Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!ncrlnk!ncr-sd!hp-sdd!sceard!mrm
From: mrm@sceard.UUCP (M.R.Murphy)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.wizards
Subject: Re: Worm/Passwords (really: 'rm *')
Message-ID: <860@sceard.UUCP>
Date: 18 Nov 88 19:07:14 GMT
References: <22401@cornell.UUCP> <4627@rayssd.ray.com> <8563@rpp386.Dallas.TX.US> <125@embossed.UUCP> <672@quintus.UUCP> <466@yarra.oz.au>
Reply-To: mrm@sceard.UUCP (0040-M.R.Murphy)
Organization: Sceard Systems, Inc., Carlsbad, CA  92009
Lines: 30

In article <3036@haven.umd.edu> louie@trantor.umd.edu (Louis A. Mamakos) writes:
>In the C-shell:
>
>	% set noglob
>
>You will have no further problems with pesky '*' characters.  Haven't we
>solved this problem yet?  Is this is problem that needs to be solved?  Is
>this a problem at all?
>
>
>
>
>Louis A. Mamakos  WA3YMH    Internet: louie@TRANTOR.UMD.EDU
>University of Maryland, Computer Science Center - Systems Programming

I think that the following shell script does about what is asked for. The
idea is to use existing tools rather than change exisiting tools.

#! /bin/sh -
if test `echo "$*" |wc -w` -gt 5
then
	echo ": expands to more than 5 arguments, are you sure? \c"
	read answer
	if test "$answer" != "yes" -a "$answer" != "y"
	then
		exit 1
	fi
fi
#change "echo" below to the command(s) that you feel like doing for $*
echo $*