Re: [9fans] typed sh (was: what features would you like in a shell?)

[erik quanstrom <quanstro@quanstro.net>]

> Nitpick: the output type of one command and the input type of
> the next command in the pipeline has to match, not every
> command.

i think this is wrong.  there's no requirement
that the programs participating in a pipeline are compatable
at all; that's the beauty of pipes.  you can do things
that were not envisioned at the time the programs were
written.

> To go beyond simple char streams, one can for example build a
> s-expr pipeline: a stream of self identifying objects of a
> few types (chars, numbers, symbols, lists, vectors). In Q
> (from kx.com) over an IPC connection you can send strings,
> vectors, dictionaries, tables, or arbitray Q expressions. But
> there the model is more of a client/server.

or ntfs where files are databases.  not sure if streams
can look the same way.

- erik