Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 exptools 1/6/84; site ihuxx.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxl!ihnp4!ihuxx!ignatz From: ignatz@ihuxx.UUCP (Dave Ihnat, Chicago, IL) Newsgroups: net.unix,net.unix-wizards,net.micro Subject: OPINION REQUEST: How do you want 'paste' to behave? Message-ID: <814@ihuxx.UUCP> Date: Mon, 13-Aug-84 19:01:45 EDT Article-I.D.: ihuxx.814 Posted: Mon Aug 13 19:01:45 1984 Date-Received: Tue, 14-Aug-84 02:48:33 EDT Organization: AT&T Bell Labs, Naperville, IL Lines: 79 Hello, folks. Having recently finished 'cut', I've decided to go on and do the companion command, 'paste'. Where 'cut' disassembles a file, 'paste'--predictably--will put files together in one file. For instance, if you have two files, file1 and file2; file1 contains File1,line 1 File1,line 2 File1,line 3 File1,line 4 File1,line 5 and file2 contains File2,line 1 File2,line 2 File2,line 3 File2,line 4 File2,line 5 Then, if you ran the command "paste file1 file2 >file.both", file.both will contain: File1,line 1 File2,line 1 File1,line 2 File2,line 2 File1,line 3 File2,line 3 File1,line 4 File2,line 4 File1,line 5 File2,line 5 with the lines separated by a 'tab' by default. The problem, for me, comes with the old question: How closely do I emulate the behavior of the original command? You see, I've encountered what appears to be a bug that's never been fixed (What? In a Unix(Tm) command?? How extraordinary!!). Unfortunately, it lives in that funny realm of bugs that someone may use for some reason. One of the 'paste' options, '-s', replaces the function of an *old* command of the same name, which simply joined all the lines of a file. This, 'paste -s file1 >filex' would result in a filex that looks like: File1,line 1 File1,line 2 File1,line 3 File1,line 4 File1,line 5 with each of the old lines 'tab' separated, and a newline at the end. (Think of doing a series of 'J' commands in vi--the effect is similar.) Problem? Simply that the manual documents that you can invoke the last form as 'paste -s file1 file2 ...', that is, stating explicitly that you may paste together several files. For the command 'paste -s file1 file2 file3 >file.out' You would, then, expect an output like (assume files like 'file1' and 'file2' above, but only three lines): File1,line 1 File1,line 2 File1,line 3 File2,line 1 File2,line 2 File2,line 3 File3,line 1 File3,line 2 File3,line 3 What you *actually* get, however, is: File1,line 1 File1,line 2 File1,line 3 File1,line 1 File1,line 2 File1,line 3 File2,line 1 File2,line 2 File2,line 3 File1,line 1 File1,line 2 File1,line 3 File2,line 1 File2,line 2 File2,line 3 File3,line 1 File3,line 2 File3,line 3 This looks, to me, like someone forgot to reset a buffer pointer for multiple files. BUT: Do I fix the bug in the version I'm going to release? Or do I keep it, so that I look like the Unix version? How about it, old Unix hands? Did anyone ever use this behavior? What do you want? Sorry if this is long-winded, but I couldn't think of how to explain it in any more abbreviated manner. Please respond by mail; any flames, of course, go to /dev/fireplace. I'll make my decision within a couple of weeks. Dave Ihnat ihuxx!ignatz