DIALTEST(8C)

💅 DIALTEST(8C) — the HylaFAX dial-rule test bestie

okay so real talk, this is dialtest from the HylaFAX manual, section 8C, and it's genuinely one of my fave little tools. let's get into it 🫶

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✨ NAME ✨

dialtest — the HylaFAX dial string processing rules test program. it's giving "lab bench but for phone numbers" 🔥

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🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

/usr/bin/dialtest [ options ] dialrules

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🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

so dialtest is an interactive program — like, it actually talks back to you — and it exists for testing and developing the dial string processing rules that HylaFAX uses. ngl that's the whole job and it ate.

here's the vibe: dialtest reads the file of rules you name on the command line, and then it just prompts you for a dial string. type one in, and for each string you type, it prints out the result of applying the canonicalization rule set and the dial-string preparation rule sets. it's literally showing you the glow-up your number goes through ✨

and bestie, you can target a specific rule set too — if a rule set's name is setname, you type it like this:

setname(string)

for example:

CanonicalName(+1.415.965.7824)

iconic. iykyk 💅

⚠️ okay important one, don't skip this: dialtest reads the rules file only when it is initially started up. that means if you edit your rules file, dialtest will not notice. you have to restart dialtest for it to apply changes to a rules file. no cap. it will happily lie to you with stale rules otherwise 😭

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🎀 OPTIONS 🎀

• -a code — use code as the value of AreaCode in the rules file. the default area code is 415.
• -c code — use code as the value of CountryCode in the rules file. the default country code is 1.
• -i prefix — use prefix as the value of InternationalPrefix in the rules file. the default international dialing prefix is 011.
• -l prefix — use prefix as the value of LongDistancePrefix in the rules file. the default long distance dialing prefix is 1.
• -q — be quiet, suppressing most all output except for the actual results. this is useful for using dialtest in an automated fashion. lowkey the "no thoughts just answers" mode 🤫
• -v — print each input line before displaying the results of applying the dial string rules to the input string. this can be useful, for example, in shell scripts. main character energy for your shell scripts fr fr 📜

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👑 SEE ALSO 👑

• dialrules(5F)

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and that's the whole page, bestie — DIALTEST(8C), dated March 3, 1995, from the HylaFAX squad. a 1995 baddie that still slays. periodt 💖✨