Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!sun-barr!lll-winken!iggy.GW.Vitalink.COM!widener!netnews.upenn.edu!vax1.cc.lehigh.edu!chili.cc.lehigh.edu!chili!jpe1 From: jpe1@PL118f.pl118g.cc.lehigh.edu (This space 4 rent) Newsgroups: comp.unix.wizards Subject: Re: file attributes Message-ID: Date: 20 Jun 91 16:50:20 GMT References: <1743@sranha.sra.co.jp> Sender: usenet@chili.cc.lehigh.edu Organization: Lehigh University Rebel Computer Users Lines: 33 In-Reply-To: erik@sra.co.jp's message of 20 Jun 91 00: 14:41 GMT Nntp-Posting-Host: pl118f.cc.lehigh.edu In article <1743@sranha.sra.co.jp> erik@sra.co.jp (Erik M. van der Poel) writes: On the Macintosh, it is possible to double click on the icon that represents a file to invoke the application associated with that file. It is difficult to build a GUI (graphical user interface) to do the same for Unix systems, since Unix does not offer a standard way of attaching an application name to a file. [unnecessary new system call discussion deleted] Comments? - -- Erik M. van der Poel erik@sra.co.jp Software Research Associates, Inc., Tokyo, Japan TEL +81-3-3234-2692 Um, I think that many GUIs have this already. For example, under the Sun Openwindows (version 2) filemanager, data files can be typed using the output from file(1) or by the name of the file itself, and then the proper application is called. In my environment, files ending in .c, when double-clicked, bring up emacs in c-mode, file in buffer. Files that file(1) reports as being postscript, when double-clicked, bring up the postscript previewer. The file command has all the power to extend this to work on, say, RMAIL files. John. ---------------------------------------- John Early | JPE1@PL118a.cc.lehigh.edu | I was just a child then; JPE1@Lehigh.Bitnet | now I'm only a man. [pf] JPE1@ns.cc.lehigh.edu | jearly@lehi3b15.csee.lehigh.edu | LUJPE@VAX1.cc.lehigh.edu |