ZSH 3.0.8 and modifiers

ZSH 3.0.8 and modifiers

[The Doctor What]

I was hoping someone could help me with this...

I build up a big array of potential directories that might exist in
the array $path.  I then weed out all the ones that don't exist by
doing:

 path=( ${$path}(/N) )

This works great under the newer versions of ZSH (4.0 for example)
as long as NULL_GLOB and RC_EXPAND_PARAM are set (I suppose I don't
need the N with NULL_GLOB, but it's habit. :-)

But under 3.0.8 (on my Darwin/OS X iBook) it produces an array
with the string (/N) appended to each item.  Is there something I'm
missing?

This is the same with (/) instead of (/N) as well.


Ciao!

-- 
"Apparently if you play the Windows NT CD backwards you hear satanic messages."
"You think that's bad, if you play it forwards it installs Windows NT!"
	-- Orlando (on Slashdot)

The Doctor What: Need I say more?                http://docwhat.gerf.org/
docwhat@gerf.org                                                   KF6VNC

Re: ZSH 3.0.8 and modifiers

[Bart Schaefer]

On Jan 24,  9:53pm, The Doctor What wrote:
} Subject: ZSH 3.0.8 and modifiers
}
}  path=( ${$path}(/N) )

I presume you mean ${^path}, as ${$path} gives "bad substitution" in
4.0.x and expands to the PID (i.e., ${$}, i.e., $$) in 3.0.x.

} But under 3.0.8 (on my Darwin/OS X iBook) it produces an array
} with the string (/N) appended to each item.  Is there something I'm
} missing?

In 3.0.8, a trailing parenthesized string is not interpreted as glob
qualifiers unless there is at least one other globbing special char
in the rest of the string.  Brace expansions, including RC_EXPAND_PARAM,
are NOT considered to be globbing characters.

In 4.0.x, using brace expansion or RC_EXPAND_PARAM is sufficient to
cause the trailing the parens to be interpreted as qualifiers.  I have
forgotten when or why this change was made.

The usual workaround is to insert an empty alternation pattern into
the string, like so:

    path=( ${^path}(|)(/N) )


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

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