Date: Thu, 13 Mar 1997 20:37:10 -0500 (EST) From: "Mike A. Harris" Reply-To: "Mike A. Harris" To: Tim Bird cc: opendos AT mail DOT tacoma DOT net Subject: Re: [opendos] YAWI (Yet Another Wishlist Item): tab completion In-Reply-To: <199703130556.WAA32436@caldera.com> Message-ID: Organization: Total disorganization. MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Sender: owner-opendos AT mail DOT tacoma DOT net Precedence: bulk On Wed, 12 Mar 1997, Tim Bird wrote: > I'll speak my peace here, in case this lists archives are ever used > to generate a semi-official wishlist for OpenDOS: Wishlist is soon forthcoming. > Here my YAWI: > I'd like to see COMMAND.COM do tab completion. It already has some > weird history completion options, I'd think it was easy to add command > and filename tab completion. This is a feature of bash under Linux > that I've grown to love. Basically, it is this: if you type part of > a word, then the tab key, the shell will figure out what you meant > and type the rest for you. If there is any ambiguity, then the shell > completes what it can. Pressing tab a second time gives you a list > of matches to choose from. Yes, it is my goal to turn COMMAND.COM into a 4DOS clone, and beyond that. I'd also like to incorporate bash features into COMMAND.COM. Right now 4DOS has filename completion on TAB, SHIFT-TAB, and CTRL-TAB brings down a file list popdown menu. I'd also like to see something like bash's command completion implemented in COMMAND.COM. All of these features would be options, they could be enabled and configured in a COMMAND.INI file not unlike 4DOS.INI. What would be fantastic would be if Caldera persued acquiring the 4DOS source code. This would make it a BREEZE! Since the bash code is allready available, it would only be a matter of weeks, or perhaps a couple of months until COMMAND.COM was de-labotomized. > I could type: cd d > and the shell would show: cd dir Or you could have directory quick CD's like 4DOS does right now. You need not even type CD. For example, to go to a directory you merely just type it's name followed by the backslash. You can also switch drives too. This replaces this \ CD \ .. CD .. BIN\NC\ CD BIN\NC ..\..\ CD ..\.. ...\ CD ..\.. .....\ CD ..\..\..\.. ..\BIN\ CD ..\BIN C:\BIN\ C: CD \BIN I use these little tricks to speed up manoevers in DOS all the time. It'd be great to see them in COMMAND.COM > This feature is particularly great when you are in the middle of > typing some long path, and can't remember the exact file or directory > name you want to reference. Just hit tab a couple of times and the shell > will help you out. Coding it would not be too hard. I'm just waiting > for the source like everyone else. I've allready coded a filename completion routine in C which uses linked lists. The code can be used in any program easily. It works pretty much exactly the same way that 4DOS does. I'd have to fiddle with it a bit to make it more ANSI, and also to make it non sloppy. After that, I'm willing to release it to whoever wants it. Right now it is written in Borland C. I was going to give it to Bob Stout before for inclusion in Snippets, but lost contact with Fidonet. TTYL Mike A. Harris | http://blackwidow.saultc.on.ca/~mharris Computer Consultant | Coming soon: dynamic-IP-freedom... My dynamic address: http://blackwidow.saultc.on.ca/~mharris/ip-address.html mailto:mharris AT blackwidow DOT saultc DOT on DOT ca LINUX: Lost your video after running a game or DOSemu, email me for fix.