Ubuntu Manpage: dico - GNU dictionary client program

NAME

       dico - GNU dictionary client program

SYNOPSIS

       dico [-DHISamqtv] [-c STRING] [-d NAME] [-i DBNAME] [-k STRING] [-p SERVICE] [-s NAME] [-u NAME]
       [--autologin=NAME] [--client=STRING] [--database=NAME] [--dbs] [--help] [--host=SERVER] [--info=DBNAME]
       [--key=STRING] [--levdist=N] [--levenshtein-distance=N] [--match] [--noauth] [--nosasl]
       [--password=STRING] [--port=SERVICE] [--quiet] [--sasl] [--serverhelp] [--serverinfo] [--source-info]
       [--source=ADDR] [--strategies] [--strategy=NAME] [--time-stamp] [--transcript] [--user=NAME] [--verbose]
       [URL-or-WORD]

       dico -h

       dico --help

       dico --usage

       dico --version

NOTE

       This manpage is a short description of GNU dico.  For a detailed discussion, including examples and usage
       recommendations,  refer  to  the GNU Dico Manual available in texinfo format.  If the info reader and GNU
       Dico documentation are properly installed on your system, the command

           info dico

       should give you access to the complete manual.

       You can also view the manual using the info mode in emacs(1), or find it in various formats online at

           http://www.gnu.org.ua/software/dico/manual

       If any discrepancies occur between this manpage and the GNU Dico Manual, the later  shall  be  considered
       the authoritative source.

DESCRIPTION

       Console-based utility for querying dictionary servers.  It has two operation modes.

       In single query mode, dico performs a query, displays its result and exits immediately.  This mode is en‐
       abled if a word or a URL was given in the command line.

       In interactive mode, dico enters a read-and-eval loop, in which it reads requests from the keyboard, per‐
       forms the necessary searches, and displays obtained results on the screen.

       Upon  startup,  dico looks for initialization files named .dico in the current user's home directory, and
       the current working directory.  If found, these files are read in order, and their contents is treated as
       a sequence of commands, which are executed.  See the section COMMANDS, for a discussion of available com‐
       mands.

OPTIONS

   Server Selection
       -d, --database=NAME]fR
              Select database to search.

       --host=SERVER
              Connect to this server.

       -p, --port=SERVICE
              Specify port to connect to.

       --source=ADDR
              Set source address for TCP connections.

   Operation Modes
       -D, --dbs
              Show available databases.

       -H, --serverhelp
              Show server help.

       -I, --serverinfo
              Show information about the server.

       -S, --strategies
              Show available search strategies.

       -i, --info=DBNAME
              Show information about database DBNAME.

       --levdist, --levenshtein-distance=N
              Set maximum Levenshtein distance to N.

       -m, --match
              Match instead of define.

       -q, --quiet
              Do not print the normal dico welcome banner.

       -s, --strategy=NAME
              Select a strategy for matching.  Implies --match.

   Authentication
       -a, --noauth
              Disable authentication.

       --autologin=NAME
              Set the name of autologin file to use.

       -c, --client=STRING
              Additional text for client command.

       -k, --key, --password=STRING
              Set shared secret for authentication.

       --nosasl
              Disable SASL authentication.

       --sasl Enable SASL authentication (default).

       -u, --user=NAME
              Set user name for authentication.

   Debugging
       --source-info
              Include source line information in the debugging output.

       -t, --transcript
              Enable session transcript.

       --time-stamp
              Include time stamp in the debugging output.

       -v, --verbose
              Increase debugging verbosity level.

   Other Options
       -V, --version
              Print program version.

       -h, --help
              Print a short summary of command line options.

       --usage
              Display a short usage message.

COMMANDS

In interactive mode dico reads commands from the standard input, executes them and displays results on
the standard output. If the standard input is connected to a terminal, the readline and history facili‐
ties are enabled.

The input syntax is designed so as to save you the maximum amount of typing.

A line beginning with a # sign introduces a comment and is ignored.

Typing quiestion mark alone shows a short usage summary.

All commands begin with a command prefix, a single punctuation character used to tell a command from a
define or match request. The default command prefix is a dot.

Any input starting with a slash is a match request. For example,

/sail

will display all headwords matching the word sail in the currently selected database.

Any input not starting with / or command prefix is a definition request. It is looked up using the de‐
faault server and database settings, and the result is displayed on the screen.

Dico initialization files have the same syntax, excepting that no command prefix is used by default.

