Re: Expanding quotes

[Ray Andrews <rayandrews@eastlink.ca>]

On 23/12/13 11:15 AM, Bart Schaefer wrote:
> and expect completion to *supply* the missing backslash, because there
> is a file name ending with a quote.  It gets even more complicated if
> the backslash is inside another set of quotes, etc.  We spent quite a
> lot of time (years ago) responding to complaints about this kind of thing
> before finally concluding that we couldn't please everybody and should
> stick with making the common cases work.

Pardon for wandering off on a philosophical rant,  but it seems to me 
that there is a very deep error in even trying to solve 'problems' like 
this.  It is not logically possible to permit any syntax and still parse 
a statement.  All meaningful grammars exist--can only exist--because 
they impose limitations on language. It is monstrous that a file name 
is  permitted to end with a quotation mark! Without reserved characters 
we invite chaos.  It's the same with spaces inside a filename--it is 
insanity to permit it.  And then the double quote is legal too?

file name   .................. two identifiers so ...
"file name" .................. is the filename  ... << file name >> or 
are the double quotes include in the filename so that the filename is  
....  << "file name" >> ?

Madness!

Granted I'm still a relative beginner, but it seems to me that the 
syntax of zsh (all sh*) is already vastly over complicated, even 
Byzantine.  As more and more special situations are handled, the code 
must mushroom into an intractable mess, and actually create more 
problems than it solves.  Better IMHO not to even try.