path: root/lib/stdlib/doc/src/shell.xml

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<!DOCTYPE erlref SYSTEM "erlref.dtd">

<erlref>
  <header>
    <copyright>
      <year>1996</year><year>2023</year>
      <holder>Ericsson AB. All Rights Reserved.</holder>
    </copyright>
    <legalnotice>
      Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
      you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
      You may obtain a copy of the License at
 
          http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0

      Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
      distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
      WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
      See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
      limitations under the License.

    </legalnotice>

    <title>shell</title>
    <prepared>Bjorn Gustavsson</prepared>
    <responsible>Bjarne D&auml;cker</responsible>
    <docno>1</docno>
    <approved>Bjarne D&auml;cker</approved>
    <checked></checked>
    <date>1997-01-24</date>
    <rev>A</rev>
    <file>shell.xml</file>
  </header>
  <module since="">shell</module>
  <modulesummary>The Erlang shell.</modulesummary>
  <description>
    <p>This module provides an Erlang shell.</p>

    <p>The shell is a user interface program
      for entering expression sequences. The expressions are
      evaluated and a value is returned. The shell provides an Emacs like set of
      shortcuts for editing the text of the current line. See <seeguide marker="erts:tty">
      tty - A Command-Line Interface</seeguide> in the ERTS User's Guide
      for a list of all available shortcuts.</p>

    <p>A history mechanism saves previous commands and their
      values, which can then be incorporated in later commands.
      How many commands and results to save can be determined by the user,
      either interactively, by calling
      <seemfa marker="#history/1"><c>history/1</c></seemfa> and
      <seemfa marker="#results/1"><c>results/1</c></seemfa>,
      or by setting the application configuration
      parameters <seeapp marker="STDLIB_app#shell_history_length">
      <c>shell_history_length</c></seeapp> and
      <seeapp marker="STDLIB_app#shell_saved_results"><c>shell_saved_results</c></seeapp>
      for the STDLIB application. The shell history can be saved to disk by
      setting the application configuration parameter
      <seeapp marker="kernel:kernel_app#shell_history"><c>shell_history</c></seeapp>
      for the Kernel application.
    </p>

    <p>The shell uses a helper process for evaluating commands
      to protect the history mechanism from exceptions. By
      default the evaluator process is killed when an exception
      occurs, but by calling <seemfa marker="#catch_exception/1">
      <c>catch_exception/1</c></seemfa> or by
      setting the application configuration parameter
      <c>shell_catch_exception</c> for the STDLIB application
      this behavior can be changed. See also the example below.</p>

    <p>Variable bindings, and local process dictionary changes
      that are generated in user expressions are preserved, and the variables
      can be used in later commands to access their values. The
      bindings can also be forgotten so the variables can be reused.</p>

    <p>The special shell commands all have the syntax of (local)
      function calls. They are evaluated as
      normal function calls and many commands can be used in one
      expression sequence.</p>

    <p>If a command (local function call) is not recognized by the
      shell, an attempt is first made to find the function in
      module <c>user_default</c>, where customized local commands
      can be placed. If found, the function is evaluated,
      otherwise an attempt is made to evaluate the function in
      module <c>shell_default</c>. Module
      <c>user_default</c> must be explicitly loaded.</p>

    <p>The shell also permits the user to start multiple concurrent
      jobs. A job can be regarded as a set of processes that can
      communicate with the shell.</p>

    <p>There is some support for reading and printing records in
      the shell. During compilation record expressions are translated
      to tuple expressions. In runtime it is not known whether a tuple
      represents a record, and the record definitions
      used by the compiler are unavailable at runtime. So, to read the
      record syntax and print tuples as records when possible, record
      definitions must be maintained by the shell itself.</p>

    <p>The shell commands for reading, defining, forgetting, listing, and
      printing records are described below. Notice that each job has its
      own set of record definitions. To facilitate matters, record
      definitions in modules <c>shell_default</c> and
      <c>user_default</c> (if loaded) are read each time a new job is
      started. For example, adding the following line
      to <c>user_default</c> makes the definition of <c>file_info</c>
      readily available in the shell:</p>

    <code type="none">
-include_lib("kernel/include/file.hrl").</code>

    <p>The shell runs in two modes:</p>

    <list type="bulleted">
      <item>
        <p><c>Normal (possibly restricted)</c> mode, in which
          commands can be edited and expressions evaluated</p>
      </item>
      <item>
        <p>Job Control Mode, <c>JCL</c>, in which jobs can be
          started, killed, detached, and connected</p>
      </item>
    </list>

    <p>Only the currently connected job can 'talk' to the shell.</p>
  </description>

