lif(4)                                                               lif(4)




 NAME    [Toc]    [Back]
      lif - logical interchange format description

 DESCRIPTION    [Toc]    [Back]
      LIF (Logical Interchange Format) is a Hewlett-Packard standard massstorage
 format that can be used for interchange of files among various
      HP computer systems.  A LIF volume contains a header (identifying it
      as a LIF volume) and a directory that defines the contents (i.e.
      files) of the volume.  The size of the directory is fixed when the
      volume is initialized (see lifinit(1)) and sets an upper bound on the
      number of files that can be created on the volume.

      HP-UX contains a set of utilities (referred to as lif*(1)) that can be
      used to:

           +  Initialize a LIF volume (i.e. create a header and an empty
              directory),
           +  Copy files to and from LIF volumes,
           +  List the contents of LIF volumes,
           +  Remove LIF files,
           +  Rename LIF files.

      The lif*(1) utilities are the only utilities within HP-UX where the
      internal structure of a LIF volume is known.  To the rest of HP-UX, a
      LIF volume is simply a file containing some unspecified data.  The
      term LIF volume should in no way be confused with the HP-UX notion of
      a file system volume or mountable volume.

      LIF utilities on HP-UX currently support three file types, ASCII (1),
      BINARY (-2) and BIN (-23951).

      Three copying modes are associated with these file types:

           ASCII     If the copying mode is ASCII and an HP-UX file is being
                     copied to a LIF volume, the utility strips the trailing
                     LF (line-feed) character, and inserts two bytes of
                     record length in front of each record.  These records
                     are then written to a LIF-formatted medium.  When
                     copying a LIF ASCII file to HP-UX the two-byte record
                     length is stripped and a trailing LF is appended.
                     These records are then written to the destination.  In
                     this mode of copying, the length of the file is
                     preserved.  The default file type for this mode of
                     copying is ASCII (1).

           BINARY    If the copying mode is BINARY, and an HP-UX file is
                     being copied to a LIF volume, the utility simply
                     inserts two bytes for record length in front of each
                     1-Kbyte record.  A trailing fractional block has a
                     count reflecting the number of bytes in that block.  No
                     interpretation is placed on the content of the records.



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






 lif(4)                                                               lif(4)




                     These records are then written to a LIF-format medium.
                     When copying a LIF file to an HP-UX file in BINARY
                     copying mode, the record lengths are stripped and the
                     content of records is directly written to the
                     destination.  In this mode of copying, the length of
                     the binary file is preserved.  The default file type
                     for this mode of copying is BINARY (-2).

           RAW       If the copying mode is RAW, and an HP-UX file is being
                     copied to a LIF volume, the utility simply copies the
                     raw data to the destination.  File sizes that are not
                     integer multiples of 256 bytes are padded with nulls to
                     the next higher multiple.  Therefore, file sizes are
                     not preserved.  When copying a LIF file to an HP-UX
                     file in RAW mode, the information is copied directly
                     without any interpretation placed on the content of the
                     source.  The default file type for this mode of copying
                     is BIN (-23951).

      A LIF volume can be created on any HP-UX file (either regular disk
      file or device special file) that supports random access via lseek()
      (see lseek(2)).  Do not mount the special file before using lif*(1)
      utilities.  See lifinit(1) for details.  Within a LIF volume,
      individual files are identified by 1- to 10-character file names.
      File names can consist of uppercase alphanumeric characters (A through
      Z, 0 through 9) and the underscore character (_).  The first character
      of a LIF file name must be a letter (A through Z).  The lif*(1)
      utilities accept any file name (including illegal file names generated
      on other systems), but can only create legal names.  This means that
      files whose names contain lowercase letters can be read but not
      created.

      LIF file names are specified to the lif*(1) utilities by concatenating
      the HP-UX path name for the LIF volume followed by the LIF file name,
      separating the two with a colon (:).  For example:

           /dev/fd.0:ABC         specifies LIF file ABC accessed via HP-UX
                                 device special file /dev/fd.0.
           myfile:ABC            specifies LIF file ABC within HP-UX disk
                                 file myfile.

      Note that this file-naming convention is applicable only for use as
      arguments to the lif*(1) utilities, and does not constitute valid path
      naming for any other use within the HP-UX operating system.

      Do not mount the special file while using lif*(1) utilities.

 SEE ALSO    [Toc]    [Back]
      lifcp(1), lifinit(1), lifls(1), lifrename(1), lifrm(1).


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