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Z-Shell (zsh) FAQ changes this month
- X-seq: zsh-announce 97
- From: Peter Stephenson <pws@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: zsh-announce@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Subject: Z-Shell (zsh) FAQ changes this month
- Date: Thu, 24 Jun 1999 14:41:21 +0200
- Mailing-list: contact zsh-announce-help@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx; run by ezmlm
This file contains general information on how to find out about zsh,
(the first part of the FAQ up to item 1.1), then any other items which
have changed since last month's posting, then the differences in the
text version of the FAQ. If you would like a complete individual
copy, email me and I will add you to the list.
Changes since issue posted May 1999:
1.5 3.1.6 may appear
1.6 updated list of archive sites; coordinator@xxxxxxx alias;
new coordinator, alas.
2.1 mention SHARE_HISTORY; deleted item on
$(echo '\$x') difference (can't find this any more); function
definitions aren't local to functions in ksh either, only traps.
3.7 PRINT_EIGHT_BIT will be in 3.0.6
3.24 new: cut-and-paste problems
5.1 xtrace and LINENO will work better in 3.1.6
5.2 no mailing list archive at ftp.sterling.com
5.3 New completion command menu-select for 3.1.6
This document contains a list of frequently-asked (or otherwise
significant) questions concerning the Z-shell, a command interpreter
for many UNIX systems which is freely available to anyone with FTP
access. Zsh is among the most powerful freely available Bourne-like
shell for interactive use.
If you have never heard of `sh', `csh' or `ksh', then you are
probably better off to start by reading a general introduction to UNIX
rather than this document.
If you just want to know how to get your hands on the latest version,
skip to question 1.6; if you want to know what to do with
insoluble problems, go to 5.2.
Notation: Quotes `like this' are ordinary textual quotation
marks. Other uses of quotation marks are input to the shell.
Contents:
Chapter 1: Introducing zsh and how to install it
1.1. Sources of information
1.2. What is it?
1.3. What is it good at?
1.4. On what machines will it run? (Plus important compilation notes)
1.5. What's the latest version?
1.6. Where do I get it?
1.7. I don't have root access: how do I make zsh my login shell?
Chapter 2: How does zsh differ from...?
2.1. sh and ksh?
2.2. csh?
2.3. Why do my csh aliases not work? (Plus other alias pitfalls.)
2.4. tcsh?
2.5. bash?
2.6. Shouldn't zsh be more/less like ksh/(t)csh?
Chapter 3: How to get various things to work
3.1. Why does `$var' where `var="foo bar"' not do what I expect?
3.2. In which startup file do I put...?
3.3. What is the difference between `export' and the ALL_EXPORT option?
3.4. How do I turn off spelling correction/globbing for a single command?
3.5. How do I get the meta key to work on my xterm?
3.6. How do I automatically display the directory in my xterm title bar?
3.7. How do I make the completion list use eight bit characters?
3.8. Why do the cursor (arrow) keys not work?
3.9. Why does my terminal act funny in some way?
3.10. Why does zsh not work in an Emacs shell mode any more?
3.11. Why do my autoloaded functions not autoload [the first time]?
3.12. How does base arithmetic work?
3.13. How do I get a newline in my prompt?
3.14. Why does `bindkey ^a command-name' or 'stty intr ^-' do something funny?
3.15. Why can't I bind \C-s and \C-q any more?
3.16. How do I execute command `foo' within function `foo'?
3.17. Why do history substitutions with single bangs do something funny?
3.18. Why does zsh kill off all my background jobs when I logout?
3.19. How do I list all my history entries?
3.20. How does the alternative loop syntax, e.g. `while {...} {...}' work?
3.21. Why is my history not being saved?
3.22. How do I get a variable's value to be evaluated as another variable?
3.23. How do I prevent the prompt overwriting output when there is no newline?
3.24. What's wrong with cut and paste on my xterm?
Chapter 4: The mysteries of completion
4.1. What is completion?
4.2. What sorts of things can be completed?
4.3. How does zsh deal with ambiguous completions?
4.4. How do I complete in the middle of words / just what's before the cursor?
4.5. How do I get started with programmable completion?
4.6. And if programmable completion isn't good enough?
Chapter 5: The future of zsh
5.1. What bugs are currently known and unfixed? (Plus recent important changes)
5.2. Where do I report bugs, get more info / who's working on zsh?
5.3. What's on the wish-list?
5.4. Will zsh have problems in the year 2000?
Acknowledgments
Copyright
--- End of Contents ---
Chapter 1: Introducing zsh and how to install it
1.1: Sources of information
Information on zsh is available via the World Wide Web. The URL
is http://sunsite.auc.dk/zsh/ (note the change of address from the
end of April 1998). The server provides this FAQ and much else and is
now maintained by Karsten Thygesen and others (mail zsh@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
with any related messages). The FAQ is at http://sunsite.auc.dk/zsh/FAQ/ .
The site also contains some contributed zsh scripts and functions;
we are delighted to add more, or simply links to your own collection.
This document was originally written in YODL, allowing it to be converted
easily into various other formats. The master source file lives at
http://sunsite.auc.dk/zsh/FAQ/zshfaq.yo and the plain text version
can be found at http://sunsite.auc.dk/zsh/FAQ/zshfaq.txt .
Another useful source of information is the collection of FAQ articles
posted frequently to the Usenet news groups comp.unix.questions,
comp.unix.shells and comp.answers with answers to general questions
about UNIX. The fifth of the seven articles deals with shells,
including zsh, with a brief description of differences. There is
also a separate FAQ on shell differences and how to change your
shell. Usenet FAQs are available via FTP from rtfm.mit.edu and
mirrors and also on the World Wide Web; see
USA http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/faq/usenet/top.html
UK http://www.lib.ox.ac.uk/internet/news/faq/comp.unix.shell.html
Netherlands http://www.cs.uu.nl/wais/html/na-dir/unix-faq/shell/.html
You can also get it via email by emailing mail-server@xxxxxxxxxxxx
with, in the body of the message, `send faqs/unix-faq/shell/zsh'.
