NAME
rstart - a sample implementation of a Remote Start client

SYNOPSIS
rstart [-c context] [-g] [-l username] [-v] hostname command
args ...

DESCRIPTION
Rstart is a simple implementation of a Remote Start client
as defined in "A Flexible Remote Execution Protocol Based on
rsh". It uses rsh as its underlying remote execution
mechanism.

OPTIONS
-c context
This option specifies the context in which the com-
mand is to be run. A context specifies a general
environment the program is to be run in. The
details of this environment are host-specific; the
intent is that the client need not know how the
environment must be configured. If omitted, the
context defaults to X. This should be suitable for
running X programs from the host’s "usual" X instal-
lation.

-g Interprets command as a generic command, as dis-
cussed in the protocol document. This is intended
to allow common applications to be invoked without
knowing what they are called on the remote system.
Currently, the only generic commands defined are
Terminal, LoadMonitor, ListContexts, and ListGener-
icCommands.

-l username
This option is passed to the underlying rsh; it
requests that the command be run as the specified
user.

-v This option requests that rstart be verbose in its
operation. Without this option, rstart discards
output from the remote’s rstart helper, and directs
the rstart helper to detach the program from the rsh
connection used to start it. With this option,
responses from the helper are displayed and the
resulting program is not detached from the connec-
tion.

NOTES
This is a trivial implementation. Far more sophisticated
implementations are possible and should be developed.

Error handling is nonexistant. Without -v, error reports
from the remote are discarded silently. With -v, error
reports are displayed.

The $DISPLAY environment variable is passed. If it starts
with a colon, the local hostname is prepended. The local
domain name should be appended to unqualified host names,
but isn’t.

The $SESSION_MANAGER environment variable should be passed,
but isn’t.

X11 authority information is passed for the current display.

ICE authority information should be passed, but isn’t. It
isn’t completely clear how rstart should select what ICE
authority information to pass.

Even without -v, the sample rstart helper will leave a shell
waiting for the program to complete. This causes no real
harm and consumes relatively few resources, but if it is
undesirable it can be avoided by explicitly specifying the
"exec" command to the shell, eg

rstart somehost exec xterm

This is obviously dependent on the command interpreter being
used on the remote system; the example given will work for
the Bourne and C shells.

SEE ALSO
rstartd(1), rsh(1), A Flexible Remote Execution Protocol
Based on rsh

AUTHOR
Jordan Brown, Quarterdeck Office Systems