Applications and proxies read the rules from the top of the table to the bottom. They use the first rule that applies for a particular attribute. If there are multiple rules in the table that could apply for an attribute, the application uses the first one it finds.

For example, a netperm table attribute contains the following rule:

smapd: userid uucp

and later in the file contains the rule:

smapd: userid mail

When smapd parses the netperm table, it uses the first rule it finds, and runs as the user uucp.

Each line in the netperm table contains a separate configuration rule in the format:

keyword: attribute valuelist

where:

A rule must fit on a single line. The length of a line varies by operating system, but is usually around 1,024 bytes. There is no provision for continuing lines.

The keyword(s), attribute, and value list can be separated by spaces or tabs.

A hash mark (#) at the beginning of a line indicates a comment. Applications ignore any text between the hash mark at the beginning of the line and the end of the line. If the hash mark appears later in the line, applications treat the hash mark as a normal character. Applications treat the following line as a comment:

#set timeout to five minutes

Applications treat the following line as invalid syntax:

tn-gw: timeout 3000 #set timeout to five minutes

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Note: Some default comments in the netperm table include information for the substitution driver. They begin with #%subs-start and end with #%subs-end. Do not delete these lines.

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The following table lists some common keywords for proxies and other applications. You can create your own keywords. Be sure that the keyword matches the value for the -as name flag you used when starting the proxy in a startup script

Attributes vary by proxy and application, though some attributes are common to multiple applications. Consult the reference information in Chapter 4, “Attribute Reference,” for more information on applicable attributes and values.