The latest version of this FAQ is also available directly from any
of the zsh archive sites listed in question 1.6.
There is now a preliminary version of a reference card for
zsh 3.0, which you can find (while it's being developed) at
http://www.ifh.de/~pws/computing/refcard.ps
This is optimised for A4 paper. The LaTeX source is in the
same place with the extension .tex. It is not a good place
from which to learn zsh for the first time.
(As a method of reading the following in Emacs, you can type \M-2
\C-x $ to make all the indented text vanish, then \M-0 \C-x $
when you are on the title you want.)
For any more eclectic information, you should contact the mailing
list: see question 5.2.
--- End of general information, changed items follow in full ---
1.5: What's the latest version?
Zsh 3.0.5 is the latest production version, however a test version of
3.0.6 is doing the rounds and should be released soon. The new major
number 3.0 largely reflects the considerable internal changes in zsh to
make it more reliable, consistent and (where possible) compatible. Those
planning on upgrading their zsh installation should take a look at the
list of incompatibilities at the end of 5.1. This is longer
than usual due to enhanced sh, ksh and POSIX compatibility.
The beta version 3.1.5 is also available, and 3.1.6 should appear over
the summer. Development of zsh is usually patch by patch, with each
intermediate version publicly available. Note that this `open'
development system does mean bugs are sometimes introduced into the most
recent archived version. These are usually fixed quickly.
Note also that as the shell changes, it may become incompatible with
older versions; see the end of question 5.1 for a partial list.
Changes of this kind are almost always forced by an awkward or
unnecessary feature in the original design (as perceived by current
users), or to enhance compatibility with other Bourne shell
derivatives, or (most recently) to provide POSIX compliancy.
1.6: Where do I get it?
The coordinator of development is currently me; the alias
coordinator@xxxxxxx can be used to contact whoever is in the hot
seat. The following are known mirrors (kept frequently up to date); the
first is the official archive site, currently in Australia. All are
available by anonymous FTP. The major sites keep test versions in the
`testing' subdirectory: such up-to-the-minute development versions should
only be retrieved if you actually plan to help test the latest version of
the shell. The following list also appears on the WWW at
http://www.zsh.org .
Home site ftp://ftp.zsh.org
http://www.zsh.org/pub/zsh/
Australia ftp://ftp.ips.gov.au/mirror/zsh/
Denmark ftp://sunsite.auc.dk/pub/unix/shells/zsh
Finland ftp://ftp.funet.fi/pub/unix/shells/zsh/
France ftp://ftp.cenatls.cena.dgac.fr/pub/shells/zsh/
Germany ftp://ftp.fu-berlin.de/pub/unix/shells/zsh/
ftp://ftp.gmd.de/packages/zsh/
ftp://ftp.uni-trier.de/pub/unix/shell/zsh/
Hungary ftp://ftp.cs.elte.hu/pub/zsh/
(also http://www.cs.elte.hu/pub/zsh/ )
ftp://ftp.kfki.hu/pub/packages/zsh/
Israel ftp://ftp.math.technion.ac.il/mirror/ftp.zsh.org/pub/zsh/
http://www.math.technion.ac.il/mirror/ftp.zsh.org/pub/zsh/
Japan ftp://ftp.tohoku.ac.jp/mirror/zsh/
ftp://ftp.nisiq.net/pub/shells/zsh/
ftp://ftp.win.ne.jp/pub/shell/zsh/
Norway ftp://ftp.uit.no/pub/unix/shells/zsh/
Romania ftp://ftp.roedu.net/pub/mirrors/ftp.zsh.org/pub/zsh/
Slovenia ftp://ftp.siol.net/pub/unix/shells/zsh/
Sweden ftp://ftp.lysator.liu.se/pub/unix/zsh/
UK ftp://ftp.net.lut.ac.uk/zsh/
(also by FSP at port 21)
ftp://sunsite.org.uk/packages/zsh/
USA ftp://ftp.math.gatech.edu/pub/zsh/
ftp://uiarchive.uiuc.edu/pub/packages/shells/zsh/
ftp://ftp.sterling.com/zsh/
ftp://ftp.rge.com/pub/shells/zsh/
ftp://foad.org/pub/zsh/
http://foad.org/zsh/
The Windows port mentioned above is maintained separately by Amol
Deshpande <amold@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>; please mail Amol directly about any
Windows-specific problems. This is quite new, so don't expect it to
be perfect. You can get it from:
ftp://ftp.blarg.net/users/amol/zsh
Likewise the OS/2 port is available from TAMURA Kent
<kent@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> at
http://cgi.din.or.jp/~tkent/tmp/zsh-3.0.0-os2-a01.zip
Starting from mid-October 1997, there is an archive of patches sent
to the maintainers' mailing list. Note that these may not all be
added to the shell, and some may already have been; you simply have
to search for something you might want which is not in the version
you have. Also, there may be some prerequisites earlier in the
archive. It can be found on the zsh WWW pages (as described in
1.1) at:
http://sunsite.auc.dk/zsh/Patches/
2.1: Differences from sh and ksh
Most features of ksh (and hence also of sh) are implemented in zsh;
problems can arise because the implementation is slightly different.
Note also that not all ksh's are the same either. I have based this
on the 11/16/88f version of ksh; differences from ksh93 will be more
substantial.
