of installf or was not already stored on the system, the current attribute values for the pathname will be stored. Otherwise, installf verifies that attribute values match those given on the command line, making corrections as necessary. In all cases, the current content information is calculated and stored appropriately.

-c class

Class with which installed objects should be associated. Default class is none.

pkginst

Name of package instance with which the pathname should be associated.

pathname

Pathname that is being created or modified. Special characters, such as an equal sign (``=''), are included in pathnames by surrounding the entire pathname in single quotes (as in, for example, '/usr/lib/~='). When a pathname is specified on a shell command line, the single quotes must be preceded by backslashes so they're not interpreted by the shell.

ftype

A one-character field that indicates the file type. Possible file types include:

f: a standard executable or data file
e: a file to be edited upon installation or removal
v: volatile file (one whose contents are expected to change)
d: directory
x: an exclusive directory
l: linked file
p: named pipe
c: character special device
b: block special device
s: symbolic link

Once a file has the file type attribute v, it will always be volatile. For example, if a file being installed already exists and has the file type attribute v, then even if the version of the file being installed is not specified as volatile, the file type attribute will remain volatile.

major

The major device number. The field is only specified for block or character special devices.

minor

The minor device number. The field is only specified for block or character special devices.

mode

The octal mode of the file (for example, 0664). A question mark (``?'') indicates that the mode will be left unchanged, implying that the file already exists on the target machine. If the directory doesn't exist, the default is 0755. If it's a file, the default is 0644. This field is not used for linked or symbolically linked files.

owner

The owner of the file (for example, bin or root). The field is limited to 14 characters in length. A question mark (``?'') indicates that the owner will be left unchanged, implying that the file already exists on the target machine. If it doesn't exist, owner defaults to root. This field is not used for linked or symbolically linked files.

group

The group to which the file belongs (for example, bin or sys). The field is limited to 14 characters in length. A question mark (``?'') indicates that the group will be left unchanged, implying that the file already exists on the target machine. If it doesn't exist, group defaults to other. This field is not used for linked or symbolically linked files.

-f

Indicates that installation is complete. This option is used with the final invocation of installf (for all files of a given class).

Files

/usr/lib/locale/locale/LC_MESSAGES/uxpkg: language-specific message file [See LANG on environ(5).]

Examples

The following example shows the use of installf invoked from an optional preinstall or postinstall script:

   #create /dev/xt directory
   #(needs to be done before drvinstall)
   installf $PKGINST /dev/xt d 755 root sys ||
   	exit 2
   majno=`/usr/sbin/drvinstall -m /etc/master.d/xt
        -d $BASEDIR/data/xt.o -v1.0` ||
   	exit 2
   i=00
   while [$i -lt $limit]
   do
     for j in 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
     do
       echo /dev/xt$i$j c $majno `expr $i * 8 + $j` 644 root sys
       echo /dev/xt$i$j=/dev/xt/$i$j
     done
     i=`expr $i + 1`
     [$i -le 9] && i="0$i" #add leading zero
   done | installf $PKGINST - || exit 2
   # finalized installation, create links
   installf -f $PKGINST || exit 2

References

pkgadd(1M), pkgask(1M), pkgchk(1M), pkginfo(1), pkgmk(1), pkgparam(1), pkgproto(1), pkgrm(1M), pkgtrans(1), removef(1M)

Exit codes

0: Successful completion of script.
1: Fatal error. Installation process is terminated at this point.
99: Internal error.

Notices

When ftype is specified, the required fields shown below must be defined:

ftype Required Fields

p x d f v e mode owner group

c b major minor mode owner group

*ftype*	Required Fields
`p x d f v e`	mode owner group
`c b`	major minor mode owner group

The installf command will create directories, named pipes and special devices on the original invocation. Links are created when installf is invoked with the -f option to indicate installation is complete.

For symbolically linked files, path2 can be a relative pathname, such as ./ or ../. For example, if you enter a line such as

   installf -c none pkgx /foo/bar/etc/mount=../usr/sbin/mount s

path2 (/foo/bar/etc/mount) will be a symbolic link to ../usr/sbin/mount.

When a link is specified, the directory in which the link is to reside must exist, otherwise installf -f will fail for that entry.

Files installed with installf will be placed in the class none, unless a class is defined with the command. Subsequently, they will be removed when the associated package is deleted. If this file should not be deleted at the same time as the package, be certain to assign it to a class which is ignored at removal time. To do this, associate the file to a class which will be handled by a removal class action script delivered with the package.

When classes are used, installf must be used as follows:

   installf -c class1
   installf -c class2
   installf -f

Using multiple invocations is discouraged if standard input style invocations can be used with a list of files. This will be much faster because the contents file must be processed for each entry.