Path: utzoo!utgpu!utstat!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!cornell!batcomputer!mha
From: mha@batcomputer.tn.cornell.edu (Mark H. Anbinder)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: Does a Mac command-line file interface exist?
Message-ID: <7954@batcomputer.tn.cornell.edu>
Date: 16 May 89 05:48:10 GMT
References: <8410@phoenix.Princeton.EDU> <13478@dartvax.Dartmouth.EDU> <1232@oswego.Oswego.EDU>
Reply-To: mha@tcgould.tn.cornell.edu (Mark H. Anbinder)
Organization: Department of Media Services, Cornell University, Ithaca NY
Lines: 37

In article <1232@oswego.Oswego.EDU> ostroff@penelope.oswego.edu (Boyd Ostroff) writes:
>>In article <8410@phoenix.Princeton.EDU> bskendig@phoenix.Princeton.EDU (Brian Scott Kendig) writes:
>>>
>>>I realized the other day that the Mac might benefit from this kind of dual
>>>interface.  Does any sort of CLI exist for the Mac?  I don't see that it would
>
>Yes, it does exist.  Take a look at the Manx Aztec C shell program.  It is
>an implementation of a UNIX bourne shell, and comes with (or used to, at 
>least) their "commercial" package.  Quite a number of the standard commands
>are built into the shell, like ls, cd, pwd, mv, cp, rm, etc.  Lots of other
>UNIX clones are supplied as standalones, like cmp, diff, grep, vi, etc....

I was going to mention Aztec C's Shell program if you hadn't beat me to
it. :-)  This program actually does do a fair job of emulating a UNIX
shell, providing many of the basic commands, and allowing some use of
environment modification using SET parameters.

The main problem that prevents the use of this shell in the manner that
the original posting described, as an add-on to the visual interface that
could be called up on the occasions when it'd be more useful, is that
Aztec C's Shell does not run properly under MultiFinder.

It's entirely possible that I'm having trouble with it under MultiFinder
due to some odd combination of the inits and so forth that I'm using, so
if anyone HAS had success with it under MultiFinder I'd like to hear
about it.  I don't think so, though; I've done extensive testing trying
to get it working under MF so I can use it more extensively.

If Manx could produce a separate version of this interface, perhaps as a
desk accessory, they could probably sell a number of copies of it.


-- 
Mark H. Anbinder                                ** MHA@TCGould.tn.cornell.edu
NG33 MVR Hall, Media Services Dept.             ** THCY@CRNLVAX5.BITNET
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