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From: guy%gorodish@Sun.COM (Guy Harris)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.wizards,comp.arch
Subject: Re: Large programs
Message-ID: <30035@sun.uucp>
Date: Mon, 5-Oct-87 17:00:35 EDT
Article-I.D.: sun.30035
Posted: Mon Oct  5 17:00:35 1987
Date-Received: Thu, 8-Oct-87 07:21:58 EDT
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Xref: mnetor comp.unix.wizards:4710 comp.arch:2520

>    1)  entering a command which uses three to seven different small programs,
> all piped together, is a *PAIN* in the arse!  In many cases, a single command
> is much more desireable, certainly less prone to errors, and always eaiser
> and faster to use.

Which means that any commonly-used such sequence should be wrapped up in e.g. a
shell script or an alias.  Unfortunately, many such commonly-used sequences
aren't so bundled, e.g. the "ls | <multi-column filter>" sequence so often
suggested as preferable to having "ls" do the job.  (I'm curious how
general-purpose such a multi-column filter would be if it were to give you
*all* the capabilities of the current multi-column "ls"; i.e., were something
such as "ls * | <multi_column_filter>" in a directory with multiple
subdirectories able to give a listing of the form

	directory1:
	file1.1		file3.1
	file2.1		file4.1

	directory2:
	file1.2		file3.2
	file2.2		file4.2

If the filter couldn't do that, I wouldn't find it acceptable.  If it could do
*more* than that, e.g. converting "ls /foo/*.c /bar/*.c" | <multi-column
filter>" into

	foo:
	alpha.c		gamma.c
	beta.c

	bar:
	delta.c

I'd find it wonderful.)
	Guy Harris
	{ihnp4, decvax, seismo, decwrl, ...}!sun!guy
	guy@sun.com