ro - Redirect comb's output to a file, pipe, or string variable		RWW & MWP

EXAMPLES:

ro t:;pd dt:
		Redirect the output of pd to the default or current output
		file.  The file defaults to $HOME/comb.out.  The file will be
		closed (if previously used), truncated to zero length,
		and reopened before writing to it.  The redirection
		will be canceled at the end of the line if it is typed
		at the tty.  The output file is left open, however,
		between calls to 'ro' for efficiency.

ro "temp";...;gf,8,12;....;ro q:
		Put the output of the commands between the ro and the ro q: at
		the end of the file temp in the current directory.  This line
		could safely be put in a macro as it turns the redirection off.

ro p:"grep hlb";cm ?? 
  	 	Run the output of the commands following ro through a
		pipeline. (grep for "hlb" in the cm input tree).

ro p:;pd dt:	Run the output of pd through the default pipeline (${PAGER}-more).

ro str:"$1";pd sc:  Copy the header of the current scan global string 1.

dv s:"ScanHdr";ro str:"ScanHdr";pd sc:  Copy the header of the current scan to a 
					variable called "ScanHdr"

ro str:".ScanHdr";pd sc:  Same as above.


DESCRIPTION:

'ro' redirects comb's standard output.  The default output file is the
file comb.out in your home directory.  If you give a file name in either
command, that file will be used until another name is given.  The stdout
will be returned to the tty before reading more input commands.

'ro p:'  Feeds comb's standard output through a pipeline.  The default pipe
is to more (or your designated pager).  The pipeline will be set up by /bin/sh.

'ro str:' redirects comb's output to a string variable. Any legal string
variable can be used, although if you use a pre-defined header variable the
output will be truncated at the length of that variable. The 't:' flag has
no effect on 'ro str:' --- multiple redirects to the same string variable will
overwrite the string rather than append to it. The size of the output
string can be any length, but 'p' can only handle 8192 character and 'pr' 
only 512 characters.

'ro q:' returns comb's standard output to the same terminal or file it went to
when comb was started.  This is not normally necessary as it is reset
at the end of each command line.

'ro t:' truncates the file before writing in it by closing it if it is already
open and then reopening with zero length for writing.

NOTE: 'ro' does not nest with 'ro q:'.  'ro' can be used repeatedly
without using the 'q:' option.  The 'q:' option always returns the stdout
to its original state.

Many of comb's diagnostics and prompts are written to the stderr and
won't go into the file.

'ro' doesn't close the output file every time the output stops flowing
to it.  It only closes the file when given the 't:' option or when a
new file name is given.  This might be confusing if you rm or edit
the output file with some other Unix process.  In particular if you
use comb to write in a file, then use the file in another window and
remove it, and then go back to the same comb process and write to the
same file, you will be writing to a file which has no directory entry
unless you use the 't:' option of 'ro'.

This document was last updated on Tue Oct 17 16:24:05 EDT 2000 by Marc W. Pound.