  <section>
    <title>Shell Commands</title>
    <p>The commands below are the built-in shell commands that are always
      available. In most system the commands listed in the <seeerl marker="c">c(3)</seeerl>
      module are also available in the shell.</p>
    <taglist>
      <tag><c>b()</c></tag>
      <item>
        <p>Prints the current variable bindings.</p>
      </item>
      <tag><c>f()</c></tag>
      <item>
        <p>Removes all variable bindings.</p>
      </item>
      <tag><c>f(X)</c></tag>
      <item>
        <p>Removes the binding of variable <c>X</c>.</p>
      </item>
      <tag><c>h()</c></tag>
      <item>
        <p>Prints the history list.</p>
      </item>
      <tag><c>history(N)</c></tag>
      <item>
        <p>Sets the number of previous commands to keep in the
          history list to <c>N</c>. The previous number is returned.
          Defaults to 20.</p>
      </item>
      <tag><c>results(N)</c></tag>
      <item>
        <p>Sets the number of results from previous commands to keep in
          the history list to <c>N</c>. The previous number is returned.
          Defaults to 20.</p>
      </item>
      <tag><c>e(N)</c></tag>
      <item>
        <p>Repeats command <c>N</c>, if <c>N</c> is positive. If
          it is negative, the <c>N</c>th previous command is repeated
          (that is, <c>e(-1)</c> repeats the previous command).</p>
      </item>
      <tag><c>v(N)</c></tag>
      <item>
        <p>Uses the return value of command <c>N</c> in the
          current command, if <c>N</c> is positive. If it is negative,
          the return value of the <c>N</c>th previous command is used
          (that is, <c>v(-1)</c> uses the value of the previous command).</p>
      </item>
      <tag><c>help()</c></tag>
      <item>
        <p>Evaluates <c>shell_default:help()</c>.</p>
      </item>
      <tag><c>h(Module, Function)</c></tag>
      <item>
        <p>Print the documentation for <c>Module:Function</c> in the shell
          if available.</p>
      </item>
      <tag><c>ht(Module, Type)</c></tag>
      <item>
        <p>Print the documentation for <c>Module:Type</c> in the shell
          if available.</p>
      </item>
      <tag><c>hcb(Module, Callback)</c></tag>
      <item>
        <p>Print the documentation for <c>Module:Callback</c> in the shell
          if available.</p>
      </item>
      <tag><c>c(Mod)</c></tag>
      <item>
        <p>Evaluates <c>shell_default:c(Mod)</c>. This compiles and
          loads the module <c>Mod</c> and purges old versions of the
          code, if necessary. <c>Mod</c> can be either a module name or a
          a source file path, with or without <c>.erl</c> extension.</p>
      </item>
      <tag><c>catch_exception(Bool)</c></tag>
      <item>
        <p>Sets the exception handling of the evaluator process. The
          previous exception handling is returned. The default
          (<c>false</c>) is to kill the evaluator process when an
          exception occurs, which causes the shell to create a new
          evaluator process. When the exception handling is set to
          <c>true</c>, the evaluator process lives on. This means,
          for example, that ports and ETS tables as well as processes
          linked to the evaluator process survive the exception.</p>
      </item>
      <tag><c>rd(RecordName, RecordDefinition)</c></tag>
      <item>
        <p>Defines a record in the shell. <c>RecordName</c> is
          an atom and <c>RecordDefinition</c> lists the field names
          and the default values. Usually record definitions are made
          known to the shell by use of the <c>rr/1,2,3</c> commands
          described below, but sometimes it is handy to define records
          on the fly.</p>
      </item>
      <tag><c>rf()</c></tag>
      <item>
        <p>Removes all record definitions, then reads record
          definitions from the modules <c>shell_default</c> and
          <c>user_default</c> (if loaded). Returns the names of the
          records defined.</p>
      </item>
      <tag><c>rf(RecordNames)</c></tag>
      <item>
        <p>Removes selected record definitions.
          <c>RecordNames</c> is a record name or a list of record names.
          To remove all record definitions, use <c>'_'</c>.</p>
      </item>
      <tag><c>rl()</c></tag>
      <item>
        <p>Prints all record definitions.</p>
      </item>
      <tag><c>rl(RecordNames)</c></tag>
      <item>
        <p>Prints selected record definitions.
          <c>RecordNames</c> is a record name or a list of record names.</p>
      </item>
      <tag><c>rp(Term)</c></tag>
      <item>
        <p>Prints a term using the record definitions known to the
          shell. All of <c>Term</c> is printed; the depth is not
          limited as is the case when a return value is printed.</p>
      </item>
      <tag><c>rr(Module)</c></tag>
      <item>
        <p>Reads record definitions from a module's BEAM file. If
          there are no record definitions in the BEAM file, the
          source file is located and read instead. Returns the names
          of the record definitions read. <c>Module</c> is an atom.</p>
      </item>
      <tag><c>rr(Wildcard)</c></tag>
      <item>
        <p>Reads record definitions from files. Existing
          definitions of any of the record names read are replaced.
          <c>Wildcard</c> is a wildcard string as defined in
          <seeerl marker="filelib"><c>filelib(3)</c></seeerl>,
          but not an atom.</p>
      </item>
      <tag><c>rr(WildcardOrModule, RecordNames)</c></tag>
      <item>
        <p>Reads record definitions from files but
          discards record names not mentioned in <c>RecordNames</c> (a
          record name or a list of record names).</p>
      </item>
      <tag><c>rr(WildcardOrModule, RecordNames, Options)</c></tag>
      <item>
        <p>Reads record definitions from files. The compiler
          options <c>{i,&nbsp;Dir}</c>, <c>{d,&nbsp;Macro}</c>, and
          <c>{d,&nbsp;Macro,&nbsp;Value}</c> are recognized and used
          for setting up the include path and macro definitions.
          To read all record definitions, use
          <c>'_'</c> as value of <c>RecordNames</c>.</p>
      </item>
    </taglist>
  </section>

