nistest(1)

NAME

     nistest - return the state of the  NIS+  namespace  using  a
     conditional expression

SYNOPSIS

     nistest [-ALMP] [-a rights | -t type]  object

     nistest [-ALMP] [-a rights] indexedname

     nistest -c dir1 op dir2

DESCRIPTION

     nistest provides a way for shell scripts and other  programs
     to  test  for  the  existence,  type,  and  access rights of
     objects and entries.  Entries are named using indexed names.
     See  nismatch(1). With the -c option, directory names can be
     compared to test where they lie in relation to each other in
     the namespace.

OPTIONS

     The following options are supported:

     -a rights
           This option is used to verify that the current process
           has  the   desired  or  required  access rights on the
           named object or entries. The access rights are  speci-
           fied in the same way as the nischmod(1) command.

     -A    All data. This option specifies that the  data  within
           the  table  and all of  the data in tables in the ini-
           tial table's  concatenation  path  be  returned.  This
           option  is only valid when using indexed names or fol-
           lowing links.

     -L    Follow links.  If the object named by  object  or  the
           tablename  component of indexedname names a  LINK type
           object,  the link is  followed  when  this  switch  is
           present.

     -M    Master server only. This  option  specifies  that  the
           lookup  should  be  sent  to  the master server of the
           named data. This guarantees that the most up  to  date
           information  is  seen at the possible expense that the
           master server may be busy.

     -P    Follow concatenation path. This option specifies  that
           the  lookup should  follow the concatenation path of a
           table if the  initial  search  is  unsuccessful.  This
           option  is only valid when using indexed names or fol-
           lowing links.

     -t type
           This option tests the type of  object.  The  value  of
           type can be one of the following:

           D     Return true if the object is a directory object.

           G     Return true if the object is a group object.

           L     Return true if the object is a link object.

           P     Return true if the object is a private object.

           T     Return true if the object is a table object.

     -c    Test whether or not two directory names have a certain
           relationship  to  each other, for example, higher than
           (ht) or lower than (lt).  The complete list of  values
           for op can be displayed by using the -c option with no
           arguments.

EXAMPLES

     Example 1: Using the nistest Command

     When testing for access rights,  nistest returns success (0)
     if  the  specified  rights  are granted to the current user.
     Thus, testing for access rights:

     example% nistest -a w=mr skippy.domain

     Tests that all authenticated  NIS+  clients  have  read  and
     modify access to the object named skippy.domain.

     Testing for access on a particular entry in a table  can  be
     accomplished  using  the  indexed name syntax. The following
     example tests to see if an entry in the password  table  can
     be modified:

     example% nistest -a o=m '[uid=99],passwd.org_dir'

     To test if a directory lies higher  in  the  namespace  than
     another  directory,  use  the  -c  option  with  an op of ht
     (higher than) as  in  the  following  example  (which  would
     return true):

     example% nistest -c dom.com. ht lower.dom.com.

ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES

     NIS_PATH
           If this variable is set, and  the  NIS+  name  is  not
           fully  qualified,  each  directory  specified  will be
           searched  until  the  object  is  found.  See   nisde-
           faults(1).

EXIT STATUS

     The following exit values are returned:

     0     Successful operation.

     1     Failure due to object not present,  not  of  specified
           type, and/or no such access.

     2     Failure due to illegal usage.

ATTRIBUTES

     See attributes(5) for descriptions of the  following  attri-
     butes:

     ____________________________________________________________
    |       ATTRIBUTE TYPE        |       ATTRIBUTE VALUE       |
    |_____________________________|_____________________________|
    | Availability                | SUNWnisu                    |
    |_____________________________|_____________________________|

SEE ALSO

     nis+(1), nischmod(1),  nisdefaults(1),  nismatch(1),  attri-
     butes(5)

NOTES

     NIS+ might not  be  supported  in  future  releases  of  the
     SolarisTM  Operating Environment. Tools to aid the migration
     from NIS+ to LDAP are available in the Solaris  9  operating
     environment.      For      more      information,      visit
     http://www.sun.com/directory/nisplus/transition.html.