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zshmodules(1)





NAME

       zshmodules - zsh loadable modules


DESCRIPTION

       Some  optional  parts  of zsh are in modules, separate from the core of
       the shell.  Each of these modules may be linked  in  to  the  shell  at
       build  time, or can be dynamically linked while the shell is running if
       the installation supports this feature.  The modules that  are  bundled
       with the zsh distribution are:

       zsh/cap
              Builtins  for manipulating POSIX.1e (POSIX.6) capability (privi-
              lege) sets.

       zsh/clone
              A builtin that can clone a running shell onto another  terminal.

       zsh/compctl
              The compctl builtin for controlling completion.

       zsh/complete
              The basic completion code.

       zsh/complist
              Completion listing extensions.

       zsh/computil
              A  module  with  utility  builtins needed for the shell function
              based completion system.

       zsh/datetime
              Some date/time commands and parameters.

       zsh/deltochar
              A ZLE function duplicating EMACS' zap-to-char.

       zsh/example
              An example of how to write a module.

       zsh/files
              Some basic file manipulation commands as builtins.

       zsh/mapfile
              Access to external files via a special associative array.

       zsh/mathfunc
              Standard scientific functions for use  in  mathematical  evalua-
              tions.

       zsh/newuser
              Arrange for files for new users to be installed.

       zsh/parameter
              Access to internal hash tables via special associative arrays.

       zsh/pcre
              Interface to the PCRE library.

       zsh/sched
              A  builtin  that  provides a timed execution facility within the
              shell.

       zsh/net/socket
              Manipulation of Unix domain sockets

       zsh/stat
              A builtin command interface to the stat system call.

       zsh/system
              A builtin interface to various low-level system features.

       zsh/net/tcp
              Manipulation of TCP sockets

       zsh/termcap
              Interface to the termcap database.

       zsh/terminfo
              Interface to the terminfo database.

       zsh/zftp
              A builtin FTP client.

       zsh/zle
              The Zsh Line Editor, including the bindkey and vared builtins.

       zsh/zleparameter
              Access to internals of the Zsh Line Editor via parameters.

       zsh/zprof
              A module allowing profiling for shell functions.

       zsh/zpty
              A builtin for starting a command in a pseudo-terminal.

       zsh/zselect
              Block and return when file descriptors are ready.

       zsh/zutil
              Some utility builtins, e.g. the one for supporting configuration
              via styles.


THE ZSH/CAP MODULE

       The zsh/cap module is used for manipulating POSIX.1e (POSIX.6) capabil-
       ity sets.  If the operating system does not support this interface, the
       builtins  defined by this module will do nothing.  The builtins in this
       module are:

       cap [ capabilities ]
              Change the shell's process  capability  sets  to  the  specified
              capabilities,  otherwise  display  the shell's current capabili-
              ties.

       getcap filename ...
              This is a built-in implementation of the POSIX standard utility.
              It displays the capability sets on each specified filename.

       setcap capabilities filename ...
              This is a built-in implementation of the POSIX standard utility.
              It sets the capability sets on each specified  filename  to  the
              specified capabilities.


THE ZSH/CLONE MODULE

       The zsh/clone module makes available one builtin command:

       clone tty
              Creates  a forked instance of the current shell, attached to the
              specified tty.  In the new shell, the PID, PPID and TTY  special
              parameters  are changed appropriately.  $! is set to zero in the
              new shell, and to the new shell's PID in the original shell.

              The return status of the builtin is zero in both shells if  suc-
              cessful, and non-zero on error.

              The  target  of  clone  should be an unused terminal, such as an
              unused virtual console or a virtual terminal created by

              xterm -e sh -c 'trap : INT QUIT TSTP; tty;  while  :;  do  sleep
              100000000; done'

              Some  words  of  explanation are warranted about this long xterm
              command line: when doing clone on a pseudo-terminal, some  other
              session  ("session"  meant  as  a unix session group, or SID) is
              already owning the terminal. Hence the cloned zsh cannot acquire
              the pseudo-terminal as a controlling tty. That means two things:

              the job control  signals  will  go  to  the  sh-started-by-xterm
              process
                    group  (that's why we disable INT QUIT and TSTP with trap;
              otherwise
                    the while loop could get suspended or killed)

              the cloned shell will have job control disabled, and the job
                    control keys (control-C, control-\ and control-Z) will not
              work.

              This does not apply when cloning to an unused vc.

              Cloning  to an used (and unprepared) terminal will result in two
              processes reading simultaneously from the  same  terminal,  with
              input bytes going randomly to either process.

              clone  is  mostly  useful  as  a  shell built-in replacement for
              openvt.


THE ZSH/COMPCTL MODULE

       The zsh/compctl module makes available two builtin  commands.  compctl,
       is the old, deprecated way to control completions for ZLE.  See zshcom-
       pctl(1).   The  other  builtin  command,  compcall  can  be   used   in
       user-defined completion widgets, see zshcompwid(1).


THE ZSH/COMPLETE MODULE

       The  zsh/complete module makes available several builtin commands which
       can be used in user-defined completion widgets, see zshcompwid(1).


THE ZSH/COMPLIST MODULE

       The zsh/complist module offers three extensions to completion listings:
       the  ability to highlight matches in such a list, the ability to scroll
       through long lists and a different style of menu completion.

   Colored completion listings
       Whenever one of the parameters ZLS_COLORS or ZLS_COLOURS is set and the
       zsh/complist  module  is  loaded  or  linked into the shell, completion
       lists will be colored.  Note, however, that complist will not automati-
       cally  be loaded if it is not linked in:  on systems with dynamic load-
       ing, `zmodload zsh/complist' is required.

       The parameters ZLS_COLORS and  ZLS_COLOURS  describe  how  matches  are
       highlighted.  To turn on highlighting an empty value suffices, in which
       case all the default values given below will be used.   The  format  of
       the value of these parameters is the same as used by the GNU version of
       the ls command: a colon-separated list of specifications  of  the  form
       `name=value'.   The  name  may be one of the following strings, most of
       which specify file types for which the value will be used.  The strings
       and their default values are:

       no 0   for  normal  text  (i.e.  when displaying something other than a
              matched file)

       fi 0   for regular files

       di 32  for directories

       ln 36  for symbolic links

       pi 31  for named pipes (FIFOs)

       so 33  for sockets

       bd 44;37
              for block devices

       cd 44;37
              for character devices

       ex 35  for executable files

       mi none
              for a non-existent file (default is the value defined for fi)

       lc \e[ for the left code (see below)

       rc m   for the right code

       tc 0   for the character indicating the file type  printed after  file-
              names if the LIST_TYPES option is set

       sp 0   for the spaces printed after matches to align the next column

       ec none
              for the end code

       Apart  from  these strings, the name may also be an asterisk (`*') fol-
       lowed by any string. The value given for such a string will be used for
       all  files  whose  name  ends with the string.  The name may also be an
       equals sign (`=') followed by a pattern.  The value given for this pat-
       tern  will  be  used for all matches (not just filenames) whose display
       string are matched by the pattern.  Definitions for both of these  take
       precedence over the values defined for file types and the form with the
       leading asterisk takes precedence over the form with the leading  equal
       sign.

       The  last  form also allows different parts of the displayed strings to
       be colored differently.  For this, the pattern has to  use  the  `(#b)'
       globbing  flag  and  pairs  of parentheses surrounding the parts of the
       strings that are to be colored differently.  In this case the value may
       consist  of  more  than  one  color code separated by equal signs.  The
       first code will be used for all parts for which  no  explicit  code  is
       specified and the following codes will be used for the parts matched by
       the  sub-patterns  in  parentheses.   For  example,  the  specification
       `=(#b)(?)*(?)=0=3=7'  will  be  used for all matches which are at least
       two characters long and will use the code `3' for the first  character,
       `7' for the last character and `0' for the rest.

       All  three  forms  of name may be preceded by a pattern in parentheses.
       If this is given, the value will be used only  for  matches  in  groups
       whose  names  are matched by the pattern given in the parentheses.  For
       example, `(g*)m*=43' highlights  all  matches  beginning  with  `m'  in
       groups  whose names  begin with `g' using the color code `43'.  In case
       of the `lc', `rc', and `ec' codes, the group pattern is ignored.

       Note also that all patterns are tried in the order in which they appear
       in  the parameter value until the first one matches which is then used.

       When printing a match, the code prints the value of lc, the  value  for
       the  file-type or the last matching specification with a `*', the value
       of rc, the string to display for the match itself, and then  the  value
       of  ec  if that is defined or the values of lc, no, and rc if ec is not
       defined.

       The default values are ISO 6429 (ANSI) compliant and  can  be  used  on
       vt100 compatible terminals such as xterms.  On monochrome terminals the
       default values will have no visible effect.  The colors  function  from
       the  contribution  can be used to get associative arrays containing the
       codes for ANSI terminals (see the section `Other Functions' in  zshcon-
       trib(1)).   For  example,  after  loading  colors, one could use `$col-
       ors[red]'  to  get  the  code  for  foreground  color  red  and  `$col-
       ors[bg-green]' for the code for background color green.

       If  the completion system invoked by compinit is used, these parameters
       should not be set directly because the  system  controls  them  itself.
       Instead, the list-colors style should be used (see the section `Comple-
       tion System Configuration' in zshcompsys(1)).

   Scrolling in completion listings
       To enable scrolling through a completion list, the LISTPROMPT parameter
       must  be set.  Its value will be used as the prompt; if it is the empty
       string, a default prompt will be used.  The value may  contain  escapes
       of  the  form  `%x'.   It  supports the escapes `%B', `%b', `%S', `%s',
       `%U', `%u' and `%{...%}' used also in shell prompts as  well  as  three
       pairs of additional sequences: a `%l' or `%L' is replaced by the number
       of the last line shown and the total number of lines in the form  `num-
       ber/total';  a  `%m'  or  `%M'  is replaced with the number of the last
       match shown and the total number  of  matches;  and  `%p'  or  `%P'  is
       replaced  with  `Top', `Bottom' or the position of the first line shown
       in percent of the total number of  lines,  respectively.   In  each  of
       these  cases the form with the uppercase letter will be replaced with a
       string of fixed width, padded to the right with spaces, while the  low-
       ercase form will not be padded.

       If the parameter LISTPROMPT is set, the completion code will not ask if
       the list should be shown.  Instead it immediately starts displaying the
       list,  stopping  after  the  first screenful, showing the prompt at the
       bottom, waiting for a  keypress  after  temporarily  switching  to  the
       listscroll  keymap.   Some  of the zle functions have a special meaning
       while scrolling lists:

       send-break
              stops listing discarding the key pressed

       accept-line, down-history, down-line-or-history
       down-line-or-search, vi-down-line-or-history
              scrolls forward one line

       complete-word, menu-complete, expand-or-complete
       expand-or-complete-prefix, menu-complete-or-expand
              scrolls forward one screenful

       Every other character stops listing and immediately processes  the  key
       as  usual.   Any key that is not bound in the listscroll keymap or that
       is bound  to  undefined-key  is  looked  up  in  the  keymap  currently
       selected.

       As for the ZLS_COLORS and ZLS_COLOURS parameters, LISTPROMPT should not
       be set directly when using the shell function based completion  system.
       Instead, the list-prompt style should be used.

   Menu selection
       The  zsh/complist  module also offers an alternative style of selecting
       matches from a list, called menu selection, which can be  used  if  the
       shell is set up to return to the last prompt after showing a completion
       list (see the ALWAYS_LAST_PROMPT option in zshoptions(1)).  It  can  be
       invoked  directly  by  the  widget  menu-select  defined by the module.
       Alternatively, the parameter MENUSELECT can be set to an integer, which
       gives  the  minimum  number of matches that must be present before menu
       selection is automatically turned on.  This second method requires that
       menu  completion  be  started,  either  directly  from a widget such as
       menu-complete, or due to one of the options MENU_COMPLETE or  AUTO_MENU
       being  set.  If MENUSELECT is set, but is 0, 1 or empty, menu selection
       will always be started during an ambiguous menu completion.

