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- From: peter@ferranti.com (peter da silva)
- Subject: Re: Giles' (Manual) Mania (getting longuish)
- Message-ID: <id.I34T.F16@ferranti.com>
- Organization: Xenix Support, FICC
- References: <1992Sep8.183712.18867@newshost.lanl.gov> <7269@charon.cwi.nl> <1992Sep9.192946.27394@newshost.lanl.gov>
- Date: Thu, 10 Sep 1992 17:15:28 GMT
- Lines: 63
-
- In article <1992Sep9.192946.27394@newshost.lanl.gov> jlg@cochiti.lanl.gov (Jim Giles) writes:
- > Yes, you're quite right, that's why UNIX doesn't have asynchronous
- > I/O.
-
- This is (and I've commented on it before) the only real problem with the
- UNIX API. And it would be *so* easy to fix, in a completely compatible way,
- by introducing the concept of file tokens.
-
- > Can you explain why the UNIX environment has two different pattern
- > matching syntaxes (wildcards and regular expressions)
-
- Because regular expressions are inconvenient for interactive use, and
- wildcards are inadequate for many purposes.
-
- > and why the
- > different tools which need to do pattern matching are rather
- > idiosyncratic about which they use?
-
- Apart from the shell, what uses wildcards?
-
- > Can you explain why, although
- > different, they use the *same* characters as meta-symbols (so each
- > has to be quoted to get through the other)?
-
- Historical dreg. There are some problems with the standard shells. This
- is not an inherent UNIX problem
-
- > Can you explain why there are two different tools to inquire the
- > same database (the file directories): ls and find?
-
- Oh, there are more than just those two. You forgot wildcards.
-
- > Can you explain why line-at-a-time text filters *exist* in UNIX (when
- > the brag is that UNIX imposes no structure on files)?
-
- UNIX imposes no structure on files. Applications and tools do. These tools
- exist because they're convenient.
-
- > Can you explain
- > why such line-at-a-time filters have *different* line and files size
- > limits?
-
- They shouldn't have any. Fixing this should have been a basic requirement
- for commercial release of UNIX. A really good commercial quality UNIX has
- not yet been built.
-
- > Can you explain why *no one* seems satisfied with UNIX text editors
-
- I am.
-
- > *THIS* would be consistent, but the UNIX
- > environment won't even *let* me do it. Why? They *CLAIM* it's for
- > consistency!!
-
- No, it's for convenience. To make the normal case work better.
-
- The fix is to use a network file system instead of the r-suite. Berkeley
- networking is such a kludge.
- --
- Peter da Silva `-_-'
- Ferranti Intl. Ctls. Corp. 'U`
- Sugar Land, TX 77487-5012
- +1 713 274 5180 Har du kramat din varg idag?
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