3.1 arch Commands in General

Every command in arch is accessed via the program tla, using an ordinary sub-command syntax:

             % tla <sub-command> <options> <parameters>

A list of sub-commands can be obtained from:

             % tla help

A brief summary of the options to any command is given by:

             % tla <sub-command> -h

A more detailed help message for each command is given by:

             % tla <sub-command> -H

For example, try:

             % tla my-id -H
             print or change your id
             usage: tla my-id [options] [id]

               -h, --help     Display a help message and exit.
               -H             Display a verbose help message and exit.
               -V, --version  Display a release identifier string
                              and exit.
               -e, --errname  specify program name for errors
               -u, --uid      print only the UID portion of the ID

             With no argument print your arch id.

             With an argument, record ID-STRING as your id
             in ~/.arch-params/=id

             Your id is recorded in various archives and log messages
             as you use arch.  It must consist entirely of printable
             characters and fit on one line.  By convention, it should
             have the form of an email address, as in this example:

                     Jane Hacker <jane.hacker@gnu.org>

             The portion of an id string between < and > is called your
             uid.  arch sometimes uses your uid as a fragment when generating
             unique file names.

             The option -u (--uid) causes only the uid part of your id string
             to be printed.

There is a great deal of regularity among commands regarding option names and parameter syntax. Hopefully, you'll pick this up as you learn the various commands.