From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 From: paul.winalski@gmail.com (Paul Winalski) Date: Fri, 24 Mar 2017 17:55:14 -0400 Subject: [TUHS] 'Command subcommand ...' history In-Reply-To: <29D69C88-7B0A-40F9-AF4D-68705E8FC514@tfeb.org> References: <29D69C88-7B0A-40F9-AF4D-68705E8FC514@tfeb.org> Message-ID: On 3/24/17, Tim Bradshaw wrote: > Lots of tools now seem to use this strategy: there's some kind of wrapper > which has its own set of commands (which in turn might have further > subcommands). So for instance > > git remote add ... [snip] > > Relatedly, does this style originate on some other OS? > > --tim This command style was the standard and encouraged approach on many of DEC's operating systems. Digital Command Language (DCL), the command language for TOPS-20 and VMS, implemented most of the common system commands this way: A lot of packages or subsystems, such as mail, source code control (Code Management System--CMS), and whatnot were implemented using this design. The command verb was usually the package name, and the subcommands implemented functions in that package. Very often you could just give the command name and that entered the package in interactive mode--it would prompt for subcommands until you exited the subsystem. I'm pretty sure this command design style was used in VM/CMS and CDC PLATO, too. -Paul W.