About This Manual

A product kit is the standard mechanism by which software products are delivered to and maintained on a Compaq Tru64 UNIX operating system. This manual describes the procedures for creating, installing, and managing the collections of files and directories that make up a product kit to be installed on a customer's system. Kits can be distributed on CD-ROM, diskette, or magnetic tape.

Audience

This manual is intended for software developers who are responsible for creating product kits. They are expected to have experience with UNIX based operating systems, shell script programming, and system administration.

New and Changed Features

The following list describes the major changes made to this manual:

Previous versions of the manual are available on the World Wide Web at the following location: 


http://www.unix.digital.com/faqs/publications/pub_page/doc_list.html

Organization

This manual is organized as follows:

Chapter 1 Introduces the kit-building process
Chapter 2 Describes how to create and populate kit directories
Chapter 3 Describes how to organize product files into subsets, create kit production files, prepare subset control programs, and produce the subsets and related control files
Chapter 4 Describes how to create, test, and deliver user product kits
Chapter 5 Describes how to create, test, and deliver kernel product kits
Chapter 6 Describes how to create, test, and deliver hardware product kits
Appendix A Describes how to create a CD-ROM that lets you upgrade your processor firmware at the same time that you install the operating system
Glossary Defines terms used in this manual

Related Documentation

Icons on Tru64 UNIX Printed Books

The printed version of the Tru64 UNIX documentation uses letter icons on the spines of the books to help specific audiences quickly find the books that meet their needs. (You can order the printed documentation from Compaq.) The following list describes this convention:

  G Books for general users
  S Books for system and network administrators
  P Books for programmers
  D Books for device driver writers
  R Books for reference page users

Some books in the documentation help meet the needs of several audiences. For example, the information in some system books is also used by programmers. Keep this in mind when searching for information on specific topics.

The Documentation Overview provides information on all of the books in the Tru64 UNIX documentation set.

The Tru64 UNIX documentation is available on the World Wide Web at the following URL: 

http://www.unix.digital.com/faqs/publications/pub_page/pubs_page.html

You may find the following documents helpful when preparing product kits:

Reader's Comments

Compaq welcomes any comments and suggestions you have on this and other Tru64 UNIX manuals.

You can send your comments in the following ways:

Please include the following information along with your comments:

The Tru64 UNIX Publications group cannot respond to system problems or technical support inquiries. Please address technical questions to your local system vendor or to the appropriate Compaq technical support office. Information provided with the software media explains how to send problem reports to Compaq.

Conventions

The following conventions are used in this manual:

%
$

A percent sign represents the C shell system prompt. A dollar sign represents the system prompt for the Bourne, Korn, and POSIX shells.

#

A number sign represents the superuser prompt.

% cat

Boldface type in interactive examples indicates typed user input.

file

Italic (slanted) type indicates variable values, placeholders, and function argument names.

[ | ]
{ | }

In syntax definitions, brackets indicate items that are optional and braces indicate items that are required. Vertical bars separating items inside brackets or braces indicate that you choose one item from among those listed. 


colored text

In syntax definitions, literal elements are colored green. Variable values, placeholders, and function argument names are colored red. No special colored text is used outside of syntax descriptions.

. . .

In syntax definitions, a horizontal ellipsis indicates that the preceding item can be repeated one or more times.

cat(1)

A cross-reference to a reference page includes the appropriate section number in parentheses. For example, cat(1) indicates that you can find information on the cat command in Section 1 of the reference pages.

[Return]

In an example, a key name enclosed in a box indicates that you press that key.

[Ctrl/x]

This symbol indicates that you hold down the first named key while pressing the key or mouse button that follows the slash. In examples, this key combination is enclosed in a box (for example, [Ctrl/C] ).