Available commands (without prefix) are summarized in the table below:

autologin FILE
Use FILE for authentication. If FILE begins with ~/, this prefix is replaced with the name of the
current user home directory, followed by /. The prefix ~USER/ is replaced with the home directory
of USER. This command is mostly useful in the initialization file.

See the section AUTOLOGIN FILE, for a discussion of this feature.

close Close the existing connection.

database [NAME]
Without argument, display the currently selected database. With argument, select the database
NAME.

distance [N]
If the remote server supports xlev experimental capability, this command shows the maximum Leven‐
shtein distance. With argument, it sets the distance.

help Displays short command usage summary. For convenience, a single question mark can be used instead
of this command.

history
Show command history.

info [NAME]
Display information about the database NAME, or the currently selected database, if used without
arguments.

ld List databases.

ls List strategies.

open HOST [PORT]
Establish connection with remote server HOST. If given, use PORT instead of the default 2628.

pager [COMMAND]
Sets or displays external command used for paging output.

prefix [CHAR]
Without argument, shows the currently selected command prefix. With argument, sets command prefix
to the given value.

prompt STRING
Sets dico command line prompt.

quiet yes|no
Toggle the startup banner. Useful in the initialization file.

quit Quit the dico shell.

sasl [yes|no]
Without argument, show whether the SASL authentication is enabled. With argument, enable or dis‐
able it.

strategy [NAME]
Without argument, display the currently selected matching strateguy. With argument, select the
strategy NAME.

transcript [yes|no]
Enable or disable session transcript. When the transcript is on, dico displays raw DICT commands
and answers as they are executed. It is useful for debugging purposes.

Used without arguments, this command shows current state of the transcript.

version
Print program version.

warranty
Print the copyright statement.

AUTOLOGIN FILE

After connecting to a remote server, dico checks if the server supports authentication and attempts to
authenticate itself if so. The authentication credentials are taken from the following sources:

1. Command line options --user and --password.

2. URL given as a command line argument.

3. Autologin files.

These three sources are consulted in that order, i.e., a user name supplied with the --user command line
option takes precedence over the one found in an URL and over any names supplied by autologin files.

If, after consulting all these sources, the user name is established, while the password is not, the re‐
sulting action depends on whether the standard input is connected to a terminal. If it is, dico will ask
the user to supply a password. If it is not, authentication is aborted and connection to the server is
closed.

Some authentication mechanisms require additional credentials. For example, GSSAPI authentication re‐
quires a service name. These credentials can be supplied only in autologin file.

Autologin file is a plaintext file that contains authentication information for various DICT servers. At
most two autologin files are consulted: first the session-specific file, if it is supplied by autologin
command or by the --autologin command line option, next the default file .dicologin in the user's home
directory. The default autologin file is examined only if no matching record was found in the session-
specific one.

The file format is similar to that of .netrc.

Empty lines and comments are ignored. Comments are introduced by a pound sign. Non-empty lines consti‐
tute statements. Tokens in a statement are separated with spaces, tabs, or newlines. A valid statement
must begin with one of the following:

machine NAME
This statement contains parameters for authenticating on server NAME.

default
This statement contains parameters for authenticating on any server, not explicitly listed in one
of the machine statements. There can be at most one default statement in autologin file. Its ex‐
act location does not matter, it will always be matched after all explicit machine statements.

The following clauses can follow:

password STRING
Supplies the password for this server.

noauth Do not perform authentication on this server.

sasl Enable SASL authentication.

nosasl Disable SASL authentication.

mechanisms LIST
Declare acceptable SASL mechanisms. The LIST argument is a comma-separated list of mechanism
names, without intervening whitespace. Multiple mechanisms clauses may be present, in which case
the corresponding lists are concatenated.

service NAME
Declare service name, for authentication methods that need it. If this token is omitted, the de‐
fault service name dico is used.

realm NAME
Declare realm for authentication.

host NAME
Set host name for this server. By default, it is determined automatically.

AUTHORS

       Sergey Poznyakoff

BUG REPORTS

       Report bugs to <bug-dico@gnu.org.ua>.

COPYRIGHT

       Copyright © 2008-2014 Sergey Poznyakoff
       License GPLv3+: GNU GPL version 3 or later <http://gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html>
       This is free software: you are free to change and redistribute it.  There is NO WARRANTY, to  the  extent
       permitted by law.

GNU DICO                                         August 5, 2016                                          DICO(1)