.\" @(#)sh.3f 1.3 89/01/27 SMI; from UCB 4.2
.TH SH 3F "07 July 1995"
.SH NAME
sh \- fast execution of an sh shell command
.SH SYNOPSIS
.\"
.IX sh "" \fLsh\fP
.IX "execute an sh command"
.IX "command, execute an sh command"
.\"
.B integer function sh (string)
.br
.B character*(*) string
.SH DESCRIPTION
The function
.B sh
gives
.I string
to the 
.B sh
shell as input, as if the string had been typed as a command.
.PP
The shell is always the Bourne shell,
.BR sh (1).
.PP
The current process waits until the command terminates.
The returned value is the exit status of the shell.
See
.BR wait (2)
for an explanation of this value.
.PP
For output files, the buffer is flushed to the actual file.
.PP
For input files, the position of the pointer is unpredictable.
.PP
The
.B sh 
function is not MT-safe.  Do not call it from FORTRAN MP programs.
.SH FILES
.B libF77.a
.SH "SEE ALSO"
.BR execve (2), 
.BR wait (2), 
.BR system (3)
.SH BUGS
.I string
cannot be longer than 1024 characters.