  <section>
    <title>Example</title>
    <p>The following example is a long dialog with the shell. Commands
      starting with <c>></c> are inputs to the shell. All other lines
      are output from the shell.</p>

    <pre>
strider 1> <input>erl</input>
Erlang (BEAM) emulator version 5.3 [hipe] [threads:0]

Eshell V5.3  (abort with ^G)
1> <input>Str = "abcd".</input>
"abcd"</pre>

    <p>Command 1 sets variable <c>Str</c> to string <c>"abcd"</c>.</p>

    <pre>
2> <input>L = length(Str).</input>
4</pre>

    <p>Command 2 sets <c>L</c> to the length of string <c>Str</c>.</p>

    <pre>
3> <input>Descriptor = {L, list_to_atom(Str)}.</input>
{4,abcd}</pre>

    <p>Command 3 builds the tuple <c>Descriptor</c>, evaluating the BIF
      <seemfa marker="erts:erlang#list_to_atom/1"><c>list_to_atom/1</c>
      </seemfa>.</p>

    <pre>
4> <input>L.</input> 
4</pre>

    <p>Command 4 prints the value of variable <c>L</c>.</p>

    <pre>
5> <input>b().</input>
Descriptor = {4,abcd}
L = 4
Str = "abcd"
ok</pre>

    <p>Command 5 evaluates the internal shell command <c>b()</c>, which
      is an abbreviation of "bindings". This prints
      the current shell variables and their bindings. <c>ok</c> at
      the end is the return value of function <c>b()</c>.</p>

    <pre>
6> <input>f(L).</input> 
ok</pre>

    <p>Command 6 evaluates the internal shell command <c>f(L)</c> (abbreviation
      of "forget"). The value of variable <c>L</c> is removed.</p>

    <pre>
7> <input>b().</input>
Descriptor = {4,abcd}
Str = "abcd"
ok</pre>

    <p>Command 7 prints the new bindings.</p>

    <pre>
8> <input>f(L).</input>
ok</pre>

    <p>Command 8 has no effect, as <c>L</c> has no value.</p>

    <pre>
9> <input>{L, _} = Descriptor.</input>
{4,abcd}</pre>

    <p>Command 9 performs a pattern matching operation on
      <c>Descriptor</c>, binding a new value to <c>L</c>.</p>

    <pre>
10> <input>L.</input>
4</pre>

    <p>Command 10 prints the current value of <c>L</c>.</p>

    <pre>
11> <input>{P, Q, R} = Descriptor.</input>
** exception error: no match of right hand side value {4,abcd}</pre>

    <p>Command 11 tries to match <c>{P, Q, R}</c> against
      <c>Descriptor</c>, which is <c>{4, abc}</c>. The match fails and
      none of the new variables become bound. The printout starting
      with "<c>** exception error:</c>" is not the value of the
      expression (the expression had no value because its evaluation
      failed), but a warning printed by the system to inform
      the user that an error has occurred. The values of the other
      variables (<c>L</c>, <c>Str</c>, and so on) are unchanged.</p>

    <pre>
12> <input>P.</input>
* 1:1: variable 'P' is unbound
13> <input>Descriptor.</input>
{4,abcd}</pre>

    <p>Commands 12 and 13 show that <c>P</c> is unbound because the
      previous command failed, and that <c>Descriptor</c> has not
      changed.</p>

    <pre>
14><input>{P, Q} = Descriptor.</input>
{4,abcd}
15> <input>P.</input>
4</pre>

    <p>Commands 14 and 15 show a correct match where <c>P</c> and
      <c>Q</c> are bound.</p>

    <pre>
16> <input>f().</input>
ok</pre>

    <p>Command 16 clears all bindings.</p>

    <p>The next few commands assume that <c>test1:demo(X)</c> is
      defined as follows:</p>

    <p><c>demo(X) -></c><br></br>
      &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<c>put(aa, worked),</c><br></br>
      &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<c>X = 1,</c><br></br>
      &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<c>X + 10.</c></p>

    <pre>
17> <input>put(aa, hello).</input>
undefined
18> <input>get(aa).</input>
hello</pre>

