Gregory Stark wrote:
> "Bruce Momjian" <bruce@momjian.us> writes:
>
> > FYI, I looked into 'ls -C' hanlding a little more and ls (GNU coreutils)
> > 5.97 honors COLUMNS _only_ in file/pipe output, not for screen output.
> > What the C code does is to read COLUMNS, then overwrite that value with
> > ioctl() if it works.
>
> Well saying "file/pipe" and "screen output" is making a lot of assumptions.
> The pipe may still be ending up on the screen if it's being piped to a pager.
> And a "file" could still be a terminal. Also, not all terminals support the
> ioctl().
True, but I can't think of a cleaner way to specify it, and I haven't
see wording that is clearer. I think most people understand this
distinction. If they don't they will learn soon enough when they try it.
> What ls does is use the same logic for all cases. When the ioctl works that
> takes precedence regardless of whether it's "file/pipe" or "screen output".
> When it fails it uses COLUMNS instead if set.
>
> We really must stop thinking in terms of specific use cases. You will tie
> yourselves in knots if you try to enumerate all the types of terminals, places
> people redirect output, and uses people might make for the output. And it will
> result in very complex, hard to explain behaviour which will surprise and
> disappoint users.
I think we need to focus on usability. Using consistent logic is nice,
but if it doesn't do what most people would want, then we have to adjust.
-- Bruce Momjian <bruce@momjian.us> http://momjian.us EnterpriseDB
http://enterprisedb.com
+ If your life is a hard drive, Christ can be your backup. +
