Re: QSHELL commands (was: Stmf copy with add) -- MIDRANGE-L

On Sat, 13 Oct 2001 jpcarr@tredegar.com wrote:

> I wish I had a sanitized, Keyword Driven, visible Default Value,  F1 F4
> aware,   interface for them.
> The ( jar -cfM myfile.zip file1.csv.......) is a good example  Just look at
> it.  letting the F1 F4 issue aside for a moment,  wouldn't it be better to
> have that function look like
>
> CPYF  FROMFILE(mylib/myfile) TOFILE(somelib/somefile)   etc  ???

You are kidding here, right?  You would really rather type:

CPYF  FROMFILE(mylib/myfile) TOFILE(somelib/somefile)

than

cp file1 file2

?

> I love the Pipeing too Leif  but it's not a "To Unix or Not to Unix"   I
> would like a simple parameter on the DSPMSGD MSGID(mymsgf/msgid)
> PIPETO(mylib/myfile)   doncha think that and others like it would be
> neat???

You don't pipe to a file, that is input/output redirection as in:

cat file1 > file2

You pipe the output of one program into the input of another program, as
in:

cat file1 | grep "John Doe"

As far as sending error messages to stderr (or stdout) I say Hooray!!  Why
should I always have to do WRKSPLF to look at how my compile went.  Just
show me what is going on on the screen!  If I want to save the errors and
compile messages to a file then I'll use output redirection to put them
there.

I come from a unix background so of course I have that bias, but I think
the "standard" AS/400 commands are clunky and hard to use.  Prompting is
nice, but not really any better than <command --help>.

> Sorry I was misconstrued.   I want understandable KeyWords, Visible
> Defaults,  F1 F4 prompting, Like I have already have had for 20 years.
> It's like going back to Sys/34 Procs with Positional Parameters like
>
> MYPROC y,,Myfile,.*FIRST,N,,2,mylib  ( what the @#$% does that do??)

Oh come on, that is not the same as the unix command line.  While it is
true that unix commands often require *relative* positional relationships,
they don't require *absolute* positional relations.  You don't have to
tell them that you are leaving an argument out - just leave it out.

> I want the Function of QSH,  with MY CMD interface.

You got peanut butter in my chocolate!  You got chocolate in my peanut
butter!  <bg>  The unix command line is that way partly because over time
and lots of use that is what has been found to work.  After re-reading
this email I sound like the unix-geeks against the os/400-geeks.  I don't
mean to sound that way.  But as strong as some statements have been
against the way commands work in QSH I felt it important to say that
others disagree (well one other anyway).  Now maybe I won't *have* to
press that *@#$ F4 key all the time just to get some work done.  I don't
have fingers to waste on typing those stupid keywords.

> Just My Opinion.

And just mine, too.

James Rich
james@eaerich.com