| 1 | ---
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| 2 | default_highlighter: oils-sh
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| 3 | ---
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| 4 | 
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| 5 | YSH vs. Shell Idioms
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| 6 | ====================
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| 7 | 
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| 8 | This is an informal, lightly-organized list of recommended idioms for the
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| 9 | [YSH]($xref) language.  Each section has snippets labeled *No* and *Yes*.
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| 10 | 
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| 11 | - Use the *Yes* style when you want to write in YSH, and don't care about
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| 12 |   compatibility with other shells.
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| 13 | - The *No* style is discouraged in new code, but YSH will run it.  The [OSH
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| 14 |   language]($xref:osh-language) is compatible with
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| 15 |   [POSIX]($xref:posix-shell-spec) and [bash]($xref).
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| 16 | 
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| 17 | [J8 Notation]: j8-notation.html
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| 18 | 
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| 19 | <!-- cmark.py expands this -->
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| 20 | <div id="toc">
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| 21 | </div>
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| 22 | 
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| 23 | ## Use [Simple Word Evaluation](simple-word-eval.html) to Avoid "Quoting Hell"
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| 24 | 
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| 25 | ### Substitute Variables
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| 26 | 
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| 27 | No:
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| 28 | 
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| 29 |     local x='my song.mp3'
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| 30 |     ls "$x"  # quotes required to avoid mangling
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| 31 | 
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| 32 | Yes:
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| 33 | 
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| 34 |     var x = 'my song.mp3'
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| 35 |     ls $x  # no quotes needed
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| 36 | 
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| 37 | ### Splice Arrays
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| 38 | 
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| 39 | No:
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| 40 | 
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| 41 |     local myflags=( --all --long )
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| 42 |     ls "${myflags[@]}" "$@"
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| 43 | 
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| 44 | Yes:
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| 45 | 
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| 46 |     var myflags = :| --all --long |
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| 47 |     ls @myflags @ARGV
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| 48 | 
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| 49 | ### Explicitly Split, Glob, and Omit Empty Args
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| 50 | 
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| 51 | YSH doesn't split arguments after variable expansion.
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| 52 | 
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| 53 | No:
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| 54 | 
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| 55 |     local packages='python-dev gawk'
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| 56 |     apt install $packages
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| 57 | 
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| 58 | Yes:
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| 59 | 
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| 60 |     var packages = 'python-dev gawk'
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| 61 |     apt install @[split(packages)]
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| 62 | 
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| 63 | Even better:
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| 64 | 
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| 65 |     var packages = :| python-dev gawk |  # array literal
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| 66 |     apt install @packages                # splice array
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| 67 | 
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| 68 | ---
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| 69 | 
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| 70 | YSH doesn't glob after variable expansion.
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| 71 | 
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| 72 | No:
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| 73 | 
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| 74 |     local pat='*.py'
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| 75 |     echo $pat
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| 76 | 
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| 77 | 
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| 78 | Yes:
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| 79 | 
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| 80 |     var pat = '*.py'
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| 81 |     echo @[glob(pat)]   # explicit call
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| 82 | 
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| 83 | ---
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| 84 | 
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| 85 | YSH doesn't omit unquoted words that evaluate to the empty string.
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| 86 | 
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| 87 | No:
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| 88 | 
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| 89 |     local e=''
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| 90 |     cp $e other $dest            # cp gets 2 args, not 3, in sh
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| 91 | 
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| 92 | Yes:
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| 93 | 
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| 94 |     var e = ''
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| 95 |     cp @[maybe(e)] other $dest   # explicit call
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| 96 | 
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| 97 | ### Iterate a Number of Times (Split Command Sub)
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| 98 | 
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| 99 | No:
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| 100 | 
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| 101 |     local n=3
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| 102 |     for x in $(seq $n); do  # No implicit splitting of unquoted words in YSH
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| 103 |       echo $x
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| 104 |     done
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| 105 | 
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| 106 | OK:
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| 107 | 
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| 108 |     var n = 3
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| 109 |     for x in @(seq $n) {   # Explicit splitting
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| 110 |       echo $x
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| 111 |     }
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| 112 | 
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| 113 | Better;
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| 114 | 
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| 115 |     var n = 3
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| 116 |     for x in (1 .. n+1) {  # Range, avoids external program
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| 117 |       echo $x
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| 118 |     }
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| 119 | 
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| 120 | Note that `{1..3}` works in bash and YSH, but the numbers must be constant.
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| 121 | 
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| 122 | ## Avoid Ad Hoc Parsing and Splitting
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| 123 | 
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| 124 | In other words, avoid *groveling through backslashes and spaces* in shell.  
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| 125 | 
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| 126 | Instead, emit and consume [J8 Notation]($xref:j8-notation):
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| 127 | 
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| 128 | - J8 strings are [JSON]($xref) strings, with an upgrade for byte string
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| 129 |   literals
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| 130 | - [JSON8]($xref) is [JSON]($xref), with this same upgrade
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| 131 | - [TSV8]($xref) is TSV with this upgrade (not yet implemented)
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| 132 | 
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| 133 | Custom parsing and serializing should be limited to "the edges" of your YSH
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| 134 | programs.
