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From: paquette@cs-sun-fsa.cpsc.ucalgary.ca (Trevor Paquette)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.shell,comp.unix.internals,comp.unix.programmer
Subject: Alias to change path on the fly
Message-ID: <1990Nov8.014515.13882@cpsc.ucalgary.ca>
Date: 8 Nov 90 01:45:15 GMT
Organization: GraphicsLand, U. of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta
Lines: 41
Originator: gl@cs-sun-fsd
Nntp-Posting-Host: cs-sun-fsd


 Quick and I hope a fairly simple question. We have some programs
that must be able to take advantage of two co-processors on a sun.
The executables are name prog_host (no coprocessor), prog_sc (Supercard
coprocessor) and prog_qc (Quickcard coprocessor).
 Each executable is in a seperate directory. I want to be able to change
my path on the fly to get at a certain executable. This is what I have
done so far.
Let's say my path is set as :
(. /usr/ucb /bin /usr/bin /usr/local/bin /home/insight/sparc/bin/itahost)
                                                                 *******
itahost contains all the prog_host executables.
itaqc   contains all the prog_qc executables.
itasc   contains all the prog_sc executables.

I have come up with the following aliases to change which directory I will use

alias host 'echo set path=\($path\)|sed s/itaqc/itahost/|sed s/itasc/itahost/'
alias qc   'echo set path=\($path\)|sed s/itahost/itaqc/|sed s/itasc/itaqc/  '
alias sc   'echo set path=\($path\)|sed s/itaqc/itasc/  |sed s/itahost/itasc/'

 These aliases of course only ECHO what the command to change the path should 
be.
To actually execute the command we must put some ` around the command.

 So the new aliases should be:
alias host '`echo set path=\($path\)|sed s/itaqc/itahost/|sed s/itasc/itahost/`'
alias qc   '`echo set path=\($path\)|sed s/itahost/itaqc/|sed s/itasc/itaqc/  `'
alias sc   '`echo set path=\($path\)|sed s/itaqc/itasc/  |sed s/itahost/itasc/`'
  But these new aliases give me the following error: 

`echo set path=\($path\)|sed s/itaqc/itahost/|sed s/itasc/itahost/`: Ambiguous

 What am I doing wrong???????????

  Trev
-- 
______________________________________/Through the darkness, the future past,
Trevor Paquette  ICBM:51'03"N/114'05"W|The magician longs to see.
{ubc-cs,utai,alberta}!calgary!paquette|One chants out, between two worlds,
paquette@cpsc.ucalgary.ca             |"Fire, walk with me."