---
name: "pathmerge"
section: "8"
platform: "linux"
package: "smail"
version: "3.2.0.115-7.1"
release: "Debian 4.0 (Etch)"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/pathmerge"
---

# pathmerge(8)

merge sorted paths files

## NAME

pathmerge - merge sorted paths files

## SYNOPSIS

**/usr/lib/smail/pathmerge** *file ...*

## DESCRIPTION

*Pathmerge* takes a set of sorted path files, as produced by [*pathalias*(8)](/pathalias/8.md), and generates on the standard output a merge of the path information, with one path given for each hostname.  Precedence for paths goes to the files given earlier in the argument list.  One of the filenames given in the argument list can be **-** to specify the standard input.

As an example of the use of pathmerge, let's say that we have two files, *forces* and *paths*, whose contents are, respectively:

```
ihnp4	cbosgd!ihnp4!%s
muts12	muts12!%s
sun	sun!%s
```

and

```
cbosgd	cbosgd!%s
ihnp4	ihnp4!%s
sun	ames!sun!%s
uunet	uunet!%s
```

The command *\`\`pathmerge forces paths''* will produce on the standard output:

```
cbosgd	cbosgd!%s
ihnp4	cbosgd!ihnp4!%s
muts12	muts12!%s
sun	sun!%s
uunet	uunet!%s
```

For the purposes of pathmerge, a hostname is terminated by either a space, a tab, a colon or a newline. The number of *file* arguments is limited by the number of available file descriptors, as all of the files are opened and read simultaneously.

## SEE ALSO

[*mkline*(8)](/mkline/8.md), [*mksort*(8)](/mksort/8.md), [*mkdbm*(8)](/mkdbm/8.md), [*smail*(5)](/smail/5.md), [*smail*(8)](/smail/8.md), *mkpath (8)* and [*pathalias*(8)](/pathalias/8.md).

## COPYRIGHT

Copyright(C)1987, 1988 Ronald S. Karr and Landon Curt Noll\
 Copyright(C)1992 Ronald S. Karr\
 See a file *COPYING*, distributed with the source code, or type *smail -bc*, to view distribution rights and restrictions associated with this software.