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| 135 | 
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| 136 | ### More Strategies For Structured Data
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| 137 | 
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| 138 | - **Wrap** and Adapt External Tools.  Parse their output, and emit [J8 Notation][].
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| 139 |   - These can be one-off, "bespoke" wrappers in your program, or maintained
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| 140 |     programs.  Use the `proc` construct and `flagspec`!
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| 141 |   - Example: [uxy](https://github.com/sustrik/uxy) wrappers.
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| 142 |   - TODO: Examples written in YSH and in other languages.
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| 143 | - **Patch** Existing Tools.
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| 144 |    - Enhance GNU grep, etc. to emit [J8 Notation][].  Add a
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| 145 |      `--j8` flag.
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| 146 | - **Write Your Own** Structured Versions.
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| 147 |   - For example, you can write a structured subset of `ls` in Python with
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| 148 |     little effort.
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| 149 | 
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| 150 | <!--
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| 151 |   ls -q and -Q already exist, but --j8 or --tsv8 is probably fine
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| 152 | -->
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| 153 | 
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| 154 | ## The `write` Builtin Is Simpler Than `printf` and `echo`
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| 155 | 
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| 156 | ### Write an Arbitrary Line
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| 157 | 
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| 158 | No:
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| 159 | 
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| 160 |     printf '%s\n' "$mystr"
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| 161 | 
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| 162 | Yes:
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| 163 | 
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| 164 |     write -- $mystr
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| 165 | 
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| 166 | The `write` builtin accepts `--` so it doesn't confuse flags and args.
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| 167 | 
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| 168 | ### Write Without a Newline
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| 169 | 
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| 170 | No:
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| 171 | 
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| 172 |     echo -n "$mystr"  # breaks if mystr is -e
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| 173 | 
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| 174 | Yes:
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| 175 | 
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| 176 |     write --end '' -- $mystr
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| 177 |     write -n -- $mystr  # -n is an alias for --end ''
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| 178 | 
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| 179 | ### Write an Array of Lines
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| 180 | 
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| 181 |     var myarray = :| one two three |
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| 182 |     write -- @myarray
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| 183 | 
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| 184 | ## New Long Flags on the `read` builtin
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| 185 | 
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| 186 | ### Read a Line
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| 187 | 
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| 188 | No:
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| 189 | 
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| 190 |     read line          # Mangles your backslashes!
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| 191 | 
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| 192 | Better:
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| 193 | 
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| 194 |     read -r line       # Still messes with leading and trailing whitespace
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| 195 | 
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| 196 |     IFS= read -r line  # OK, but doesn't work in YSH
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| 197 | 
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| 198 | Yes:
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| 199 | 
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| 200 |     read --raw-line    # Gives you the line, without trailing \n
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| 201 | 
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| 202 | (Note that `read --raw-line` is still an unbuffered read, which means it slowly
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| 203 | reads a byte at a time.  We plan to add buffered reads as well.)
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| 204 | 
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| 205 | ### Read a Whole File
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| 206 | 
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| 207 | No:
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| 208 | 
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| 209 |     read -d ''           # harder to read, easy to forget -r
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| 210 | 
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| 211 | Yes:
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| 212 | 
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| 213 |     read --all           # sets $_reply
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| 214 |     read --all (&myvar)  # sets $myvar
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| 215 | 
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| 216 | ### Read Lines of a File
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| 217 | 
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| 218 | No:    
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| 219 | 
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| 220 |     # The IFS= idiom doesn't work in YSH, because of dynamic scope!
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| 221 |     while IFS= read -r line; do
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| 222 |       echo $line
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| 223 |     done
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| 224 | 
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| 225 | Yes:
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| 226 | 
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| 227 |     while read --raw-line {
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| 228 |       echo $_reply
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| 229 |     }
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| 230 |     # this reads a byte at a time, unbuffered, like shell
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| 231 | 
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| 232 | Yes:
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| 233 | 
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| 234 |     for line in (stdin) {
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| 235 |       echo $line
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| 236 |     }
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| 237 |     # this reads buffered lines, which is much faster
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| 238 | 
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| 239 | ### Read a Number of Bytes
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| 240 | 
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| 241 | No:
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| 242 | 
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| 243 |     read -n 3            # slow because it respects -d delim
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| 244 |                          # also strips whitespace
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| 245 | 
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| 246 | Better:
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| 247 | 
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| 248 |     read -N 3            # good behavior, but easily confused with -n
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| 249 | 
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| 250 | Yes:
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| 251 | 
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| 252 |     read --num-bytes 3           # sets $_reply
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| 253 |     read --num-bytes 3 (&myvar)  # sets $myvar
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| 254 | 
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| 255 | 
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| 256 | ### Read Until `\0` (consume `find -print0`)
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| 257 | 
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| 258 | No:
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| 259 | 
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| 260 |     # Obscure syntax that bash accepts, but not other shells
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| 261 |     read -r -d '' myvar
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| 262 | 
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| 263 | Yes:
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| 264 | 
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| 265 |     read -0 (&myvar)
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| 266 | 
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| 267 | ## YSH Enhancements to Builtins
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| 268 | 
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| 269 | ### Use `shopt` Instead of `set`
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| 270 | 
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| 271 | Using a single builtin for all options makes scripts easier to read:
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| 272 | 
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| 273 | Discouraged:
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| 274 | 
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| 275 |     set -o errexit  
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| 276 |     shopt -s dotglob
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| 277 | 
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| 278 | Idiomatic:
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| 279 | 
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| 280 |     shopt --set errexit
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| 281 |     shopt --set dotglob
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| 282 | 
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| 283 | (As always, `set` can be used when you care about compatibility with other
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| 284 | shells.)