    <p>Commands 17 and 18 set and inspect the value of item
      <c>aa</c> in the process dictionary.</p>

    <pre>
19> <input>Y = test1:demo(1).</input>
11</pre>

    <p>Command 19 evaluates <c>test1:demo(1)</c>. The evaluation
      succeeds and the changes made in the process dictionary become
      visible to the shell. The new value of dictionary item
      <c>aa</c> can be seen in command 20.</p>

    <pre>
20> <input>get().</input>
[{aa,worked}]
21> <input>put(aa, hello).</input>
worked
22> <input>Z = test1:demo(2).</input>
** exception error: no match of right hand side value 1
     in function  test1:demo/1</pre>

    <p>Commands 21 and 22 change the value of dictionary item
      <c>aa</c> to <c>hello</c> and call <c>test1:demo(2)</c>. Evaluation
      fails and the changes made to the dictionary in
      <c>test1:demo(2)</c>, before the error occurred, are discarded.</p>

    <pre>
23> <input>Z.</input>
* 1:1: variable 'Z' is unbound
24> <input>get(aa).</input>
hello</pre>

    <p>Commands 23 and 24 show that <c>Z</c> was not bound and that
      dictionary item <c>aa</c> has retained its original value.</p>

    <pre>
25> <input>erase(), put(aa, hello).</input>
undefined
26> <input>spawn(test1, demo, [1]).</input>
&lt;0.57.0>
27> <input>get(aa).</input>
hello</pre>

    <p>Commands 25, 26, and 27 show the effect of evaluating
      <c>test1:demo(1)</c> in the background. In this case, the
      expression is evaluated in a newly spawned process. Any
      changes made in the process dictionary are local to the newly
      spawned process and therefore not visible to the shell.</p>

    <pre>
28> <input>io:format("hello hello\n").</input>
hello hello
ok
29> <input>e(28).</input>
hello hello
ok
30> <input>v(28).</input>
ok</pre>

    <p>Commands 28, 29 and 30 use the history facilities of the shell.
      Command 29 re-evaluates command 28. Command 30 uses the value (result)
      of command 28. In the cases of a pure function (a function
      with no side effects), the result is the same. For a function
      with side effects, the result can be different.</p>

    <p>The next few commands show some record manipulation. It is
      assumed that <c>ex.erl</c> defines a record as follows:</p>

    <p><c>-record(rec, {a, b = val()}).</c></p>
    <p><c>val() -></c><br></br>
      &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<c>3.</c></p>

    <pre>
31> <input>c(ex).</input>
{ok,ex}
32> <input>rr(ex).</input>
[rec]</pre>

    <p>Commands 31 and 32 compile file <c>ex.erl</c> and read
      the record definitions in <c>ex.beam</c>. If the compiler did not
      output any record definitions on the BEAM file, <c>rr(ex)</c>
      tries to read record definitions from the source file instead.</p>

    <pre>
33> <input>rl(rec).</input>
-record(rec,{a,b = val()}).
ok</pre>

    <p>Command 33 prints the definition of the record named
      <c>rec</c>.</p>

    <pre>
34> <input>#rec{}.</input>
** exception error: undefined shell command val/0</pre>

    <p>Command 34 tries to create a <c>rec</c> record, but fails
      as function <c>val/0</c> is undefined.</p>

    <pre>
35> <input>#rec{b = 3}.</input>
#rec{a = undefined,b = 3}</pre>

    <p>Command 35 shows the workaround: explicitly assign values to record
      fields that cannot otherwise be initialized.</p>

    <pre>
36> <input>rp(v(-1)).</input>
#rec{a = undefined,b = 3}
ok</pre>

    <p>Command 36 prints the newly created record using record
      definitions maintained by the shell.</p>

    <pre>
37> <input>rd(rec, {f = orddict:new()}).</input>
rec</pre>

    <p>Command 37 defines a record directly in the shell. The 
      definition replaces the one read from file <c>ex.beam</c>.</p>

    <pre>
38> <input>#rec{}.</input>
#rec{f = []}
ok</pre>

    <p>Command 38 creates a record using the new definition, and
      prints the result.</p>

    <pre>
39> <input>rd(rec, {c}), A.</input>
* 1:15: variable 'A' is unbound
40> <input>#rec{}.</input>
#rec{c = undefined}
ok</pre>

    <p>Command 39 and 40 show that record definitions are updated
      as side effects. The evaluation of the command fails, but
      the definition of <c>rec</c> has been carried out.</p>

    <p>For the next command, it is assumed that <c>test1:loop(N)</c> is
      defined as follows:</p>

    <p><c>loop(N) -></c><br></br>
      &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<c>io:format("Hello Number: ~w~n", [N]),</c><br></br> 
      &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<c>loop(N+1).</c></p>

