README FOR ctlinetd 6.3
-----------------------
Have you ever wondered why there wasn't a simpler way to deal with inetd-managed
services than going through the open, edit, close, HUP rigamarole? Well, now
there is. ctlinetd is a control script for inetd and xinetd in the spirit of
ctlinnd, apachectl, or rndc.

ctlinetd lets you see and change the enabled/disabled status of individual
(x)inetd-based services. You can also start, stop, and reload (x)inetd without
hunting for a PID first, and easily disable all services with one command
(useful when you're setting up a new machine). Unlike other solutions (service,
chkconfig, Mac OS X GUI, etc.), ctlinetd is cross-platform, and supports
traditional BSD inetd, xinetd, SMF-controlled inetd services on Solaris 10 and
above, SRC-controlled inetd services on AIX, launchd-controlled xinetd services
on Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger) and above, and even rpc.inetd on DYNIX/ptx!


INSTALLATION
------------
In the Makefile, set INST_DIR to wherever you want the software installed. You
may also need to change the INSTALL command, depending on the location and
version of "install" on your system.

Then run "make install".


USE
---
When invoked with no arguments, ctlinetd prints out a usage statement listing
each of the subcommands. Here it is:

usage:	ctlinetd help
		Prints this usage statement.

	ctlinetd version
		Prints version of ctlinetd.

	ctlinetd status [service...]
		Confirms that inetd is running, and reports its process ID.
		If services are specified, reports on enabled/disabled status.

	ctlinetd listenabled
		Reports on the status of all enabled services.

	ctlinetd reload
		Sends a signal to inetd to reload its configuration.

	ctlinetd restart
		Stops and starts inetd.

	ctlinetd start
		Starts inetd if it isn't running.

	ctlinetd stop
		Stops inetd.

	ctlinetd enable service
		Enables the service, and reloads the config if necessary.

	ctlinetd disable service
		Disables the service, and reloads the config if necessary.

	ctlinetd commentall
		Disables all services. With traditional inetd or xinetd, the
		config is not reloaded, which is useful for getting the config
		files into an initial secure state. With other mechanisms
		(e.g., SRC, SMF, launchd), services are disabled immediately.

	ctlinetd undo
		Replaces the config files with the backups, and reloads.
		USE WITH CAUTION.


PLATFORMS
---------
ctlinetd has been written for portability to most UNIX systems. It's been tested
on the following platforms:

	- AIX
		- version 5.3

	- Darwin/Mac OS X
		- versions 7.x/10.3.x through 8.x/10.4.x

	- DYNIX/ptx

	- HP-UX
		- versions 10.20 through 11.23

	- Linux
		- Red Hat
		- Debian
		- Caldera OpenLinux

	- Solaris
		- versions 2.5.1 through 10


CHANGES
-------
You're not required by the license to submit changes back to the source, but I'd
appreciate portability improvements or enhancements of general applicability.
You can email new versions or contextual diffs ("diff -c old_file new_file") to
<tools@occam.com>. Some things to keep in mind if you do this:

	- Formatting
		- I use tabs for indentation, and sometimes to align code
			segments for readability. Please do the same.
		- Please don't use NotePad or some other Windows editor to make
			changes. Or if you do, get rid of the DOS linefeeds
			before submitting changes.
		- Please try to follow the formatting conventions established
			in the existing code.

	- Readability
		- Usually, I will trade off efficiency (of running time or of
			development time) in favor of readability.
		- Insert meaningful comments where appropriate.

	- Portability
		- All shell scripts are Bourne-compatible. I won't use shell-
			specific constructs from bash, ksh, etc.
		- Don't use OS-specific features, pathnames, etc., unless
			they're guarded by code checking the OS version, or
			they're in user-settable variables toward the top of
			the script.


CONTRIBUTORS
------------
Leon Towns-von Stauber


Enjoy!


Copyright (c) 1999-2007. All rights reserved.

See the LICENSE file distributed with this code for restrictions on its use
and further distribution.
Original distribution available at <http://www.occam.com/tools/>.