pkgask allows the administrator to store answers to an interactive package (one with a request script, that is, a user-created file that must be named request). Invoking this command generates a response file that is then used as input at installation time. The use of this response file prevents any interaction from occurring during installation since the file already contains all of the information the package needs.

The following options are supported

-d device

Run the request script for a package on device. device can be a directory pathname or the identifiers for tape, floppy disk or removable disk (for example, /var/tmp, /dev/diskette, and /dev/dsk/c1d0s0). The default device is the installation spool directory.

-R root_path

Define the full path name of a directory to use as the root_path. All files, including package system information files, are relocated to a directory tree starting in the specified root_path.

-r response

Identify a file or directory which should be created to contain the responses to interaction with the package. The name must be a full pathname. The file, or directory of files, can later be used as input to the pkgadd(1M) command.

The following operands are supported:

pkginst

Specify the package instance, or list of instances for which request scripts will be created. The token all may be used to refer to all packages available on the source medium.

0

Successful completion.

>0

An error occurred.

See attributes(5) for descriptions of the following attributes:

pkginfo(1), pkgmk(1), pkgparam(1), pkgproto(1), pkgtrans(1), installf(1M), pkgadd(1M), pkgchk(1M), pkgrm(1M), removef(1M), admin(4),attributes(5)

Application Packaging Developer's Guide

The -r option can be used to indicate a directory name as well as a filename. The directory name is used to create numerous response files, each sharing the name of the package with which it should be associated. This would be used, for example, when you will be adding multiple interactive packages with one invocation of pkgadd(1M). Each package would need a response file. To create multiple response files with the same name as the package instance, name the directory in which the files should be created and supply multiple instance names with the pkgask command. When installing the packages, you will be able to identify this directory to the pkgadd(1M) command.

If the default admin file is too restrictive, the administration file may need to be modified to allow for total non-interaction during a package installation. See admin(4) for details.