    <pre>
41> <input>test1:loop(0).</input>
Hello Number: 0
Hello Number: 1
Hello Number: 2
Hello Number: 3

User switch command
 --> i
 --> c
.
.
.
Hello Number: 3374
Hello Number: 3375
Hello Number: 3376
Hello Number: 3377
Hello Number: 3378
** exception exit: killed</pre>

    <p>Command 41 evaluates <c>test1:loop(0)</c>, which puts the
      system into an infinite loop. At this point the user types
      <c>^G</c> (Control G), which suspends output from the
      current process,
      which is stuck in a loop, and activates <c>JCL</c> mode. In <c>JCL</c>
      mode the user can start and stop jobs.</p>

    <p>In this particular case, command <c>i</c> ("interrupt")
      terminates the looping program, and command <c>c</c>
      connects to the shell again. As the process was
      running in the background before we killed it, more
      printouts occur before message "<c>** exception exit: killed</c>"
      is shown.</p>

    <pre>
42> <input>E = ets:new(t, []).</input>
#Ref&lt;0.1662103692.2407923716.214192></pre>

    <p>Command 42 creates an ETS table.</p>

    <pre>
43> <input>ets:insert({d,1,2}).</input>
** exception error: undefined function ets:insert/1</pre>

    <p>Command 43 tries to insert a tuple into the ETS table, but the
      first argument (the table) is missing. The exception kills the
      evaluator process.</p>

    <pre>
44> <input>ets:insert(E, {d,1,2}).</input>
** exception error: argument is of wrong type
     in function  ets:insert/2
        called as ets:insert(16,{d,1,2})</pre>

    <p>Command 44 corrects the mistake, but the ETS table has been
      destroyed as it was owned by the killed evaluator process.</p>

    <pre>
45> <input>f(E).</input>
ok
46> <input>catch_exception(true).</input>
false</pre>

    <p>Command 46 sets the exception handling of the evaluator process
      to <c>true</c>. The exception handling can also be set when
      starting Erlang by <c>erl -stdlib shell_catch_exception true</c>.</p>

    <pre>
47> <input>E = ets:new(t, []).</input>
#Ref&lt;0.1662103692.2407923716.214197>
48> <input>ets:insert({d,1,2}).</input>
* exception error: undefined function ets:insert/1</pre>

    <p>Command 48 makes the same mistake as in command 43, but this time
      the evaluator process lives on. The single star at the beginning
      of the printout signals that the exception has been caught.</p>

    <pre>
49> <input>ets:insert(E, {d,1,2}).</input>
true</pre>

    <p>Command 49 successfully inserts the tuple into the ETS table.</p>

    <pre>
50> <input>ets:insert(#Ref&lt;0.1662103692.2407923716.214197>, {e,3,4}).</input>
true</pre>

    <p>Command 50 inserts another tuple into the ETS table. This time
      the first argument is the table identifier itself. The shell can
      parse commands with pids (<c>&lt;0.60.0></c>), ports
      (<c>#Port&lt;0.536></c>), references
      (<c>#Ref&lt;0.1662103692.2407792644.214210></c>), and external
      functions (<c>#Fun&lt;a.b.1></c>), but the command fails unless
      the corresponding pid, port, reference, or function can be created
      in the running system.</p>

    <pre>
51> <input>halt().</input>
strider 2></pre>

    <p>Command 51 exits the Erlang runtime system.</p>
  </section>

  <section>
    <title>JCL Mode</title>
    <p>When the shell starts, it starts a single evaluator
      process. This process, together with any local processes that
      it spawns, is referred to as a <c>job</c>. Only the current job,
      which is said to be <c>connected</c>, can perform operations
      with standard I/O. All other jobs, which are said to be <c>detached</c>,
      are <c>blocked</c> if they attempt to use standard I/O.</p>

    <p>All jobs that do not use standard I/O run in the normal way.</p>

    <p>The shell escape key <c>^G</c> (Control G) detaches the current
      job and activates <c>JCL</c> mode. The <c>JCL</c> mode prompt is
      <c>"-->"</c>. If <c>"?"</c> is entered at the prompt, the following help
      message is displayed:</p>

    <pre>
--> ?
c [nn]            - connect to job
i [nn]            - interrupt job
k [nn]            - kill job
j                 - list all jobs
s [shell]         - start local shell
r [node [shell]]  - start remote shell
q                 - quit erlang
? | h             - this message</pre>