       When using the completion system based on shell functions, the  MENUSE-
       LECT  parameter should not be used (like the ZLS_COLORS and ZLS_COLOURS
       parameters described above).  Instead, the menu style  should  be  used
       with the select=... keyword.

       After  menu  selection is started, the matches will be listed. If there
       are more matches than fit on the screen, only the  first  screenful  is
       shown.   The  matches  to  insert into the command line can be selected
       from this list.  In the list one match is highlighted using  the  value
       for ma from the ZLS_COLORS or ZLS_COLOURS parameter.  The default value
       for this is `7' which forces the selected match to be highlighted using
       standout  mode  on  a vt100-compatible terminal.  If neither ZLS_COLORS
       nor ZLS_COLOURS is set, the same terminal control sequence as  for  the
       `%S' escape in prompts is used.

       If  there  are  more  matches  than fit on the screen and the parameter
       MENUPROMPT is set, its value will be shown below the matches.  It  sup-
       ports  the  same  escape sequences as LISTPROMPT, but the number of the
       match or line shown will be that of the one where the mark  is  placed.
       If its value is the empty string, a default prompt will be used.

       The  MENUSCROLL  parameter  can  be  used  to  specify  how the list is
       scrolled.  If the parameter is unset, this is done line by line, if  it
       is  set to `0' (zero), the list will scroll half the number of lines of
       the screen.  If the value is positive, it gives the number of lines  to
       scroll  and  if it is negative, the list will be scrolled the number of
       lines of the screen minus the (absolute) value.

       As for the ZLS_COLORS, ZLS_COLOURS and LISTPROMPT  parameters,  neither
       MENUPROMPT  nor  MENUSCROLL should be set directly when using the shell
       function based  completion  system.   Instead,  the  select-prompt  and
       select-scroll styles should be used.

       The completion code sometimes decides not to show all of the matches in
       the list.  These hidden matches are either matches for which  the  com-
       pletion  function  which  added them explicitly requested that they not
       appear in the list (using the -n option of the compadd builtin command)
       or  they  are  matches  which  duplicate  a  string already in the list
       (because they differ only in things like prefixes or suffixes that  are
       not  displayed).   In  the  list used for menu selection, however, even
       these matches are shown so that it is  possible  to  select  them.   To
       highlight such matches the hi and du capabilities in the ZLS_COLORS and
       ZLS_COLOURS parameters are supported for hidden matches  of  the  first
       and second kind, respectively.

       Selecting matches is done by moving the mark around using the zle move-
       ment functions.  When not all matches can be shown on the screen at the
       same  time,  the  list will scroll up and down when crossing the top or
       bottom line.  The following zle functions have special  meaning  during
       menu selection:

       accept-line
              accepts the current match and leaves menu selection

       send-break
              leaves  menu selection and restores the previous contents of the
              command line

       redisplay, clear-screen
              execute their normal function without leaving menu selection

       accept-and-hold, accept-and-menu-complete
              accept the  currently  inserted  match  and  continue  selection
              allowing to select the next match to insert into the line

       accept-and-infer-next-history
              accepts  the  current  match and then tries completion with menu
              selection again;  in the case of files this allows one to select
              a directory and immediately attempt to complete files in it;  if
              there are no matches, a message is shown and one can use undo to
              go  back  to  completion  on the previous level, every other key
              leaves menu selection (including the other zle  functions  which
              are otherwise special during menu selection)

       undo   removes matches inserted during the menu selection by one of the
              three functions before

       down-history, down-line-or-history
       vi-down-line-or-history,  down-line-or-search
              moves the mark one line down

       up-history, up-line-or-history
       vi-up-line-or-history, up-line-or-search
              moves the mark one line up

       forward-char, vi-forward-char
              moves the mark one column right

       backward-char, vi-backward-char
              moves the mark one column left

       forward-word, vi-forward-word
       vi-forward-word-end, emacs-forward-word
              moves the mark one screenful down

       backward-word, vi-backward-word, emacs-backward-word
              moves the mark one screenful up

       vi-forward-blank-word, vi-forward-blank-word-end
              moves the mark to the first line of the next group of matches

       vi-backward-blank-word
              moves the mark to the last line of the previous group of matches

       beginning-of-history
              moves the mark to the first line

       end-of-history
              moves the mark to the last line

       beginning-of-buffer-or-history, beginning-of-line
       beginning-of-line-hist, vi-beginning-of-line
              moves the mark to the leftmost column

       end-of-buffer-or-history, end-of-line
       end-of-line-hist, vi-end-of-line
              moves the mark to the rightmost column

       complete-word, menu-complete, expand-or-complete
       expand-or-complete-prefix, menu-expand-or-complete
              moves the mark to the next match

       reverse-menu-complete
              moves the mark to the previous match

       vi-insert
              this toggles between normal and interactive mode; in interactive
              mode the keys bound to self-insert and self-insert-unmeta insert
              into  the  command  line  as  in normal editing mode but without
              leaving menu selection; after each character completion is tried
              again  and the list changes to contain only the new matches; the
              completion  widgets  make  the  longest  unambiguous  string  be
              inserted  in  the command line and undo and backward-delete-char
              go back to the previous set of matches

       history-incremental-search-forward,
              history-incremental-search-backward  this   starts   incremental
              searches  in  the  list  of completions displayed; in this mode,
              accept-line only leaves incremental search, going  back  to  the
              normal menu selection mode

       All movement functions wrap around at the edges; any other zle function
       not listed leaves menu selection and executes  that  function.   It  is
       possible  to  make  widgets  in the above list do the same by using the
       form of the widget with a  `.'  in  front.   For  example,  the  widget
       `.accept-line'  has  the effect of leaving menu selection and accepting
       the entire command line.

       During this selection the widget uses the keymap menuselect.   Any  key
       that is not defined in this keymap or that is bound to undefined-key is
       looked up in the keymap currently selected.  This  is  used  to  ensure
       that  the  most important keys used during selection (namely the cursor
       keys, return, and TAB) have sensible defaults.  However,  keys  in  the
       menuselect  keymap  can  be modified directly using the bindkey builtin
       command (see zshmodules(1)). For example, to make the return key  leave
       menu selection without accepting the match currently selected one could
       call

              bindkey -M menuselect '^M' send-break

       after loading the zsh/complist module.


THE ZSH/COMPUTIL MODULE

       The zsh/computil module adds several builtin commands that are used  by
       some  of  the  completion  functions  in the completion system based on
       shell functions (see  zshcompsys(1)  ).   Except  for  compquote  these
       builtin  commands  are  very  specialised and thus not very interesting
       when writing your own completion functions.  In summary, these  builtin
       commands are:

       comparguments
              This  is  used by the _arguments function to do the argument and
              command line parsing.  Like compdescribe it has an option -i  to
              do  the  parsing  and initialize some internal state and various
              options to access the state information to decide what should be
              completed.

       compdescribe
              This is used by the _describe function to build the displays for
              the matches and to get the strings to add as matches with  their
              options.   On  the first call one of the options -i or -I should
              be supplied as the first argument.  In the first  case,  display
              strings  without the descriptions will be generated, in the sec-
              ond case, the string used to separate  the  matches  from  their
              descriptions  must  be  given  as  the  second  argument and the
              descriptions (if any) will be shown.  All  other  arguments  are
              like the definition arguments to _describe itself.

              Once  compdescribe  has been called with either the -i or the -I
              option, it can be repeatedly called with the -g option  and  the
              names  of  five arrays as its arguments.  This will step through
              the different sets of matches and store the options in the first
              array,  the strings with descriptions in the second, the matches
              for these in the third, the strings without descriptions in  the
              fourth,  and the matches for them in the fifth array.  These are
              then directly given to compadd to register the matches with  the
              completion code.

       compfiles
              Used  by  the _path_files function to optimize complex recursive
              filename generation (globbing).  It does three things.  With the
              -p  and -P options it builds the glob patterns to use, including
              the paths already handled and trying to  optimize  the  patterns
              with  respect  to  the  prefix  and suffix from the line and the
              match specification currently used.   The  -i  option  does  the
              directory  tests  for the ignore-parents style and the -r option
              tests if a component for some of the matches are  equal  to  the
              string  on  the  line  and  removes all other matches if that is
              true.

       compgroups
              Used by the _tags function to implement  the  internals  of  the
              group-order  style.   This  only takes its arguments as names of
              completion groups and creates the groups for it (all six  types:
              sorted  and  unsorted,  both  without  removing duplicates, with
              removing all duplicates and  with  removing  consecutive  dupli-
              cates).

       compquote [ -p ] names ...
              There  may be reasons to write completion functions that have to
              add the matches using the -Q option to compadd and perform quot-
              ing  themselves.  Instead of interpreting the first character of
              the all_quotes key of  the  compstate  special  association  and
              using  the  q  flag  for  parameter expansions, one can use this
              builtin command.  The arguments are the names of scalar or array
              parameters  and  the  values  of  these parameters are quoted as
              needed for the innermost quoting level.  If  the  -p  option  is
              given,  quoting  is  done  as if there is some prefix before the
              values of the parameters, so that a leading equal sign will  not
              be quoted.

              The  return status is non-zero in case of an error and zero oth-
              erwise.

       comptags
       comptry
              These implement the internals of the tags mechanism.

       compvalues
              Like comparguments, but for the _values function.


THE ZSH/DATETIME MODULE

       The zsh/datetime module makes available one builtin command:

       strftime [ -s scalar ] format epochtime
       strftime -r [ -q ] [ -s scalar ] format timestring
              Output the date denoted by epochtime in the format specified.

              With the option -r (reverse), use the format format to parse the
              input  string  timestring and output the number of seconds since
              the epoch at which the time occurred.  If no timezone is parsed,
              the  current  timezone is used; other parameters are set to zero
              if not present.  If timestring does not match format the command
              returns  status  1;  it will additionally print an error message
              unless the option -q (quiet) is given.   If  timestring  matches
              format  but not all characters in timestring were used, the con-
              version succeeds; however, a warning is issued unless the option
              -q is given.  The matching is implemented by the system function
              strptime; see strptime(3).  This means that  zsh  format  exten-
              sions are not available, however for reverse lookup they are not
              required.  If the  function  is  not  implemented,  the  command
              returns status 2 and (unless -q is given) prints a message.

              If  -s scalar is given, assign the date string (or epoch time in
              seconds if -r is given) to scalar instead of printing it.

       The zsh/datetime module makes available one parameter:

       EPOCHSECONDS
              An integer value representing the number of  seconds  since  the
              epoch.


THE ZSH/DELTOCHAR MODULE

       The zsh/deltochar module makes available two ZLE functions:

       delete-to-char
              Read  a  character from the keyboard, and delete from the cursor
              position up to and including the next (or, with repeat count  n,
              the  nth)  instance  of  that character.  Negative repeat counts
              mean delete backwards.

       zap-to-char
              This behaves like delete-to-char, except that the  final  occur-
              rence of the character itself is not deleted.


THE ZSH/EXAMPLE MODULE

       The zsh/example module makes available one builtin command:

       example [ -flags ] [ args ... ]
              Displays the flags and arguments it is invoked with.

       The  purpose  of the module is to serve as an example of how to write a
       module.


THE ZSH/FILES MODULE

       The  zsh/files  module  makes  some  standard  commands  available   as
       builtins:

       chgrp [ -Rs ] group filename ...
              Changes  group  of files specified.  This is equivalent to chown
              with a user-spec argument of `:group'.

       chown [ -Rs ] user-spec filename ...
              Changes ownership and group of files specified.