As a summary of the status:
1) because of all the options it is not safe to assume a general
zsh run by a user will behave as if sh or ksh compatible;
2) invoking zsh as sh or ksh (or if either is a symbolic link to
zsh) sets appropriate options and improves compatibility (from
within zsh itself, calling `ARGV0=sh zsh' will also work);
3) from version 3.0 onward the degree of compatibility with sh
under these circumstances is very high: zsh can now be used
with GNU configure or perl's Configure, for example;
4) the degree of compatibility with ksh is also high, but a few
things are missing: for example the more sophisticated
pattern-matching expressions are different for versions before
3.1.3 --- see the detailed list below;
5) also from 3.0, the command `emulate' is available: `emulate
ksh' and `emulate sh' set various options as well as changing the
effect of single-letter option flags as if the shell had been
invoked with the appropriate name. Including the commands
`emulate sh; setopt localoptions' in a shell function will
turn on sh emulation for that function only.
The classic difference is word splitting, discussed in 3.1; this
catches out very many beginning zsh users. As explained there, this
is actually a bug in every other shell. The answer is to set
SH_WORD_SPLIT for backward compatibility. The next most classic
difference is that unmatched glob patterns cause the command to
abort; set NO_NOMATCH for those.
Here is a list of various options which will increase ksh
compatibility, though maybe decrease zsh's abilities: see the manual
entries for GLOB_SUBST, IGNORE_BRACES (though brace expansion occurs
in some versions of ksh), KSH_ARRAYS, KSH_GLOB, KSH_OPTION_PRINT,
LOCAL_OPTIONS, NO_BAD_PATTERN, NO_BANG_HIST, NO_EQUALS, NO_HUP,
NO_NOMATCH, NO_RCS, NO_SHORT_LOOPS, PROMPT_SUBST, RM_STAR_SILENT,
POSIX_BUILTINS, SH_FILE_EXPANSION, SH_GLOB, SH_OPTION_LETTERS,
SH_WORD_SPLIT (see question 3.1) and SINGLE_LINE_ZLE.
Note that you can also disable any built-in commands which get in
your way. If invoked as `ksh', the shell will try and set suitable
options.
Here are some differences from ksh which might prove significant for
ksh programmers, some of which may be interpreted as bugs; there
must be more. Note that this list is deliberately rather full and
that most of the items are fairly minor. Those marked `*' perform
in a ksh-like manner if the shell is invoked with the name `ksh', or
if `emulate ksh' is in effect. Capitalised words with underlines
refer to shell options.
o Syntax:
o * Shell word splitting: see question 3.1.
o * Arrays are (by default) more csh-like than ksh-like:
subscripts start at 1, not 0; array[0] refers to array[1];
`$array' refers to the whole array, not $array[0];
braces are unnecessary: $a[1] == ${a[1]}, etc.
The KSH_ARRAYS option is now available.
o Coprocesses are established by `coproc'; `|&' behaves like
csh. Handling of coprocess file descriptors is also different.
o In `cmd1 && cmd2 &', only `cmd2' instead of the whole
expression is run in the background in zsh. The manual implies
this is a bug. Use `{ cmd1 && cmd2 } &' as a workaround.
o Command line substitutions, globbing etc.:
o * Failure to match a globbing pattern causes an error (use
NO_NOMATCH).
o * The results of parameter substitutions are treated as plain text:
`foo="*"; print $foo' prints all files in ksh but `*' in zsh
(uset GLOB_SUBST).
o * $PSn do not do parameter substitution by default (use PROMPT_SUBST).
o * Standard globbing does not allow ksh-style `pattern-lists'.
Equivalents:
----------------------------------------------------------------------
ksh zsh Meaning
----- ----- ---------
!(foo) ^foo Anything but foo.
or foo1~foo2 Anything matching foo1 but foo2[1].
@(foo1|foo2|...) (foo1|foo2|...) One of foo1 or foo2 or ...
?(foo) (foo|) Zero or one occurrences of foo.
*(foo) (foo)# Zero or more occurrences of foo.
+(foo) (foo)## One or more occurrences of foo.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The `^', `~' and `#' (but not `|')forms require EXTENDED_GLOB.
From version 3.1.3, the ksh forms are fully supported when the
option KSH_GLOB is in effect; for previous versions you
must use the table above.
[1] Note that `~' is the only globbing operator to have a lower
precedence than `/'. For example, `**/foo~*bar*' matches any
file in a subdirectory called `foo', except where `bar'
occurred somewhere in the path (e.g. `users/barstaff/foo' will
be excluded by the `~' operator). As the `**' operator cannot
be grouped (inside parentheses it is treated as `*'), this is
the way to exclude some subdirectories from matching a `**'.
o Unquoted assignments do file expansion after `:'s (intended for
PATHs).
o `integer' does not allow `-i'.
o `typeset' and `integer' have special behaviour for
assignments in ksh, but not in zsh. For example, this doesn't
work in zsh:
integer k=$(wc -l ~/.zshrc)
because the return value from wc includes leading
whitespace which causes wordsplitting. Ksh handles the
assignment specially as a single word.
o Command execution:
o * There is no $ENV variable (use /etc/zshrc, ~/.zshrc;
note also $ZDOTDIR).
o $PATH is not searched for commands specified
at invocation without -c.
o Aliases and functions:
o The order in which aliases and functions are defined is significant:
function definitions with () expand aliases -- see question 2.3.
o Aliases and functions cannot be exported.
o There are no tracked aliases: command hashing replaces these.
o The use of aliases for key bindings is replaced by `bindkey'.
o * Options are not local to functions (use LOCAL_OPTIONS; note this
may always be unset locally to propagate options settings from a
function to the calling level).
o Traps and signals:
o * Traps are not local to functions. The option LOCAL_TRAPS will
be available from 3.1.6.
o TRAPERR has become TRAPZERR (this was forced by UNICOS which
has SIGERR).
o Editing:
o The options emacs, gmacs, viraw are not supported.
