WRITE(I) 8/5/73 WRITE(I)
NAME
write - write to another user
SYNOPSIS
write user [ ttyno ]
DESCRIPTION
Write copies lines from your typewriter to that of another
user. When first called, it sends the message
message from yourname...
The recipient of the message should write back at this
point. Communication continues until an end of file is read
from the typewriter or an interrupt is sent. At that point
write writes `EOT' on the other terminal and exits.
If you want to write to a user who is logged in more than
once, the ttyno argument may be used to indicate the last
character of the appropriate typewriter name.
Permission to write may be denied or granted by use of the
mesg command. At the outset writing is allowed. Certain
commands, in particular roff and pr, disallow messages in
order to prevent messy output.
If the character `!' is found at the beginning of a line,
write calls the shell to execute the rest of the line as a
command.
The following protocol is suggested for using write: when
you first write to another user, wait for him to write back
before starting to send. Each party should end each message
with a distinctive signal ( (o) for `over' is conventional)
that the other may reply. (oo) (for `over and out') is
suggested when conversation is about to be terminated.
FILES
/etc/utmp to find user
/bin/sh to execute `!'
SEE ALSO
mesg (I), who (I), mail (I)
BUGS