Chapter 19 - Assigning Values to StreetTalk Attributes
After you edit or create AVD files, you can assign values to the default attributes or the attributes you have labeled. This chapter describes how to assign values to StreetTalk attributes. Use the Banyan management programs (StreetTalk Explorer, MLIST, MUSER, or MSERVICE) or MATTR from the command line to edit attribute values.
The attributes you edit have labels identical to those assigned in the edited AVD file. They are also identical to the labels users see in STDA client applications.
For information on planning StreetTalk attributes, see Chapter 15.
Rules For Assigning Attributes
Administrators, users, or both can assign attribute values. Individual users can modify attribute values associated with their own StreetTalk identities and can view attribute information on any StreetTalk resource. Users' ability to modify attribute values other than their own is subject to the same administrative restrictions that govern modifying any other StreetTalk resource: users must be on the appropriate administrative lists to modify attributes associated with other StreetTalk resources.
Administrators and users with administrative privileges assign attributes through StreetTalk attribute editing windows (StreetTalk Explorer) or menus of MUSER, MGROUP, and MSERVICE. Both users and administrators can also use the MATTR program to modify attributes.
Any edits you make to an attribute are reflected in the Edit attributes menu. After values are assigned to attributes, they are collected by STDA services and included in the database that the service creates when it rebuilds. Once the attribute information is incorporated into the updated database, it is accessible to users. To configure what attributes users can see, refer to Chapter 20.
From StreetTalk Explorer:
1. Right-click the StreetTalk object and select Attributes from the shortcut menu. The Attributes Editor opens the attribute collection sets for that object type found in the default AVD file.
2. Click the plus sign next to the object name in the left pane to see the attribute labels in that collection set.
3. Click an attribute label to see the value and format type of that attribute.
4. To edit an attribute value, double-click on the value in the right pane to open an edit box. Then type the new value and click in a neutral part of the window to close the edit box.
Note: Currently you can only edit attributes whose value type is String or Integer. In addition, some attributes, such as Home Server, are read only and you cannot modify them.
Figure 19-1 shows the StreetTalk Explorer Attribute Editor screen and its parts.
The left pane shows the attribute collection sets and attribute labels. The right pane shows the value of the attribute and the type for a particular attribute label.
From the System Prompt:
The example that follows uses the MUSER command, but the basic process is similar for all management commands run from the system prompt. Follow these steps to use MUSER program to edit attributes:
1. Enter MUSER. The Manage Users menu appears.
2. At the Manage Users menu, either select the user you want to manage from the list that appears or use the SEARCH for other names command to find the user you want. The Manage A User screen appears.
3. Select MANAGE attributes. The first of the attribute editing screens, Select Access Method, appears.
4. From the Select Access Method menu, use one of three methods to access the attribute you want to edit. Each of the Select Access Method menu options leads, through one or more steps, to a common attribute editing screen.
To choose an access method, select one of the following options from the Select Access Method menu:
- SELECT from name list - Lets you select attributes from menus that duplicate the AVD file format. At the first level, logical collections associated with the StreetTalk resource you are operating on appear. After you choose a logical collection, a menu appears displaying attributes associated with the collection. After you select an attribute to edit, the editing menu appears.
- SPECIFY <v:a> identifier - Select this option if you know the specific vendor attribute pair you want to edit. You can also use this method to define new attributes, although as a rule attributes should first be defined in AVD lists. After you enter the <v:a> identifier, the attribute editing menu appears.
- SCAN existing attributes - Select this option to choose from a list of attributes whose values are already defined for the StreetTalk object you are editing. After you select an attribute, the editing menu appears.
To Select Attributes from Name Lists
1. Choose the SELECT from name list option in the Select Access Method menu. The Select Attribute Collection menu appears.
2. Select the collection that contains the attribute you want to edit. Attribute collections displayed in this menu match those in the AVD file of the drive you are currently connected to, unless you use the MATTR command to specify another AVD file. The Select Attribute Name menu appears.
3. Select the attribute you want to edit from the list that appears and press ENTER. The Attribute Management menu appears.
To Select an Attribute by <v:a> Number
1. Choose SPECIFY <v:a> identifier in the Select Access Method menu. The Specify Attribute Identifier menu appears.
2. Enter the appropriate value in each field and press ENTER after each entry.
Illegal characters generate syntax errors. Correct them by using the arrow keys to reposition the cursor and typing over the earlier entry. The Edit Attribute screen appears.
3. If you enter a vendor attribute pair for an existing attribute with a corresponding AVD label, the pair and label appear in the Edit Attribute screen.