              The user-spec can be in four forms:

              user   change owner to user; do not change group
              user:: change owner to user; do not change group
              user:  change owner to user;  change  group  to  user's  primary
                     group
              user:group
                     change owner to user; change group to group
              :group do not change owner; change group to group

              In each case, the `:' may instead be a `.'.  The rule is that if
              there is a `:' then the separator is `:', otherwise if there  is
              a  `.'  then the separator is `.', otherwise there is no separa-
              tor.

              Each of user and group may be either a username (or group  name,
              as appropriate) or a decimal user ID (group ID).  Interpretation
              as a name takes precedence, if there is an all-numeric  username
              (or group name).

              The  -R option causes chown to recursively descend into directo-
              ries, changing the ownership of all files in the directory after
              changing the ownership of the directory itself.

              The  -s  option  is  a zsh extension to chown functionality.  It
              enables paranoid behaviour, intended to avoid security  problems
              involving  a chown being tricked into affecting files other than
              the ones intended.  It will refuse to follow symbolic links,  so
              that  (for  example) ``chown luser /tmp/foo/passwd'' can't acci-
              dentally chown /etc/passwd if /tmp/foo happens to be a  link  to
              /etc.  It will also check where it is after leaving directories,
              so that a recursive chown of a deep directory tree can't end  up
              recursively chowning /usr as a result of directories being moved
              up the tree.

       ln [ -dfis ] filename dest
       ln [ -dfis ] filename ... dir
              Creates hard (or, with -s, symbolic) links.  In the first  form,
              the specified destination is created, as a link to the specified
              filename.  In the second form, each of the filenames is taken in
              turn,  and  linked to a pathname in the specified directory that
              has the same last pathname component.

              Normally, ln will not attempt to create hard links  to  directo-
              ries.   This check can be overridden using the -d option.  Typi-
              cally only the super-user can actually succeed in creating  hard
              links  to directories.  This does not apply to symbolic links in
              any case.

              By default, existing files cannot be replaced by links.  The  -i
              option  causes  the  user to be queried about replacing existing
              files.  The -f option  causes  existing  files  to  be  silently
              deleted, without querying.  -f takes precedence.

       mkdir [ -p ] [ -m mode ] dir ...
              Creates  directories.   With  the -p option, non-existing parent
              directories are first created if necessary, and there will be no
              complaint if the directory already exists.  The -m option can be
              used to specify (in octal) a set of  file  permissions  for  the
              created  directories, otherwise mode 777 modified by the current
              umask (see umask(2)) is used.

       mv [ -fi ] filename dest
       mv [ -fi ] filename ... dir
              Moves files.  In the first form, the specified filename is moved
              to  the  specified destination.  In the second form, each of the
              filenames is taken in turn, and moved to a pathname in the spec-
              ified directory that has the same last pathname component.

              By  default,  the user will be queried before replacing any file
              that the user cannot  write  to,  but  writable  files  will  be
              silently  removed.   The -i option causes the user to be queried
              about replacing any existing files.  The -f  option  causes  any
              existing  files  to  be  silently deleted, without querying.  -f
              takes precedence.

              Note that this mv will not move files across devices.   Histori-
              cal  versions  of  mv,  when actual renaming is impossible, fall
              back on  copying  and  removing  files;  if  this  behaviour  is
              desired,  use  cp  and rm manually.  This may change in a future
              version.

       rm [ -dfirs ] filename ...
              Removes files and directories specified.

              Normally, rm will not remove directories  (except  with  the  -r
              option).   The  -d  option causes rm to try removing directories
              with unlink (see unlink(2)), the same  method  used  for  files.
              Typically  only the super-user can actually succeed in unlinking
              directories in this way.  -d takes precedence over -r.

              By default, the user will be queried before  removing  any  file
              that  the  user  cannot  write  to,  but  writable files will be
              silently removed.  The -i option causes the user to  be  queried
              about  removing  any  files.   The  -f option causes files to be
              silently deleted, without querying,  and  suppresses  all  error
              indications.  -f takes precedence.

              The -r option causes rm to recursively descend into directories,
              deleting all files in the directory before removing  the  direc-
              tory with the rmdir system call (see rmdir(2)).

              The  -s  option  is  a  zsh  extension  to rm functionality.  It
              enables paranoid behaviour, intended to  avoid  common  security
              problems  involving  a  root-run  rm being tricked into removing
              files other than the ones intended.  It will  refuse  to  follow
              symbolic  links,  so  that  (for example) ``rm /tmp/foo/passwd''
              can't accidentally remove /etc/passwd if /tmp/foo happens to  be
              a  link  to  /etc.  It will also check where it is after leaving
              directories, so that a recursive removal  of  a  deep  directory
              tree  can't  end  up  recursively  removing  /usr as a result of
              directories being moved up the tree.

       rmdir dir ...
              Removes empty directories specified.

       sync   Calls the system call of the  same  name  (see  sync(2)),  which
              flushes  dirty  buffers to disk.  It might return before the I/O
              has actually been completed.


THE ZSH/MAPFILE MODULE

       The zsh/mapfile module provides one special associative array parameter
       of the same name.

       mapfile
              This  associative  array  takes  as keys the names of files; the
              resulting value is the  content  of  the  file.   The  value  is
              treated  identically  to any other text coming from a parameter.
              The value may also be assigned to, in which  case  the  file  in
              question  is  written (whether or not it originally existed); or
              an element may be unset, which will delete the file in question.
              For  example, `vared mapfile[myfile]' works as expected, editing
              the file `myfile'.

              When the array is accessed as a whole, the keys are the names of
              files  in  the  current  directory, and the values are empty (to
              save a huge overhead in memory).   Thus  ${(k)mapfile}  has  the
              same  affect  as  the  glob operator *(D), since files beginning
              with a dot are not special.  Care must be taken with expressions
              such  as  rm  ${(k)mapfile}, which will delete every file in the
              current directory without the usual `rm *' test.

              The parameter mapfile may be made read-only; in that case, files
              referenced may not be written or deleted.

   Limitations
       Although  reading  and  writing  of the file in question is efficiently
       handled, zsh's internal memory management may be  arbitrarily  baroque.
       Thus  it should not automatically be assumed that use of mapfile repre-
       sents a gain in efficiency over use of other mechanisms.  Note in  par-
       ticular  that  the whole contents of the file will always reside physi-
       cally in memory when accessed (possibly multiple times, due to standard
       parameter substitution operations).  In particular, this means handling
       of sufficiently long files (greater than the machine's swap  space,  or
       than the range of the pointer type) will be incorrect.

       No  errors  are  printed  or  flagged  for non-existent, unreadable, or
       unwritable files, as the parameter mechanism is too low  in  the  shell
       execution hierarchy to make this convenient.

       It  is  unfortunate that the mechanism for loading modules does not yet
       allow the user to specify the name of the shell parameter to  be  given
       the special behaviour.


THE ZSH/MATHFUNC MODULE

       The  zsh/mathfunc  module  provides standard mathematical functions for
       use when evaluating mathematical formulae.  The syntax agrees with nor-
       mal C and FORTRAN conventions, for example,

              (( f = sin(0.3) ))

       assigns the sine of 0.3 to the parameter f.

       Most  functions  take  floating  point  arguments and return a floating
       point value.  However, any necessary conversions  from  or  to  integer
       type  will  be  performed  automatically by the shell.  Apart from atan
       with a second argument and the abs, int and float functions, all  func-
       tions  behave as noted in the manual page for the corresponding C func-
       tion, except that any arguments out of range for the function in  ques-
       tion will be detected by the shell and an error reported.

       The  following  functions  take a single floating point argument: acos,
       acosh, asin, asinh, atan, atanh, cbrt, ceil, cos, cosh, erf, erfc, exp,
       expm1,  fabs,  floor,  gamma,  j0, j1, lgamma, log, log10, log1p, logb,
       sin, sinh, sqrt, tan, tanh, y0, y1.  The atan function  can  optionally
       take  a  second  argument, in which case it behaves like the C function
       atan2.  The ilogb function takes a single floating point argument,  but
       returns an integer.

       The  function signgam takes no arguments, and returns an integer, which
       is the C variable of the same name, as  described  in  gamma(3).   Note
       that  it  is therefore only useful immediately after a call to gamma or
       lgamma.  Note also  that  `signgam(RPAR'  and  `signgam'  are  distinct
       expressions.

       The  following  functions  take two floating point arguments: copysign,
       fmod, hypot, nextafter.

       The following take an integer first argument and a floating point  sec-
       ond argument: jn, yn.

       The  following take a floating point first argument and an integer sec-
       ond argument: ldexp, scalb.

       The function abs does not convert the type of its single  argument;  it
       returns  the  absolute  value  of  either a floating point number or an
       integer.  The functions float and int convert their  arguments  into  a
       floating point or integer value (by truncation) respectively.

       Note  that  the C pow function is available in ordinary math evaluation
       as the `**' operator and is not provided here.

       The function rand48 is available if your system's mathematical  library
       has the function erand48(3).  It returns a pseudo-random floating point
       number between 0 and 1.  It takes a single string optional argument.

       If the argument is not present, the random number seed  is  initialised
       by  three calls to the rand(3) function --- this produces the same ran-
       dom numbers as the next three values of $RANDOM.

       If the argument is present, it gives the name  of  a  scalar  parameter
       where  the  current  random  number  seed will be stored.  On the first
       call, the value must contain at least twelve  hexadecimal  digits  (the
       remainder of the string is ignored), or the seed will be initialised in
       the same manner as for a call to rand48 with no  argument.   Subsequent
       calls  to  rand48(param)  will  then maintain the seed in the parameter
       param as a string of twelve hexadecimal digits, with no base signifier.
       The  random  number  sequences  for different parameters are completely
       independent, and are also independent from that used by calls to rand48
       with no argument.

       For example, consider

              print $(( rand48(seed) ))
              print $(( rand48() ))
              print $(( rand48(seed) ))

       Assuming  $seed  does  not  exist,  it will be initialised by the first
       call.  In the second call, the default seed is initialised; note,  how-
       ever,  that  because of the properties of rand() there is a correlation
       between the seeds used for the two initialisations, so for more  secure
       uses,  you  should  generate  your  own  12-byte  seed.  The third call
       returns to the same sequence of random numbers used in the first  call,
       unaffected by the intervening rand48().


THE ZSH/NEWUSER MODULE

       The  zsh/newuser  module  is loaded at boot if it is available, the RCS
       option is set, and the PRIVILEGED option is not set (all three are true
       by default).  This takes place immediately after commands in the global
       zshenv file (typically /etc/zshenv), if any, have  been  executed.   If
       the  module  is  not available it is silently ignored by the shell; the
       module may safely be removed from $MODULE_PATH by the administrator  if
       it is not required.

       On  loading,  the  module  tests  if any of the start-up files .zshenv,
       .zprofile, .zshrc or .zlogin exist in the directory given by the  envi-
       ronment  variable  ZDOTDIR, or the user's home directory if that is not
       set.  The test is not performed and the module halts processing if  the
       shell  was  in  an  emulation mode (i.e. had been invoked as some other
       shell than zsh).

       If none of the start-up files were found, the module then looks for the
       file  newuser  first in a sitewide directory, usually the parent direc-
       tory of the site-functions directory, and if that is not found the mod-
       ule searches in a version-specific directory, usually the parent of the
       functions  directory  containing  version-specific  functions.   (These
       directories   can   be   configured   when   zsh  is  built  using  the
       --enable-site-scriptdir=dir and --enable-scriptdir=dir flags to config-
       ure,   respectively;   the   defaults  are  prefix/share/zsh  and  pre-
       fix/share/zsh/$ZSH_VERSION where the default prefix is /usr/local.)

       If the file newuser is found, it is then sourced in the same manner  as
       a  start-up  file.   The  file  is  expected to contain code to install
       start-up files for the user, however any valid shell code will be  exe-
       cuted.