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| 285 | 
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| 286 | ### Use `:` When Mentioning Variable Names
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| 287 | 
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| 288 | YSH accepts this optional "pseudo-sigil" to make code more explicit.
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| 289 | 
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| 290 | No:
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| 291 | 
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| 292 |     read -0 record < file.bin
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| 293 |     echo $record
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| 294 | 
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| 295 | Yes:
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| 296 | 
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| 297 |     read -0 (&myvar) < file.bin
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| 298 |     echo $record
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| 299 | 
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| 300 | 
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| 301 | ### Consider Using `--long-flags`
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| 302 | 
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| 303 | Easier to write:
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| 304 | 
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| 305 |     test -d /tmp
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| 306 |     test -d / && test -f /vmlinuz
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| 307 | 
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| 308 |     shopt -u extglob
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| 309 | 
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| 310 | Easier to read:
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| 311 | 
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| 312 |     test --dir /tmp
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| 313 |     test --dir / && test --file /vmlinuz
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| 314 | 
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| 315 |     shopt --unset extglob
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| 316 | 
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| 317 | ## Use Blocks to Save and Restore Context
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| 318 | 
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| 319 | ### Do Something In Another Directory
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| 320 | 
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| 321 | No:
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| 322 | 
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| 323 |     ( cd /tmp; echo $PWD )  # subshell is unnecessary (and limited)
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| 324 | 
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| 325 | No:
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| 326 | 
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| 327 |     pushd /tmp
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| 328 |     echo $PWD
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| 329 |     popd
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| 330 | 
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| 331 | Yes:
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| 332 | 
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| 333 |     cd /tmp {
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| 334 |       echo $PWD
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| 335 |     }
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| 336 | 
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| 337 | ### Batch I/O
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| 338 | 
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| 339 | No:
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| 340 | 
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| 341 |     echo 1 > out.txt   
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| 342 |     echo 2 >> out.txt  # appending is less efficient
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| 343 |                        # because open() and close()
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| 344 | 
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| 345 | No:
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| 346 | 
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| 347 |     { echo 1
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| 348 |       echo 2
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| 349 |     } > out.txt
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| 350 | 
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| 351 | Yes:
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| 352 | 
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| 353 |     fopen > out.txt {
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| 354 |       echo 1
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| 355 |       echo 2
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| 356 |     }
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| 357 | 
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| 358 | The `fopen` builtin is syntactic sugar -- it lets you see redirects before the
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| 359 | code that uses them.
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| 360 | 
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| 361 | ### Temporarily Set Shell Options
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| 362 | 
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| 363 | No:
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| 364 | 
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| 365 |     set +o errexit
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| 366 |     myfunc  # without error checking
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| 367 |     set -o errexit
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| 368 | 
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| 369 | Yes:
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| 370 | 
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| 371 |     shopt --unset errexit {
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| 372 |       myfunc
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| 373 |     }
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| 374 | 
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| 375 | ### Use the `forkwait` builtin for Subshells, not `()`
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| 376 | 
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| 377 | No:
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| 378 | 
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| 379 |     ( cd /tmp; rm *.sh )
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| 380 | 
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| 381 | Yes:
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| 382 | 
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| 383 |     forkwait {
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| 384 |       cd /tmp
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| 385 |       rm *.sh
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| 386 |     }
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| 387 | 
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| 388 | Better:
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| 389 | 
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| 390 |     cd /tmp {  # no process created
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| 391 |       rm *.sh
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| 392 |     }
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| 393 | 
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| 394 | ### Use the `fork` builtin for async, not `&`
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| 395 | 
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| 396 | No:
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| 397 | 
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| 398 |     myfunc &
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| 399 | 
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| 400 |     { sleep 1; echo one; sleep 2; } &
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| 401 | 
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| 402 | Yes:
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| 403 | 
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| 404 |     fork { myfunc }
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| 405 | 
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| 406 |     fork { sleep 1; echo one; sleep 2 }
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| 407 | 
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| 408 | ## Use Procs (Better Shell Functions)
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| 409 | 
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| 410 | ### Use Named Parameters Instead of `$1`, `$2`, ...
