Providing the Entry Name to Clients

Sometimes, very simple clients can have the server entry name encoded within them so you don't have to pass any entry name. But more often, you need to supply an entry name to a client program when it starts. This approach is more flexible than hardcoding an entry name because it offers an easy way to use a different entry name should the need arise.

The client configuration documentation should include instructions on how to pass the name to the client. One method uses a script or batch file that contains the command to start the client along with arguments that include the appropriate server entry name. The following example shows a server entry name passed as a command argument in a shell script that starts the client.

# Shell Script to start the InfoClient application

infoclient /.:/finance/operations/InfoServ_profile

Alternatively, the server entry name can be stored in an environment variable (called RPC_DEFAULT_ENTRY on UNIX systems). The following example shows a shell script that defines this variable and then invokes the client.

#! /bin/sh

# Shell Script to start the InfoClient application

export RPC_DEFAULT_ENTRY=/.:/finance/operations/InfoServ_profile

infoclient