Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site watmath.UUCP
Path: utzoo!watmath!idallen
From: idallen@watmath.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.cog-eng,net.nlang
Subject: Re: expert-friendly: are long names a waste of time?
Message-ID: <6125@watmath.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 14-Nov-83 12:43:29 EST
Article-I.D.: watmath.6125
Posted: Mon Nov 14 12:43:29 1983
Date-Received: Wed, 16-Nov-83 00:44:13 EST
References: <4063@amd70.UUCP>, <141@cae780.UUCP>
Organization: U of Waterloo, Ontario
Lines: 22

If some people think CHMOD should be "chmod mode file" and others think
"chmod file mode", then either choice will have a bunch of people making
argument-order mistakes.  You wouldn't have this problem if you were
allowed to flag the type of one or both parameters:

   chmod a b c d mode=0777
   chmod m=077 a b c d
   chmod a b m=0777 c d
   chmod 0777 file=a
   chmod f=a 0777

This way, neither you nor the command has to remember the order at all.

Of course, the idea of "chmod mode file file file mode file file file"
can't work, since UNIX files can look just like modes.  Even if they
didn't look like modes, the argument order problem is still there.  Is it

    chmod mode file file mode file file
       or
    chmod file file mode file file mode   ?
-- 
        -IAN!  (Ian! D. Allen)      University of Waterloo