[Ilugc] finding file size and its date
- From: andyetitmoves@xxxxxxxxx (R.Ramkumar)
- Date: Tue Oct 31 22:03:11 2006
I have never tried zsh. Can you convert me? :-)
Won't be too hard... ;)
Just 5 things that only zsh can do.
More than 20...
http://zsh.sunsite.dk/FAQ/zshfaq01.html#l4
Fine.. My five anyway...
1. The most powerful, flexible and insanely (I mean it! It even has a
full changed configuration program `compinstall' for completions)
configurable completion system, amongst the shells I know. Right from
colored file completions to menu like selection with arrow keys to
descriptions for completions like options for programs). Maintains a
huge repository of completion functions which get autoloaded just in
time without hogging resources.
2. An excessively powerful (and cryptic.. some of their completion
scripts can be a good substitute for a scary movie :p) scripting
language. A person who knows zsh scripting well will usually parse
even hard outputs to filter the information needed in one
expression... this is one example ${} expression from the scripts
shipped in for completion :)
${(@)${(@)^${(@)${(@)${(@M)${(@ps:\n:j:\n:)${(@)${(@M)${(@f)$(_call_program
options ${~words[1]} --he
--}:#[ ]#-*}//,/
}}:#[ ]#--*}#*--}%%[] ]*}:#}//\[=/=}
there are two long manpages zshexpn and zshparam dealing with the
syntax of the language.
3. Modular architecture. Autoloadable functions, and loadable modules.
Hence, light (For scripts, even the line editor is not loaded, and is
hence lighter than bash (dash can't be beaten though :) ) Not that you
need them, but there are modules loadable (around 30 shipped in) to
even create network connections and get an ftp client with your
shell.. Well, may be not a shell's job, but you get it as loadable
modules, so why complain!
4. Powerful, and configurable line editing facilities. Goes to the
extent of maintaining keymaps like an editor, and programmable. (I
don't know much about readline, so I won't make comparisons here)
5. Lots of small nice features like excellent redirection and history
support, a crazy globbing syntax (u saw an example above :) ), nice
prompt features, recursive editing (like emacs), using mime info to
launch viewers by just entering the file name, builtin timed
execution... can't recall more... I guess I use too many other
features without realizing that they are unique to zsh...
Give it a try.. You won't be disappointed... Has a huge amount of
documentation (some 16 man pages, also there as HTML)... Only drawback
is that you can get too config crazy... My current startup code is
over 600 lines of code, after removing some of the generic stuff which
I have sent upstream...
I know that it is amazingly powerful.
understatement :)
it moves on...
--
One of the main causes of the fall of the Roman Empire
was that, lacking zero, they had no way to indicate
successful termination of their C programs.
-- Robert Firth
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