If you enter a vendor attribute pair for an attribute that does not exist, a new attribute is created once you press F10 to exit the edit menu. The pair, without a label, appears in the attribute editing menu. For this attribute to appear in an STDA lookup or index you must create a label in the appropriate AVD file and modify the collection parameters of the STDA service. See Chapter 15 for more information about defining attributes.
To Scan Existing Attributes
1. Select SCAN existing attributes from the Select Access Method menu. The Select Existing Attribute menu appears.
2. Use the arrow keys to select a previously specified attribute from the list.
3. Press ENTER. The attribute management screen appears.
You can edit attributes from StreetTalk Explorer or MSERVICE.
From StreetTalk Explorer:
To modify values for attributes for users or lists, follow these steps:
1. Right-click the StreetTalk object and select Attributes from the shortcut menu. The Attributes Editor opens the attribute collection sets for that object type found in the default AVD file (see Figure 19-1).
2. Click the plus sign next to the object name to see the attribute labels in that collection set.
3. Click an attribute label to see the value and format type of that attribute.
4. To edit an attribute value, double-click on the value in the right pane to open an edit box. Then type the new value and click in a neutral part of the window to close the edit box. <
Note: Currently you can only edit attributes whose value type is String or Integer. In addition, some attributes, such as Home Server, are read only and you cannot modify them.
See Introduction to StreetTalk Explorer for a description of StreetTalk Explorer.
From the System Prompt:
Enter or edit attribute values in the MSERVICE Edit Attribute Menu. From this screen you edit, save, and change the types of attributes for all classes of StreetTalk objects.
Each access method described earlier in this chapter displays the Edit Attribute menu.
All attribute editing occurs on the editing screen. Available editing functions include:
EDIT attribute value - Displays the attribute editing screen in which you enter values and specify their data types. DELETE value - Lets you delete a previously defined attribute value. READ from file - Lets you specify a file containing a value that you want applied to attribute. WRITE to file - Lets you write an attribute value to a specified file. In addition to the editing functions shown in the Edit Attribute menu relevant information about the attribute you chose also appears in this menu.
File size, formatting, and data type entry rules govern any value you edit for a new or existing attribute. To ensure that your entries comply with these rules, observe the guidelines in the next sections.
Class
Filter name the current StreetTalk resource matches. For example, David Smith@Chicago Sales@WCTUS is a User class resource.
Attribute Name
Displays the attribute name as it appears in the AVD list. The name is the label pointed to by an M command menu or specified by the administrator when MATTR is invoked. If a new attribute is defined, this field displays "???" until the appropriate AVD list is updated.
Attribute ID
Displays the vendor attribute pair for the attribute you are editing or creating.
Attributes within the range <0:0> through <0:100> are read only. Administrators cannot modify them through attribute editing menus. Examples of attributes in this range are listed in Table 19-1.
| Attribute | Label |
| <0:1> | Object description |
| <0:2> | User SETMAIL profile entry |
| <0:3> | Inclusion name remote address |
| <0:4> | Nickname's associated real name |
| <0:5> | StreetTalk group |
| <0:6> | StreetTalk class |
| <0:7> | StreetTalk category |
| <0:8> | STDA class |
| <0:11> | Rename/Move status |
Displays the data type of the attribute you are editing. Data types include
Boolean String Binary Integer ASN.1
Each of these formatting rules are described in the following sections.
Boolean Values
Boolean values are commonly used to indicate true or false. An attribute implies true; lack of an attribute implies false. For example, a collection of attributes called Computer Skills might contain attributes used to establish network users' skills with PC and business software programs. Network users could use Boolean values to search on the DOS attribute or some other pre-determined attribute to find users whose skills match their requirements.
To assign a Boolean value from the system prompt follow these steps:
1. Access the Select Attribute Type menu.
2. Use the arrow keys to select Boolean from the data type menu and press ENTER. This selection establishes a true value for the attribute. To effectively establish a false value, delete the attribute.
3. Return to the editing menu. Make sure that the editing field is empty and that there are no formatting characters in it. Any existing text in the editing screen, including carriage returns and function keys, generates syntax error messages when you try to save the text.
4. After your edit is complete, press F10 to save the new value.
Binary
Applications developers commonly assign binary values in programs.
Attribute values in binary form are expressed in one- and two-place hexadecimal notation. Multiple hex values can be entered to a limit of 4096 characters. Each hex value represents one byte in a stream of bytes. One- and two-part hex values are limited to positive integers between zero and nine (0 to 9) and to characters between A and F (A to F). Combinations outside those limits generate syntax error messages.
Binary values can be used in any format in the editing screen consistent with the sequential order of the values themselves. Individual values or value combinations are separated by white space delimiters, such as space or tab characters. MATTR ignores formatting characters when it processes hexadecimal values. Formatting characters do not affect the display of data of either the description fields of the attribute management menu or STDA. The first 27 single binary values or pairs of binary values appear in the Edit Attribute menu's Value field after you enter them.
