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To: Chris Siebenmann <cks@hawkwind.utcs.toronto.edu>
Cc: rc@archone.tamu.edu
Subject: Re: today's rc programming challenge 
In-Reply-To: Your message of "Thu, 16 Apr 92 17:11:48 CDT."
             <92Apr16.181203edt.2714@hawkwind.utcs.toronto.edu> 
Date: Fri, 17 Apr 1992 06:07:00 -0500
From: Robert Earl <chupchup@piggy.ucsb.edu>

fn chop {
	l=() {
	for (f in ``$nl{whatis $1}) {
		~ $#l 0 || echo -n $l
		~ $f '''' && {echo ''''; return}
		~ $#l 0 || echo
		l=$f
	}
	}
}

you call it with a variable name rather than the value; and it prints
a variable assignment a la `whatis' on stdout, so to use it:

; foo='testing
	chop.
	'
; eval ``(){chop foo}

and foo is now chopped.  i know the calling syntax is obscure, but
using whatis was convenient - it knows how to quote, and in the
presence of tabs and spaces, echo could get things wrong.

OBChallenge: make this work with more than one argument.  i had to use
"return" to cut out of the loop (which is why it HAS to be in a
function).