rstart(1)

NAME

   rstart - a sample implementation of a Remote Start client

SYNOPSIS

   rstart [-c context] [-g] [-l username] [-v] hostname command args ...

DESCRIPTION

   Rstart  is  a simple implementation of a Remote Start client as defined
   in "A Flexible Remote Execution Protocol Based on rsh".  It uses rsh as
   its underlying remote execution mechanism.

OPTIONS

   -c context
           This option specifies the context in which the command is to be
           run.  A context specifies a general environment the program  is
           to  be  run  in.   The  details  of  this environment are host-
           specific; the intent is that the client need not know  how  the
           environment  must  be  configured.   If  omitted,  the  context
           defaults to X.  This should be suitable for running X  programs
           from the host's "usual" X installation.

   -g      Interprets  command  as  a generic command, as discussed in the
           protocol  document.   This  is   intended   to   allow   common
           applications to be invoked without knowing what they are called
           on the remote system.  Currently,  the  only  generic  commands
           defined    are   Terminal,   LoadMonitor,   ListContexts,   and
           ListGenericCommands.

   -l username
           This option is passed to the underlying rsh; it  requests  that
           the command be run as the specified user.

   -v      This  option  requests that rstart be verbose in its operation.
           Without this option, rstart discards output from  the  remote's
           rstart  helper,  and  directs  the  rstart helper to detach the
           program from the rsh connection used to start  it.   With  this
           option,  responses  from  the  helper  are  displayed  and  the
           resulting program is not detached from the connection.

NOTES

   This   is   a   trivial   implementation.    Far   more   sophisticated
   implementations are possible and should be developed.

   Error  handling  is  nonexistent.   Without  -v, error reports from the
   remote are discarded silently.  With -v, error reports are displayed.

   The $DISPLAY environment variable is  passed.   If  it  starts  with  a
   colon,  the  local hostname is prepended.  The local domain name should
   be appended to unqualified host names, but isn't.

   The $SESSION_MANAGER environment variable should be passed, but isn't.

   X11 authority information is passed for the current display.

   ICE authority information  should  be  passed,  but  isn't.   It  isn't
   completely   clear   how   rstart  should  select  what  ICE  authority
   information to pass.

   Even without -v, the sample rstart helper will leave  a  shell  waiting
   for  the  program  to  complete.  This causes no real harm and consumes
   relatively few resources, but if it is undesirable it can be avoided by
   explicitly specifying the "exec" command to the shell, eg
   rstart somehost exec xterm
   This  is  obviously  dependent on the command interpreter being used on
   the remote system; the example given will work for  the  Bourne  and  C
   shells.

SEE ALSO

   rstartd(1), rsh(1), A Flexible Remote Execution Protocol Based on rsh

AUTHOR

   Jordan Brown, Quarterdeck Office Systems

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