Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uwm.edu!ux1.cso.uiuc.edu!ux1.cso.uiuc.edu!phil From: phil@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu Newsgroups: comp.unix.questions Subject: Is there a standard way to do "foo" Message-ID: <22000012@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu> Date: 13 Sep 90 01:17:00 GMT Lines: 21 Nf-ID: #N:ux1.cso.uiuc.edu:22000012:000:1081 Nf-From: ux1.cso.uiuc.edu!phil Sep 12 20:17:00 1990 Suppose I am writing something in which I need to do "foo". I could write something to do "foo" myself, but perhaps "foo" has already been done and it is generally available across unix platforms. Is there a way of finding out if a generally available "foo" exists without bothering a guru? Of course if there was a list of "generally available things" I could look in it and see if foo is in there. I could also read this list sequentially and learn them all, too. Keep in mind that my term for "foo" and the generally known term for "foo" might not match. The matchup might need to be done by semantics rather than by name. I guess this is the age old problem of reverse man pages (here is what I want to do, what is its name). My current "foo" is "how do resolve a pathname that contains one or more symbolic links into a pathname that has none (absolute path)?". But I hate having to ask each question every time. --Phil Howard, KA9WGN-- | Individual CHOICE is fundamental to a free society | no matter what the particular issue is all about.