Re: Unexpected result from grep

From: Peter da Silva (peter_at_abbnm.com)
Date: 12/23/03

  • Next message: Dan Mercer: "Re: Unexpected result from grep" 
    Date: Tue, 23 Dec 2003 21:01:50 +0000 (UTC)

    In article <NFZFb.159619$Vu6.57918@twister.rdc-kc.rr.com>,
    Dan Mercer <dmercer@mn.rr.com> wrote:
    > But it severely lessens the need to invoke awk or sed, etc. Because of
    > extended globbing, and the new parameter substitution forms, there is
    > no need to invoke awk for trivial purposes, as so often was done in the
    > past. The less you need external programs, the less you need to
    > worry about their portability.

    You just need to worry about whether the shell you're using is there or
    not. Me, I'd worry about whether I should be using the shell at all.

    Look, we didn't start out this side-thread with any multi-hundred-
    line script that was longer than many compiled programs, but about
    what comes down to about four lines of portable code that didn't use
    any gawkisms.

    I'm not talking about vast constructs that are pushing the envelope of
    shell scripts. I'm talking about install scripts for programs, things
    that typically distill down to a few dozen lines at the most, don't
    stretch even the most ancient utilities, and seem to be written in
    extended shell dialects purely out of habit. I'm talking, well, about
    those habits.

    If you really need more than sh, if you're going to make me install
    another program to get your code to work, then I don't suppose ksh is
    as big a deal as Perl.

    Except that there's not three highly incompatible versions of Perl in
    current use, and Perl is more likely to be there anyway.

    I haven't addressed the pseudo-problem of "echo", and I'm not going to.
    Nor do I think I'll get into one of those point-by- point cross-griping
    exchanges, much as it tempts me.

    I do wonder why you think POSIX should have picked zsh, though, since you
    seem to prefer ksh and it sure seems like a better shell to me. 

    -- 
I've seen things you people can't imagine. Chimneysweeps on fire over the roofs
of London. I've watched kite-strings glitter in the sun at Hyde Park Gate.  All
these things will be lost in time, like chalk-paintings in the rain.   `-_-'
Time for your nap.  | Peter da Silva | Har du kramat din varg, idag?    'U`
  • Next message: Dan Mercer: "Re: Unexpected result from grep"

    Relevant Pages

    • Re: Unexpected result from grep
      ... > But it severely lessens the need to invoke awk or sed, ... > extended globbing, and the new parameter substitution forms, there is ... I'd worry about whether I should be using the shell at all. ... as big a deal as Perl. ...
      (comp.unix.shell)
    • Re: Unexpected result from grep
      ... I'd worry about whether I should be using the shell at all. ... as big a deal as Perl. ... Most people can puzzle out even a complicated shell script and also ... seem to prefer ksh and it sure seems like a better shell to me. ...
      (comp.unix.tru64)
    • Re: Unexpected result from grep
      ... I'd worry about whether I should be using the shell at all. ... as big a deal as Perl. ... Most people can puzzle out even a complicated shell script and also ... seem to prefer ksh and it sure seems like a better shell to me. ...
      (comp.unix.shell)
    • Re: ActiveState: Cant spawn "cmd.exe"?
      ... >> When testing with ActiveState perl what shell are you running in? ... Normally, perl is built using MinGW in the cmd.exe shell, following the ... ActiveState perl, too) in a bash shell, though I've not personally done ...
      (comp.lang.perl.misc)
    • Shell::Jobs - request for comments
      ... In an effort to make the code developed for the Zoidberg shellmore ... perl shells. ... # Run a shell command in the background ...
      (comp.lang.perl.modules)