    <p>The <c>JCL</c> commands have the following meaning:</p>

    <taglist>
      <tag><c>c [nn]</c></tag>
      <item>
        <p>Connects to job number <c><![CDATA[<nn>]]></c> or the current
          job. The standard shell is resumed. Operations that use
          standard I/O by the current job are interleaved with
          user inputs to the shell.</p>
      </item>
      <tag><c>i [nn]</c></tag>
      <item>
        <p>Stops the current evaluator process for job number
          <c>nn</c> or the current job, but does not kill the shell
          process. So, any variable bindings and the process
          dictionary are preserved and the job can be connected again.
          This command can be used to interrupt an endless loop.</p>
      </item>
      <tag><c>k [nn]</c></tag>
      <item>
        <p>Kills job number <c>nn</c> or the current
          job. All spawned processes in the job are
          killed, provided they have not evaluated the
          <c>group_leader/1</c> BIF and are located on
          the local machine. Processes spawned on remote nodes
          are not killed.</p>
      </item>
      <tag><c>j</c></tag>
      <item>
        <p>Lists all jobs. A list of all known jobs is
          printed. The current job name is prefixed with '*'.</p>
      </item>
      <tag><c>s</c></tag>
      <item>
        <p>Starts a new job. This is assigned the new index
          <c>[nn]</c>, which can be used in references.</p>
      </item>
      <tag><c>s [shell]</c></tag>
      <item>
        <p>Starts a new job. This is assigned the new index
          <c>[nn]</c>, which can be used in references.
          If optional argument <c>shell</c> is specified, it is assumed
          to be a module that implements an alternative shell.</p>
      </item>
      <tag><c>r [node]</c></tag>
      <item>
        <p>Starts a remote job on <c>node</c>. This is used in
          distributed Erlang to allow a shell running on one node to
          control a number of applications running on a network of nodes.
          If optional argument <c>shell</c> is specified, it is assumed
          to be a module that implements an alternative shell.</p>
      </item>
      <tag><c>q</c></tag>
      <item>
        <p>Quits Erlang. Notice that this option is disabled if
          Erlang is started with the ignore break, <c>+Bi</c>,
          system flag (which can be useful, for example when running
          a restricted shell, see the next section).</p>
      </item>
      <tag><c>?</c></tag>
      <item>
        <p>Displays the help message above.</p>
      </item>
    </taglist>

    <p>The behavior of shell escape can be changed by the STDLIB
      application variable <c>shell_esc</c>. The value of
      the variable can be either <c>jcl</c> (<c>erl -stdlib shell_esc jcl</c>) 
      or <c>abort</c> (<c>erl -stdlib shell_esc abort</c>). The 
      first option sets <c>^G</c> to activate <c>JCL</c> mode (which
      is also default behavior). The latter sets <c>^G</c> to
      terminate the current shell and start a new one.
      <c>JCL</c> mode cannot be invoked when 
      <c>shell_esc</c> is set to <c>abort</c>.</p>

    <p>If you want an Erlang node to have a remote job active from the start
      (rather than the default local job), start Erlang with flag
      <seecom marker="erts:erl#remsh"><c>-remsh</c></seecom>, for example,
      <c>erl -remsh other_node@other_host</c></p>
  </section>

  <section>
    <title>Restricted Shell</title>
    <p>The shell can be started in a
      restricted mode. In this mode, the shell evaluates a function call
      only if allowed. This feature makes it possible to, for example,
      prevent a user from accidentally calling a function from the
      prompt that could harm a running system (useful in combination
      with system flag <c>+Bi</c>).</p>

    <p>When the restricted shell evaluates an expression and
      encounters a function call or an operator application,
      it calls a callback function (with
      information about the function call in question). This callback
      function returns <c>true</c> to let the shell go ahead with the
      evaluation, or <c>false</c> to abort it. There are two possible
      callback functions for the user to implement:</p>

    <list type="bulleted">
      <item>
        <p><c>local_allowed(Func, ArgList, State) -> {boolean(),NewState}</c></p>
        <p>This is used to determine if the call to the local function
          <c>Func</c> with arguments <c>ArgList</c> is to be allowed.</p>
      </item>
      <item>
        <p><c>non_local_allowed(FuncSpec, ArgList, State)
          -> {boolean(),NewState}
          | {{redirect,NewFuncSpec,NewArgList},NewState}</c></p>
        <p>This is used to determine if the call to non-local function
          <c>FuncSpec</c> (<c>{Module,Func}</c> or a fun) with arguments
          <c>ArgList</c> is to be allowed. The return value
          <c>{redirect,NewFuncSpec,NewArgList}</c> can be used to let
          the shell evaluate some other function than the one specified by
          <c>FuncSpec</c> and <c>ArgList</c>.</p>
      </item>
    </list>

    <p>These callback functions are called from local and
      non-local evaluation function handlers, described in the
      <seeerl marker="erl_eval"><c>erl_eval</c></seeerl> 
      manual page. (Arguments in <c>ArgList</c> are evaluated before the
      callback functions are called.)</p>

    <p>From OTP 25.0, if there are errors evaluating Erlang constructs,
      such as <c>badmatch</c> during pattern matching or <c>bad_generator</c>
      in a comprehension, the evaluator will dispatch to
      <c>erlang:raise(error, Reason, Stacktrace)</c>. This call will be
      checked against the <c>non_local_allowed/3</c> callback function.
      You can either forbid it, allow it, or redirect to another call of
      your choice.</p>