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| 411 | 
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| 412 | No:
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| 413 | 
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| 414 |     f() {
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| 415 |       local src=$1
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| 416 |       local dest=${2:-/tmp}
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| 417 | 
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| 418 |       cp "$src" "$dest"
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| 419 |     }
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| 420 | 
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| 421 | Yes:
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| 422 | 
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| 423 |     proc f(src, dest='/tmp') {   # Python-like default values
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| 424 |       cp $src $dest
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| 425 |     }
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| 426 | 
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| 427 | ### Use Named Varargs Instead of `"$@"`
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| 428 | 
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| 429 | No:
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| 430 | 
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| 431 |     f() {
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| 432 |       local first=$1
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| 433 |       shift
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| 434 | 
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| 435 |       echo $first
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| 436 |       echo "$@"
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| 437 |     }
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| 438 | 
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| 439 | Yes:
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| 440 | 
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| 441 |     proc f(first, @rest) {  # @ means "the rest of the arguments"
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| 442 |       write -- $first
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| 443 |       write -- @rest        # @ means "splice this array"
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| 444 |     }
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| 445 | 
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| 446 | You can also use the implicit `ARGV` variable:
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| 447 | 
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| 448 |     proc p {
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| 449 |       cp -- @ARGV /tmp
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| 450 |     }
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| 451 | 
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| 452 | ### Use "Out Params" instead of `declare -n`
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| 453 | 
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| 454 | Out params are one way to "return" values from a `proc`.
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| 455 | 
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| 456 | No:
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| 457 | 
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| 458 |     f() {
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| 459 |       local in=$1
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| 460 |       local -n out=$2
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| 461 | 
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| 462 |       out=PREFIX-$in
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| 463 |     }
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| 464 | 
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| 465 |     myvar='init'
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| 466 |     f zzz myvar         # assigns myvar to 'PREFIX-zzz'
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| 467 | 
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| 468 | 
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| 469 | Yes:
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| 470 | 
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| 471 |     proc f(in, :out) {  # : is an out param, i.e. a string "reference"
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| 472 |       setref out = "PREFIX-$in"
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| 473 |     }
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| 474 | 
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| 475 |     var myvar = 'init'
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| 476 |     f zzz :myvar        # assigns myvar to 'PREFIX-zzz'.
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| 477 |                         # colon is required
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| 478 | 
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| 479 | ### Note: Procs Don't Mess With Their Callers
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| 480 | 
 | 
| 481 | That is, [dynamic scope]($xref:dynamic-scope) is turned off when procs are
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| 482 | invoked.
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| 483 | 
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| 484 | Here's an example of shell functions reading variables in their caller:
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| 485 | 
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| 486 |     bar() {
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| 487 |       echo $foo_var  # looks up the stack
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| 488 |     }
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| 489 | 
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| 490 |     foo() {
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| 491 |       foo_var=x
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| 492 |       bar
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| 493 |     }
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| 494 | 
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| 495 |     foo
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| 496 | 
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| 497 | In YSH, you have to pass params explicitly:
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| 498 | 
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| 499 |     proc bar {
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| 500 |       echo $foo_var  # error, not defined
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| 501 |     }
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| 502 | 
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| 503 | Shell functions can also **mutate** variables in their caller!  But procs can't
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| 504 | do this, which makes code easier to reason about.
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| 505 | 
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| 506 | ## Use Modules
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| 507 | 
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| 508 | YSH has a few lightweight features that make it easier to organize code into
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| 509 | files.  It doesn't have "namespaces".
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| 510 | 
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| 511 | ### Relative Imports
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| 512 | 
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| 513 | Suppose we are running `bin/mytool`, and we want `BASE_DIR` to be the root of
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| 514 | the repository so we can do a relative import of `lib/foo.sh`.
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| 515 | 
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| 516 | No:
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| 517 | 
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| 518 |     # All of these are common idioms, with caveats
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| 519 |     BASE_DIR=$(dirname $0)/..
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| 520 | 
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| 521 |     BASE_DIR=$(dirname ${BASH_SOURCE[0]})/..
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| 522 | 
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| 523 |     BASE_DIR=$(cd $($dirname $0)/.. && pwd)
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| 524 | 
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| 525 |     BASE_DIR=$(dirname (dirname $(readlink -f $0)))
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| 526 | 
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| 527 |     source $BASE_DIR/lib/foo.sh
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| 528 | 
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| 529 | Yes:
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| 530 | 
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| 531 |     const BASE_DIR = "$this_dir/.."