Use bindkey to change the editing behaviour: `set -o {emacs,vi}'
becomes `bindkey -{e,v}'; for gmacs, go to emacs mode and use
`bindkey \^t gosmacs-transpose-characters'.
o The `keyword' option does not exist and `-k' is instead
interactivecomments. (`keyword' will not be in the next ksh
release either.)
o Management of histories in multiple shells is different:
the history list is not saved and restored after each command.
(The option SHARE_HISTORY will appear in 3.1.6 and will be
set in ksh compatibility mode to remedy this.)
o `\' does not escape editing chars (use `^V').
o Not all ksh bindings are set (e.g. `<ESC>#'; try `<ESC>q').
o * `#' in an interactive shell is not treated as a comment by
default.
o Built-in commands:
o Some built-ins (r, autoload, history, integer ...)
were aliases in ksh.
o There is no built-in command newgrp: use e.g. `alias
newgrp="exec newgrp"'
o `jobs' has no `-n' flag.
o `read' has no `-s' flag.
o Other idiosyncrasies:
o `select' always redisplays the list of selections on each loop.
3.7: How do I make the completion list use eight bit characters?
If you are sure your terminal handles this, the easiest way from versions
3.0.6 and 3.1 of the shell is to set the option PRINT_EIGHT_BIT. In
principle, this will work automatically if your computer uses the
`locale' system and your locale variables are set properly, as zsh
understands this. However, it is quite complicated, so if it isn't
already set up, trying the option is a lot easier. For earlier versions
of zsh 3, you are stuck with trying to understand locales, see the
setlocale(3) and zshparam(1) manual pages: the simplest
possibility may be to set LC_ALL=en_US. For older versions of the
shell, there is no easy way out.
3.24: What's wrong with cut and paste on my xterm?
On the majority of modern UNIX systems, cutting text from one window and
pasting it into another should work fine. On a few, however, there are
problems due to issues about how the terminal is handled: most programs
expect the terminal to be in `canonical input mode', which means that the
program is passed a whole line of input at a time, while for editing
the shell needs a single character at a time and must be in
`non-canonical input mode'. On the systems in question, input can be
lost or re-ordered when the mode changes. There are actually two
slightly different problems:
1) When you paste something in while a programme is running, so that
the shell only retrieves it later. Traditionally, there was a test
which was used only on systems where the problem was known to exist,
so it is possible some other systems were not handled (for example,
certain versions of IRIX, it appears); also, continuation lines were
not handled properly. A more reliable approach will appear in
versions 3.0.6 and 3.1.6.
2) When the shell is waiting for input, and you paste in a chunk of
text consisting of more than one complete set of commands.
Unfortunately, this is a much harder problem: the line editor is
already active, and needs to be turned off when the first command is
executed. The shell doesn't even know if the remaining text is input
to a command or for the shell, so there's simply nothing it can do.
However, if you have problems you can trick it: type `{' on a line
by itself, then paste the input, then type `}' on a line by
itself. The shell will not execute anything until the final brace is
read; all input is read as continuation lines (this may require the
fixes referred to above in order to be reliable).
5.1: What bugs are currently known and unfixed? (Plus recent important changes)
Here are some of the more well-known ones, very roughly in
decreasing order of significance. Many of these can also be counted
against differences from ksh in question 2.1; note that this applies
to the latest beta version and that simple bugs are often fixed
quite quickly. There is a file Etc/BUGS in the source distribution
with more detail.
o `time' is ignored with builtins and can't be used with `{...}'.
o `set -x' (`setopt xtrace') still has a few glitches; these
are mostly fixed in 3.1.6.
o Zsh's notion of the current line number (via $LINENO) is
sometimes not well handled, particularly when using functions and traps.
This should also work reliably from 3.1.6.
o In vi mode, `u' can go past the original modification point.
o The singlelinezle option has problems with prompts containing escapes.
o The `r' command does not work inside `$(...)' or ``...`'
expansions. This is fixed in 3.1.
o `typeset' handling is non-optimal, particularly with regard to
flags, and is ksh-incompatible in unpredictable ways.
o Nested closures in extended globbing and pattern matching, such as
[[ fofo = (fo#)# ]]
were not correctly handled, and there were problems with
complicated exclusions using `^' or `~'. These
are fixed in version 3.1.3.
Note that a few recent changes introduce incompatibilities (these
are not bugs):
Changes after zsh 3.0 (3.1.x is still currently in beta):
o The options ALWAYS_LAST_PROMPT (return to the line you were
editing after displaying completion lists) and LIST_AMBIGUOUS
(don't do AUTO_LIST if there was an unambiguous prefix that could be
inserted, i.e. only list if it is ambiguous what to insert next) are
now set by default. This is in response to complaints that too many
zsh features are never noticed by many users. To turn them off,
just put `unsetopt alwayslastprompt listambiguous' in your
.zshrc file.
o In 3.1.5, history-search-{forward,backward} only find previous
lines where the first word is the same as the current one. For
example,
comp<ESC>p
will find lines in the history like `comp -edit emacs', but not
`compress file' any more. For this reason, `\M-n' and
`\M-p' use history-beginning-search-{forward,backward} which
search for a line with the same prefix up to the cursor position.
From 3.1.6, there is likely to be a different implementation which
makes this closer (though not identical) to the old behaviour.
The story for the {up,down}-line-or-search commands is similar.
o In vi insert mode, the cursor keys no longer work. The following
will bind them:
bindkey -M viins '^[[D' vi-backward-char '^[[C' vi-forward-char \
'^[[A' up-line-or-history '^[[B' down-line-or-history
(unless your terminal requires `^[O' instead of `^[['). The
rationale is that the insert mode and command mode keymaps for
keys with prefixes are now separate.