    <p>Argument <c>State</c> is a tuple
      <c>{ShellState,ExprState}</c>. The return value <c>NewState</c>
      has the same form. This can be used to carry a state between calls
      to the callback functions. Data saved in <c>ShellState</c> lives
      through an entire shell session. Data saved in <c>ExprState</c>
      lives only through the evaluation of the current expression.</p>

    <p>There are two ways to start a restricted shell session:</p>

    <list type="bulleted">
      <item>
        <p>Use STDLIB application variable <c>restricted_shell</c>
          and specify, as its value, the name of the callback
          module. Example (with callback functions implemented in
          <c>callback_mod.erl</c>):
          <c>$ erl -stdlib restricted_shell callback_mod</c>.</p>
      </item>
      <item>
        <p>From a normal shell session, call function
          <seemfa marker="#start_restricted/1">
          <c>start_restricted/1</c></seemfa>. This exits the current evaluator
          and starts a new one in restricted mode.</p>
      </item>
    </list>

    <p><em>Notes:</em></p>
    <list type="bulleted">
      <item>
        <p>When restricted shell mode is activated or
          deactivated, new jobs started on the node run in restricted
          or normal mode, respectively.</p>
      </item>
      <item>
        <p>If restricted mode has been enabled on a
          particular node, remote shells connecting to this node also
          run in restricted mode.</p>
      </item>
      <item>
        <p>The callback functions cannot be used to allow or disallow
          execution of functions called from compiled code (only functions
          called from expressions entered at the shell prompt).</p>
      </item>
    </list>

    <p>Errors when loading the callback module is handled in different
      ways depending on how the restricted shell is activated:</p>

    <list type="bulleted">
      <item>
        <p>If the restricted shell is activated by setting the STDLIB
          variable during emulator startup, and the callback module cannot be
          loaded, a default restricted shell allowing only the commands
          <c>q()</c> and <c>init:stop()</c> is used as fallback.</p>
      </item>
      <item>
        <p>If the restricted shell is activated using
          <seemfa marker="#start_restricted/1">
            <c>start_restricted/1</c></seemfa> and the callback module cannot
            be loaded, an error report is sent to the error logger and the call
            returns <c>{error,Reason}</c>.</p>
      </item>
    </list>
  </section>

  <section>
    <title>Prompting</title>
    <p>The default shell prompt function displays the name of the node
      (if the node can be part of a distributed system) and the
      current command number. The user can customize the prompt
      function by calling <seemfa marker="#prompt_func/1">
      <c>prompt_func/1</c></seemfa> or by setting application
      configuration parameter <c>shell_prompt_func</c> for the
      STDLIB application.</p>

    <p>A customized prompt function is stated as a tuple
      <c>{Mod,&nbsp;Func}</c>. The function is called as
      <c>Mod:Func(L)</c>, where <c>L</c> is a list of key-value pairs
      created by the shell. Currently there is only one pair:
      <c>{history, N}</c>, where <c>N</c> is the current command number. The
      function is to return a list of characters or an atom. This
      constraint is because of the Erlang I/O protocol. Unicode characters
      beyond code point 255 are allowed in the list and the atom. Notice
      that in restricted mode the call <c>Mod:Func(L)</c> must be
      allowed or the default shell prompt function is called.</p>
  </section>