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| 532 | 
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| 533 |     source $BASE_DIR/lib/foo.sh
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| 534 | 
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| 535 |     # Or simply:
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| 536 |     source $_this_dir/../lib/foo.sh
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| 537 | 
 | 
| 538 | The value of `_this_dir` is the directory that contains the currently executing
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| 539 | file.
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| 540 | 
 | 
| 541 | ### Include Guards
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| 542 | 
 | 
| 543 | No:
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| 544 | 
 | 
| 545 |     # libfoo.sh
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| 546 |     if test -z "$__LIBFOO_SH"; then
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| 547 |       return
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| 548 |     fi
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| 549 |     __LIBFOO_SH=1
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| 550 | 
 | 
| 551 | Yes:
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| 552 | 
 | 
| 553 |     # libfoo.sh
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| 554 |     module libfoo.sh || return 0
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| 555 | 
 | 
| 556 | ### Taskfile Pattern
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| 557 | 
 | 
| 558 | No:
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| 559 | 
 | 
| 560 |     deploy() {
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| 561 |       echo ...
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| 562 |     }
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| 563 |     "$@"
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| 564 | 
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| 565 | Yes
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| 566 | 
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| 567 |     proc deploy() {
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| 568 |       echo ...
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| 569 |     }
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| 570 |     runproc @ARGV  # gives better error messages
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| 571 | 
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| 572 | ## Error Handling
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| 573 | 
 | 
| 574 | [YSH Fixes Shell's Error Handling (`errexit`)](error-handling.html) once and
 | 
| 575 | for all!  Here's a comprehensive list of error handling idioms.
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| 576 | 
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| 577 | ### Don't Use `&&` Outside of `if` / `while`
 | 
| 578 | 
 | 
| 579 | It's implicit because `errexit` is on in YSH.
 | 
| 580 | 
 | 
| 581 | No:
 | 
| 582 | 
 | 
| 583 |     mkdir /tmp/dest && cp foo /tmp/dest
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| 584 | 
 | 
| 585 | Yes:
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| 586 | 
 | 
| 587 |     mkdir /tmp/dest
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| 588 |     cp foo /tmp/dest
 | 
| 589 | 
 | 
| 590 | It also avoids the *Trailing `&&` Pitfall* mentioned at the end of the [error
 | 
| 591 | handling](error-handling.html) doc.
 | 
| 592 | 
 | 
| 593 | ### Ignore an Error
 | 
| 594 | 
 | 
| 595 | No:
 | 
| 596 | 
 | 
| 597 |     ls /bad || true  # OK because ls is external
 | 
| 598 |     myfunc || true   # suffers from the "Disabled errexit Quirk"
 | 
| 599 | 
 | 
| 600 | Yes:
 | 
| 601 | 
 | 
| 602 |     try { ls /bad }
 | 
| 603 |     try { myfunc }
 | 
| 604 | 
 | 
| 605 | ### Retrieve A Command's Status When `errexit` is On
 | 
| 606 | 
 | 
| 607 | No:
 | 
| 608 | 
 | 
| 609 |     # set -e is enabled earlier
 | 
| 610 | 
 | 
| 611 |     set +e
 | 
| 612 |     mycommand  # this ignores errors when mycommand is a function
 | 
| 613 |     status=$?  # save it before it changes
 | 
| 614 |     set -e
 | 
| 615 | 
 | 
| 616 |     echo $status
 | 
| 617 | 
 | 
| 618 | Yes:
 | 
| 619 | 
 | 
| 620 |     try {
 | 
| 621 |       mycommand
 | 
| 622 |     }
 | 
| 623 |     echo $[_error.code]
 | 
| 624 | 
 | 
| 625 | ### Does a Builtin Or External Command Succeed?
 | 
| 626 | 
 | 
| 627 | These idioms are OK in both shell and YSH:
 | 
| 628 | 
 | 
| 629 |     if ! cp foo /tmp {
 | 
| 630 |       echo 'error copying'  # any non-zero status
 | 
| 631 |     }
 | 
| 632 | 
 | 
| 633 |     if ! test -d /bin {
 | 
| 634 |       echo 'not a directory'
 | 
| 635 |     }
 | 
| 636 | 
 | 
| 637 | To be consistent with the idioms below, you can also write them like this:
 | 
| 638 | 
 | 
| 639 |     try {
 | 
| 640 |       cp foo /tmp
 | 
| 641 |     }
 | 
| 642 |     if failed {  # shortcut for (_error.code !== 0)
 | 
| 643 |       echo 'error copying'
 | 
| 644 |     }
 | 
| 645 | 
 | 
| 646 | ### Does a Function Succeed?
 | 
| 647 | 
 | 
| 648 | When the command is a shell function, you shouldn't use `if myfunc` directly.
 | 
| 649 | This is because shell has the *Disabled `errexit` Quirk*, which is detected by
 | 
| 650 | YSH `strict_errexit`.
