Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!sdd.hp.com!usc!wuarchive!uwm.edu!rutgers!cbmvax!daveh From: daveh@cbmvax.commodore.com (Dave Haynie) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga Subject: Re: Does 2.0 have REAL wildcards? (was Re: VLT Help needed) Message-ID: <17185@cbmvax.commodore.com> Date: 7 Jan 91 19:27:29 GMT References: <8pwxo8v@Unify.Com> <1990Dec30.163531.22293@zorch.SF-Bay.ORG> <238@coplex.UUCP> <1991Jan1.052216.672@zorch.SF-Bay.ORG> <61799@bbn.BBN.COM> Reply-To: daveh@cbmvax.commodore.com (Dave Haynie) Distribution: na Organization: Commodore, West Chester, PA Lines: 33 In article walt@bcarh133.uucp (Walt Sullivan) writes: >Dec's TOPS-20 operating system had wildcard expansion built into the >operating system, but callable by the program parsing the command line. >I'd like to see the Amiga have a wildcard.library that offered similar >functionality. Under 2.0, DOS library has functions which do full wildcard parsing and matching. So all 2.0 commands call these routines. Any programmer can use them, on the command line, within a GUI-based program, wherever. Those who like shells to do the command line expansion should be able to get shells that uses these 2.0 routines before long. Of course, they'll have to learn when to quote for each command used, whereas normal shells leave it to the command to know what needs to be expanded in what way. >I don't think forcing each and every Amiga programmer to invent his/her >own set of wildcard parsing/expansion routines (and conventions!) is a >good idea. It isn't, really. I don't think its been at the "create your own" routine level for some time. At least Lattice gave you the primitive "?*" or "#?" matching conventions. There have been two PD routine sets out there, (I wrote one that compiles under Lattice) that do full 1.3 convention pattern matching, and there's ARP, so it has been awhile since anyone needed to reinvent the wheel. Of course, centralizing it under 2.0 make it possible to change the convention everywhere should someone find that necessary. >Walt Sullivan -- Dave Haynie Commodore-Amiga (Amiga 3000) "The Crew That Never Rests" {uunet|pyramid|rutgers}!cbmvax!daveh PLINK: hazy BIX: hazy "Don't worry, 'bout a thing. 'Cause every little thing, gonna be alright" -Bob Marley