DFILE(5)

     NAME
          dfile - format of a ClearDDTS data file

     SYNOPSIS
          Fieldname: value

     DESCRIPTION
          A dfile is a file used by ClearDDTS to  store  much  of  the
          data used throughout the system.  Many of the files used for
          ClearDDTS are in dfile format.  It  stores  the  data  in  a
          Fieldname:  value  format, where the Fieldname always begins
          in column 1 and the value never does.

          A dfile contains one or more Fieldname - value pairs.   Each
          pair  consists  of a left-justified field name, a colon (:),
          arbitrary whitespace, and one or more value lines,  each  of
          which  is  followed  by  one  or more newline characters and
          arbitrary whitespace.   For  most  files  each  pair  is  on
          exactly one line except for the enclosure fields.

          There are two interesting uses for the dfile format that you
          may  encounter.   First,  the  master.tmpl  file  uses  this
          format, where the value is a multi  line  field  derivation.
          For more information on the specific format of this file see
          template(5).

          The other use is for the flat file backup  database  in  the
          allbugs  directory.   The  bug  file  format is described in
          Appendix A of the ClearDDTS Administrator's Guide.  For  the
          most part it consists of one line Fieldname: value pairs for
          each field it stores, and  some  multi  line  fields  called
          enclosures.   Note that for these files all whitespace after
          the first one after the colon is considered to  be  part  of
          the value of that field.

          Enclosures are unlimited length text fields  used  to  store
          arbitrary data.  They are stored in the following format:

               Fieldname:: timestamp :: title
                line1
                line2
                ...
                lastline

          Note that there is a single space  character  preceding  all
          lines in the enclosure field.

          The format of a \fItimestamp\fR is fairly strict.  It must be:

                verb YYMMDD by name

          The "verb" and "name" may be changed.  For example  a  valid 
	  timestamp is:

                Modified 980908 by someuser

          When creating or modifying dfiles, it is common to introduce
          a  syntax  error into the file.  This usually results in one
          of the programs issuing a dloadtable  error.   This  usually
          means that there is a value that begins in column 1.  values
          can not begin in column 1, while Fieldnames  must  begin  in
          column  1.   A  handy  utility  to debug these errors is the
          rdtest(1) program.

          Any line that begins with a pound (#) is considered to be  a
          comment and is ignored.

     CAVEATS
          A dfile can have no more than 2000 fields defined in it
	  (including Enclosures).

     BUGS
          Placing the # in a Fieldname, value, or in between lines  in
          an  enclosure  field will have undefined results, and should
          not be used there.

     SEE ALSO
          rdtest(1), template(5), ClearDDTS Administrator's Guide