 | 
| 651 | 
 | 
| 652 | **No**:
 | 
| 653 | 
 | 
| 654 |     if myfunc; then  # errors not checked in body of myfunc
 | 
| 655 |       echo 'success'
 | 
| 656 |     fi
 | 
| 657 | 
 | 
| 658 | **Yes**.  The *`$0` Dispatch Pattern* is a workaround that works in all shells.
 | 
| 659 | 
 | 
| 660 |     if $0 myfunc; then  # invoke a new shell
 | 
| 661 |       echo 'success'
 | 
| 662 |     fi
 | 
| 663 | 
 | 
| 664 |     "$@"  # Run the function $1 with args $2, $3, ...
 | 
| 665 | 
 | 
| 666 | **Yes**.  The YSH `try` builtin sets the special `_error` variable and returns
 | 
| 667 | `0`.
 | 
| 668 | 
 | 
| 669 |     try {
 | 
| 670 |       myfunc  # doesn't abort
 | 
| 671 |     }
 | 
| 672 |     if failed {
 | 
| 673 |       echo 'success'
 | 
| 674 |     }
 | 
| 675 | 
 | 
| 676 | ### Does a Pipeline Succeed?
 | 
| 677 | 
 | 
| 678 | No:
 | 
| 679 | 
 | 
| 680 |     if ps | grep python; then
 | 
| 681 |       echo 'found'
 | 
| 682 |     fi
 | 
| 683 | 
 | 
| 684 | This is technically correct when `pipefail` is on, but it's impossible for
 | 
| 685 | YSH `strict_errexit` to distinguish it from `if myfunc | grep python` ahead
 | 
| 686 | of time (the ["meta" pitfall](error-handling.html#the-meta-pitfall)).  If you
 | 
| 687 | know what you're doing, you can disable `strict_errexit`.
 | 
| 688 | 
 | 
| 689 | Yes:
 | 
| 690 | 
 | 
| 691 |     try {
 | 
| 692 |       ps | grep python
 | 
| 693 |     }
 | 
| 694 |     if failed {
 | 
| 695 |       echo 'found'
 | 
| 696 |     }
 | 
| 697 | 
 | 
| 698 |     # You can also examine the status of each part of the pipeline
 | 
| 699 |     if (_pipeline_status[0] !== 0) {
 | 
| 700 |       echo 'ps failed'
 | 
| 701 |     }
 | 
| 702 | 
 | 
| 703 | ### Does a Command With Process Subs Succeed?
 | 
| 704 | 
 | 
| 705 | Similar to the pipeline example above:
 | 
| 706 | 
 | 
| 707 | No:
 | 
| 708 | 
 | 
| 709 |     if ! comm <(sort left.txt) <(sort right.txt); then
 | 
| 710 |       echo 'error'
 | 
| 711 |     fi
 | 
| 712 | 
 | 
| 713 | Yes:
 | 
| 714 | 
 | 
| 715 |     try {
 | 
| 716 |       comm <(sort left.txt) <(sort right.txt)
 | 
| 717 |     }
 | 
| 718 |     if failed {
 | 
| 719 |       echo 'error'
 | 
| 720 |     }
 | 
| 721 | 
 | 
| 722 |     # You can also examine the status of each process sub
 | 
| 723 |     if (_process_sub_status[0] !== 0) {
 | 
| 724 |       echo 'first process sub failed'
 | 
| 725 |     }
 | 
| 726 | 
 | 
| 727 | (I used `comm` in this example because it doesn't have a true / false / error
 | 
| 728 | status like `diff`.)
 | 
| 729 | 
 | 
| 730 | ### Handle Errors in YSH Expressions
 | 
| 731 | 
 | 
| 732 |     try {
 | 
| 733 |       var x = 42 / 0
 | 
| 734 |       echo "result is $[42 / 0]"
 | 
| 735 |     }
 | 
| 736 |     if failed {
 | 
| 737 |       echo 'divide by zero'
 | 
| 738 |     }
 | 
| 739 | 
 | 
| 740 | ### Test Boolean Statuses, like `grep`, `diff`, `test`
 | 
| 741 | 
 | 
| 742 | The YSH `boolstatus` builtin distinguishes **error** from **false**.
 | 
| 743 | 
 | 
| 744 | **No**, this is subtly wrong.  `grep` has 3 different return values.
 | 
| 745 | 
 | 
| 746 |     if grep 'class' *.py {       
 | 
| 747 |       echo 'found'               # status 0 means found
 | 
| 748 |     } else {
 | 
| 749 |       echo 'not found OR ERROR'  # any non-zero status
 | 
| 750 |     }
 | 
| 751 | 
 | 
| 752 | **Yes**.  `boolstatus` aborts the program if `egrep` doesn't return 0 or 1.
