Path: utzoo!yunexus!hydroesm!jtsv16!torsqnt!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!clyde.concordia.ca!uunet!mcsun!hp4nl!star.cs.vu.nl!maart
From: maart@cs.vu.nl (Maarten Litmaath)
Newsgroups: comp.misc
Subject: Re: Your favourite UNIX pipe ?
Message-ID: <6740@star.cs.vu.nl>
Date: 30 May 90 00:21:35 GMT
Article-I.D.: star.6740
References: <690@coma.UUCP> <24468@unix.cis.pitt.edu> <2487@rivm05.UUCP> <3870@rtifs1.UUCP>
Sender: news@cs.vu.nl
Reply-To: maart@cs.vu.nl (Maarten Litmaath)
Organization: VU Informatika, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Lines: 47

In article <3870@rtifs1.UUCP>,
	trt@rti.rti.org (Thomas Truscott) writes:
)...
)	myguess=`grep "^$srchpat$" $wordlist | \
)		sed -e "s/[$guesses]//g" -e 's/\(.\)\(.*\)\1/\1\2/g' [...]
                                            ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
                                            Why?

Anyway, a nice script, Tom!
What do you think of the following modified version?

--------------------cut here--------------------
#!/bin/sh
# you pick a word, e.g. "hangman".
# if antihang guesses "a", the new pattern is ".a...a.".
# if antihang then gueses "t", the new pattern is ".a...a." (no change).
# antihang fails on words not in /usr/dict/words
# Original: Tom Truscott
# Modifications: Maarten Litmaath
 
wordlist=/usr/dict/words
myguess=e       guesses=
NL='
'

while :
do
	guesses=$guesses$myguess
	echo -n "I guess $myguess, new pattern: "
	read pattern
	case $pattern in
	*.*)
		srchpat=`echo "$pattern" | sed "s/\./[^$guesses]/g"` 
		myguess=`
			sed -e "/^$srchpat$/!d" -e "s/[$guesses]//g" \
				-e 's/./&\\'"$NL/g" -e 's/.$//' $wordlist |
			sort |  uniq -c |  sort -nr |
			sed -e 's/.*\(.\)$/\1/' -e q
		`
		;;
	*)
		break
	esac
done
--
 "COBOL is the revenge of some witch burned |Maarten Litmaath @ VU Amsterdam:
   in Salem, [...]"  (Bill Davidsen)  |maart@cs.vu.nl, uunet!cs.vu.nl!maart