       The zsh/newuser module is then unconditionally unloaded.

       Note  that  it  is  possible  to achieve exactly the same effect as the
       zsh/newuser module by adding code to /etc/zshenv.   The  module  exists
       simply  to  allow  the shell to make arrangements for new users without
       the need for invervention by package maintainers and system administra-
       tors.


THE ZSH/PARAMETER MODULE

       The  zsh/parameter  module  gives  access  to some of the internal hash
       tables used by the shell by defining some special parameters.

       options
              The keys for this associative array are the names of the options
              that  can  be  set  and  unset  using  the  setopt  and unsetopt
              builtins. The value of each key is either the string on  if  the
              option  is  currently  set,  or  the string off if the option is
              unset.  Setting a key to one of these strings is like setting or
              unsetting  the  option,  respectively.  Unsetting  a key in this
              array is like setting it to the value off.

       commands
              This array gives access to the command hash table. The keys  are
              the  names of external commands, the values are the pathnames of
              the files that would be  executed  when  the  command  would  be
              invoked. Setting a key in this array defines a new entry in this
              table in the same way as with the hash builtin. Unsetting a  key
              as  in  `unset  "commands[foo]"' removes the entry for the given
              key from the command hash table.

       functions
              This associative array maps names of enabled functions to  their
              definitions.  Setting  a  key  in it is like defining a function
              with the name given by the key and the body given by the  value.
              Unsetting a key removes the definition for the function named by
              the key.

       dis_functions
              Like functions but for disabled functions.

       builtins
              This associative array gives information about the builtin  com-
              mands  currently  enabled. The keys are the names of the builtin
              commands and the values are either `undefined' for builtin  com-
              mands that will automatically be loaded from a module if invoked
              or `defined' for builtin commands that are already loaded.

       dis_builtins
              Like builtins but for disabled builtin commands.

       reswords
              This array contains the enabled reserved words.

       dis_reswords
              Like reswords but for disabled reserved words.

       aliases
              This maps the names of the regular aliases currently enabled  to
              their expansions.

       dis_aliases
              Like aliases but for disabled regular aliases.

       galiases
              Like aliases, but for global aliases.

       dis_galiases
              Like galiases but for disabled global aliases.

       saliases
              Like raliases, but for suffix aliases.

       dis_saliases
              Like saliases but for disabled suffix aliases.

       parameters
              The  keys in this associative array are the names of the parame-
              ters currently defined. The values are  strings  describing  the
              type  of the parameter, in the same format used by the t parame-
              ter flag, see zshexpn(1) .  Setting or unsetting  keys  in  this
              array is not possible.

       modules
              An  associative array giving information about modules. The keys
              are  the  names  of  the  modules  loaded,  registered   to   be
              autoloaded,  or  aliased.  The  value says which state the named
              module is in and is one of the strings  `loaded',  `autoloaded',
              or  `alias:name',  where  name is the name the module is aliased
              to.

              Setting or unsetting keys in this array is not possible.

       dirstack
              A normal array holding the elements of the directory stack. Note
              that  the  output  of the dirs builtin command includes one more
              directory, the current working directory.

       history
              This associative array maps history event numbers  to  the  full
              history lines.

       historywords
              A special array containing the words stored in the history.

       jobdirs
              This  associative array maps job numbers to the directories from
              which the job was started (which may not be the  current  direc-
              tory of the job).

       jobtexts
              This associative array maps job numbers to the texts of the com-
              mand lines that were used to start the jobs.

       jobstates
              This associative array gives information about the states of the
              jobs  currently known. The keys are the job numbers and the val-
              ues are strings of the form  `job-state:mark:pid=state...'.  The
              job-state  gives the state the whole job is currently in, one of
              `running', `suspended', or `done'. The mark is `+' for the  cur-
              rent  job, `-' for the previous job and empty otherwise. This is
              followed by one `pid=state' for every process in  the  job.  The
              pids are, of course, the process IDs and the state describes the
              state of that process.

       nameddirs
              This associative array maps the names of  named  directories  to
              the pathnames they stand for.

       userdirs
              This associative array maps user names to the pathnames of their
              home directories.

       funcstack
              This array contains the names of the functions  currently  being
              executed.  The  first  element is the name of the function using
              the parameter.

       functrace
              This array contains the names and line numbers  of  the  callers
              corresponding  to  the  functions currently being executed.  The
              format of each element is name:lineno.


THE ZSH/PCRE MODULE

       The zsh/pcre module makes some commands available as builtins:

       pcre_compile [ -aimx ] PCRE
              Compiles a perl-compatible regular expression.

              Option -a will force the pattern to be anchored.  Option -i will
              compile  a  case-insensitive  pattern.  Option -m will compile a
              multi-line pattern; that is, ^ and $ will match newlines  within
              the  pattern.   Option  -x  will  compile  an  extended pattern,
              wherein whitespace and # comments are ignored.

       pcre_study
              Studies the previously-compiled PCRE which may result in  faster
              matching.

       pcre_match [ -a arr ] string
              Returns  successfully  if string matches the previously-compiled
              PCRE.

              If  the  expression  captures  substrings  within   parentheses,
              pcre_match will set the array $match to those substrings, unless
              the -a option is given, in which case it will set the array arr.

       The zsh/pcre module makes available the following test condition:
       expr -pcre-match pcre
              Matches a string against a perl-compatible regular expression.

              For example,

              [[  "$text"  -pcre-match ^d+$ ]] && print text variable contains
              only "d's".


THE ZSH/SCHED MODULE

       The zsh/sched module makes available one builtin command:

       sched [-o] [+]hh:mm[:ss] command ...
       sched [-o] [+]seconds command ...
       sched [ -item ]
              Make an entry in the scheduled list of commands to execute.  The
              time  may  be specified in either absolute or relative time, and
              either as hours, minutes and (optionally) seconds separated by a
              colon,  or  seconds  alone.  An absolute number of seconds indi-
              cates the time since the epoch (1970/01/01 00:00); this is  use-
              ful in combination with the features in the zsh/datetime module,
              see the zsh/datetime module entry in zshmodules(1).

              With no arguments, prints the list of  scheduled  commands.   If
              the  scheduled command has the -o flag set, this is shown at the
              start of the command.

              With the argument `-item', removes the given item from the list.
              The  numbering of the list is continuous and entries are in time
              order, so the numbering can change when  entries  are  added  or
              deleted.

              Commands  are  executed  either  immediately before a prompt, or
              while the shell's line editor is waiting for input.  In the lat-
              ter case it is useful to be able to produce output that does not
              interfere with the line being edited.  Providing the  option  -o
              causes  the shell to clear the command line before the event and
              redraw it afterwards.  This should be used  with  any  scheduled
              event  that  produces  visible output to the terminal; it is not
              needed, for example, with output that updates a terminal  emula-
              tor's title bar.


THE ZSH/NET/SOCKET MODULE

       The zsh/net/socket module makes available one builtin command:

       zsocket [ -altv ] [ -d fd ] [ args ]
              zsocket  is  implemented as a builtin to allow full use of shell
              command line editing, file I/O, and job control mechanisms.

   Outbound Connections
       zsocket [ -v ] [ -d fd ] filename
              Open a new Unix domain connection to filename.  The shell param-
              eter  REPLY  will  be set to the file descriptor associated with
              that connection.  Currently, only stream  connections  are  sup-
              ported.

              If  -d  is  specified,  its argument will be taken as the target
              file descriptor for the connection.

              In order to elicit more verbose output, use -v.

   Inbound Connections
       zsocket -l [ -v ] [ -d fd ] filename
              zsocket -l will open a socket listening on filename.  The  shell
              parameter  REPLY  will  be set to the file descriptor associated
              with that listener.

              If -d is specified, its argument will be  taken  as  the  target
              file descriptor for the connection.

              In order to elicit more verbose output, use -v.

       zsocket -a [ -tv ] [ -d targetfd ] listenfd
              zsocket  -a  will  accept  an  incoming connection to the socket
              associated with listenfd.  The shell parameter REPLY will be set
              to the file descriptor associated with the inbound connection.

              If  -d  is  specified,  its argument will be taken as the target
              file descriptor for the connection.

              If -t is specified, zsocket will return if no  incoming  connec-
              tion is pending.  Otherwise it will wait for one.

              In order to elicit more verbose output, use -v.


THE ZSH/STAT MODULE

       The zsh/stat module makes available one builtin command:

       stat  [  -gnNolLtTrs  ] [ -f fd ] [ -H hash ] [ -A array ] [ -F fmt ] [
       +element ] [ file ... ]
              The  command  acts  as  a front end to the stat system call (see
              stat(2)).  If the stat call fails, the appropriate system  error
              message  printed and status 1 is returned.  The fields of struct
              stat give information about the files provided as  arguments  to
              the command.  In addition to those available from the stat call,
              an extra element `link' is provided.  These elements are:

              device The number of the device on which the file resides.

              inode  The unique number of the file  on  this  device  (`inode'
                     number).

              mode   The mode of the file; that is, the file's type and access
                     permissions.  With the -s option, this will  be  returned
                     as a string corresponding to the first column in the dis-
                     play of the ls -l command.

              nlink  The number of hard links to the file.

              uid    The user ID of the  owner  of  the  file.   With  the  -s
                     option, this is displayed as a user name.

              gid    The  group  ID  of the file.  With the -s option, this is
                     displayed as a group name.

              rdev   The raw device number.  This is only useful  for  special
                     devices.

              size   The size of the file in bytes.

              atime
              mtime
              ctime  The  last  access, modification and inode change times of
                     the file, respectively, as the number  of  seconds  since
                     midnight  GMT  on 1st January, 1970.  With the -s option,
                     these are printed as strings for the local time zone; the
                     format can be altered with the -F option, and with the -g
                     option the times are in GMT.

              blksize
                     The number of bytes in one allocation block on the device
                     on which the file resides.

              block  The number of disk blocks used by the file.

              link   If  the  file  is  a link and the -L option is in effect,
                     this contains the name of the file linked  to,  otherwise
                     it  is  empty.   Note  that  if  this element is selected
                     (``stat +link'') then  the  -L  option  is  automatically
                     used.

              A  particular element may be selected by including its name pre-
              ceded by a `+' in the option list; only one element is  allowed.
              The  element may be shortened to any unique set of leading char-
              acters.  Otherwise, all elements will be shown for all files.

              Options:

              -A array
                     Instead of displaying the  results  on  standard  output,
                     assign  them  to  an  array,  one struct stat element per
                     array element for each file in order.  In this case  nei-
                     ther  the  name  of the element nor the name of the files
                     appears in array unless the -t or -n options were  given,
                     respectively.   If  -t is given, the element name appears
                     as a prefix to the appropriate array element;  if  -n  is
                     given,  the file name appears as a separate array element
                     preceding all the others.  Other formatting  options  are
                     respected.

              -H hash
                     Similar  to  -A,  but  instead assign the values to hash.
                     The keys are the elements listed above.  If the -n option
                     is  provided then the name of the file is included in the
                     hash with key name.

              -f fd  Use the file on  file  descriptor  fd  instead  of  named
                     files; no list of file names is allowed in this case.

              -F fmt Supplies a strftime (see strftime(3)) string for the for-
                     matting of the time elements.  The -s option is  implied.

              -g     Show  the  time  elements  in  the GMT time zone.  The -s
                     option is implied.

              -l     List the names of the type elements (to  standard  output
                     or  an  array  as  appropriate)  and  return immediately;
                     options other than -A and arguments are ignored.

              -L     Perform an lstat (see lstat(2)) rather than a stat system
                     call.   In  this case, if the file is a link, information
                     about the link itself rather  than  the  target  file  is
                     returned.   This option is required to make the link ele-
                     ment useful.