Changes since zsh 2.5:
o The left hand of an assignment is no longer substituted. Thus,
`$1=$2' will not work. You can use something like `eval
"$1=\$2"', which should have the identical effect.
o Signal traps established with the `trap' builtin are now called with
the environment of the caller, as in ksh, instead of as a new
function level. Traps established as functions (e.g. `TRAPINT()
{...}') work as before.
o The NO_CLOBBER option is now -C and PRINT_EXIT_VALUE -1; they
used to be the other way around. (Use of names rather than letters is
generally recommended.)
o `[[' is a reserved word, hence must be separated from
other characters by whitespace; `{' and `}' are also reserved
words if the IGNORE_BRACES option is set.
o The option CSH_JUNKIE_PAREN has been removed: csh-like code now
always does what it looks like it does, so `if ( ... ) ...'
executes the code in parentheses in a subshell. To make this
useful, the syntax expected after an `if', etc., is less strict
than in other shells.
o `foo=*' does not perform globbing immediately on the right
hand side of the assignment; the old behaviour now requires the
option GLOB_ASSIGN. (`foo=(*)' is and has always been the
consistent way of doing this.)
o <> performs redirection of input and output to the specified file.
For numeric globs, you now need <->.
o The command line qualifiers exec, noglob, command, - are now
treated more like builtin commands: previously they were
syntactically special. This should make it easier to perform
tricks with them (disabling, hiding in parameters, etc.).
o The pushd builtin has been rewritten for compatibility with other
shells. The old behavour can be achieved with a shell function.
o The current version now uses ~'s for directory stack substitution
instead of ='s. This is for consistency: all other directory
substitution (~user, ~name, ~+, ...) used a tilde, while
=<number> caused problems with =program substitution.
o The HISTLIT option was broken in various ways and has been removed:
the rewritten history mechanism doesn't alter history lines, making
the option unnecessary.
o History expansion is disabled in single-quoted strings, like other
forms of expansion -- hence exclamation marks there should not be
backslashed.
o The `$HISTCHARS' variable is now `$histchars'. Currently both
are tied together for compatibility.
o The PROMPT_SUBST option now performs backquote expansion -- hence
you should quote these in prompts. (SPROMPT has changed as a result.)
o Quoting in prompts has changed: close parentheses inside ternary
expressions should be quoted with a %; history is now %!, not
!. Backslashes are no longer special.
5.2: Where do I report bugs, get more info / who's working on zsh?
The shell is being maintained by various (entirely self-appointed)
subscribers to the mailing list,
zsh-workers@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
so mail on any issues (bug reports, suggestions, complaints...)
related to the development of the shell should be sent there. If
you want someone to mail you directly, say so. Most patches to zsh
appear there first.
Note that this location has just changed (January 1999), and the
instructions to go with it are slightly different --- in particular,
if you are already subscribed, the instructions about how to
unsubscribe are different.
Please note when reporting bugs that many exist only on certain
architectures, which the developers may not have access to. In
this case debugging information, as detailed as possible, is
particularly welcome.
Two progressively lower volume lists exist, one with messages
concerning the use of zsh,
zsh-users@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
and one just containing announcements: about releases, about major
changes in the shell, or this FAQ, for example,
zsh-announce@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
(posting to the last one is currently restricted).
Note that you should only join one of these lists: people on
zsh-workers receive all the lists, and people on zsh-users will
also receive the announcements list.
The lists are handled by an automated server. The instructions for
zsh-announce and zsh-users are the same as for zsh-workers: just
change zsh-workers to whatever in the following.
To join zsh-workers, send email to
zsh-workers-subscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
(the actual content is unimportant). Replace subscribe with
unsubscribe to unsubscribe. The mailing software (ezlm) has
various bells and whistles: you can retrieve archived messages.
Mail zsh-workers-help@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx for detailed information.
Adminstrative matters are best sent to
zsh-workers-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx. The list maintainer's
real name is Karsten Thygesen <karthy@xxxxxxxxxx>.
An archive of mailings for the last few years can be found at
http://www.zsh.org/mla/
at the main zsh archive in Australia.
Of course, you can also post zsh queries to the Usenet group
comp.unix.shell; if all else fails, you could even e-mail me.
5.3: What's on the wish-list?
With version 3, the code is much cleaner than before, but still
bears the marks of the ages and many things could be done much
better with a rewrite. A more efficient set of code for
lexing/parsing/execution might also be an advantage. Volunteers are
particularly welcome for these tasks.
Here are some things which are definitely happening, and will probably
appear in zsh 3.1.6.
o Even more powerful new completion system, based on shell functions,
allowing much more detailed control both over generation of matches
for completion and how they are inserted and displayed. A set of
functions which work `out of the box' will be available, including
many functions for external commands: files in tar archives can
be listed for extraction as if they were real files; GNU commands
which accept the `--help' option can generate completion lists for
themselves on the fly, etc., etc.
You can have old-style compctl-based completions for some commands,
and new-style ones for others; you can bind particular completion
commands of your own definition to key-strokes.
o Other completion enhancements: matching control, allowing
case-insensitive matching and wild card anchors, e.g. `z_t<TAB>'
can allow a wildcard before the `_' so that this will expand
to `zle_tricky.c' --- all under user control; completions can
be grouped; a new completion command, menu-select, allows real menu
selection --- you can move the cursor around to choose a completion.
o Case-insensitive and approximate matching in the globbing code:
for example, `(#ia2)readme' matches the string `readme'
case-insensitively with up to two errors, such as README,
READ.ME, _README_, Read!Me!. The new completion system
knows about these, allowing correcting completion, e.g.
