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16 Preface About This Guide
Using This Guide
This guide describes commands that perform functions used to configure and manage
Mac OS X computers. Chapters in this guide describe sets of commands that work for
specific aspects of the operating system.
Use this guide to:
 Learn which commands are available for specific tasks
 Learn how the commands work, and how to execute them
 Review examples of command usage
Understanding Notation Conventions
The following conventions are used throughout this book.
Summary
Commands and Other Terminal Text
Commands or command parameters that you might enter, along with other text that
normally appears in a Terminal window, are shown in this font. For example:
You can use the doit command to get things done.
When a command is shown on a line by itself in this manual, it is preceded by a dollar
sign and a space that represent the shell prompt. For example:
$ doit
To use this command, enter it without the dollar sign and the space in a Terminal
window, and then press the Return key. (Terminal is found in /Applications/Utilities).
Command Parameters and Options
Most commands require one or more parameters to specify command options or the
item to which the command is applied.
Notation Indicates
monospaced font A command or other text typed in a Terminal window
$ A shell prompt
[text_in_brackets] An optional parameter
(one|other) Alternative parameters (enter one or the other)
italicized
A parameter you must replace with a value
[...] A parameter that may be repeated
<angle brackets> A displayed value that depends on your server configuration