Asri-unix.445 net.unix-wizards utzoo!decvax!ucbvax!menlo70!sri-unix!mclure@SRI-UNIX Wed Jan 6 21:12:08 1982 command parsers (and lack thereof) Recently, I wrote a simple command parser for my mail program. It is similar to the TOPS-20 COMND jsys, uses Termcap to take advantage of display terminals, expands commands from their minimum unambiguous abbreviations automatically, and parses multiple fields and arguments on a single command line. Mine is too rough to be of use generally, but it would be nice if the standard I/O library had its own command scanner so that people wouldn't have to brew their own. Unix is getting to be sort of like Tenex since every program has its own command scanner. It's a real shame to see Unix get bogged down by such inconsistent command interfaces. I have long felt that this is TOPS-20's major single advantage in human engineering over Unix. ----------------------------------------------------------------- gopher://quux.org/ conversion by John Goerzen of http://communication.ucsd.edu/A-News/ This Usenet Oldnews Archive article may be copied and distributed freely, provided: 1. There is no money collected for the text(s) of the articles. 2. The following notice remains appended to each copy: The Usenet Oldnews Archive: Compilation Copyright (C) 1981, 1996 Bruce Jones, Henry Spencer, David Wiseman.