`mkaef<TAB>' can be made to complete to `Makefile'.
o Associative arrays, declared with `typeset -A aname'; syntax
for creating, accessing and deleting elements of these.
o Users can create their own foopath/FOOPATH array/path
combinations, just like path and PATH.
o A dynamically loadable library for FTP, complete with a suite of
functions to make it easy to use. This allows you to use the shell's
capabilities for scripting, line editing, completion, I/O redirection,
directory management etc. within an FTP session.
Other future possibilities which have been suggested:
o Further improvements in integrating the line editor with shell
functions.
o Ksh compatibility could be improved.
o Option for glob qualifiers to follow perl syntax (a traditional item).
--- End of changed items, diff from previous version follows ---
Index: zshfaq.yo
===================================================================
RCS file: /pack/anoncvs/zsh/www/FAQ/zshfaq.yo,v
retrieving revision 1.42
retrieving revision 1.43
diff -u -r1.42 -r1.43
--- zshfaq.yo 1999/05/24 10:07:31 1.42
+++ zshfaq.yo 1999/06/24 12:57:34 1.43
@@ -49,20 +49,24 @@
mydit(Archive-Name:) unix-faq/shell/zsh
mydit(Last-Modified:) 1999/05/24
mydit(Submitted-By:) email(pws@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (Peter Stephenson))
-mydit(Version:) $Id: zshfaq.yo,v 1.42 1999/05/24 10:07:31 pws Exp $
+mydit(Version:) $Id: zshfaq.yo,v 1.43 1999/06/24 12:57:34 pws Exp $
mydit(Posting-Frequency:) Monthly
mydit(Copyright:) (C) P.W. Stephenson, 1995--1999 (see end of document)
)
-bf(Changes since issue posted April 1999:)
+bf(Changes since issue posted May 1999:)
description(
-mydit(*.*) Orthography for option names standardised.
-mydit(1.4) don't change config.h.in, change acconfig.h
-mydit(1.6) email zefram@xxxxxxx
-mydit(2.4) new widget version of tcsh run-fg-editor
-mydit(3.7) should have mentioned tt(PRINT_EIGHT_BIT) is new in 3.1
-mydit(3.23) new: describe tt(PROMPT_CR) option.
-mydit(5.1) Description of tt(LIST_AMBIGUOUS) corrected.
+mydit(1.5) 3.1.6 may appear
+mydit(1.6) updated list of archive sites; coordinator@xxxxxxx alias;
+ new coordinator, alas.
+mydit(2.1) mention tt(SHARE_HISTORY); deleted item on
+ tt($(echo '\$x')) difference (can't find this any more); function
+ definitions aren't local to functions in ksh either, only traps.
+mydit(3.7) tt(PRINT_EIGHT_BIT) will be in 3.0.6
+mydit(3.24) new: cut-and-paste problems
+mydit(5.1) xtrace and LINENO will work better in 3.1.6
+mydit(5.2) no mailing list archive at ftp.sterling.com
+mydit(5.3) New completion command menu-select for 3.1.6
)
This document contains a list of frequently-asked (or otherwise
@@ -125,6 +129,7 @@
3.21. Why is my history not being saved?
3.22. How do I get a variable's value to be evaluated as another variable?
3.23. How do I prevent the prompt overwriting output when there is no newline?
+3.24. What's wrong with cut and paste on my xterm?
Chapter 4: The mysteries of completion
4.1. What is completion?
@@ -309,11 +314,11 @@
list of incompatibilities at the end of link(5.1)(51). This is longer
than usual due to enhanced sh, ksh and POSIX compatibility.
- The beta version 3.1.5 is also available. Development of zsh is
- usually patch by patch, with each intermediate version publicly
- available. Note that this `open' development system does mean bugs
- are sometimes introduced into the most recent archived version.
- These are usually fixed quickly.
+ The beta version 3.1.5 is also available, and 3.1.6 should appear over
+ the summer. Development of zsh is usually patch by patch, with each
+ intermediate version publicly available. Note that this `open'
+ development system does mean bugs are sometimes introduced into the most
+ recent archived version. These are usually fixed quickly.
Note also that as the shell changes, it may become incompatible with
older versions; see the end of question link(5.1)(51) for a partial list.
@@ -326,17 +331,20 @@
sect(Where do I get it?)
label(16)
- The archive is now run by email(Andrew Main <zefram@xxxxxxx>).
- The following are known mirrors (kept frequently up to date); the
+ The coordinator of development is currently me; the alias
+ email(coordinator@xxxxxxx) can be used to contact whoever is in the hot
+ seat. The following are known mirrors (kept frequently up to date); the
first is the official archive site, currently in Australia. All are
- available by anonymous FTP. The major sites keep test versions in
- the 'testing' subdirectory: such up-to-the-minute development
- versions should only be retrieved if you actually plan to help test
- the latest version of the shell. The following list also appears
- on the WWW at url(http://www.zsh.org)(http://www.zsh.org) .
+ available by anonymous FTP. The major sites keep test versions in the
+ `testing' subdirectory: such up-to-the-minute development versions should
+ only be retrieved if you actually plan to help test the latest version of
+ the shell. The following list also appears on the WWW at
+ url(http://www.zsh.org)(http://www.zsh.org) .
