Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!gatech!ncar!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!usc!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!sol.ctr.columbia.edu!emory!hubcap!ncrcae!opusc!yarnall
From: yarnall@opusc.csd.scarolina.edu (Ken Yarnall)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.tech
Subject: Re: PIPEs
Message-ID: <1990Nov9.172608.22937@opusc.csd.scarolina.edu>
Date: 9 Nov 90 17:26:08 GMT
References: <3761@mindlink.UUCP>
Organization: Math Department, University of South Carolina (ahem; The USC)
Lines: 35

In article <3761@mindlink.UUCP> a218@mindlink.UUCP (Charlie Gibbs) writes:
+
+     To each his own, I guess.  I much prefer Unix-style command
+options; Amiga-style keywords take us back to the good old days
+of COBOL's reserved words, which are a supreme pain in the butt.
+Why shouldn't I be able to have files called ALL or CLONE, and copy
+them by just saying COPY ALL CLONE without having to worry about
+quoting and other such stuff?  Which other file names suddenly
+become "off limits" when someone makes up a new keyword in his
+program?  The Unix "-" delimiter is unambiguous, and is easy to
+keep out of file names without getting all bent out of shape.

But, they're `in there' now, and it is pretty unrealistic to hope that they
will ever change.

+     As for pipe characters, my vote is for retaining the Unix "|"
+symbol.  I can't think of any compelling reason to make people
+switch to something different.  Besides, multi-character operators
+are a pain to parse (but my viewpoint is no doubt prejudiced by
+the amount of programming I do).

Make people change?  Nobody's using a pipe character, now!  We're talking
about AmigaDOS, not Un*x.  Not everyone on the world (and I would hazard a
guess that not even most) comes home from a day at Eir Un*x box, and fires up
Eir AmigaDOS shell.  There is no compelling reason that Randell and the
others should try to reshape AmigaDOS in the image of a Un*x shell...

+Charlie_Gibbs@mindlink.UUCP

ken
-- 
     Ken Yarnall                 ///   yarnall@usceast.cs.scarolina.EDU
      Math Department, USC   \\\///   yarnall@ucseast.UUCP
       Columbia, S.C. 29208   \\\/   (803)777-5218
    `You'd better tie me up.' -- from the movie, "Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down"