 | 
| 753 | 
 | 
| 754 |     if boolstatus grep 'class' *.py {  # may abort
 | 
| 755 |       echo 'found'               # status 0 means found
 | 
| 756 |     } else {
 | 
| 757 |       echo 'not found'           # status 1 means not found
 | 
| 758 |     }
 | 
| 759 | 
 | 
| 760 | More flexible style:
 | 
| 761 | 
 | 
| 762 |     try {
 | 
| 763 |       grep 'class' *.py
 | 
| 764 |     }
 | 
| 765 |     case (_error.code) {
 | 
| 766 |       (0)    { echo 'found' }
 | 
| 767 |       (1)    { echo 'not found' }
 | 
| 768 |       (else) { echo 'fatal' }
 | 
| 769 |     }
 | 
| 770 | 
 | 
| 771 | ## Use YSH Expressions, Initializations, and Assignments (var, setvar)
 | 
| 772 | 
 | 
| 773 | ### Initialize and Assign Strings and Integers
 | 
| 774 | 
 | 
| 775 | No:
 | 
| 776 | 
 | 
| 777 |     local mystr=foo
 | 
| 778 |     mystr='new value'
 | 
| 779 | 
 | 
| 780 |     local myint=42  # still a string in shell
 | 
| 781 | 
 | 
| 782 | Yes:
 | 
| 783 | 
 | 
| 784 |     var mystr = 'foo'
 | 
| 785 |     setvar mystr = 'new value'
 | 
| 786 | 
 | 
| 787 |     var myint = 42  # a real integer
 | 
| 788 | 
 | 
| 789 | ### Expressions on Integers
 | 
| 790 | 
 | 
| 791 | No:
 | 
| 792 | 
 | 
| 793 |     x=$(( 1 + 2*3 ))
 | 
| 794 |     (( x = 1 + 2*3 ))
 | 
| 795 | 
 | 
| 796 | Yes:
 | 
| 797 | 
 | 
| 798 |     setvar x = 1 + 2*3
 | 
| 799 | 
 | 
| 800 | ### Mutate Integers
 | 
| 801 | 
 | 
| 802 | No:
 | 
| 803 | 
 | 
| 804 |     (( i++ ))  # interacts poorly with errexit
 | 
| 805 |     i=$(( i+1 ))
 | 
| 806 | 
 | 
| 807 | Yes:
 | 
| 808 | 
 | 
| 809 |     setvar i += 1  # like Python, with a keyword
 | 
| 810 | 
 | 
| 811 | ### Initialize and Assign Arrays
 | 
| 812 | 
 | 
| 813 | Arrays in YSH look like `:| my array |` and `['my', 'array']`.
 | 
| 814 | 
 | 
| 815 | No:
 | 
| 816 | 
 | 
| 817 |     local -a myarray=(one two three)
 | 
| 818 |     myarray[3]='THREE'
 | 
| 819 | 
 | 
| 820 | Yes:
 | 
| 821 | 
 | 
| 822 |     var myarray = :| one two three |
 | 
| 823 |     setvar myarray[3] = 'THREE'
 | 
| 824 | 
 | 
| 825 |     var same = ['one', 'two', 'three']
 | 
| 826 |     var typed = [1, 2, true, false, null]
 | 
| 827 | 
 | 
| 828 | 
 | 
| 829 | ### Initialize and Assign Dicts
 | 
| 830 | 
 | 
| 831 | Dicts in YSH look like `{key: 'value'}`.
 | 
| 832 | 
 | 
| 833 | No:
 | 
| 834 | 
 | 
| 835 |     local -A myassoc=(['key']=value ['k2']=v2)
 | 
| 836 |     myassoc['key']=V
 | 
| 837 | 
 | 
| 838 | 
 | 
| 839 | Yes:
 | 
| 840 | 
 | 
| 841 |     # keys don't need to be quoted
 | 
| 842 |     var myassoc = {key: 'value', k2: 'v2'}
 | 
| 843 |     setvar myassoc['key'] = 'V'
 | 
| 844 | 
 | 
| 845 | ### Get Values From Arrays and Dicts
 | 
| 846 | 
 | 
| 847 | No:
 | 
| 848 | 
 | 
| 849 |     local x=${a[i-1]}
 | 
| 850 |     x=${a[i]}
 | 
| 851 | 
 | 
| 852 |     local y=${A['key']}
 | 
| 853 | 
 | 
| 854 | Yes:
 | 
| 855 | 
 | 
| 856 |     var x = a[i-1]
 | 
| 857 |     setvar x = a[i]
 | 
| 858 | 
 | 
| 859 |     var y = A['key']
 | 
| 860 | 
 | 
| 861 | ### Conditions and Comparisons
 | 
| 862 | 
 | 
| 863 | No:
 | 
| 864 | 
 | 
| 865 |     if (( x > 0 )); then
 | 
| 866 |       echo 'positive'
 | 
| 867 |     fi
 | 
| 868 | 
 | 
| 869 | Yes:
 | 
| 870 | 
 | 
| 871 |     if (x > 0) {
 | 
| 872 |       echo 'positive'