              -n     Always show the names of files.  Usually these  are  only
                     shown when output is to standard output and there is more
                     than one file in the list.

              -N     Never show the names of files.

              -o     If a raw file mode is printed, show it in octal, which is
                     more  useful  for  human  consumption than the default of
                     decimal.  A leading zero will be printed  in  this  case.
                     Note that this does not affect whether a raw or formatted
                     file mode is shown, which is controlled by the -r and  -s
                     options, nor whether a mode is shown at all.

              -r     Print raw data (the default format) alongside string data
                     (the -s format); the string data appears  in  parentheses
                     after the raw data.

              -s     Print  mode,  uid,  gid  and  the  three time elements as
                     strings instead of numbers.  In each case the  format  is
                     like that of ls -l.

              -t     Always  show  the  type  names for the elements of struct
                     stat.  Usually these are only shown  when  output  is  to
                     standard  output  and  no  individual  element  has  been
                     selected.

              -T     Never show the type names of the struct stat elements.


THE ZSH/SYSTEM MODULE

       The zsh/system module makes available three builtin  commands  and  two
       parameters.


BUILTINS

       syserror [ -e errvar ] [ -p prefix ] [ errno | errname ]
              This command prints out the error message associated with errno,
              a system error number, followed by a newline to standard  error.

              Instead of the error number, a name errname, for example ENOENT,
              may be used.  The set of names is the same as  the  contents  of
              the array errnos, see below.

              If  the  string  prefix  is given, it is printed in front of the
              error message, with no intervening space.

              If errvar is supplied, the entire message, without a newline, is
              assigned to the parameter names errvar and nothing is output.

              A  return  status  of  0  indicates the message was successfully
              printed (although it may not be useful if the error  number  was
              out  of  the  system's range), a return status of 1 indicates an
              error in the parameters, and a return status of 2 indicates  the
              error  name was not recognised (no message is printed for this).

       sysread [ -c countvar ] [ -i infd ] [ -o outfd ]
         [ -s bufsize ] [ -t timeout ] [ param ]
              Perform a single system read from file descriptor infd, or  zero
              if that is not given.  The result of the read is stored in param
              or REPLY if that is not given.  If countvar is given, the number
              of bytes read is assigned to the parameter named by countvar.

              The  maximum  number of bytes read is bufsize or 8192 if that is
              not given, however the command returns as soon as any number  of
              bytes was successfully read.

              If  timeout  is  given, it specifies a timeout in seconds, which
              may be zero to poll the file descriptor.  This is handled by the
              poll  system call if available, otherwise the select system call
              if available.

              If outfd is given, an attempt is made to  write  all  the  bytes
              just  read to the file descriptor outfd.  If this fails, because
              of a system error other than EINTR or because of an internal zsh
              error  during  an  interrupt, the bytes read but not written are
              stored in the parameter named by param if supplied  (no  default
              is  used  in  this  case),  and the number of bytes read but not
              written is stored in the parameter named by countvar if that  is
              supplied.  If it was successful, countvar contains the full num-
              ber of bytes transferred, as usual, and param is not set.

              The error EINTR (interrupted system call) is handled  internally
              so  that  shell  interrupts  are transparent to the caller.  Any
              other error causes a return.

              The possible return statuses are
              0      At least one byte of data was successfully read  and,  if
                     appropriate, written.

              1      There  was  an  error  in  the parameters to the command.
                     This is the only error for which a message is printed  to
                     standard error.

              2      There  was  an error on the read, or on polling the input
                     file descriptor for a timeout.  The parameter ERRNO gives
                     the error.

              3      Data were successfully read, but there was an error writ-
                     ing them to outfd.  The parameter ERRNO gives the  error.

              4      The  attempt  to  read timed out.  Note this does not set
                     ERRNO as this is not a system error.

              5      No system error occurred, but zero bytes were read.  This
                     usually  indicates  end  of file.  The parameters are set
                     according to the  usual  rules;  no  write  to  outfd  is
                     attempted.

       syswrite [ -c countvar ] [ -o outfd ] data
              The  data  (a  single  string  of bytes) are written to the file
              descriptor outfd, or 1 if that is not  given,  using  the  write
              system call.  Multiple write operations may be used if the first
              does not write all the data.

              If countvar is given, the number of byte written  is  stored  in
              the parameter named by countvar; this may not be the full length
              of data if an error occurred.

              The error EINTR (interrupted system call) is handled  internally
              by  retrying;  otherwise  an error causes the command to return.
              For example, if the file descriptor is set to non-blocking  out-
              put,  an  error EAGAIN (on some systems, EWOULDBLOCK) may result
              in the command returning early.

              The return status may be 0 for success, 1 for an  error  in  the
              parameters  to  the  command, or 2 for an error on the write; no
              error message is printed in the last  case,  but  the  parameter
              ERRNO will reflect the error that occurred.


PARAMETERS

       errnos A  readonly  array of the names of errors defined on the system.
              These are typically macros defined in C by including the  system
              header  file  errno.h.   The  index  of  each name (assuming the
              option KSH_ARRAYS is unset) corresponds  to  the  error  number.
              Error numbers num before the last known error which have no name
              are given the name Enum in the array.

              Note that aliases for errors are not handled; only the canonical
              name is used.

       sysparams
              A readonly associative array.  The keys are:
       pid    Returns  the  process  ID  of  the current process, even in sub-
              shells.  Compare $$, which returns the process ID  of  the  main
              shell process.

       ppid   Returns  the  process  ID  of the parent of the current process,
              even in subshells.  Compare $PPID, which returns the process  ID
              of the parent of the main shell process.


THE ZSH/NET/TCP MODULE

       The zsh/net/tcp module makes available one builtin command:

       ztcp [ -acflLtv ] [ -d fd ] [ args ]
              ztcp is implemented as a builtin to allow full use of shell com-
              mand line editing, file I/O, and job control mechanisms.

              If ztcp is run with no options, it will output the  contents  of
              its session table.

              If  it  is  run with only the option -L, it will output the con-
              tents of the session table in a format  suitable  for  automatic
              parsing.   The option is ignored if given with a command to open
              or close a session.  The output consists of a set of lines,  one
              per session, each containing the following elements separated by
              spaces:

              File descriptor
                     The file descriptor in use for the connection.  For  nor-
                     mal  inbound (I) and outbound (O) connections this may be
                     read and written by the usual shell mechanisms.  However,
                     it should only be close with `ztcp -c'.

              Connection type
                     A letter indicating how the session was created:

                     Z      A session created with the zftp command.

                     L      A  connection opened for listening with `ztcp -l'.

                     I      An inbound connection accepted with `ztcp -a'.

                     O      An outbound connection  created  with  `ztcp  host
                            ...'.

              The local host
                     This  is  usually  set  to  an all-zero IP address as the
                     address of the localhost is irrelevant.

              The local port
                     This is likely to be zero unless the  connection  is  for
                     listening.

              The remote host
                     This  is  the fully qualified domain name of the peer, if
                     available, else an IP address.   It  is  an  all-zero  IP
                     address for a session opened for listening.

              The remote port
                     This is zero for a connection opened for listening.

   Outbound Connections
       ztcp [ -v ] [ -d fd ] host [ port ]
              Open  a  new TCP connection to host.  If the port is omitted, it
              will default to port 23.  The connection will be  added  to  the
              session  table  and the shell parameter REPLY will be set to the
              file descriptor associated with that connection.

              If -d is specified, its argument will be  taken  as  the  target
              file descriptor for the connection.

              In order to elicit more verbose output, use -v.

   Inbound Connections
       ztcp -l [ -v ] [ -d fd ] port
              ztcp  -l  will  open a socket listening on TCP port.  The socket
              will be added to the session table and the shell parameter REPLY
              will  be  set  to  the file descriptor associated with that lis-
              tener.

              If -d is specified, its argument will be  taken  as  the  target
              file descriptor for the connection.

              In order to elicit more verbose output, use -v.

       ztcp -a [ -tv ] [ -d targetfd ] listenfd
              ztcp  -a  will accept an incoming connection to the port associ-
              ated with listenfd.  The connection will be added to the session
              table  and  the  shell  parameter  REPLY will be set to the file
              descriptor associated with the inbound connection.

              If -d is specified, its argument will be  taken  as  the  target
              file descriptor for the connection.

              If  -t  is specified, ztcp will return if no incoming connection
              is pending.  Otherwise it will wait for one.

              In order to elicit more verbose output, use -v.

   Closing Connections
       ztcp -cf [ -v ] [ fd ]
       ztcp -c [ -v ] [ fd ]
              ztcp -c will close the socket associated with  fd.   The  socket
              will be removed from the session table.  If fd is not specified,
              ztcp will close everything in the session table.

              Normally, sockets registered by zftp (see zshmodules(1) ) cannot
              be closed this way.  In order to force such a socket closed, use
              -f.

              In order to elicit more verbose output, use -v.

   Example
       Here is how to create a TCP connection between two  instances  of  zsh.
       We  need  to  pick  an unassigned port; here we use the randomly chosen
       5123.

       On host1,
              zmodload zsh/net/tcp
              ztcp -l 5123
              listenfd=$REPLY
              ztcp -a $listenfd
              fd=$REPLY
       The second from last command blocks until there is an incoming  connec-
       tion.

       Now  create  a connection from host2 (which may, of course, be the same
       machine):
              zmodload zsh/net/tcp
              ztcp host1 5123
              fd=$REPLY

       Now on each host, $fd contains a file descriptor  for  talking  to  the
       other.  For example, on host1:
              print This is a message >&$fd
       and on host2:
              read -r line <&$fd; print -r - $line
       prints `This is a message'.

       To tidy up, on host1:
              ztcp -c $listenfd
              ztcp -c $fd
       and on host2
              ztcp -c $fd


THE ZSH/TERMCAP MODULE

       The zsh/termcap module makes available one builtin command:

       echotc cap [ arg ... ]
              Output  the  termcap  value corresponding to the capability cap,
              with optional arguments.

       The zsh/termcap module makes available one parameter:

       termcap
              An associative array that maps termcap capability codes to their
              values.


THE ZSH/TERMINFO MODULE

       The zsh/terminfo module makes available one builtin command:

       echoti cap [ arg ]
              Output  the  terminfo value corresponding to the capability cap,
              instantiated with arg if applicable.

       The zsh/terminfo module makes available one parameter:

       terminfo
              An associative array that  maps  terminfo  capability  names  to
              their values.


THE ZSH/ZFTP MODULE

       The zsh/zftp module makes available one builtin command:

       zftp subcommand [ args ]
              The  zsh/zftp  module  is a client for FTP (file transfer proto-
              col).  It is implemented as a builtin to allow full use of shell
              command  line  editing,  file  I/O,  and job control mechanisms.
              Often, users will access it via shell functions providing a more
              powerful  interface; a set is provided with the zsh distribution
              and is described in zshzftpsys(1).  However, the zftp command is
              entirely usable in its own right.

              All  commands  consist  of the command name zftp followed by the
              name of a subcommand.  These are listed below.  The return  sta-
              tus  of  each  subcommand  is supposed to reflect the success or
              failure of the remote operation.  See a description of the vari-
              able ZFTP_VERBOSE for more information on how responses from the
              server may be printed.

   Subcommands
       open host[:port] [ user [ password [ account ] ] ]
              Open a new FTP session to host, which  may  be  the  name  of  a
              TCP/IP  connected host or an IP number in the standard dot nota-
              tion.  If the argument is in the form host:port, open a  connec-
              tion to TCP port port instead of the standard FTP port 21.  This
              may be the name of a TCP service or a number:  see the  descrip-
              tion of ZFTP_PORT below for more information.

              If  IPv6  addresses in colon format are used, the host should be
              surrounded by quoted square brackets to distinguish it from  the
              port, for example '[fe80::203:baff:fe02:8b56]'.  For consistency
              this is allowed with all forms of host.

