Go to main content
8/17

# 4 obtool Variables

Oracle Secure Backup maintains several internal variables that control various aspects of its operation. These variables are described in this appendix. The variable list is also available through online help with the following command:

    obtool help var

This chapter describes the following variables:

- drive

- errors

- escape

- host

- level

- library

- maxlevel

- namewidth

- numberformat

- verbose

- viewmode

- width

## browsemode

Controls the mode in which the browser is operating.

Values

catalog

  Displays exact directory contents for selected backups.

snapshot

  Displays live file-system snapshots on hosts accessed through Network Data Management Protocol (NDMP).

## drive

Use the `drive` variable to specify a default tape drive for tape library operations.

Oracle Secure Backup uses the value of this variable if no `--drive` `drive-name` option is provided to tape library commands that require a tape drive specification.

Values

drivename

  Specifies the name of a tape drive. Note that setting this variable also sets the library variable to the name of the tape library that contains the specified tape drive. By default this variable is not set.

## errors

Use the `errors` variable to set the level of detail for error messages. If the variable is not set (default), then the level of detail is set by the `--longerrors`/`-E` command-line option in `obtool`. "obtool Syntax for Interactive Mode" describes the command-line option.

Values

long

  Includes descriptive text and the obtool component name.

short

  Includes only descriptive text.

## escape

Use the `escape` variable to specify the character to use for quoting special characters. The escape character is used by the obtool command-line parser to quote special characters such as single or double quotation marks. Quoting these characters disables their meaning.

Values

char

  Specifies an escape character. The default escape character is an ampersand (`&`).

  Note that if the escape character is set to an ampersand (`&`), and if you specify `&` as part of a file name when running obtool commands on the command line, then enclose the file name within single quotes. For example:

      obtool cd -h phred '/home/markb&patti'

  Because the ampersand character is within single quotes, it is not interpreted and is considered part of the file name.

## fs

Use the `fs` variable to set the default `filesystem-name` for browser operations.

The value of this variable is used if no `--fs` `filesystem-name` option is provided to browser commands that accept it.

## host

Use the `host` variable to specify a default host for host operations.

The value of this variable is used if no `--host` `hostname` option is provided to browser commands that accept it.

Values

hostname

  Specifies a host name. The default value is the name of the host on which obtool is running.

## level

Use the `level` variable to specify an exact backup level to which the browser is constrained. You can also specify the level with the `--level` option of the lsbu command.

Values

backup-level

  Specifies a backup level. Refer to "backup-level" for a description of the `backup-level` placeholder. By default this variable is not set.

## library

Use the `library` variable to specify a a default tape library for tape library operations.

Oracle Secure Backup uses the value of this variable is used if no `--library` `library_name` option is provided to library commands that require a tape library specification. If this variable is reset with the unset `var` command, then the drive variable is also reset.

Values

libraryname

  Specifies the name of a tape library. By default this variable is not set.

## maxlevel

Use the `maxlevel` variable to set the maximum backup level to which the browser is constrained. You can also specify the level with the `--maxlevel` option of the lsbu command.

Values

backup-level

  Specifies a maximum backup level. Refer to "backup-level" for a description of the `backup-level` placeholder. By default this variable is not set.

## namewidth

Use the `namewidth` variable to set the nominal width in characters for the ls `--long` output. This width controls the column alignment of the backup ID data that appears in parentheses following each name, as shown in the following example:

    ob> ls --long
    -rwx------ bkpadmin.g527       74      2008/05/24.12:55 file1     (1)

Values

namewidth

  Specifies the width of the name field as a decimal value. The default value is `18`. The legal range is `1` to `4092`.

## numberformat

Use the `numberformat` variable to set the display format for certain large numbers. You can also control this setting with the `--numberformat` option of the ls command.

Values

numberformat

  Sets the display of large numbers. Refer to "numberformat" for a description of the `numberformat` placeholder. By default the `numberformat` variable is unset, which is equivalent to setting it to `friendly`.

## snapshot

The value of this variable is used if no `--snapshot` `snapshot-name` option is provided to browser commands that accept it.

## verbose

Use the `verbose` variable to set the level of obtool output. If this variable is not set (default), then verbose mode is controlled by the `--verbose/-v` command-line option in obtool. "obtool Syntax for Interactive Mode" describes the command-line option.

Values

yes

  Displays verbose output.

no

  Suppresses verbose output.

## viewmode

Use the `viewmode` variable to set the display mode for Oracle Secure Backup catalog directories. Unsetting this variable is equivalent to setting it to `inclusive`.

You can also control the display mode with the `--viewmode` option of the ls command.

Values

exact

  Displays exact directory contents for selected backups.

inclusive

  Displays all directory contents (default).

## width

Use the `width` variable to set the line width in characters for adjustable-width output. The number of characters displayed on each line by commands such as ls is adjustable. The `width` variable controls, to the degree possible, such line widths. Note that obtool exceeds this line width to accommodate long names.

Values

width

  Specifies the width of the name field as a decimal value. The default value is `80`. The legal range is `80` to `4176`.