Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!husc6!cmcl2!rutgers!bellcore!tness7!tness1!sugar!peter
From: peter@sugar.UUCP (Peter da Silva)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: multiple file copy using arp copy, how?
Message-ID: <2112@sugar.UUCP>
Date: 13 Jun 88 14:03:45 GMT
References: <336@vedge.UUCP> <1234@csuna.UUCP> <2076@sugar.UUCP> <532@sas.UUCP>
Organization: Sugar Land UNIX - Houston, TX
Lines: 56

In article <532@sas.UUCP>, toebes@sas.UUCP (John Toebes) writes:
> In article <2076@sugar.UUCP> peter@sugar.UUCP (Peter da Silva) writes:

> >> AmigaDOS's wild cards are surprisingly powerful:
> >> 	copy x#?|file1|file2|f3|f4 to dest_dir

> >I'm impressed. I don't recall seeing an alternation operator like that in
> >the AmigaDOS docs.

> >> Unfortunately, the ARP Copy won't do this:  it only gets the first file.

> >That's really weird. [ my uninformed speculation about MS-DOS stuff
> > breaking Jeff Lydiatt's code follows ]

> Yes, you are right - you are totally uninformed.  Perhaps you might
> consider checking your sources first next time.

Nah, it's more fun getting flamed. You don't do it right, though: that was
actually a perfectly reasonable response to my message. You need to tell me
I'm incompetant, lazy, and power-hungry as well. 

> The wildcard implementation was done from scratch based on algorithms in the
> 'Software Tools' book.

Ah, good old Software Tools. The original Ratfor one, I hope...

> In the process I added * as an alias to #? (ABSOLUTELY no difference) and the
> code to handle multiple wildcards across multiple directory levels (*/*/*.c).
> The implementation does not allow for the alternative operator '|' except
> within parenthesis.  If AmigaDos does handle this correctly and consistantly
> then it might be worth adding.

That's OK. I can put the parentheses in just fine. It'd be nice if you allowed
the '*' to perform its documented purpose: being an handle for Input()  (or for
Output()).

One wildcard *I* would like to see added is the moral equivalent of VMS's [...]
syntax. I'm sure you have VMS systems at SAS, somewhere, but if not here's
how it works:

	DEV:[DIRECTORY.PATH]FILE.EXT;VER

This is DEC's file name format.

	DEL [...]*.OBJ;*

This deletes all .OBJ files in the current directories and all subdirectories.
It's a "tree" operator. Perhaps you can do this:

	delete @/*.o	; single-character token preferred
	delete .../*.o	; Make the VMS weenies happy until they make
			; a directory named "...".
-- 
-- Peter da Silva      `-_-'      ...!hoptoad!academ!uhnix1!sugar!peter
-- "Have you hugged your U wolf today?" ...!bellcore!tness1!sugar!peter
-- Disclaimer: These may be the official opinions of Hackercorp.