Tab Expanding Global Aliases

Tab Expanding Global Aliases

[zzapper]

Hi
I guess this must be an old chestnut for this NG.
But is there any reason why global aliases are not/could be tab expandable?


I am using http://zshwiki.org/home/examples/zleiab as an alternative

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zzapper
https://twitter.com/dailyzshtip

Re: Tab Expanding Global Aliases

[Bart Schaefer]

On Feb 4,  6:10pm, zzapper wrote:
}
} I guess this must be an old chestnut for this NG.
} But is there any reason why global aliases are not/could be tab expandable?

There's not only no reason, it's already supported.

zstyle ':completion:*' completer _expand_alias _expand _complete _ignored

Augmented with e.g.

zstyle ':completion:*:expand-alias:*' disabled yes

if you want to expand aliases with tab that would otherwise not expand.
(I haven't actually tried that ...)

Re: Tab Expanding Global Aliases

[zzapper]

Bart Schaefer <schaefer@brasslantern.com> wrote in 
news:140204113436.ZM21602@torch.brasslantern.com:

> zstyle ':completion:*' completer _expand_alias _expand _complete _ignored

Oh wow that is so cool

I can double complete  e.g.

vi NF<TAB>
vi  *~vssver.scc(.om[1])<TAB>
vi index.php

I have to backspace to get the 2nd completion

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Re: Tab Expanding Global Aliases

[Oliver Kiddle]

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zzapper wrote:
> I guess this must be an old chestnut for this NG.
> But is there any reason why global aliases are not/could be tab expandable?

With global aliases, it is always worth considering using bindkey -s
instead. This expands the string immediately without needing a tab or
space.

So for example:
  bindkey -s 'Im' '| more'

It is then more important to choose combinations that you won't really
want to type. I used to prefix them with the ¬ that's on a UK keyboard
but I don't use a UK keyboard anymore.

An advantage of bindkey -s is that they can be used as abbreviations for
things that appear in the middle of a string. Common glob qualifiers,
for example:
  bindkey -s '\m' "(#qu$EUID)"
  bindkey -s '\p' '(../)##'

Given how popular global aliases for piping to the pager are, I'm
surprised we don't have a PIPENULLCMD. I'm guessing it is because the
shell has always allowed you to continue on a new line after a pipe but
maybe that isn't so important in an interactive shell.

The following works. You can still use |\ if you want continuation. Can
anyone foresee a problem with using it?  Any ideas on improvements such as
making the pager not appear in the history or on the terminal?
  zle-line-init () {
    local state=${(%):-%_}
    [[ $state = pipe && $PREBUFFER != *\\? ]] && zle -U $'less\n'
  }

Oliver

Re: Tab Expanding Global Aliases

[zzapper]

Oliver Kiddle <okiddle@yahoo.co.uk> wrote in
news:6788.1391557936@quattro: 


> With global aliases, it is always worth considering using bindkey -s
> instead. This expands the string immediately without needing a tab or
> space.
> 
> So for example:
>   bindkey -s 'Im' '| more'
> 
I can get this to work but only if I begin the 'abbreviation' with I ???


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zzapper
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Re: Tab Expanding Global Aliases

[Oliver Kiddle]

zzapper wrote:
> Oliver Kiddle <okiddle@yahoo.co.uk> wrote in
> > With global aliases, it is always worth considering using bindkey -s
> > instead. This expands the string immediately without needing a tab or
> > space.
> > 
> > So for example:
> >   bindkey -s 'Im' '| more'
> > 
> I can get this to work but only if I begin the 'abbreviation' with I ???

There was a mistake in my example using a backslash. It should be, e.g.:
  bindkey -s '\\m' "(#qu$EUID)"

You also have to be fairly fast if you've set KEYTIMEOUT low.

Oliver

Re: Tab Expanding Global Aliases

[zzapper]

Oliver Kiddle <okiddle@yahoo.co.uk> wrote in news:31943.1391608101
@thecus.kiddle.eu:

> KEYTIMEOUT
Mine was set to 40 and that was my problem.
But what is a good value?


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zzapper
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Re: Tab Expanding Global Aliases

[Peter Stephenson]

On Wed, 05 Feb 2014 14:50:32 +0000 (UTC)
zzapper <david@rayninfo.co.uk> wrote:
> Oliver Kiddle <okiddle@yahoo.co.uk> wrote in news:31943.1391608101
> @thecus.kiddle.eu:
> 
> > KEYTIMEOUT
> Mine was set to 40 and that was my problem.
> But what is a good value?

You need to experiment.  Increase it until you get it right with a bit
of practice, but if you find when you type the first key and you're
frustrated because it hasn't appeared (because the shell is waiting to
see if it's the prefix of a sequence) you've increased it too far.

pws