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Path: utzoo!linus!security!genrad!decvax!harpo!eagle!mhuxl!cbosgd!osu-dbs!paul
From: paul@osu-dbs.UUCP (Paul Placeway)
Newsgroups: net.unix
Subject: RE**n: unix command syntax
Message-ID: <545@osu-dbs.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 9-Apr-84 22:57:16 EST
Article-I.D.: osu-dbs.545
Posted: Mon Apr  9 22:57:16 1984
Date-Received: Wed, 11-Apr-84 01:46:02 EST
Organization: Ohio State U., CIS Dept., Columbus
Lines: 40

< *FIX YOUR SOFTWARE* >

I am setting up a very fancy version of csh and the unix environment as a
project here at Ohio State, and I have had experience with both Unix(tm AT&T)
and Tops-20(tm DEC).  One aspect of the project is to clean up the command
syntax into something rational (single letter flags considered harmful).
Since it's my project, I can enforce conformance to the rules (yes, that
meens changing hundreds of programs), and I don't aggree with some of the
commities guidelines anyway.  Here is (in a nut-shell) my 'standard' for
general commands:

   command <global switches> [ filename <local switches> ...]

   <global switches> ::= (a repitition of)
			 -name
		     or  -name:value

   <local switches> ::= <global switches>

   (the least length unambigous switch name == full switch name)

Thus:
	ls -la ~foo
becomes:

	directory -long -all ~foo

and can be abbreviated:

	dir -l -a ~foo

I am submitting this asking for comments (but no "follow the standard"
please) from any and all.

					Paul W. Placeway
					The Ohio State University IRCC
					(UUCP: cbosgd!osu-dbs!paul)
					(CSNet: paul@ohio-state)

ps: looks sort of like Tops-20, doesn't it?