line.1 (2010 09)

l
line(1) line(1)
NAME
line - read one line from user input
SYNOPSIS
line [-t timeout ]
DESCRIPTION
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
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
International Code Set Support
Single- and multi-byte character code sets are supported.
EXAMPLES
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 pro-
vided.
WARNINGS
This command is likely to be withdrawn from X/Open standards.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
sh(1), read(2).
STANDARDS CONFORMANCE
line: SVID2, SVID3, XPG2, XPG3
HP-UX 11i Version 3: September 2010 − 1 − Hewlett-Packard Company 1