When a syntax error occurs, the cursor appears at the first instance of the error. After you correct it, each succeeding syntax error is highlighted until all errors are corrected. After you save a value, it may appear formatted differently at the next editing session.
String
The string type is the default data type for attributes. Use this type to enter values for attributes such as "Building" , "Location," "Telephone Number," and so on.
You can enter up to 4096 characters into the editing field for a given attribute, but only the first 64 characters appear in the STDA description field.
Integer
Programmers use integers to store and check values. Attribute values can be expressed as positive or negative numbers between -2147483647 and 2147483648 (-231 + 1 to 231). You can enter multiple integer values to a limit of 4096 characters. Individual values or value combinations are separated by white space delimiters such as space or tab characters. MATTR ignores formatting characters when it processes hex values. Multiple integers of any size can be read in as files.
Like binary values, you can enter integer values in any format in the editing screen consistent with the sequential order of the values themselves. Integer values are formatted and displayed in sequence when you save them. After you save a value, it may appear formatted differently at the next editing session.
The first five integers of an edited value, separated by spaces and each containing up to 10 characters and a plus or minus sign, appear in the Edit Attribute menu's Value field after you edit it.
ASN.1
Applications that format data using X.500 binary encoding rules commonly use the ASN.1 data type. This data type follows closely the formatting rules for binary data types described in this section.
An attribute value has no size limitation, but you are limited to 4096 bytes of string data when you specify a value from the editing screen. Attempting to enter a string value greater than this limit in the editing screen generates an error message.
Under most circumstances, string size is not an issue because you only use the editing screen to enter short string values such as locations, phone number, and so on. In addition, the description and index fields of STDA display only the first 64 characters, so you rarely have reason to enter a value larger than that limit.
If the value you want applied to a particular attribute is larger than 4096 bytes, replace the current value or create a new value by reading in the contents of a file using the READ from file pick in the Edit Attribute menu. See "To Read Attributes from a File" later in this chapter for more information.
To Specify a New Attribute Type
From the System Prompt:
1. From the editing screen, press F6. The Select Attribute Type screen appears.
2. Use the arrow keys to select the data type you want to use.
3. Press ENTER to save the new data type and return to the editing field. The data type field at the top right of the editing screen indicates the new data type for the attribute you are editing.
To Edit or Create a New Attribute Value
From the System Prompt:
1. Select EDIT attribute value from the Edit Attribute screen. The editing screen appears.
2. If you are creating a value for a new attribute and do not want to use the default string data type, press F6 to specify a new data type.
3. After you choose a data type, use the arrow keys to position the cursor anywhere in the editing screen and begin editing.
4. Press F10 to save the changes. You return to the Edit Attribute screen. The Type, Value, and Size fields of the Edit Attribute menu reflect any changes you made during editing.
From the System Prompt:
1. From the Edit Attribute screen, select DELETE attribute. The CONFIRMATION OF DELETE screen appears.
2. Use the arrow keys to select YES and press ENTER.
3. After the attribute is deleted, you return to the Edit Attribute screen. A confirmation message appears:
Attribute has been deleted.
The Type, Value, and Size fields of the Edit Attribute menu reflect changes made by the Delete command.
To Read Attributes from a File
From the System Prompt:
1. From the Edit Attribute screen, select READ from file. The Read Attribute Value From a File screen appears.
2. Enter the name of the file that will replace the selected attribute value.
3. Press ENTER to save the new value and return to the Edit Attribute menu. The Type, Value, and Size fields of the Edit Attribute menu reflect the changes made by the Read command.
From the System Prompt:
1. From the Edit Attribute screen, select WRITE to file. The Write Attribute Value To a File screen appears.
2. Enter the name of the attribute that will replace the specified file. Press ENTER to save the new value and return to the Edit Attribute menu.
Editing Attributes Using MATTR
You can also reach the common attribute editing menus by using the MATTR function at the command line. MATTR has the following command format:
MATTR object_name [/v:AVD_file]
Where object_name is the StreetTalk object's name or nickname and /v: AVD_file specifies an optional path to the Attribute Value Definition (AVD) file template you want to use. If you do not specify a path, the network software uses the AVD file in the MESSAGES subdirectory in the VINES Z drive to which you are currently connected. More information about AVD files is available in Chapter 17 and Chapter 18.
To Edit Attributes Using MATTR
From the System Prompt:
1. Enter MATTR followed by the StreetTalk object's name or nickname and the AVD file specification if applicable.
2. Press ENTER. The Select Access Method menu appears.
