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From: "Douglas A. Gwyn" <DAGwyn@null.net>
To: 9fans@cse.psu.edu
Subject: Re: Plan 9 annoyances (was: Re: [9fans] mv vs cp)
Date: Wed, 10 Oct 2001 08:56:43 +0000	[thread overview]
Message-ID: <3BC3CCAD.32DA6F6E@null.net> (raw)
In-Reply-To: <9pspio$m4b$1@inputplus.demon.co.uk>

Ralph Corderoy wrote:
> Isn't the problem the argv limits of number of characters and number of
> words?

There are several problems with traditional xargs.
The main one is that it doesn't properly quote the arguments,
so if there are embedded special characters the invoked
command gets bogus arguments.  (I usually encounter this in
one of the font directories where files are named after the
characters.)

8th Edition UNIX had an "apply" utility that was pretty
much the same thing.  Something of the sort is an important
tool to have in the utility toolkit.


  reply	other threads:[~2001-10-10  8:56 UTC|newest]

Thread overview: 37+ messages / expand[flat|nested]  mbox.gz  Atom feed  top
2001-10-08 16:51 anothy
2001-10-09  9:04 ` Thomas Bushnell, BSG
2001-10-09  9:04 ` Ralph Corderoy
2001-10-10  8:56   ` Douglas A. Gwyn [this message]
  -- strict thread matches above, loose matches on Subject: below --
2001-10-16 19:46 forsyth
2001-10-15 18:36 David Gordon Hogan
2001-10-15 14:45 presotto
2001-10-11 15:17 forsyth
2001-10-11 19:29 ` Micah Stetson
2001-10-11 12:21 bwc
2001-10-11 11:20 forsyth
2001-10-12  9:23 ` pac
2001-10-10 10:50 forsyth
2001-10-10 13:06 ` Sam Hopkins
2001-10-10 10:45 forsyth
2001-10-09 17:08 forsyth
2001-10-10  8:56 ` Thomas Bushnell, BSG
2001-10-10  9:55   ` Mike Haertel
2001-10-10 10:09     ` Lucio De Re
2001-10-11  9:10   ` Thomas Bushnell, BSG
2001-10-09 16:55 anothy
2001-10-09 15:23 anothy
2001-10-09 14:56 anothy
2001-10-09 13:18 bwc
2001-10-10  8:57 ` Douglas A. Gwyn
2001-10-09 10:55 rog
2001-10-09 11:50 ` George Michaelson
2001-10-09 10:12 forsyth
2001-10-09 16:18 ` Thomas Bushnell, BSG
2001-10-08 21:24 Russ Cox
2001-10-08 21:21 rog
2001-10-08 20:17 Russ Cox
2001-10-14 19:54 ` Mike Haertel
2001-10-15  6:46   ` Boyd Roberts
2001-10-15  8:30     ` Mike Haertel
2001-10-08  6:27 [9fans] mv vs cp Lucio De Re
2001-10-08  8:38 ` Plan 9 annoyances (was: Re: [9fans] mv vs cp) Mike Haertel
2001-10-08  9:08   ` Lucio De Re

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