Re: [MacPerl] A command line shell for the Mac ?

[Joshua Juran <wanderer@metamage.com>]

At 9:58 AM +1000 1999-08-17, Charles Cave wrote:
>
>Has anyone ever written a shell in MacPerl to emulate the Unix shell?
>[My background is Unix]

Not in MacPerl, but in C++.  At least, I'm in the process of doing so.
It's called Genie, and I think I've plugged it already.  Details at
<http://www.metamage.com/proj/lamp/genie.html>.

>I have started such a program because I have a need to work through folders
>of files and view the contents, rename, delete, move files, change the
>File type/creator, and convert from Unix or DOS <CR>/<LF> issues.

Excellent applications of a shell.  My primary interest was scripting,
which involves a lot of what you just listed.

>Viewing files with BBEdit then switching back to Finder to delete or rename
>is a pest, and I would like to drive the whole process in a command driven
>shell.

I'm not sure what functionality you're looking for, but it sounds like a
script.

>Several years ago I used a small Mac program that emulated a shell, but since
>I have MacPerl already installed, a perl script takes up the least footprint.

Are you sure?  I'm no expert on optimizing system resources, but I would at
least say it depends on what your application is.

>The command I am emulating are as follows:
>
>
>cd        Change Directory

Done.

>pop      Go to parent directory

cd ..

>ls         List the Directory (files and directories are prefixed with a
>number to
>           serve as shortcuts)

No shortcuts.  Very rudimentary listing at present.

>rm       Remove/delete

Not implemented for safety until further testing.

>mv       Rename (move) a file or move to another folder
>cp        Make a copy of a file

Done, but no options.

>more    Display contents of a file.  Only first 80 characters displayed as
>well
>           as warning if a file is Unix or DOS text.

Good idea, but cbreak mode is not feasible until I implement threads.  But
head and tail are possible.

>sign     Set the type and creator of a file based on an internal table for
>suffixes
>           eg if suffis is ".doc" make it a Word document, ".gif" and
>".jpg" belong
>           to Graphics Converter, ".htm" to BBedit, etc.   

Another good idea.  I'd base it on Internet Config.  In the meantime, I
invite you to try out the droplet SpaceAliens (as in "Space aliens stole my
icons!").  Written by the Internet Config authors, SpaceAliens sets type
and creator based on filename extension according to IC.

Please followup to MacPerl-Forum.

Josh

--
Joshua Juran                          Metamage Software Creations
=)                                         Tools for Wizards
wanderer@metamage.com
<http://www.metamage.com/>   * Creation at the highest state of the art *



===== Want to unsubscribe from this list?
===== Send mail with body "unsubscribe" to macperl-request@macperl.org