02/04/81  Commands, Active Functions, Subroutines

The help system provides individual info segments for each command,
active function, and subroutine in the Multics system.  These info
segments are given the name of the particular system module (command,
active function, or subroutine) with a suffix of "info".  The
resulting name is called an info_name.  For example, the info segment
describing the print command is named "print.info".  But you need not
type this suffix when using the help command; you can simply type

help print


Module Info_names:
If you are unsure of the name of a system module, you can get a list
of possible names by using the list_help command with a word that
describes what you are looking for.  For example, if you want to know
how to use the mail facility, you might type

list_help mail                
 
For more information about the list_help command, type

help list_help                


Subroutine entry points:
You can go directly to the description of a particular entry point in
a subroutine by typing the name of the entry point with the help
command.  For example, by typing

help cu_$get_command_processor

you automatically bypass the 18 cu_ entry points described in
alphabetical order before this one.  If, on the other hand, you want
to start printing at the beginning of the info seg for the command
utility subroutine, you type

help cu_ 

 


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Historical Background

This edition of the Multics software materials and documentation is provided and donated
to Massachusetts Institute of Technology by Group BULL including BULL HN Information Systems Inc. 
as a contribution to computer science knowledge.  
This donation is made also to give evidence of the common contributions of Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
Bell Laboratories, General Electric, Honeywell Information Systems Inc., Honeywell BULL Inc., Groupe BULL
and BULL HN Information Systems Inc. to the development of this operating system. 
Multics development was initiated by Massachusetts Institute of Technology Project MAC (1963-1970),
renamed the MIT Laboratory for Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence in the mid 1970s, under the leadership
of Professor Fernando Jose Corbato. Users consider that Multics provided the best software architecture 
for managing computer hardware properly and for executing programs. Many subsequent operating systems 
incorporated Multics principles.
Multics was distributed in 1975 to 2000 by Group Bull in Europe , and in the U.S. by Bull HN Information Systems Inc., 
as successor in interest by change in name only to Honeywell Bull Inc. and Honeywell Information Systems Inc. .

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Permission to use, copy, modify, and distribute these programs and their documentation for any purpose and without
fee is hereby granted,provided that the below copyright notice and historical background appear in all copies
and that both the copyright notice and historical background and this permission notice appear in supporting
documentation, and that the names of MIT, HIS, BULL or BULL HN not be used in advertising or publicity pertaining
to distribution of the programs without specific prior written permission.
    Copyright 1972 by Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Honeywell Information Systems Inc.
    Copyright 2006 by BULL HN Information Systems Inc.
    Copyright 2006 by Bull SAS
    All Rights Reserved