  <funcs>
    <func>
      <name since="">catch_exception(Bool) -> boolean()</name>
      <fsummary>Set the exception handling of the shell.</fsummary>
      <type>
        <v>Bool = boolean()</v>
      </type>
      <desc>
        <p>Sets the exception handling of the evaluator process. The
          previous exception handling is returned. The default
          (<c>false</c>) is to kill the evaluator process when an
          exception occurs, which causes the shell to create a new
          evaluator process. When the exception handling is set to
          <c>true</c>, the evaluator process lives on, which means that,
          for example, ports and ETS tables as well as processes
          linked to the evaluator process survive the exception.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="history" arity="1" since=""/>
      <fsummary>Set the number of previous commands to keep.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Sets the number of previous commands to keep in the
          history list to <c><anno>N</anno></c>. The previous number is
          returned. Defaults to 20.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="prompt_func" arity="1" since="OTP R13B04"/>
      <fsummary>Set the shell prompt.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Sets the shell prompt function to <c><anno>PromptFunc</anno></c>.
          The previous prompt function is returned.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="results" arity="1" since=""/>
      <fsummary>Set the number of previous results to keep.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Sets the number of results from previous commands to keep in
          the history list to <c><anno>N</anno></c>. The previous number is
          returned. Defaults to 20.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="start_interactive" arity="0" since="OTP @OTP-17932@"/>
      <fsummary>Start the interactive shell</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Starts the interactive shell if it has not already been started.
          It can be used to programatically start the shell from an escript
          or when erl is started with the -noinput or -noshell flags.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="start_interactive" arity="1" clause_i="1" since="OTP @OTP-17932@"/>
      <name name="start_interactive" arity="1" clause_i="2" since="OTP @OTP-17932@"/>
      <name name="start_interactive" arity="1" clause_i="3" since="OTP @OTP-17932@"/>
      <fsummary>Start the interactive shell</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Starts the interactive shell if it has not already been started.
        It can be used to programatically start the shell from an
        <seecom marker="erts:escript"><c>escript</c></seecom> or when
        <seecom marker="erts:erl"><c>erl</c></seecom> is started with the
        <seecom marker="erts:erl#noinput"><c>-noinput</c></seecom> or
        <seecom marker="erts:erl#noshell"><c>-noshell</c></seecom> flags.
        The following options are allowed:</p>
        <taglist>
          <tag>noshell</tag>
          <item>
              <p>Starts the interactive shell as if <seecom marker="erts:erl#noshell">
                <c>-noshell</c></seecom> was given to <seecom marker="erts:erl"><c>erl</c></seecom>.
                This is only useful when erl is started with
                <seecom marker="erts:erl#noinput"><c>-noinput</c></seecom> and the
                system want to read input data.
              </p>
          </item>
          <tag><seetype marker="erts:erlang#mfa">mfa()</seetype></tag>
          <item>
              <p>Starts the interactive shell using
                <seetype marker="erts:erlang#mfa"><c>mfa()</c></seetype>
                as the default shell.</p>
          </item>
          <tag>{<seetype marker="erts:erlang#node">node()</seetype>,
                <seetype marker="erts:erlang#mfa">mfa()</seetype>}</tag>
          <item>
              <p>Starts the interactive shell using
              <seetype marker="erts:erlang#mfa"><c>mfa()</c></seetype> on
              <seetype marker="erts:erlang#node"><c>node()</c></seetype> as the default shell.</p>
          </item>
          <tag>{remote, <seetype marker="erts:erlang#string"><c>string()</c></seetype>}</tag>
          <item>
              <p>Starts the interactive shell using as if
                <seecom marker="erts:erl#remsh"><c>-remsh</c></seecom>
                was given to <seecom marker="erts:erl"><c>erl</c></seecom>.</p>
          </item>
          <tag>{remote,
                <seetype marker="erts:erlang#string"><c>string()</c></seetype>,
                <seetype marker="erts:erlang#mfa"><c>mfa()</c></seetype>}</tag>
          <item>
              <p>Starts the interactive shell using as if
                <seecom marker="erts:erl#remsh"><c>-remsh</c></seecom>
                was given to <seecom marker="erts:erl"><c>erl</c></seecom>
                but with an alternative shell implementation.</p>
          </item>
        </taglist>
        <p>On error this function will return:</p>
        <taglist>
            <tag>already_started</tag>
            <item>if an interactive shell is already started.</item>
            <tag>noconnection</tag>
            <item>if a remote shell was requested but it could not be connected to.</item>
            <tag>badfile | nofile | on_load_failure</tag>
            <item>if a remote shell was requested with a custom
              <seetype marker="erts:erlang#mfa">mfa()</seetype>,
              but the module could not be loaded. See <seeerl marker="kernel:code#error_reasons">
              Error Reasons for Code-Loading Functions</seeerl>
              for a description of the error reasons.
            </item>
        </taglist>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="start_restricted" arity="1" since=""/>
      <fsummary>Exit a normal shell and starts a restricted shell.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Exits a normal shell and starts a restricted shell.
          <c><anno>Module</anno></c> specifies the callback module for the
          functions <c>local_allowed/3</c> and <c>non_local_allowed/3</c>.
          The function is meant to be called from the shell.</p>
        <p>If the callback module cannot be loaded, an error tuple is
          returned. The <c><anno>Reason</anno></c> in the error tuple is the one
          returned by the code loader when trying to load the code of the
          callback module.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="stop_restricted" arity="0" since=""/>
      <fsummary>Exit a restricted shell and starts a normal shell.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Exits a restricted shell and starts a normal shell. The function
          is meant to be called from the shell.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="strings" arity="1" since="OTP R16B"/>
      <fsummary>Set the shell's string recognition flag.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Sets pretty printing of lists to <c><anno>Strings</anno></c>.
          The previous value of the flag is returned.</p>
        <p>The flag can also be set by the STDLIB application variable
          <c>shell_strings</c>. Defaults to
          <c>true</c>, which means that lists of integers are
          printed using the string syntax, when possible. Value
          <c>false</c> means that no lists are printed using the
          string syntax.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
        <name name="whereis" arity="0" since="OTP @OTP-17932@"/>
        <fsummary>Return the current shell process.</fsummary>
        <desc>
            <p>Returns the current shell process on the node where the
              calling process' group_leader is located. If that node
              has no shell this function will return undefined.</p>
        </desc>
    </func>

  </funcs>
</erlref>