 | 
| 873 |     }
 | 
| 874 | 
 | 
| 875 | ### Substituting Expressions in Words
 | 
| 876 | 
 | 
| 877 | No:
 | 
| 878 | 
 | 
| 879 |     echo flag=$((1 + a[i] * 3))  # C-like arithmetic
 | 
| 880 | 
 | 
| 881 | Yes:
 | 
| 882 | 
 | 
| 883 |     echo flag=$[1 + a[i] * 3]    # Arbitrary YSH expressions
 | 
| 884 | 
 | 
| 885 |     # Possible, but a local var might be more readable
 | 
| 886 |     echo flag=$['1' if x else '0']
 | 
| 887 | 
 | 
| 888 | 
 | 
| 889 | ## Use [Egg Expressions](eggex.html) instead of Regexes
 | 
| 890 | 
 | 
| 891 | ### Test for a Match
 | 
| 892 | 
 | 
| 893 | No:
 | 
| 894 | 
 | 
| 895 |     local pat='[[:digit:]]+'
 | 
| 896 |     if [[ $x =~ $pat ]]; then
 | 
| 897 |       echo 'number'
 | 
| 898 |     fi
 | 
| 899 | 
 | 
| 900 | Yes:
 | 
| 901 | 
 | 
| 902 |     if (x ~ /digit+/) {
 | 
| 903 |       echo 'number'
 | 
| 904 |     }
 | 
| 905 | 
 | 
| 906 | Or extract the pattern:
 | 
| 907 | 
 | 
| 908 |     var pat = / digit+ /
 | 
| 909 |     if (x ~ pat) {
 | 
| 910 |       echo 'number'
 | 
| 911 |     }
 | 
| 912 | 
 | 
| 913 | ### Extract Submatches
 | 
| 914 | 
 | 
| 915 | No:
 | 
| 916 | 
 | 
| 917 |     if [[ $x =~ foo-([[:digit:]]+) ]] {
 | 
| 918 |       echo "${BASH_REMATCH[1]}"  # first submatch
 | 
| 919 |     }
 | 
| 920 | 
 | 
| 921 | Yes:
 | 
| 922 | 
 | 
| 923 |     if (x ~ / 'foo-' <capture d+> /) {   # <> is capture
 | 
| 924 |       echo $[_group(1)]                  # first submatch
 | 
| 925 |     }
 | 
| 926 | 
 | 
| 927 | ## Glob Matching
 | 
| 928 | 
 | 
| 929 | No:
 | 
| 930 | 
 | 
| 931 |     if [[ $x == *.py ]]; then
 | 
| 932 |       echo 'Python'
 | 
| 933 |     fi
 | 
| 934 | 
 | 
| 935 | Yes:
 | 
| 936 | 
 | 
| 937 |     if (x ~~ '*.py') {
 | 
| 938 |       echo 'Python'
 | 
| 939 |     }
 | 
| 940 | 
 | 
| 941 | 
 | 
| 942 | No:
 | 
| 943 | 
 | 
| 944 |     case $x in
 | 
| 945 |       *.py)
 | 
| 946 |         echo Python
 | 
| 947 |         ;;
 | 
| 948 |       *.sh)
 | 
| 949 |         echo Shell
 | 
| 950 |         ;;
 | 
| 951 |     esac
 | 
| 952 | 
 | 
| 953 | Yes (purely a style preference):
 | 
| 954 | 
 | 
| 955 |     case $x {          # curly braces
 | 
| 956 |       (*.py)           # balanced parens
 | 
| 957 |         echo 'Python'
 | 
| 958 |         ;;
 | 
| 959 |       (*.sh)
 | 
| 960 |         echo 'Shell'
 | 
| 961 |         ;;
 | 
| 962 |     }
 | 
| 963 | 
 | 
| 964 | ## TODO
 | 
| 965 | 
 | 
| 966 | ### Distinguish Between Variables and Functions
 | 
| 967 | 
 | 
| 968 | - `$RANDOM` vs. `random()`
 | 
| 969 | - `LANG=C` vs.  `shopt --setattr LANG=C`
 | 
| 970 | 
 | 
| 971 | ## Related Documents
 | 
| 972 | 
 | 
| 973 | - [Shell Language Idioms](shell-idioms.html).  This advice applies to shells
 | 
| 974 |   other than YSH.
 | 
| 975 | - [What Breaks When You Upgrade to YSH](upgrade-breakage.html).  Shell constructs that YSH
 | 
| 976 |   users should avoid.
 | 
| 977 | - [YSH Fixes Shell's Error Handling (`errexit`)](error-handling.html).  YSH fixes the
 | 
| 978 |   flaky error handling in POSIX shell and bash.
 | 
| 979 | - TODO: Go through more of the [Pure Bash
 | 
| 980 |   Bible](https://github.com/dylanaraps/pure-bash-bible).  YSH provides
 | 
| 981 |   alternatives for such quirky syntax.
 | 
| 982 | 
 |