On Wed, May 04, 2005 at 06:46:20PM +0200, Julian H. Stacey wrote: > > > FreeBSD-5.3 (with csh & tcsh) linked does completion without autolist set. > > > man csh: > > > If the autolist shell variable is set, the shell lists the remaining > > > choices (if any) whenever completion fails: > > > > Erm?? As you point out, it says "If the autolist shell variable is set" > > Tab completion is on by default: Works without needing to know to set autolist. I'm sorry, I think I understand now. We're talking at cross-purposes. Tab-completion is "on" in the sense that it works if only a single unique filename matches. It is "off" in the sense that if more than one filename matches, nothing happens except a terminal beep. The behaviour that many people miss from `bash` is that pressing tab in that circumstance pops up a list of matching filenames to choose from. You can then type the next character or two and hit tab again. That's what "set autolist" gives you. > > Why does root have /bin/csh as its shell? > > Probably because we have BSD inheritance, not AT&T Posix. OK, then why doesn't `pw useradd` create user accounts with csh as their shell as well, by default? Having two different defaults is just confusing. > Right or wrong, if it changed now, it'd cause suprise to existing users. Perhaps a little, but I don't think too much. If an old hack installs FreeBSD-6 and says "dammit, root has a POSIX shell rather than csh!" they know enough how to switch it. It shouldn't affect any scripts, because (a) nobody in their right mind writes shell scripts in csh (b) if they did, they should start with #!/bin/csh Yes, newcomers can switch too. But it's just another hurdle to jump through: "OK, after installation, you need to remember to run vipw or chsh to change root's shell to a sensible one. Why is it csh? For historical reasons." I don't think things necessarily have to stay as they are, just because that's how they've always been. You're right, csh was an innovation in its day. Most of its innovations have been picked up elsewhere. I humbly suggest it's now a legacy. Regards, Brian.Received on Wed May 04 2005 - 17:25:47 UTC
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