[net.unix-wizards] Microsoft"s answer to dot files

thomas (10/23/82)

We solved the problem if /etc/ttys, /etc/ttytype(s), etc. by instuting a
file, /etc/tty.config, which contains all the information.  Then, you just
run a command "chgttys" which 1. throws you into the editor to change the file,
2. runs an awk program which updates all the others, and 3. pokes init.  This
way, you only have one file to change, and you are guaranteed that all the 
others are all consistent.

=Spencer

black (10/24/82)

Here is a point in favour of considering shells to be filters, and thus
not able to accept defaults. 

Having deleted all the (non-dot) files in a directory by typing rm  dirname *
instead of rm dirname/*, I created my own version of rm and put it in my path.
It asks me if I really meant that when I try do delete more than one file.
This is fine when the shell is interactive.

However, lots of system commands, e.g. "where", seem to use rm instead of
/bin/rm, with the result that they either ask me if I really want to delete
all the tmp files they just created, or that they don't work at all.

My solution?  Shells should be customizable ONLY when interactive, and not
when used as filters.