              Remaining arguments are passed to the  login  subcommand.   Note
              that  if  no  arguments  beyond host are supplied, open will not
              automatically call login.  If no arguments at all are  supplied,
              open will use the parameters set by the params subcommand.

              After   a   successful  open,  the  shell  variables  ZFTP_HOST,
              ZFTP_PORT, ZFTP_IP and ZFTP_SYSTEM  are  available;  see  `Vari-
              ables' below.

       login [ name [ password [ account ] ] ]
       user [ name [ password [ account ] ] ]
              Login  the  user name with parameters password and account.  Any
              of the parameters can be omitted, and will be read from standard
              input if needed (name is always needed).  If standard input is a
              terminal, a prompt for each one  will  be  printed  on  standard
              error and password will not be echoed.  If any of the parameters
              are not used, a warning message is printed.

              After  a  successful  login,  the  shell  variables   ZFTP_USER,
              ZFTP_ACCOUNT  and ZFTP_PWD are available; see `Variables' below.

              This command may be re-issued when a user is already logged  in,
              and the server will first be reinitialized for a new user.

       params [ host [ user [ password [ account ] ] ] ]
       params -
              Store  the  given  parameters  for  a later open command with no
              arguments.  Only those given on the command line will be  remem-
              bered.   If no arguments are given, the parameters currently set
              are printed, although the password will  appear  as  a  line  of
              stars;  the return status is one if no parameters were set, zero
              otherwise.

              Any of the parameters may be specified as a `?', which may  need
              to  be quoted to protect it from shell expansion.  In this case,
              the appropriate parameter will be read from stdin  as  with  the
              login  subcommand,  including  special handling of password.  If
              the `?' is followed by a string, that is used as the prompt  for
              reading the parameter instead of the default message (any neces-
              sary punctuation and whitespace should be included at the end of
              the  prompt).   The  first letter of the parameter (only) may be
              quoted with a `\'; hence an argument "\\$word"  guarantees  that
              the string from the shell parameter $word will be treated liter-
              ally, whether or not it begins with a `?'.

              If instead a single `-' is given, the  existing  parameters,  if
              any,  are deleted.  In that case, calling open with no arguments
              will cause an error.

              The list of parameters is not deleted after a close, however  it
              will be deleted if the zsh/zftp module is unloaded.

              For example,

                     zftp params ftp.elsewhere.xx juser '?Password for juser: '

              will store the host ftp.elsewhere.xx and the user juser and then
              prompt the user for the corresponding password  with  the  given
              prompt.

       test   Test  the  connection;  if  the  server has reported that it has
              closed the connection (maybe due to a timeout), return status 2;
              if  no  connection was open anyway, return status 1; else return
              status 0.  The test subcommand is silent,  apart  from  messages
              printed by the $ZFTP_VERBOSE mechanism, or error messages if the
              connection closes.  There is no network overhead for this  test.

              The  test is only supported on systems with either the select(2)
              or poll(2) system calls; otherwise the message `not supported on
              this system' is printed instead.

              The test subcommand will automatically be called at the start of
              any other subcommand for the current session when  a  connection
              is open.

       cd directory
              Change the remote directory to directory.  Also alters the shell
              variable ZFTP_PWD.

       cdup   Change the remote directory to the one higher in  the  directory
              tree.  Note that cd .. will also work correctly on non-UNIX sys-
              tems.

       dir [ args... ]
              Give a (verbose) listing of the remote directory.  The args  are
              passed directly to the server. The command's behaviour is imple-
              mentation dependent, but a UNIX server will typically  interpret
              args as arguments to the ls command and with no arguments return
              the result of `ls -l'. The directory is listed to standard  out-
              put.

       ls [ args ]
              Give  a  (short) listing of the remote directory.  With no args,
              produces a raw list of the files in the directory, one per line.
              Otherwise,  up to vagaries of the server implementation, behaves
              similar to dir.

       type [ type ]
              Change the type for the transfer to type, or print  the  current
              type if type is absent.  The allowed values are `A' (ASCII), `I'
              (Image, i.e. binary), or `B' (a synonym for `I').

              The FTP default for a transfer is ASCII.  However, if zftp finds
              that  the remote host is a UNIX machine with 8-bit byes, it will
              automatically switch to using binary  for  file  transfers  upon
              open.  This can subsequently be overridden.

              The  transfer type is only passed to the remote host when a data
              connection is established;  this  command  involves  no  network
              overhead.

       ascii  The same as type A.

       binary The same as type I.

       mode [ S | B ]
              Set  the  mode  type to stream (S) or block (B).  Stream mode is
              the default; block mode is not widely supported.

       remote files...
       local [ files... ]
              Print the size and last modification time of the remote or local
              files.   If there is more than one item on the list, the name of
              the file is printed first.  The first number is the  file  size,
              the second is the last modification time of the file in the for-
              mat CCYYMMDDhhmmSS consisting of year, month, date,  hour,  min-
              utes  and  seconds in GMT.  Note that this format, including the
              length, is guaranteed, so that time strings can be directly com-
              pared  via  the [[ builtin's < and > operators, even if they are
              too long to be represented as integers.

              Not all servers support the commands for retrieving this  infor-
              mation.  In that case, the remote command will print nothing and
              return status 2, compared with status 1 for a file not found.

              The local command (but not remote) may be  used  with  no  argu-
              ments,  in  which case the information comes from examining file
              descriptor zero.  This is the same file as seen by a put command
              with no further redirection.

       get file [...]
              Retrieve all files from the server, concatenating them and send-
              ing them to standard output.

       put file [...]
              For each file, read a file from standard input and send that  to
              the remote host with the given name.

       append file [...]
              As  put, but if the remote file already exists, data is appended
              to it instead of overwriting it.

       getat file point
       putat file point
       appendat file point
              Versions of get, put and append which will start the transfer at
              the  given point in the remote file.  This is useful for append-
              ing to an incomplete local file.  However, note that this  abil-
              ity  is  not  universally supported by servers (and is not quite
              the behaviour specified by the standard).

       delete file [...]
              Delete the list of files on the server.

       mkdir directory
              Create a new directory directory on the server.

       rmdir directory
              Delete the directory directory  on the server.

       rename old-name new-name
              Rename file old-name to new-name on the server.

       site args...
              Send a host-specific command to the server.  You  will  probably
              only need this if instructed by the server to use it.

       quote args...
              Send  the raw FTP command sequence to the server.  You should be
              familiar with the FTP command set as defined  in  RFC959  before
              doing  this.   Useful  commands may include STAT and HELP.  Note
              also the mechanism for returning messages as described  for  the
              variable  ZFTP_VERBOSE  below,  in  particular that all messages
              from the control connection are sent to standard error.

       close
       quit   Close the current data connection.  This unsets the shell param-
              eters  ZFTP_HOST,  ZFTP_PORT,  ZFTP_IP,  ZFTP_SYSTEM, ZFTP_USER,
              ZFTP_ACCOUNT, ZFTP_PWD, ZFTP_TYPE and ZFTP_MODE.

       session [ sessname ]
              Allows multiple FTP sessions to be used at once.   The  name  of
              the  session  is  an arbitrary string of characters; the default
              session is called `default'.  If this command is called  without
              an  argument,  it  will  list  all the current sessions; with an
              argument, it will either switch to the existing  session  called
              sessname, or create a new session of that name.

              Each  session remembers the status of the connection, the set of
              connection-specific shell parameters (the same set as are  unset
              when a connection closes, as given in the description of close),
              and any user parameters specified with  the  params  subcommand.
              Changing  to  a previous session restores those values; changing
              to a new session initialises them in the same way as if zftp had
              just  been  loaded.  The name of the current session is given by
              the parameter ZFTP_SESSION.

       rmsession [ sessname ]
              Delete a session; if a name is not given, the current session is
              deleted.  If the current session is deleted, the earliest exist-
              ing session becomes the new current session, otherwise the  cur-
              rent  session  is  not changed.  If the session being deleted is
              the only one, a new session  called  `default'  is  created  and
              becomes  the  current  session;  note that this is a new session
              even if the session being deleted is also called  `default'.  It
              is  recommended  that  sessions  not be deleted while background
              commands which use zftp are still active.

   Parameters
       The following shell parameters are used by  zftp.   Currently  none  of
       them are special.

       ZFTP_TMOUT
              Integer.  The time in seconds to wait for a network operation to
              complete before returning an error.  If this is not set when the
              module  is  loaded,  it  will  be given the default value 60.  A
              value of zero turns off timeouts.  If a timeout  occurs  on  the
              control  connection  it  will  be closed.  Use a larger value if
              this occurs too frequently.

       ZFTP_IP
              Readonly.  The IP address of the current connection in dot nota-
              tion.

       ZFTP_HOST
              Readonly.   The  hostname  of the current remote server.  If the
              host was  opened  as  an  IP  number,  ZFTP_HOST  contains  that
              instead;  this  saves the overhead for a name lookup, as IP num-
              bers are most commonly used when a nameserver is unavailable.

       ZFTP_PORT
              Readonly.  The number of the remote TCP port to which  the  con-
              nection  is open (even if the port was originally specified as a
              named service).  Usually this is the standard FTP port, 21.

              In the unlikely event that your system does not have the  appro-
              priate conversion functions, this appears in network byte order.
              If your system is little-endian, the port then consists  of  two
              swapped  bytes  and  the standard port will be reported as 5376.
              In that case, numeric ports passed to zftp open will  also  need
              to be in this format.

       ZFTP_SYSTEM
              Readonly.   The  system  type  string  returned by the server in
              response to an FTP SYST request.  The most interesting case is a
              string beginning "UNIX Type: L8", which ensures maximum compati-
              bility with a local UNIX host.

       ZFTP_TYPE
              Readonly.  The type to be used for data transfers ,  either  `A'
              or `I'.   Use the type subcommand to change this.

       ZFTP_USER
              Readonly.  The username currently logged in, if any.

       ZFTP_ACCOUNT
              Readonly.   The  account name of the current user, if any.  Most
              servers do not require an account name.

       ZFTP_PWD
              Readonly.  The current directory on the server.

       ZFTP_CODE
              Readonly.  The three digit code of the last FTP reply  from  the
              server as a string.  This can still be read after the connection
              is closed, and is not changed when the current session  changes.

       ZFTP_REPLY
              Readonly.   The  last line of the last reply sent by the server.
              This can still be read after the connection is  closed,  and  is
              not changed when the current session changes.

       ZFTP_SESSION
              Readonly.  The name of the current FTP session; see the descrip-
              tion of the session subcommand.

       ZFTP_PREFS
              A string of preferences for altering aspects  of  zftp's  behav-
              iour.  Each preference is a single character.  The following are
              defined:

              P      Passive:  attempt to make the remote server initiate data
                     transfers.  This is slightly more efficient than sendport
                     mode.  If the letter S occurs later in the  string,  zftp
                     will  use sendport mode if passive mode is not available.

              S      Sendport:  initiate transfers by the  FTP  PORT  command.
                     If  this  occurs before any P in the string, passive mode
                     will never be attempted.

              D      Dumb:  use only the bare minimum of FTP  commands.   This
                     prevents  the  variables  ZFTP_SYSTEM  and  ZFTP_PWD from
                     being set, and will mean all connections default to ASCII
                     type.   It  may prevent ZFTP_SIZE from being set during a
                     transfer if the server does  not  send  it  anyway  (many
                     servers do).

              If  ZFTP_PREFS is not set when zftp is loaded, it will be set to
              a default of `PS', i.e. use passive mode if available, otherwise
              fall back to sendport mode.

