On Wed, Sep 10, 2008 at 12:05 PM, Bart Schaefer
<schaefer@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
On Sep 10, 4:10pm, Peter Stephenson wrote:
} Subject: Re: preventing the leading space in process substitution
}
} Bart Schaefer wrote:
} > On Sep 10, 12:24pm, Peter Stephenson wrote:
} > } For reasons buried in history that I don't understand, the <(...) is
} > } parsed as a single complete argument.
} >
} > I think that's because the "<" is treated like a redirection operator.
}
} You mean we initially parse it the same way whether or not there's a "("
} coming up next or not, and later, when we've already finished the
} previous argument at that point, decide it's not a redirection after all?
Something like that, yes.
Returning briefly to the =(...) analogy: Note =(...) actually has to be
*written* as a separate word, except in an assignment, because otherwise
the parens are parsed as part of filename generation. So it's not as
badly inconsistent as I first thought to treat <(...) as a word also.
} But both ">file" and "> file" work, too, so presumably if we were able
} to change it so that "<(...)" and ">(...)" also worked in the middle of
} an argument it wouldn't create any new problems.
Well ... it would if anyone has previously written scripts etc. that
rely on the implicit splitting.
} We already need to look ahead for the "(" ... but probably not at
} the point where we first read the "<" and decide it's time to stop
} the current argument. At that point we'd have to look ahead two
} characters. That might be the real fly in the ointment.
Yes.
As an aside, this is also one reason that it's hard to make zsh handle
typeset -a foo=(list)
the way that bash does.
the way bash and ksh do.
Also (mentioned previously), I think the multiple function definition with a single body syntax should be removed when sh or bash emulation is in effect. Those POSIX shell variants neither support this form and having it around allows it to get confused causing a more obscure error message when one writes "typeset -a foo=(list)" which is valid in those other POSIX shell variants.