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From: exspes@gdr.bath.ac.uk (P E Smee)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.wizards,comp.unix.questions
Subject: Re: Question about GETOPT(3)
Message-ID: <1989Nov15.183752.19153@gdt.bath.ac.uk>
Date: 15 Nov 89 18:37:52 GMT
Article-I.D.: gdt.1989Nov15.183752.19153
References: <2186@ektools.UUCP> <47040@bbn.COM> <17166@rpp386.cactus.org> <1989Nov3.110330.27751@gdt.bath.ac.uk> <1989Nov7.000009.23547@virtech.uucp>
Reply-To: exspes@gdr.bath.ac.uk (P E Smee)
Organization: University of Bristol c/o University of Bath
Lines: 35

In article <1989Nov7.000009.23547@virtech.uucp> cpcahil@virtech.uucp (Conor P. Cahill) writes:
>In article <1989Nov3.110330.27751@gdt.bath.ac.uk>, exspes@gdr.bath.ac.uk (P E Smee) writes:
>> In article <11456@smoke.BRL.MIL> gwyn@brl.arpa (Doug Gwyn) writes:
>> >-As for the religious point of view, dashes should just go away and be
>> >-replaced by entries in the file system such as "/dev/stdin".
>> 
>> Urk!  Would you *really* rather have to type "/dev/stdin" rather than
>> simply "-"?
>> Instead, how about an extension to general
>> filename expansion to say that the token "-" *always* means stdin...
>
>Using /dev/stdin falls in line with the standard unix way of referenceing
>special files (like /dev/tty, /dev/mem...).
>Your solution for re-mapping the "-" will only work
>for programs started by the shell...

Yeah, I know all about /dev/*, and don't have any trouble with the idea
of /dev/stdin *existing*.  However, I *don't* want to have to type it.
My concern is really only with shell command lines, because they are
the only things I have to type in (more than once :-).  I see no
problem with simultaneously having a /dev/stdin AND a simple-to-type
thingie which the shell expands to mean 'stdin' in whatever guise it
likes.  Much the same as I see no problem with having a bunch of files
in my homedir, and an easy-to-type ~/* to refer to them when I'm
talking thru the shell.

Of course there are problems with '-', since some things already give
it other custom meanings (tar comes to mind) but there must be some one
or two char string going spare.  Maybe ~~ or $~ or something.

-- 
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