description(
mydit(Home site) url(ftp://ftp.zsh.org)(ftp://ftp.zsh.org)
+ mydit() url(http://www.zsh.org/pub/zsh/)
+(http://www.zsh.org/pub/zsh/)
mydit(Australia) url(ftp://ftp.ips.gov.au/mirror/zsh/)
(ftp://ftp.ips.gov.au/mirror/zsh/)
mydit(Denmark) url(ftp://sunsite.auc.dk/pub/unix/shells/zsh)
@@ -354,7 +362,9 @@
mydit(Hungary) url(ftp://ftp.cs.elte.hu/pub/zsh/)
(ftp://ftp.cs.elte.hu/pub/zsh/)
mydit() (also url(http://www.cs.elte.hu/pub/zsh/)
- (http://www.cs.elte.hu/pub/zsh/) )
+(http://www.cs.elte.hu/pub/zsh/) )
+ mydit() url(ftp://ftp.kfki.hu/pub/packages/zsh/)
+(ftp://ftp.kfki.hu/pub/packages/zsh/)
mydit(Israel) \
url(ftp://ftp.math.technion.ac.il/mirror/ftp.zsh.org/pub/zsh/)
(ftp://ftp.math.technion.ac.il/mirror/ftp.zsh.org/pub/zsh/)
@@ -363,7 +373,7 @@
(http://www.math.technion.ac.il/mirror/ftp.zsh.org/pub/zsh/)
mydit(Japan) url(ftp://ftp.tohoku.ac.jp/mirror/zsh/)
(ftp://ftp.tohoku.ac.jp/mirror/zsh/)
- mydit() url(ftp://ftp.nis.co.jp/pub/shells/zsh/)
+ mydit() url(ftp://ftp.nisiq.net/pub/shells/zsh/)
(ftp://ftp.nis.co.jp/pub/shells/zsh/)
mydit() url(ftp://ftp.win.ne.jp/pub/shell/zsh/)
(ftp://ftp.win.ne.jp/pub/shell/zsh/)
@@ -378,8 +388,8 @@
mydit(UK) url(ftp://ftp.net.lut.ac.uk/zsh/)
(ftp://ftp.net.lut.ac.uk/zsh/)
mydit() (also by FSP at port 21)
- mydit() url(ftp://src.doc.ic.ac.uk/packages/unix/shells/zsh/)
-(ftp://src.doc.ic.ac.uk/packages/unix/shells/zsh/)
+ mydit() url(ftp://sunsite.org.uk/packages/zsh/)
+(ftp://sunsite.org.uk/packages/zsh/)
mydit(USA) url(ftp://ftp.math.gatech.edu/pub/zsh/)
(ftp://ftp.math.gatech.edu/pub/zsh/)
mydit() url(ftp://uiarchive.uiuc.edu/pub/packages/shells/zsh/)
@@ -388,6 +398,10 @@
(ftp://ftp.sterling.com/zsh/)
mydit() url(ftp://ftp.rge.com/pub/shells/zsh/)
(ftp://ftp.rge.com/pub/shells/zsh/)
+ mydit() url(ftp://foad.org/pub/zsh/)
+(ftp://foad.org/pub/zsh/)
+ mydit() url(http://foad.org/zsh/)
+(http://foad.org/zsh/)
)
The Windows port mentioned above is maintained separately by email(Amol
@@ -464,7 +478,6 @@
endif
)
-
It's not a good idea to put this (even without the -l) into .cshrc,
at least without some tests on what the csh is supposed to be doing,
as that will cause _every_ instance of csh to turn into a zsh and
@@ -577,10 +590,6 @@
it()* The results of parameter substitutions are treated as plain text:
mytt(foo="*"; print $foo) prints all files in ksh but mytt(*) in zsh
(uset tt(GLOB_SUBST)).
- it() The backslash in tt($(echo '\$x')) is treated differently: in \
-ksh, it
- is not stripped, in zsh it is. (The tt(`...`) form gives the same in
- both shells.)
it()* tt($PSn) do not do parameter substitution by default (use \
PROMPT_SUBST).
it()* Standard globbing does not allow ksh-style `pattern-lists'.
@@ -641,11 +650,11 @@
it()* Options are not local to functions (use LOCAL_OPTIONS; note this
may always be unset locally to propagate options settings from a
function to the calling level).
- it() Function definitions themselves are not local to functions.
)
it() Traps and signals:
itemize(
- it() Traps are not local to functions.
+ it()* Traps are not local to functions. The option LOCAL_TRAPS will
+ be available from 3.1.6.
it() TRAPERR has become TRAPZERR (this was forced by UNICOS which
has SIGERR).
)
@@ -660,6 +669,8 @@
release either.)
it() Management of histories in multiple shells is different:
the history list is not saved and restored after each command.
+ (The option tt(SHARE_HISTORY) will appear in 3.1.6 and will be
+ set in ksh compatibility mode to remedy this.)
it() mytt(\) does not escape editing chars (use mytt(^V)).
it() Not all ksh bindings are set (e.g. mytt(<ESC>#); try mytt(<ESC>q)).
it()* mytt(#) in an interactive shell is not treated as a comment by
@@ -1155,15 +1166,16 @@
sect(How do I make the completion list use eight bit characters?)
- If you are sure your terminal handles this, the easiest way from version
- 3.1 of the shell is to set the option tt(PRINT_EIGHT_BIT). In principle,
- this will work automatically if your computer uses the `locale' system
- and your locale variables are set properly, as zsh understands this.
- However, it is quite complicated, so if it isn't already set up, trying
- the option is a lot easier. For 3.0, you are stuck with trying to
- understand locales, see the tt(setlocale(3)) and tt(zshparam(1)) manual
- pages: the simplest possibility may be to set tt(LC_ALL=en_US). For older
- versions of the shell, there is no easy way out.
+ If you are sure your terminal handles this, the easiest way from versions
+ 3.0.6 and 3.1 of the shell is to set the option tt(PRINT_EIGHT_BIT). In
+ principle, this will work automatically if your computer uses the
+ `locale' system and your locale variables are set properly, as zsh
+ understands this. However, it is quite complicated, so if it isn't
+ already set up, trying the option is a lot easier. For earlier versions
+ of zsh 3, you are stuck with trying to understand locales, see the
+ tt(setlocale(3)) and tt(zshparam(1)) manual pages: the simplest
+ possibility may be to set tt(LC_ALL=en_US). For older versions of the
+ shell, there is no easy way out.
sect(Why do the cursor (arrow) keys not work?)
