Chapter 4 Setting Up and Maintaining the ToolTalk Processes

The ToolTalk database server program must be installed on all machines which store files that contain ToolTalk objects or files that are the subject of ToolTalk messages.

Location of the ToolTalk Service Files

The ToolTalk binaries and library are located in /usr/openwin with symbolic links located in /usr/dt. This ensures that users of either Common Desktop Environment (CDE) or OpenWindows^TM (OW) get the same version of ToolTalk. Online man pages and ToolTalk demo program source are located in /usr/openwin.

Table 4-1 describes the ToolTalk Service files.

Version

All ToolTalk commands support a -v option that prints the version string.

Requirements

The software required by the ToolTalk service includes ONC RPC.

Environment Variables

This section addresss ToolTalk and related environment variables.

ToolTalk Environment Variables

There are several ToolTalk environment variables that may be set. Table 4-2 describes these variables.

A process is given a modified environment when it is automatically started by the ToolTalk service. The modified environment includes the environment variables $TT_SESSION, $TT_TOKEN, and any contexts in the start-message whose keyword begins with the dollar sign symbol ($). Optionally, the environment variable $TT_FILE may also be included in the modified environment if it is a file-scoped message.

If the tt_open call will be invoked by a child process, the parent process must propagate the modified environment to that child process.

Other Environment Variables

The TMPDIR environment variable is another environment variable that you can set to manipulate the ToolTalk development environment. For example, the following line redirects files to the /var/tmp directory.

TMPDIR=/var/tmp 

Environment Variables Required to Start Programs on Remote Hosts

The start string is always executed on the host on which ttsession is running; however, the executed process can start another process on another host.

To do this, first make your start string be similar to the following:

# rsh farhost myprog

Next, to make sure myprog is placed in the right session and receives its initial message, you need to propagate the important ToolTalk environment variables. The ttrsh shell script shown in Example 4-1 propagates these environment variables.

Example 4-1 Propagating ToolTalk Environment Variables

#! /bin/sh
# Runs a command remotely in background, by pointing stdout and stderr 
# at /dev/null. By running this through the Bourne shell at the other end, 
# we get rid of the rsh and rshd.
#set -x
user=
debug=
HOST=${HOST-`hostname`}
if [ "$1" = "-debug" ]; then
	debug=1
	shift
fi
if [ $# -lt 2 -o "$1" = "-h" -o "$1" = "-help" ]; 
then
	echo "Usage: ttrsh [-debug] remotehost [-l username] \
remotecommand"
	echo "Usage: ttrsh [-h | -help]"
	exit 1
else
	host=$1
	shift
	if test "$1" = "-l" ; then
		shift
		user=$1
		shift
	fi
fi
xhostname=`expr "$DISPLAY" : "\([^:]*\).*"`
xscreen=`expr "$DISPLAY" : "[^:]*\(.*\)"`
if test x$xscreen = x; then
	xscreen=":0.0"
fi
if test x$xhostname = x -o x$xhostname = x"unix";
then
	DISPLAY=$HOST$xscreen
fi
if [ "$user" = "" ]; then
	userOption=""
else
	userOption="-l $user"
fi
if [ $debug ]; then
	outputRedirect=
else
	outputRedirect='> /dev/null 2>&1 &'
fi
(
	echo "OPENWINHOME=$OPENWINHOME;export OPENWINHOME;\
TT_SESSION=$TT_SESSION;export TT_SESSION;\
TT_TOKEN=$TT_TOKEN;export TT_TOKEN;TT_FILE=$TT_FILE;\
export TT_FILE;DISPLAY=$DISPLAY;export DISPLAY;($*)" \
$outputRedirect | rsh $host $userOption /bin/sh &
) &

Using Context Slots to Create Environment Variables

Message contexts have a special meaning when the ToolTalk service starts an application. If the name of a context slot begins with a dollar sign ($), the ToolTalk service interprets the value as an environment variable. For example, the following uses the value of context slot $CON1.

start "my_application $CON1"

Installing the ToolTalk Database Server

The ToolTalk Database server is used to store three types of information:

1. ToolTalk objects specs.

2. ToolTalk session IDs of sessions with clients that have joined a file using the tt_file_join call.

3. File-scoped messages that are queued because the message disposition is TT_QUEUED and a handler that can handle the message has not yet been started.

In addition, the ToolTalk Database server answers queries for the ToolTalk filename mapping API calls (tt_host_file_netfile() and tt_host_netfile_file()).

The ToolTalk database server does not store messages that are scoped to file-in-session.

The ToolTalk service requires that a database server run on each machine that stores files that contain ToolTalk objects or files that are the subject of ToolTalk messages. When an application attempts to reference a file on a machine that does not contain a database server, an error similar to the following message is displayed:

% Error: Tool Talk database server on integral is not running: tcp

where integral is the hostname and tcp is the application protocol. This error message indicates that the connection failed. A failed connection can also be caused by network problems.

