> grep:
> The name grep is derived from the editor command g/re/p , which
> literally translates to "globally search for a regular expression and
> print what you find.
>
well thank god for acronyms then, who wants to type all that just to do
a grep.
> glob:
> To expand special characters in a wildcarded name, or the act of so
> doing (the action is also called `globbing').
knew that, but whats the origin of the word? something to do with global
perhaps?
I just ran dict glob and get this:
" glob
n : a compact mass; "a ball of mud caught him on the shoulder"
[syn: {ball}, {clod}, {lump}, {clump}, {chunk}]
From Jargon File (4.3.0, 30 APR 2001) [jargon]:
glob /glob/, _not_ /glohb/ v.,n. [Unix; common] To expand special
characters in a wildcarded name, or the act of so doing (the action is
also called `globbing'). The Unix conventions for filename wildcarding
have become sufficiently pervasive that many hackers use some of them in
written English, especially in email or news on technical topics. Those
commonly encountered include the following:
*
wildcard for any string (see also {UN*X})
?
wildcard for any single character (generally read this way
only at the beginning or in the middle of a word)
[]
delimits a wildcard matching any of the enclosed characters
{}
alternation of comma-separated alternatives; thus,
`foo{baz,qux}' would be read as `foobaz' or `fooqux'
Some examples: "He said his name was [KC]arl" (expresses ambiguity).
"I don't read talk.politics.*" (any of the talk.politics subgroups on
{Usenet}). Other examples are given under the entry for {X}. Note that
glob patterns are similar, but not identical, to those used in
{regexp}s.
Historical note: The jargon usage derives from `glob', the name of a
subprogram that expanded wildcards in archaic pre-Bourne versions of the
Unix shell.
From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (09 FEB 02) [foldoc]:
glob
/glob/, *not* /glohb/ To expand {wild card} characters in a
{path name}.
In {Unix} the {file name} wild cards are:
* = zero or more characters (E.g. {UN*X})
? = any single character
[] any of the enclosed characters
{} indicate alternation of comma-separated alternatives, thus
foo{baz,qux} would expand to "foobaz" or "fooqux". This
syntax generates a list of all possible expansions, rather
than matching one.
These have become sufficiently pervasive that hackers use them
in written English, especially in {electronic mail} or
{Usenet} news on technical topics. E.g. "He said his name was
[KC]arl" (expresses ambiguity). "I don't read
talk.politics.*" (any of the talk.politics subgroups on
{Usenet}). Other examples are given under the entry for {X}.
Note that glob patterns are similar, but not identical, to
those used in {regexps}.
"glob" was a subprogram that expanded wild cards in archaic
pre-{Bourne} versions of the {Unix} {shell}.
(1997-07-16)"
--
Nick Rout <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
