NAME

       nns - Name service facility, Commandline Client Application

SYNOPSIS

       nns bind ?-host host? ?-port port? name data

       nns search ?-host host? ?-port port? ?-continuous? ?pattern?

       nns ident ?-host host? ?-port port?

       nns who

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DESCRIPTION

       Please read Name service facility, introduction first.

       The  application  described by this document, nns, is a simple command line client for the
       nano name service facility provided by the Tcllib packages nameserv, and nameserv::server.
       Beyond  that  the  application's sources also serve as an example of how to use the client
       package  nameserv.  All  abilities  of  a  client  are  covered,  from  configuration   to
       registration of names to searching.

       This  name  service  facility  has  nothing  to do with the Internet's Domain Name System,
       otherwise known as DNS. If the reader is looking for a package dealing  with  that  please
       see either of the packages dns and resolv, both found in Tcllib too.

   USE CASES
       nns was written with the following two main use cases in mind.

       [1]    Registration of a name/data pair in the name service.

       [2]    Searching the name service for entries matching a glob pattern.

       Beyond the above we also want to be able to identify the client, and get information about
       the name service.

   COMMAND LINE
       nns bind ?-host host? ?-port port? name data
              This form registers the name/data pair in the specified name service. In this  form
              the  command  will not exit to keep the registration alive. The user has to kill it
              explicitly, either by sending a signal, or through the  job-control  facilities  of
              the shell in use. It will especially survive the loss of the connection to the name
              service and reestablish the name/data pair when the connection is restored.

              The options to specify the  name  service  will  be  explained  later,  in  section
              OPTIONS.

       nns search ?-host host? ?-port port? ?-continuous? ?pattern?
              This form searches the specified name service for entries matching the glob-pattern
              and prints them to stdout, with each entry on  its  own  line.  If  no  pattern  is
              specified it defaults to *, matching everything.

              The  options  to  specify  the  name  service  will  be explained later, in section
              OPTIONS.

              If the option -continuous is specified the client will not  exit  after  performing
              the search, but start to continuously monitor the service for changes to the set of
              matching entries, appropriately updating the display as  changes  arrive.  In  that
              form it will especially also survive the loss of the connection to the name service
              and reestablish the search when the connection is restored.

       nns ident ?-host host? ?-port port?
              This form asks the specified name service for the version and features of the  name
              service protocol it supports and prints the results to stdout.

              The  options  to  specify  the  name  service  will  be explained later, in section
              OPTIONS.

       nns who
              This form prints name, version, and protocol version of the application to stdout.

   OPTIONS
       This section describes all the options available to the user of the application

       -host name|ipaddress
              If this option is not specified it defaults to localhost. It specifies the name  or
              ip-address of the host the name service to talk to is running on.

       -port number
              If this option is not specified it defaults to 38573. It specifies the TCP port the
              name service to talk to is listening on for requests.

BUGS, IDEAS, FEEDBACK

       This document, and the application it describes, will undoubtedly contain bugs  and  other
       problems.   Please  report  such  in  the  category  nameserv  of  the  Tcllib SF Trackers
       [http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=12883].   Please  also  report  any  ideas   for
       enhancements you may have for either application and/or documentation.

SEE ALSO

       nameserv(3tcl), nameserv::common(3tcl)

KEYWORDS

       application, client, name service

CATEGORY

       Networking

COPYRIGHT

       Copyright (c) 2007-2008 Andreas Kupries <andreas_kupries@users.sourceforge.net>