when a C program is run from a unix server using this:
- myprog [-d dictionary] string
where myprog is the name of the program. What do the arguments mean? and the * at the beginning?
The asterisk has no place there - it's wrong, and dangerous.
$ echo rm > rm && chmod 700 rm
$ touch x y
$ ls
rm x y
$ *
$ ls
rm
Options in square brackets generally mean that the option is, well, optional.
And there's nothing special, or different, about how C programs are run, compared to any other program.
i get the string argument is just passing a string, but what does -d dictionary mean, what does that argument do?
I presume it is for (optionally) specifying a dictionary name that myprog can use.
If not, you should ask whoever wrote myprog what it is used for.
do you mean it is targeting a file in the same directory?
I didn't write myprog so I would have no idea.
(sorry, I misread the first time as "directory", but it's "dictionary".)
Who's program is this? Is there documentation or a man page - or a man - that you could consult?
what would i type in man, dictionary? or assuming that dictionary is a file in the same directory, what does the -d mean?
Consult the documentation for myprog - whatever that is.
If whoever wrote it was kind enough to write a man page for it, then use man myprog , or an info page - use info myprog , otherwise read whatever documentation there is for myprog.
-d is an option to the program, and dictionary is an argument to that option. You're supposed to replace dictionary with, I presume, the name of a dictionary.
I'm closing this thread. Please read the documentation for the program you are referring to. If you need help understanding the general concepts then consult our man pages, which contain hundreds of commands, most of which take options just like "myprog" - whatever that is - does.