       ZFTP_VERBOSE
              A  string  of digits between 0 and 5 inclusive, specifying which
              responses from the server should be printed.  All  responses  go
              to  standard  error.  If any of the numbers 1 to 5 appear in the
              string, raw responses from the server with reply codes beginning
              with  that  digit  will be printed to standard error.  The first
              digit of the three digit reply code is defined by RFC959 to cor-
              respond to:

              1.     A positive preliminary reply.

              2.     A positive completion reply.

              3.     A positive intermediate reply.

              4.     A transient negative completion reply.

              5.     A permanent negative completion reply.

              It should be noted that, for unknown reasons, the reply `Service
              not available', which forces termination  of  a  connection,  is
              classified  as  421,  i.e.  `transient negative', an interesting
              interpretation of the word `transient'.

              The code 0 is special:  it indicates that all but the last  line
              of  multiline  replies  read  from the server will be printed to
              standard error in a processed format.   By  convention,  servers
              use this mechanism for sending information for the user to read.
              The appropriate reply code, if it  matches  the  same  response,
              takes priority.

              If  ZFTP_VERBOSE  is not set when zftp is loaded, it will be set
              to the default value 450, i.e., messages destined for  the  user
              and  all  errors  will  be  printed.  A null string is valid and
              specifies that no messages should be printed.

   Functions
       zftp_chpwd
              If this function is set by the user, it is called every time the
              directory changes on the server, including when a user is logged
              in, or when a connection is closed.  In the last case, $ZFTP_PWD
              will be unset; otherwise it will reflect the new directory.

       zftp_progress
              If  this function is set by the user, it will be called during a
              get, put or append operation each time sufficient data has  been
              received from the host.  During a get, the data is sent to stan-
              dard output, so it is vital that this function should  write  to
              standard error or directly to the terminal, not to standard out-
              put.

              When it is called with a transfer  in  progress,  the  following
              additional shell parameters are set:

              ZFTP_FILE
                     The name of the remote file being transferred from or to.

              ZFTP_TRANSFER
                     A G for a get operation and a P for a put operation.

              ZFTP_SIZE
                     The total size of the complete  file  being  transferred:
                     the  same  as  the first value provided by the remote and
                     local subcommands for a particular file.  If  the  server
                     cannot   supply  this  value  for  a  remote  file  being
                     retrieved, it will not be set.  If input is from  a  pipe
                     the  value  may  be  incorrect and correspond simply to a
                     full pipe buffer.

              ZFTP_COUNT
                     The amount of data so far transferred; a  number  between
                     zero  and  $ZFTP_SIZE,  if  that  is set.  This number is
                     always available.

              The function is initially called with ZFTP_TRANSFER  set  appro-
              priately and ZFTP_COUNT set to zero.  After the transfer is fin-
              ished,  the  function  will  be  called  one  more   time   with
              ZFTP_TRANSFER set to GF or PF, in case it wishes to tidy up.  It
              is  otherwise  never  called  twice  with  the  same  value   of
              ZFTP_COUNT.

              Sometimes  the progress meter may cause disruption.  It is up to
              the user to decide whether the function should be defined and to
              use unfunction when necessary.

   Problems
       A  connection may not be opened in the left hand side of a pipe as this
       occurs in a subshell and the file information is  not  updated  in  the
       main shell.  In the case of type or mode changes or closing the connec-
       tion in a subshell, the information is returned but variables  are  not
       updated until the next call to zftp.  Other status changes in subshells
       will not be reflected by changes to the variables (but should be other-
       wise harmless).

       Deleting  sessions while a zftp command is active in the background can
       have unexpected effects, even if it does  not  use  the  session  being
       deleted.   This  is because all shell subprocesses share information on
       the state of all connections, and deleting a session changes the order-
       ing of that information.

       On  some operating systems, the control connection is not valid after a
       fork(), so that operations in subshells, on the left  hand  side  of  a
       pipeline,  or  in  the  background are not possible, as they should be.
       This is presumably a bug in the operating system.


THE ZSH/ZLE MODULE

       The zsh/zle module contains the Zsh Line Editor.  See zshzle(1).


THE ZSH/ZLEPARAMETER MODULE

       The zsh/zleparameter module defines two special parameters that can  be
       used  to  access  internal information of the Zsh Line Editor (see zsh-
       zle(1)).

       keymaps
              This array contains the names of the keymaps currently  defined.

       widgets
              This  associative  array  contains one entry per widget defined.
              The name of the widget is the key and the value  gives  informa-
              tion  about  the  widget.  It is either the string `builtin' for
              builtin  widgets,  a  string  of  the   form   `user:name'   for
              user-defined  widgets, where name is the name of the shell func-
              tion implementing the widget, or it is  a  string  of  the  form
              `completion:type:name', for completion widgets. In the last case
              type is the name of the builtin widgets  the  completion  widget
              imitates in its behavior and name is the name of the shell func-
              tion implementing the completion widget.


THE ZSH/ZPROF MODULE

       When loaded, the zsh/zprof causes shell functions to be profiled.   The
       profiling  results  can be obtained with the zprof builtin command made
       available by this module.  There is no way to turn profiling off  other
       than unloading the module.

       zprof [ -c ]
              Without the -c option, zprof lists profiling results to standard
              output.  The format is  comparable  to  that  of  commands  like
              gprof.

              At  the  top  there is a summary listing all functions that were
              called at least once.  This  summary  is  sorted  in  decreasing
              order  of  the  amount of time spent in each.  The lines contain
              the number of the function in order,  which  is  used  in  other
              parts  of  the list in suffixes of the form `[num]'.RE, then the
              number of calls made to the function.  The  next  three  columns
              list  the  time  in  milliseconds  spent in the function and its
              descendents, the average time in milliseconds spent in the func-
              tion  and  its  descendents  per call and the percentage of time
              spent in all shell functions  used  in  this  function  and  its
              descendents.  The following three columns give the same informa-
              tion, but counting only the time spent in the  function  itself.
              The final column shows the name of the function.

              After  the  summary,  detailed  information about every function
              that was invoked is listed, sorted in decreasing  order  of  the
              amount of time spent in each function and its descendents.  Each
              of these entries consists of descriptions for the functions that
              called  the  function  described,  the  function itself, and the
              functions that were called from it.   The  description  for  the
              function itself has the same format as in the summary (and shows
              the same information).  The other lines don't show the number of
              the  function  at  the  beginning  and have their function named
              indented to make it easier to distinguish the line  showing  the
              function described in the section from the surrounding lines.

              The  information shown in this case is almost the same as in the
              summary, but only refers to the call hierarchy being  displayed.
              For example, for a calling function the column showing the total
              running time lists the time spent in the described function  and
              its  descendents only for the times when it was called from that
              particular calling function.  Likewise, for a  called  function,
              this  columns  lists the total time spent in the called function
              and its descendents only for the times when it was  called  from
              the function described.

              Also  in  this case, the column showing the number of calls to a
              function also shows a slash and then the total number of invoca-
              tions made to the called function.

              As  long  as  the  zsh/zprof module is loaded, profiling will be
              done and multiple invocations of the zprof builtin command  will
              show the times and numbers of calls since the module was loaded.
              With the -c option, the zprof builtin  command  will  reset  its
              internal counters and will not show the listing.  )


THE ZSH/ZPTY MODULE

       The zsh/zpty module offers one builtin:

       zpty [ -e ] [ -b ] name [ arg ... ]
              The  arguments  following  name  are  concatenated  with  spaces
              between, then executed as a command, as if passed  to  the  eval
              builtin.   The command runs under a newly assigned pseudo-termi-
              nal; this is useful for running commands non-interactively which
              expect  an interactive environment.  The name is not part of the
              command, but is used to refer to this command in later calls  to
              zpty.

              With  the -e option, the pseudo-terminal is set up so that input
              characters are echoed.

              With the -b option, input to and output from the pseudo-terminal
              are made non-blocking.

       zpty -d [ names ... ]
              The  second form, with the -d option, is used to delete commands
              previously started, by supplying a list of their names.   If  no
              names  are  given, all commands are deleted.  Deleting a command
              causes the HUP signal to be sent to the corresponding process.

       zpty -w [ -n ] name [ strings ... ]
              The -w option can be used to send the to command name the  given
              strings as input (separated by spaces).  If the -n option is not
              given, a newline is added at the end.

              If no strings are provided, the standard input is copied to  the
              pseudo-terminal;  this may stop before copying the full input if
              the pseudo-terminal is non-blocking.

              Note that the command under the pseudo-terminal sees this  input
              as  if  it were typed, so beware when sending special tty driver
              characters such as word-erase, line-kill, and end-of-file.

       zpty -r [ -t ] name [ param [ pattern ] ]
              The -r option can be used to read  the  output  of  the  command
              name.   With  only a name argument, the output read is copied to
              the standard output.  Unless the pseudo-terminal  is  non-block-
              ing, copying continues until the command under the pseudo-termi-
              nal exits; when non-blocking, only as much output as is  immedi-
              ately  available  is  copied.   The return status is zero if any
              output is copied.

              When also given a param argument, at most one line is  read  and
              stored  in the parameter named param.  Less than a full line may
              be read if the pseudo-terminal is non-blocking.  The return sta-
              tus is zero if at least one character is stored in param.

              If  a  pattern  is given as well, output is read until the whole
              string read matches the pattern, even in the non-blocking  case.
              The  return  status  is zero if the string read matches the pat-
              tern, or if the command has exited but at  least  one  character
              could  still  be  read.   As  of  this writing, a maximum of one
              megabyte of output can be consumed this way; if a full  megabyte
              is  read  without  matching  the  pattern,  the return status is
              non-zero.

              In all cases, the return status is non-zero if nothing could  be
              read, and is 2 if this is because the command has finished.

              If  the  -r  option  is  combined with the -t option, zpty tests
              whether output is available before trying to read.  If no output
              is available, zpty immediately returns the status 1.

       zpty -t name
              The  -t option without the -r option can be used to test whether
              the command name is still running.  It returns a zero status  if
              the command is running and a non-zero value otherwise.

       zpty [ -L ]
              The  last  form, without any arguments, is used to list the com-
              mands currently defined.  If the -L option  is  given,  this  is
              done in the form of calls to the zpty builtin.


THE ZSH/ZSELECT MODULE

       The zsh/zselect module makes available one builtin command:

       zselect [ -rwe -t timeout -a array ] [ fd ... ]
              The  zselect builtin is a front-end to the `select' system call,
              which blocks until a file descriptor is  ready  for  reading  or
              writing,  or  has  an error condition, with an optional timeout.
              If this is not available on your system, the command  prints  an
              error  message and returns status 2 (normal errors return status
              1).  For more information, see your  systems  documentation  for
              select(3).   Note  there is no connection with the shell builtin
              of the same name.

              Arguments  and  options  may  be  intermingled  in  any   order.
              Non-option arguments are file descriptors, which must be decimal
              integers.  By default, file descriptors are  to  be  tested  for
              reading,  i.e.  zselect will return when data is available to be
              read from the file descriptor, or more precisely,  when  a  read
              operation  from the file descriptor will not block.  After a -r,
              -w and -e, the given file descriptors are to be tested for read-
              ing,  writing,  or error conditions.  These options and an arbi-
              trary list of file descriptors may be given in any order.

              (The presence of an `error condition' is not well defined in the
              documentation  for  many  implementations  of  the select system
              call.  According to recent versions of the POSIX  specification,
              it  is really an exception condition, of which the only standard
              example is out-of-band data received on a socket.  So zsh  users
              are unlikely to find the -e option useful.)

              The  option  `-t timeout' specifies a timeout in hundredths of a
              second.  This may be zero, in which case  the  file  descriptors
              will  simply  be polled and zselect will return immediately.  It
              is possible to call zselect  with  no  file  descriptors  and  a
              non-zero  timeout  for  use  as  a finer-grained replacement for
              `sleep'; not, however, the return status is always 1 for a time-
              out.

