Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!cs.utexas.edu!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!bloom-beacon!gatech!ncar!ico!vail!rcd
From: rcd@ico.ISC.COM (Dick Dunn)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.wizards
Subject: Re: New (GNU) [was kernels, now command-line options]
Summary: why not just fix it (and not completely redesign it)?
Keywords: UNIX progress; controversy
Message-ID: <15810@vail.ICO.ISC.COM>
Date: 1 Jun 89 21:14:32 GMT
References: <2501@gandalf.UUCP>
Organization: Interactive Systems Corp, Boulder, CO
Lines: 37

In article <2501@gandalf.UUCP>, ml@gandalf.UUCP (Marcus Leech) writes:
>...Make a sweep of all the commands in the system and decide on a consistent
>  command-line options scheme...

This is a sound basic idea...existing command-line options of various
commands are known to be screwy or difficult, leading to BUGS entries like
"The syntax is painful" (find) or "The conventions of join, sort, comm,
uniq, look, and awk(1) are wildly incongruous" (join).  Progress in this
area has been very slow, due to compatibility constraints (whether real or
just perceived).

We're not talking about kernel stuff here, but it's a matter of general
interest as GNU looks toward becoming a "system" with some focus instead of
only a "collection".

>...Options should be case insensitive...

Hello?  UNIX command names are case-sensitive.  Lexically, C is case-sen-
sitive.  I don't see any precedent for removing case-sensitivity in one
part of the system when it exists in others.

>...Options that perform the same function in different commands should
> have the same names...

In principle, a good idea, but this depends on the (very loosely coupled)
command authors to get together and agree a priori.  It's a "system issue"
but it doesn't have a "system solution"...in fact, I suspect that's the
reason UNIX command options lack uniformity.

>...Options should be complete words, with
>  a minimum-unambiguous scheme to reduce typing...

This is a radical change from the UNIX approach.  It will yield something
that is NOT a replacement for UNIX.  Why do it?
-- 
Dick Dunn      UUCP: {ncar,nbires}!ico!rcd           (303)449-2870
   ...CAUTION:  I get mean when my blood-capsaicin level gets low.