Typographic conventions

This document uses the following typographical conventions:

Example

Uses

Book title

The title of a book. On the web, this can be a hyperlink to the book itself.

Command

A command name or command phrase, for example ls -a.

Computer output

Information displayed by the computer.

Ctrl+x or Ctrl-x

A key sequence that indicates you must hold down the keyboard key labeled Ctrl while you press the letter x.

ENVIRONMENT VARIABLE

The name of an environment variable, for example, PATH.

Key

The name of a keyboard key. Return and Enter both refer to the same key.

Term

A term or phrase that is defined in the body text of the document, not in a glossary.

User input

Indicates commands and text that you type exactly as shown.

Replaceable

The name of a placeholder that you replace with an actual value.

%, $, or #

A percent sign represents the C shell system prompt. A dollar sign represents the system prompt for the Bourne, Korn, and POSIX shells and for the OpenVMS operating system. A number sign represents the superuser prompt.

[ ]

Optional content in syntax.

{ }

Required content in syntax.

|

Character that separates items in a list of choices.

…

Indication that the preceding element can be repeated one or more times.

.

.

.

Indication that the example continues.

WARNING

An alert that calls attention to important information that if not understood or followed can result in personal injury.

CAUTION

An alert that calls attention to important information that if not understood or followed can result in data loss, data corruption, or damage to hardware or software.

IMPORTANT

An alert that calls attention to essential information.

NOTE

An alert that contains additional or supplementary information.

TIP

An alert that provides helpful information.

Typographic conventions