Re: Thoughts on a builtin read

[gjv%atlas%cesar@crbca1.SINet.SLB.COM]

[Malte wrote:]
 |[ rsalz@osf.org wrote ]:
 |    set $status to?  Leave it unchanged?  What about
 |            x=*
 |    if the directory is empty?  And if it isn't? What about

This sets x to '*', no error whatsoever.

 |            x=/foo/*
 |    when /foo doesn't exist?

This sets x to '/foo/*', again no error.

 |Yes, an assignment leaves the status unchanged. Your file name expansion
 |examples are just a shorthand for
 |	x = `{ glob /foo/* }	# glob == echo

I agree on this, It would be nice if the status reflects the result of
the evaluation of the right-hand side, not that of the assignment itself.

If you 'redefine' $status this way, it is also possible to save and
restore its value, something you currently can't (see my earlier mail
on the problems with $status and the prompt function).

The only problem here may be the following:

	; a=(b c)
	; $a="foo"
	multi-word variable name
	; echo $status
	1

However, an rc-script aborts if you try this, so you can't check $status
anyway.

 |There's been a discussion on shift shifting arbitrary lists with the
 |proposed syntax being "shift x 2" probably because "x = `{ shift x 2 }"
 |isn't too elegant. If this makes its way into rc, I don't mind if read
 |expects a variable as a command line parameter.

As Chris said, a `BUILTIN currently always forks, which is a disadvantage
of an implementation like "x=`{shift x 2}" or "x=`{read a; echo $a}" in order
to get a set of words in 'x'.

And since the $$<var-name> construction already allows a function like
'append x (a b c)' in order to modify the variable 'x', a 'read x'
or 'shift x 2' is not introducing something new.

Personally, I think that

	s = shift 2 $s
	s = shift 2 (what ever list)
	l = read
	l2 = read [1=3]		# would this read from descriptor 3 ?

would also be quite elegant, avoiding the builtins taking variable
names. But as mentioned above, this causes problems with the current
implementation of $status.

	Gert-Jan

---------------------------------------------------
J.G. Vons   E-Mail: vons@cesar.crbca1.sinet.slb.com