Confirming that the rpc.ttdbserverd is installed on a system.

All machines should have the SUNWtltk and SUNWdtcor packages installed if they contain files referenced in ToolTalk messages. To confirm that rpc.ttdbserverd is installed on a system:

1. Login to the system.

2. Use pkginfo(1) to determine that the SUNWtltk and SUNWdtcor packages are installed.

   ---

   Caution -

   The /etc/inetd.conf config line below is installed by the SUNWdtcor Solaris package. If a system does not have SUNWtltk installed, you should make sure that SUNWdtcor is present before installing SUNWtltk. Do not copy a Solaris 7 (SunOS 5.7 or compatible) server onto a machine running the Solaris 1.0 (SunOS 4.0/4.1 or compatible) operating system.

   ---

3. Check that the /etc/inetd.conf file contains the following line.

   100083/1 tli rpc/tcp wait root /usr/openwin/bin/rpc.ttdbserverd

   If you find that rpc.ttdbserverd is not present, then you can install it by adding the SUNWtltlk and SUNWdtcor packages using pkgadd(1M). After adding the packages have inetd reread its coniguration file:

   # ps -ef | grep inetd # kill -HUP inetd-pid

   ---

   Note -

   inetd-pid is from the ps listing.

   ---

Confirming that the rpc.ttdbserverd is running on a system.

To determine if the ToolTalk database server is actually running on a specific system, you can use the rpcinfo(1M) command:

% rpcinfo -T tcp -t <hostname> 100083
program 100083 version 1 ready and waiting
%

hostname is from hostname(1).

From the Solaris Distribution CD-Rom

To install the ToolTalk software package from the Solaris distribution cd-rom, use the pkgadd command. The package name for the ToolTalk software is SUNWt/tk; the developer's package name is SUNWt/tkd; and the manpage package name is SUNWt/tkm.

Running the New ToolTalk Database Server

Once a newer version of the ToolTalk database server has been run on a machine, you cannot revert to a previous version of the ToolTalk database server. Any attempt to run a previous version of the ToolTalk database server displays the following error message:

rpc.ttdbserverd[pid #:  rpc.ttdbserverd version (1.0.x) 
does not match the version (1.1) of the database tables. 
Please install an rpc.ttdbserverd version 1.1 (or greater).

Redirecting the ToolTalk Database Server

You can redirect both database host machines and the file system partitions.

• Redirecting a database host machine allows a ToolTalk client to physically access ToolTalk data from a machine that is not running a ToolTalk database server.

• Redirecting a file system partition allows a ToolTalk database to logically read and write ToolTalk data from and to a read-only file system partition (for example, a CD-Rom) by physically accessing a different file system partition. Redirecting a file system partition also is done if a system administrator wants all ToolTalk databases to reside on a single local partition instead of one per local partition, which is the default.

Redirecting the Host Machine

When you redirect a database host machine, a ToolTalk client can physically access ToolTalk data from a machine that is not running a ToolTalk database server. To redirect the host machine, you need to map the hostnames of the machines the ToolTalk client is to access. On the machine running the ToolTalk client that is making the database query:

1. Create a hostname_map file.

   For example:

   # Map first host machine oldhostname1 newhostname1 # Map second host machine oldhostname2 newhostname2

   where oldhostname is the name of the machine the ToolTalk client needs to access and newhostname is the name of a machine that is running the ToolTalk database server.

2. Store the file in the same location at which the ToolTalk Types databases are stored.

   The map files have the same order of precedence as the ToolTalk Types databases (see tt_type_comp(1).

   ---

   Note -

   A file defined in the TT_HOSTNAME_MAP environment variable has a higher precedence than the map in the user database.

   ---

   The map file is read into a ToolTalk client when the client makes a tt_open call. For detailed information on host redirection see hostname_map(4).

Redirecting the File System Partition

When you redirect a file system partition, a ToolTalk database can logically read and write ToolTalk data from and to a read-only file system partition by physically accessing a different file system partition. To redirect a file partition, you need to map the partitions to where the ToolTalk database will write. On the machine running the ToolTalk database server:

1. Create a partition_map file.

   For example:

   # Map first partition /cdrom /usr # Map second partition /sr0/export/home /export/home

   maps the read-only partition /cdrom to /usr, a read-write partition; and maps the read-only partition /sr0/export/home to /export/home, a read-write partition.

2. Store the map file in the same location at which the system ToolTalk Types databases are stored.

   ---

   Note -

   A file partition defined in the TT_PARTITION_MAP environment variable has a higher precedence than the file partition defined in this map file.

   ---

   The map file is read when the ToolTalk database server is started, or when the database server receives a USR2 signal. For detailed information on partition redirection see partition_map(4).