@@ -1538,8 +1550,8 @@
)
produces the same result.
- Future versions of zsh will probably allow you to do this directly,
- with a new flag; mytt(${(P)E}).
+ Versions 3.1.6 of zsh will allow you to do this directly with a new flag;
+ mytt(${(P)E}).
As a slight aside, sometimes people note that the syntax mytt(${${E}})
is valid and expect it to have this effect. It probably ought to, but
@@ -1569,6 +1581,39 @@
prompt (see question link(3.13)(313) for that).
+sect(What's wrong with cut and paste on my xterm?)
+
+ On the majority of modern UNIX systems, cutting text from one window and
+ pasting it into another should work fine. On a few, however, there are
+ problems due to issues about how the terminal is handled: most programs
+ expect the terminal to be in `canonical input mode', which means that the
+ program is passed a whole line of input at a time, while for editing
+ the shell needs a single character at a time and must be in
+ `non-canonical input mode'. On the systems in question, input can be
+ lost or re-ordered when the mode changes. There are actually two
+ slightly different problems:
+ enumerate(
+ myeit() When you paste something in while a programme is running, so that
+ the shell only retrieves it later. Traditionally, there was a test
+ which was used only on systems where the problem was known to exist,
+ so it is possible some other systems were not handled (for example,
+ certain versions of IRIX, it appears); also, continuation lines were
+ not handled properly. A more reliable approach will appear in
+ versions 3.0.6 and 3.1.6.
+ myeit() When the shell is waiting for input, and you paste in a chunk of
+ text consisting of more than one complete set of commands.
+ Unfortunately, this is a much harder problem: the line editor is
+ already active, and needs to be turned off when the first command is
+ executed. The shell doesn't even know if the remaining text is input
+ to a command or for the shell, so there's simply nothing it can do.
+ However, if you have problems you can trick it: type `tt({)' on a line
+ by itself, then paste the input, then type `tt(})' on a line by
+ itself. The shell will not execute anything until the final brace is
+ read; all input is read as continuation lines (this may require the
+ fixes referred to above in order to be reliable).
+ )
+
+
chapter(The mysteries of completion)
Programmable completion using the `compctl' command is one of the most
@@ -1673,7 +1718,7 @@
flexibility for what it does here via its options. The default is
for it to beep and completion to stop until you type another
character. You can type tt(\C-D) to see all the possible completions.
- (That's assuming your at the end of the line, otherwise tt(\C-D) will
+ (That's assuming you're at the end of the line, otherwise tt(\C-D) will
delete the next character and you have to use tt(ESC-\C-D).) This can be
changed by the following options, among others:
itemize(
@@ -1887,13 +1932,15 @@
itemize(
it() mytt(time) is ignored with builtins and can't be used with mytt({...}).
- it() mytt(set -x) (mytt(setopt xtrace)) still has a few glitches.
+ it() mytt(set -x) (mytt(setopt xtrace)) still has a few glitches; these
+ are mostly fixed in 3.1.6.
it() Zsh's notion of the current line number (via tt($LINENO)) is
sometimes not well handled, particularly when using functions and traps.
+ This should also work reliably from 3.1.6.
it() In vi mode, mytt(u) can go past the original modification point.
it() The singlelinezle option has problems with prompts containing escapes.
it() The mytt(r) command does not work inside mytt($(...)) or mytt(`...`)
- expansions. (This is fixed in 3.1.)
+ expansions. This is fixed in 3.1.
it() mytt(typeset) handling is non-optimal, particularly with regard to
flags, and is ksh-incompatible in unpredictable ways.
it() Nested closures in extended globbing and pattern matching, such as
@@ -1901,8 +1948,8 @@
[[ fofo = (fo#)# ]]
)
were not correctly handled, and there were problems with
- complicated exclusions using mytt(^) or mytt(~). (These
- are fixed in version 3.1.3.)
+ complicated exclusions using mytt(^) or mytt(~). These
+ are fixed in version 3.1.3.
)
Note that a few recent changes introduce incompatibilities (these
@@ -1918,7 +1965,7 @@
zsh features are never noticed by many users. To turn them off,
just put mytt(unsetopt alwayslastprompt listambiguous) in your
tt(.zshrc) file.
- it() tt(history-search-{forward,backward}) now only find previous
+ it() In 3.1.5, tt(history-search-{forward,backward}) only find previous
lines where the first word is the same as the current one. For
example,
verb(
@@ -2051,11 +2098,7 @@
email(zsh-workers-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx). The list maintainer's
real name is email(Karsten Thygesen <karthy@xxxxxxxxxx>).
- The list from May 1992 to May 1995 is archived in
- url(ftp://ftp.sterling.com/zsh/zsh-list/YY-MM)
-(ftp://ftp.sterling.com/zsh/zsh-list/YY-MM)
- where YY-MM are the year and month in digits. More recent
- mailings up to date are to be found at
+ An archive of mailings for the last few years can be found at
url(http://www.zsh.org/mla/)(http://www.zsh.org/mla/)
at the main zsh archive in Australia.
@@ -2089,7 +2132,8 @@
case-insensitive matching and wild card anchors, e.g. mytt(z_t<TAB>)
can allow a wildcard before the mytt(_) so that this will expand
to mytt(zle_tricky.c) --- all under user control; completions can
- be grouped.
+ be grouped; a new completion command, menu-select, allows real menu
+ selection --- you can move the cursor around to choose a completion.
it() Case-insensitive and approximate matching in the globbing code:
for example, mytt((#ia2)readme) matches the string mytt(readme)
case-insensitively with up to two errors, such as tt(README),
Messages sorted by:
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