Xref: utzoo comp.lang.c:9612 comp.unix.wizards:8010
Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!rbutterworth
From: rbutterworth@watmath.waterloo.edu (Ray Butterworth)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c,comp.unix.wizards
Subject: Re: command line options
Message-ID: <18500@watmath.waterloo.edu>
Date: 25 Apr 88 18:04:11 GMT
References: <2414@zyx.UUCP> <8039@elsie.UUCP> <7628@brl-smoke.ARPA> <143@gsg.UUCP> <7680@brl-smoke.ARPA>
Organization: U of Waterloo, Ontario
Lines: 63

In article <7680@brl-smoke.ARPA>, gwyn@brl-smoke.ARPA (Doug Gwyn ) writes:
>     usage: ls -RadCxmnlogrtucpFbqisfL [files]

Are there actually people out there that find something like
the above usage line of any practical use at all?

Maybe I've been spoiled by growing up on non-unix-syntax machines,
but "-RadCxmnlogrtucpFbqisfL" doesn't help me one bit.

Options with real names are so much nicer.  e.g.

======% imagen -help
IMAGEN  [file]*  [Offset=0]  [Lines=66]  [Tabstops=4]  [+Headings] 
        [+Outline]  [Columns=1]  [+Reverse]  [+Rule]  [-Compress] 
        [+Landscape]  [-TitlePage]  [Banner=]  [Printer=imagen300] 
        [-Submit]
Submits text files to imagen dumb printer.


======% imagen +help
IMAGEN  [file]*  [Offset=0]  [Lines=66]  [Tabstops=4]  [+Headings] 
        [+Outline]  [Columns=1]  [+Reverse]  [+Rule]  [-Compress] 
        [+Landscape]  [-TitlePage]  [Banner=]  [Printer=imagen300] 
        [-Submit]
Submits text files to imagen dumb printer.

file
    Names of file(s) to be printed.
Offset=0
    How many characters offset from left margin.
Lines=66
    How many lines per page.
Tabstops=4
    How many positions between tab stops.
+Headings
    Put headings at top of each page.
+Outline
    Outline page borders.
Columns=1
    Number of pages per physical page.
+Reverse
    Reverse page order.
+Rule
    Print page rules every two lines.
-Compress
    When Columns=2, a new file cannot begin in the second column.
+Landscape
    Use page sideways.
-TitlePage
    Don't print the job's title page.
Banner=
    Name on banner page (default is name of first file).
Printer=imagen300
    Name of printer.
-Submit
    Don't submit the job.  Instead send output to stdout.


P.S. Please don't flame me saying "that's not unix!".
     I know it isn't.
     I know I don't have the slightest chance of converting the
     unix world to this syntax.
     But I know which syntax I prefer and why.