Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!sdd.hp.com!spool.mu.edu!uunet!mcsun!ukc!acorn!osmith
From: osmith@acorn.co.uk (Owen Smith)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.acorn
Subject: Re: Pseudo Filing Systems via *set
Message-ID: <6815@acorn.co.uk>
Date: 2 May 91 16:07:20 GMT
Article-I.D.: acorn.6815
References: <1991May1.184943.1835@ugle.unit.no>
Sender: osmith@acorn.co.uk
Distribution: comp
Organization: Acorn Computers Ltd, Cambridge, England
Lines: 18

Try *set foo$dir adfs::4.$.fred
    *setmacro foo$path <foo$dir>.,adfs::4.$.fred2.

Now, when you try to read a file eg. *dump foo:wombat, all of the directories
on the path variable foo$path will be searched. If you do something
that needs a single directory eg. *dir foo:, *cat foo:, *create foo:fred
then the single directory in foo$dir will be used.

This is not secret information. Various of the !Boot and !Run files in the
RiscOS TcpIp suite set path and dir variables. So does C release 3 - look
at CLib$Dir, CLib$Path, Risc_OSLib$Dir and Risc_OSLib$Path.

Doing *show * from time to time and perusing the output can be quite
interesting.

Owen.

The views expressed are my own and are not necessarily those of Acorn.