Newsgroups: comp.arch
Path: utzoo!telly!problem!druid!darcy
From: darcy@druid.uucp (D'Arcy J.M. Cain)
Subject: Re: UNIX mind-set  -> OK, OK!
Message-ID: <1991Jan15.010306.15378@druid.uucp>
Organization: D'Arcy Cain Consulting, West Hill, Ontario
References: <11305@lanl.gov> <1991Jan14.013815.11419@ims.alaska.edu> <11314@lanl.gov>
Date: Tue, 15 Jan 91 01:03:06 GMT

In article <11314@lanl.gov> jlg@lanl.gov (Jim Giles) writes:
>Yes, both of the shells that are bundled with versions of UNIX _do_
>automatically trash (that is, 'process') the command line arguments to
>expand wildcards.  Explains why I don't use the bundled command shells
>much.  This is a choice that _should_ be left to the discretion of the
>utility writer.

In your opinion.  I have a different opinion and here's why.  With the
shell expanding the wildcards I know exactly what the effect will be
when I give it "x*y."  If each program expanded its own wildcards (like
MS-DOS) then I would have to test every tool before I could be sure that
it acted as I wanted it to and even then I really couldn't be sure.  When
I meet a new tool I want to fully explore its new capabilities.  I don't
want to keep going over the same ground all the time.

BTW I don't believe the shell is perfect but it certainly does things a
lot better than messy-dos - in *my* opinion.

-- 
D'Arcy J.M. Cain (darcy@druid)     |
D'Arcy Cain Consulting             |   There's no government
West Hill, Ontario, Canada         |   like no government!
+1 416 281 6094                    |