Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!samsung!xylogics!bu.edu!nntp-read!jbw
From: jbw@bucsf.bu.edu (Joe Wells)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.shell
Subject: Re: Multiline aliases in csh ?
Message-ID: <JBW.90Oct25045850@bucsf.bu.edu>
Date: 25 Oct 90 08:58:50 GMT
References: <APS.90Oct23053623@kaarne.tut.fi>
Sender: news@bu.edu.bu.edu
Organization: Boston University Computer Science Department
Lines: 34
In-reply-to: aps@tut.fi's message of 23 Oct 90 04:36:23 GMT

aps@tut.fi (Suntioinen Ari) writes:

	   Is there any way to define multi line alias in csh ?
	   What I mean is (for example) if-else or foreach loop 
	   as a part of alias.

Sure, here's an appropriately twisted example:

    alias which '(set argv=($path) target=\!*; whichi)'
    alias whichi 'if (! $#argv) set status=1 && whichii'
    alias whichii \
    'if (-x "$1/$target") set status=1 && shift && eval "whichi" \\
     || if ($#argv > 0) echo "$1/$target"'

Conditionals are done with:

    if (condition) set status=1 && else-statement || then-statement

Looping is done with recursion, which requires you to use "eval",
otherwise the csh will detect the recursion and refuse to do it.

Note, the last line should actually read:

     || echo "$1/$target"'

but yet another csh bug prevents it from working that way.

Enjoy,

-- 
Joe Wells <jbw@bu.edu>

PS.  I think this example clearly justifies why the author(s) of the csh
will be roasting in hell for a long long long time.