              The  option  `-a  array'  indicates  that array should be set to
              indicate the file descriptor(s) which are ready.  If the  option
              is  not  given,  the  array reply will be used for this purpose.
              The array will contain a string similar  to  the  arguments  for
              zselect.  For example,

                     zselect -t 0 -r 0 -w 1

              might return immediately with status 0 and $reply containing `-r
              0 -w 1' to show that both file descriptors  are  ready  for  the
              requested operations.

              The option `-A assoc' indicates that the associative array assoc
              should be set to  indicate  the  file  descriptor(s(  which  are
              ready.   This  option overrides the option -a, nor will reply be
              modified.  The keys of assoc are the file descriptors,  and  the
              corresponding values are any of the characters `rwe' to indicate
              the condition.

              The command returns status 0 if some file descriptors are  ready
              for  reading.  If the operation timed out, or a timeout of 0 was
              given and no file descriptors were ready, or there was an error,
              it  returns status 1 and the array will not be set (nor modified
              in any way).  If there was an error in the select operation  the
              appropriate error message is printed.


THE ZSH/ZUTIL MODULE

       The zsh/zutil module only adds some builtins:

       zstyle [ -L [ pattern [ style ] ] ]
       zstyle [ -e | - | -- ] pattern style strings ...
       zstyle -d [ pattern [ styles ... ] ]
       zstyle -g name [ pattern [ style ] ]
       zstyle -abs context style name [ sep ]
       zstyle -Tt context style [ strings ...]
       zstyle -m context style pattern
              This  builtin  command  is  used  to  define  and lookup styles.
              Styles are pairs of names and values, where the  values  consist
              of  any  number  of strings.  They are stored together with pat-
              terns and lookup is done by giving a string,  called  the  `con-
              text', which is compared to the patterns.  The definition stored
              for the first matching pattern will be returned.

              For ordering of comparisons, patterns  are  searched  from  most
              specific  to  least specific, and patterns that are equally spe-
              cific keep the order in which they were defined.  A  pattern  is
              considered  to be more specific than another if it contains more
              components (substrings separated by colons) or if  the  patterns
              for  the  components are more specific, where simple strings are
              considered to be more specific than patterns  and  complex  pat-
              terns are considered to be more specific than the pattern `*'.

              The  first form (without arguments) lists the definitions in the
              order zstyle will test them.

              If the -L option is given, listing is done in the form of  calls
              to  zstyle.  The optional first argument is a pattern which will
              be matched against the string supplied as the  pattern  for  the
              context; note that this means, for example, `zstyle -L ":comple-
              tion:*"' will match any  supplied  pattern  beginning  `:comple-
              tion:', not just ":completion:*":  use ":completion:\*" to match
              that.  The optional second argument limits the output to a  spe-
              cific  style  (not  a  pattern).   -L is not compatible with any
              other options.

              The other forms are the following:

              zstyle [ - | -- | -e ] pattern style strings ...
                     Defines the given style for the pattern with the  strings
                     as  the  value.   If  the -e option is given, the strings
                     will  be  concatenated  (separated  by  spaces)  and  the
                     resulting string will be evaluated (in the same way as it
                     is done by the eval builtin command) when  the  style  is
                     looked  up.   In  this case the parameter `reply' must be
                     assigned to set the strings returned  after  the  evalua-
                     tion.   Before  evaluating the value, reply is unset, and
                     if it is still unset after the evaluation, the  style  is
                     treated as if it were not set.

              zstyle -d [ pattern [ styles ... ] ]
                     Delete  style  definitions. Without arguments all defini-
                     tions are deleted, with a  pattern  all  definitions  for
                     that  pattern  are  deleted  and if any styles are given,
                     then only those styles are deleted for the pattern.

              zstyle -g name [ pattern [ style ] ]
                     Retrieve a style definition. The name is used as the name
                     of  an array in which the results are stored. Without any
                     further arguments, all  patterns  defined  are  returned.
                     With  a  pattern  the styles defined for that pattern are
                     returned and with both a pattern and a style,  the  value
                     strings of that combination is returned.

              The other forms can be used to look up or test patterns.

              zstyle -s context style name [ sep ]
                     The  parameter  name  is  set  to  the value of the style
                     interpreted as a string.  If the value  contains  several
                     strings  they  are  concatenated with spaces (or with the
                     sep string if that is given) between them.

              zstyle -b context style name
                     The value is stored in name as a  boolean,  i.e.  as  the
                     string  `yes'  if  the value has only one string and that
                     string is equal to one of `yes', `true', `on', or `1'. If
                     the  value  is  any  other  string  or  has more than one
                     string, the parameter is set to `no'.

              zstyle -a context style name
                     The value is stored in name  as  an  array.  If  name  is
                     declared as an associative array,  the first, third, etc.
                     strings are used as the keys and the  other  strings  are
                     used as the values.

              zstyle -t context style [ strings ...]
              zstyle -T context style [ strings ...]
                     Test  the  value  of  a  style,  i.e.  the -t option only
                     returns a status (sets  $?).   Without  any  strings  the
                     return  status  is  zero  if  the style is defined for at
                     least one matching pattern, has only one  string  in  its
                     value, and that is equal to one of `true', `yes', `on' or
                     `1'. If any strings are given the status is zero  if  and
                     only  if at least one of the strings is equal to at least
                     one of the strings in the value.  If  the  style  is  not
                     defined, the status is 2.

                     The  -T option tests the values of the style like -t, but
                     it returns status zero (rather than 2) if  the  style  is
                     not defined for any matching pattern.

              zstyle -m context style pattern
                     Match a value. Returns status zero if the pattern matches
                     at least one of the strings in the value.

       zformat -f param format specs ...
       zformat -a array sep specs ...
              This builtin provides two different  forms  of  formatting.  The
              first form is selected with the -f option. In this case the for-
              mat string will be modified by replacing sequences starting with
              a  percent  sign  in  it with strings from the specs.  Each spec
              should be of the  form  `char:string'  which  will  cause  every
              appearance  of  the sequence `%char' in format to be replaced by
              the string.  The `%' sequence may also contain optional  minimum
              and  maximum  field width specifications between the `%' and the
              `char' in the form `%min.maxc', i.e. the minimum field width  is
              given first and if the maximum field width is used, it has to be
              preceded by a dot.  Specifying a minimum field width  makes  the
              result  be  padded  with  spaces  to  the right if the string is
              shorter than the requested width.  Padding to the  left  can  be
              achieved by giving a negative minimum field width.  If a maximum
              field width is specified, the string  will  be  truncated  after
              that  many  characters.   After  all `%' sequences for the given
              specs have been processed, the resulting string is stored in the
              parameter param.

              The  %-escapes  also  understand ternary expressions in the form
              used by prompts.  The % is followed by a `(' and then  an  ordi-
              nary  format  specifier character as described above.  There may
              be a set of digits either before or after the `('; these specify
              a  test  number,  which  defaults to zero.  Negative numbers are
              also allowed.  An arbitrary delimiter character follows the for-
              mat  specifier, which is followed by a piece of `true' text, the
              delimiter character again, a piece of `false' text, and a  clos-
              ing  parenthesis.   The complete expression (without the digits)
              thus looks like `%(X.text1.text2)', except that the `.'  charac-
              ter  is  arbitrary.  The value given for the format specifier in
              the char:string  expressions  is  evaluated  as  a  mathematical
              expression,  and compared with the test number.  If they are the
              same, text1 is output, else text2 is output.  A parenthesis  may
              be escaped in text2 as %).  Either of text1 or text2 may contain
              nested %-escapes.

              For example:

                     zformat -f REPLY "The answer is '%3(c.yes.no)'." c:3

              outputs "The answer is 'yes'." to REPLY since the value for  the
              format specifier c is 3, agreeing with the digit argument to the
              ternary expression.

              The second form, using the -a option, can be used  for  aligning
              strings.   Here,  the  specs  are of the form `left:right' where
              `left' and `right' are arbitrary  strings.   These  strings  are
              modified  by  replacing the colons by the sep string and padding
              the left strings with spaces  to  the  right  so  that  the  sep
              strings  in  the result (and hence the right strings after them)
              are all aligned if the strings are  printed  below  each  other.
              All  strings  without a colon are left unchanged and all strings
              with an empty right string have the trailing colon removed.   In
              both  cases the lengths of the strings are not used to determine
              how the other strings are to be aligned.  The resulting  strings
              are stored in the array.

       zregexparse
              This implements some internals of the _regex_arguments function.

       zparseopts [ -D ] [ -K ] [ -E ] [ -a array ] [ -A assoc ] specs
              This builtin simplifies the parsing  of  options  in  positional
              parameters,  i.e.  the  set of arguments given by $*.  Each spec
              describes one option and must be of the form `opt[=array]'.   If
              an option described by opt is found in the positional parameters
              it is copied into the array specified with the -a option; if the
              optional  `=array'  is  given,  it  is  instead copied into that
              array.

              Note that it is an error to give any spec  without  an  `=array'
              unless one of the -a or -A options is used.

              Unless the -E option is given, parsing stops at the first string
              that isn't described by one of the specs.  Even with -E, parsing
              always stops at a positional parameter equal to `-' or `--'.

              The  opt  description  must be one of the following.  Any of the
              special characters can appear in the option name provided it  is
              preceded by a backslash.

              name
              name+  The  name  is  the name of the option without the leading
                     `-'.  To specify a GNU-style  long  option,  one  of  the
                     usual two leading `-' must be included in name; for exam-
                     ple, a `--file'  option  is  represented  by  a  name  of
                     `-file'.

                     If  a  `+'  appears after name, the option is appended to
                     array each time it is found in the positional parameters;
                     without the `+' only the last occurrence of the option is
                     preserved.

                     If one of these forms is used, the option takes no  argu-
                     ment,  so  parsing stops if the next positional parameter
                     does not also begin with `-' (unless  the  -E  option  is
                     used).

              name:
              name:-
              name:: If one or two colons are given, the option takes an argu-
                     ment; with one colon, the argument is mandatory and  with
                     two  colons  it is optional.  The argument is appended to
                     the array after the option itself.

                     An optional argument is put into the same  array  element
                     as the option name (note that this makes empty strings as
                     arguments indistinguishable).  A  mandatory  argument  is
                     added as a separate element unless the `:-' form is used,
                     in which case the argument is put into the same  element.

                     A  `+' as described above may appear between the name and
                     the first colon.

       The options of zparseopts itself are:

       -a array
              As described above, this names the default  array  in  which  to
              store the recognised options.

       -A assoc
              If this is given, the options and their values are also put into
              an associative array with the option names as keys and the argu-
              ments (if any) as the values.

       -D     If  this option is given, all options found are removed from the
              positional parameters of the calling shell or shell function, up
              to  but  not  including any not described by the specs.  This is
              similar to using the shift builtin.

       -K     With this option, the  arrays  specified  with  the  -a  and  -A
              options and with the `=array' forms are kept unchanged when none
              of the specs for  them  is  used.   This  allows  assignment  of
              default values to them before calling zparseopts.

       -E     This  changes  the parsing rules to not stop at the first string
              that isn't described by one of the specs.  It  can  be  used  to
              test for or (if used together with -D) extract options and their
              arguments, ignoring all other options and arguments that may  be
              in the positional parameters.

       For example,

              set -- -a -bx -c y -cz baz -cend
              zparseopts a=foo b:=bar c+:=bar

       will have the effect of

              foo=(-a)
              bar=(-b x -c y -c z)

       The arguments from `baz' on will not be used.

       As an example for the -E option, consider:

              set -- -a x -b y -c z arg1 arg2
              zparseopts -E -D b:=bar

       will have the effect of

              bar=(-b y)
              set -- -a x -c z arg1 arg2

       I.e.,  the  option  -b  and its arguments are taken from the positional
       parameters and put into the array bar.

zsh 4.3.4                       April 19, 2006                   ZSHMODULES(1)

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