line(1)                                                             line(1)




 NAME    [Toc]    [Back]
      line - read one line from user input

 SYNOPSIS    [Toc]    [Back]
      line [-t timeout]

 DESCRIPTION    [Toc]    [Back]
      line copies one line (up to a new-line) from the standard input and
      writes it on the standard output.  It returns an exit code of 1 on EOF
      and always prints at least a new-line.  It is often used within shell
      files to read from the user's terminal.

    Options    [Toc]    [Back]
      line recognizes the following command-line option:

           -t timeout  Timeout after timeout seconds where timeout is an
                       integer value (if a non-integer value is specified,
                       it is converted to an integer; i.e., rounded down).
                       A blank is required between -t and the timeout
                       argument.  This option is not documented in POSIX and
                       other industry standards, and should not be used in
                       portable applications.

 EXTERNAL INFLUENCES    [Toc]    [Back]
    International Code Set Support
      Single- and multi-byte character code sets are supported.

 EXAMPLES    [Toc]    [Back]
      The following lines in a shell script prompt for a file name and
      display information about the file:

           echo 'Enter file name: \c'
           reply=`line`
           ls -l $reply

      To limit the response time to 10 seconds, use the form:

           reply=`line -t 10`

      then test for no response.  If no response occurs before timeout
      expires, a default behavior should be provided.

 WARNINGS    [Toc]    [Back]
      This command is likely to be withdrawn from X/Open standards.
      Applications using this command might not be portable to other
      vendors' systems. As an alternative read is recommended.

 SEE ALSO    [Toc]    [Back]
      sh(1), read(2).





 Hewlett-Packard Company            - 1 -   HP-UX 11i Version 2: August 2003






 line(1)                                                             line(1)




 STANDARDS CONFORMANCE    [Toc]    [Back]
      line: SVID2, SVID3, XPG2, XPG3


 Hewlett-Packard Company            - 2 -   HP-UX 11i Version 2: August 2003