Feature suggestion for autoload

Feature suggestion for autoload

[Richard Hartmann]

I just wanted to put some functions in an extra folder & autoload
them, but I don't have my ZSH book here so I could not look up
the snippet to autoload all functions in a directory. This has got
me thinking about an extra option for autoload which allows you
to autoload all functions in a directory. Additionally, an option to
autoload everything it finds could be useful for some though I
doubt I would use it.
Another option would be to define an array and load everything
in said array. This could make a long list os autoloads more
readable.

I am not sure how useful this would be for others, so feedback
would be appreciated.


Richard

PS: Yes, I am aware this could all be done in a function. A
function which could the be autoloaded for some nice
recursion :)

Re: Feature suggestion for autoload

[Bart Schaefer]

On Jul 15,  7:10pm, Richard Hartmann wrote:
}
} I just wanted to put some functions in an extra folder & autoload
} them, but I don't have my ZSH book here so I could not look up
} the snippet to autoload all functions in a directory.

Er, how would you do anything *else* to all the files in a directory?

OK, so it's not *quite* that easy because you need file base names, but
even if you can't remember

    fpath+=(thedirectory)
    autoload thedirectory/*(:t)

then it still shouldn't be too hard to think of

    fpath+=(thedirectory)
    cd thedirectory
    autoload *
    cd -

Some people make all/only the autoloadable functions executable so
that they can use

    autoload *(*)

} This has got me thinking about an extra option for autoload which
} allows you to autoload all functions in a directory.

"autoload" is just an alias for "typeset -fu" ... I'm excited neither
about making it a separate implementation nor about teaching typedef
how to read directories.

} Additionally, an option to autoload everything it finds could be
} useful for some though I doubt I would use it.

"Finds" where?

Anyway, have a look at the zcompile builtin ...

} Another option would be to define an array and load everything
} in said array. This could make a long list os autoloads more
} readable.

Yes, you can certainly do that.  There's no practical limit on the
number of function names you can pass to a single autoload command.

Re: Feature suggestion for autoload

[Richard Hartmann]

On Wed, Jul 16, 2008 at 03:39, Bart Schaefer <schaefer@brasslantern.com> wrote:


>    fpath+=(thedirectory)
>    autoload thedirectory/*(:t)

Peter's snippet is

  autoload -- ~/.zfunc/[^_]*(:t)

It was the part with not loading files that have a leading underscore that
eluded me.


>    fpath+=(thedirectory)
>    cd thedirectory
>    autoload *
>    cd -

True, but that's not as elegant as the above. As it was not time critical,
I prefered not to 'hack' something up.


> "autoload" is just an alias for "typeset -fu" ... I'm excited neither
> about making it a separate implementation nor about teaching typedef
> how to read directories.

Good reason, agreed.


> "Finds" where?

What I meant was 'autoload every file you find in fpath'. That suggestion
is moot now, though.


> Yes, you can certainly do that.  There's no practical limit on the
> number of function names you can pass to a single autoload command.

Brain fart, of course you can. Sorry.


Thanks,
Richard

Re: Feature suggestion for autoload

[Phil Pennock]

On 2008-07-17 at 01:44 +0200, Richard Hartmann wrote:
> What I meant was 'autoload every file you find in fpath'. That suggestion
> is moot now, though.

While it may be moot, this might be helpful anyway.

You might want to look at the demonstration start-up files supplied with
zsh.  StartupFiles/ sub-directory of the source, no idea what any given
distribution does with them.

The provided example to do just this is:
----------------------------8< cut here >8------------------------------
# Autoload all shell functions from all directories in $fpath (following
# symlinks) that have the executable bit on (the executable bit is not
# necessary, but gives you an easy way to stop the autoloading of a
# particular shell function). $fpath should not be empty for this to work.
for func in $^fpath/*(N-.x:t); autoload $func
----------------------------8< cut here >8------------------------------

My preferred OS (FreeBSD) happens to not preserve executability on the
zsh-supplied files for the Port, so I end up with:

 autoload ${^fpath}/*(N-.:t)
 typeset -U fpath
 fpath=(~/bin/zsh-funcs $fpath)
 set -A _foo ~/bin/zsh-funcs/*(N-.x:t)
 [[ ${#_foo} -gt 0 ]] && autoload $_foo
 unset _foo

Just two examples.

-Phil

Re: Feature suggestion for autoload

[Peter Stephenson]

On Thu, 17 Jul 2008 01:44:33 +0200
"Richard Hartmann" <richih.mailinglist@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Wed, Jul 16, 2008 at 03:39, Bart Schaefer <schaefer@brasslantern.com> wrote:
> >    fpath+=(thedirectory)
> >    autoload thedirectory/*(:t)
> 
> Peter's snippet is
> 
>   autoload -- ~/.zfunc/[^_]*(:t)

(Just to get this out of the way---I'm stating the absolute blindingly
obvious but of course you need the directory in fpath in the second case,
too.)

-- 
Peter Stephenson <pws@csr.com>                  Software Engineer
CSR PLC, Churchill House, Cambridge Business Park, Cowley Road
Cambridge, CB4 0WZ, UK                          Tel: +44 (0)1223 692070

Re: Feature suggestion for autoload

[Richard Hartmann]

On Thu, Jul 17, 2008 at 11:05, Peter Stephenson <pws@csr.com> wrote:

> (Just to get this out of the way---I'm stating the absolute blindingly
> obvious but of course you need the directory in fpath in the second case,
> too.)

Of course. Incidentially, that is that I meant with 'load a whole directory'
in my first mail. A command that wraps the adding to fpath & adding to
the list of autoloaded functions into one statement.


Thanks,
Richard

Re: Feature suggestion for autoload

[Bart Schaefer]

On Jul 17,  3:24pm, Richard Hartmann wrote:
}
} Incidentially, that is that I meant with 'load a whole directory'
} in my first mail. A command that wraps the adding to fpath & adding to
} the list of autoloaded functions into one statement.

If/when we have ksh-style discipline functions, we can make it a side-
effect of adding something to fpath that all the files therein get
fed to autoload.

(Not that we should have that happen by default, but it would make a
good example.)

Re: Feature suggestion for autoload

[Richard Hartmann]

On Thu, Jul 17, 2008 at 15:43, Bart Schaefer <schaefer@brasslantern.com> wrote:

> If/when we have ksh-style discipline functions, we can make it a side-
> effect of adding something to fpath that all the files therein get
> fed to autoload.

>From what google tells me, ksh disciplines are 'methods' for the
'object' of a variable? Another way of putting it would be that they
resemble hooks for variable handling?
Sounds like a nice, and powerful, concept.


> (Not that we should have that happen by default, but it would make a
> good example.)

Aye. Having something like this happen by default would probably
manage to break a lot of installations in weird ways.


Richard