detecting a url - run browser

detecting a url - run browser

[Eric Smith]

What would I do to configure zsh to detect
$ www.foo.com or 
$ http://bar.dk etc
entered at the prompt as a url and then execute:
w3m <the url>
?

thanx

-- 
Eric Smith

Re: detecting a url - run browser

[Bart Schaefer]

On Aug 19,  4:15pm, Eric Smith wrote:
} Subject: detecting a url - run browser
}
} What would I do to configure zsh to detect
} $ www.foo.com or 
} $ http://bar.dk etc
} entered at the prompt as a url and then execute:
} w3m <the url>
} ?

You'll have to use the preexec function -- which means it'll work only at
the command line, only at the PS1 prompt (not inside a function body or a
loop body or a subshell or ...), and only in zsh 4.0. [*]

    function preexec {
	local cmd
	cmd=(${(Q)${(z)3}})
        # Adjust this URL recognition test as necessary
	if [[ $cmd[1] == (http://*|www.*.*) ]]; then
	    eval "function ${(q)cmd[1]} {
		unsetopt noglob
		w3m ${(q)cmd[1]}" '$*
		unfunction' "${(q)cmd[1]}
	    }"
	    setopt noglob
	fi
    }

You can probably do without the noglob twaddling; I put it there just so
you don't have to quote question marks and tildes (~) and so forth in the
URLs, but you still have to quote ampersands (&) and semicolons.

[*] Actually preexec is available as far back as 3.1.3, but the complete
combination of things in my example are available only as of very recently.

-- 
Bart Schaefer                                 Brass Lantern Enterprises
http://www.well.com/user/barts              http://www.brasslantern.com

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