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Date: Fri, 02 Jan 2015 10:42:57 -0800
From: Ray Andrews <rayandrews@eastlink.ca>
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To: zsh-users@zsh.org
Subject: Re: symlink chain.
References: <549E3A7B.9010209@eastlink.ca>
 <20150102170307.7d2e644a@ntlworld.com>
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On 01/02/2015 09:03 AM, Peter Stephenson wrote:

Thanks Peter, terse, but effective:

    $ showlinkchain /usr/bin/zsh

    /etc/alternatives/zsh-usrbin
    /usr/local/bin/zsh
    zsh-5.0.7-165-g2194da1


I'm using a cut down 'namei' to give this:

    l zsh -> /etc/alternatives/zsh-usrbin
    l   zsh-usrbin -> /usr/local/bin/zsh
    l     zsh -> zsh-5.0.7-165-g2194da1


... which is prettier.

Do you think 'whence' would benefit from showing the chain if '-s' is 
specified? Maybe it's just me, but I want no surprises when I use 
whence, I want complete information about what any typed command it 
actually going to end up executing and a roadmap of any and all links as 
to how it got there.  Again, maybe it's only me, but when I first 
started using the development builds, I was never sure what the hell was 
actually going on because I have three 'zsh' on my path, each of which 
is a chain of links going hither and yon pointing to various and sundry 
binaries all over the place.  Only once I untangled these Gordian Knots 
could I end up with this:

    $ whence -masv "zsh"
    zsh-5.0.7-165-g2194da1

    zsh is /usr/local/bin/zsh -> /usr/local/bin/zsh-5.0.7-165-g2194da1
    zsh is /usr/bin/zsh -> /usr/local/bin/zsh-5.0.7-165-g2194da1
    zsh is /bin/zsh -> /usr/local/bin/zsh-5.0.7-165-g2194da1

... so I actually know what the heck is happening. (And when Debian 
breaks it, I can fix it fast.)

BTW, how is it that both your method and 'namei' show paths except for 
the final binary target, whereas the 'whence' output just above shows 
all paths including for the final binary?  Consistency is not a zsh virtue.