3 ms·

Well there's the portability of grep which is better for scripts. Besides that, most if not all times I do a simple `ag pattern file`, I'm interested only in th

by jolmg 8y ago

Well there's the portability of grep which is better for scripts. Besides that, most if not all times I do a simple `ag pattern file`, I'm interested only in the results and not in the location. I'm probably preparing the pattern to output something to provide to another command via stdin or substitution and at those times (which is also in the interactive command line), I want to see exactly what I'm going to pass in. To remove the numbers ag adds by default, I have to use --nonumbers, which is weirdly long given that one of the main benefits of ag is the brevity of the commands (ag is short and easy to type, no need to include options -r, -i, -P, or -n (when needed)). Instead of using that option, I just switch to grep. I really wish ag changed that default to be consistent with grep and ack or at least change the way its options are negated, like making it a short option and negating like +N. EDIT: I just saw your comment where you stated you're the author of rg. I honestly haven't tried it before until now. It seems you also chose to output line numbers by default in that case, but it's nice that you have -N. If you don't mind me asking, do you have an option like ag's undocumented -W which allows specifying a max line width for which a matching line is displayed? Regularly when searching a hierarchy a match happens on a generated file where everything is on a single line and so my terminal prints the millions of characters line. -W displays an bracketed ellipsis once the max width is reached on a line.

burntsushi 8y ago
> It seems you also chose to output line numbers by default in that case, but it's nice that you have -N. Right. When you run ripgrep with its output connected to a tty, then its output is "prettified." That means results are grouped by file, colorized and include line numbers. But if you aren't connected to a tty, then ripgrep reverts to the standard grep format (e.g., no line numbers). This means you should be able to use ripgrep in pipelines pretty much exactly like you would use grep. It just does the right thing. You can test this easily by comparing the output of `rg <pattern>` with `rg <pattern> | cat`. ag also does this to some extent (by disabling grouping and colors), but does still include line numbers in most cases. > do you have an option like ag's undocumented -W which allows specifying a max line width for which a matching line is displayed? Yes. That's the -M/--max-columns option. I have that set by default in my config: $ cat ~/.ripgreprc --max-columns=500 --colors=match:bg:0xff,0x7f,0x00 --colors=match:fg:white --colors=line:none --colors=line:fg:magenta --colors=path:fg:green --type-add=got:*_test.go Note: $ echo $RIPGREP_CONFIG_PATH /home/andrew/.ripgreprc
- TeMPOraL 8y ago
  > When you run ripgrep with its output connected to a tty, then its output is "prettified." That means results are grouped by file, colorized and include line numbers. But if you aren't connected to a tty, then ripgrep reverts to the standard grep format (e.g., no line numbers). That sounds both good (for direct use) and bad (for developing scripts) at the same time. And it's a general pattern. I wonder, is there a standard UNIX/Linux way of saying "run this, but pretend I'm not connected to a tty"?
  - burntsushi 8y ago
    I just add `| cat` to the end of my pipeline. It hasn't failed me yet. I don't think this has been an issue for me yet, but it has tripped some people up, yes. Overall, I think it's worth it.
  - sunfish 8y ago
    "| cat" has this effect.
- jolmg 8y ago
  > When you run ripgrep with its output connected to a tty, then its output is "prettified." That means results are grouped by file, colorized and include line numbers. But if you aren't connected to a tty, then ripgrep reverts to the standard grep format (e.g., no line numbers). This means you should be able to use ripgrep in pipelines pretty much exactly like you would use grep. It just does the right thing. Yes, I knew that. What I meant to say is that in the particular case of "rg pattern file", I feel it doesn't to the right thing. I understand that my usual usage of that kind of invocation may not be like the majority, so I understand that other people might prefer that default as it is right now. In my usual usage, though, I feel the numbers are burdensome, because I have to imagine the output without it to know what I'm passing in to the next command I've yet to type in the pipeline. I can't remember the last time I used that kind of invocation to look for the line number a match was in. I only ever use the line numbers when matching a directory or multiple files. > Yes. That's the -M/--max-columns option. I have that set by default in my config: That's awesome, and thanks for sharing your config.

by jolmg 8y ago

burntsushi 8y ago

> It seems you also chose to output line numbers by default in that case, but it's nice that you have -N. Right. When you run ripgrep with its output connected to a tty, then its output is "prettified." That means results are grouped by file, colorized and include line numbers. But if you aren't connected to a tty, then ripgrep reverts to the standard grep format (e.g., no line numbers). This means you should be able to use ripgrep in pipelines pretty much exactly like you would use grep. It just does the right thing. You can test this easily by comparing the output of `rg <pattern>` with `rg <pattern> | cat`. ag also does this to some extent (by disabling grouping and colors), but does still include line numbers in most cases. > do you have an option like ag's undocumented -W which allows specifying a max line width for which a matching line is displayed? Yes. That's the -M/--max-columns option. I have that set by default in my config: $ cat ~/.ripgreprc --max-columns=500 --colors=match:bg:0xff,0x7f,0x00 --colors=match:fg:white --colors=line:none --colors=line:fg:magenta --colors=path:fg:green --type-add=got:*_test.go Note: $ echo $RIPGREP_CONFIG_PATH /home/andrew/.ripgreprc

TeMPOraL 8y ago
> When you run ripgrep with its output connected to a tty, then its output is "prettified." That means results are grouped by file, colorized and include line numbers. But if you aren't connected to a tty, then ripgrep reverts to the standard grep format (e.g., no line numbers). That sounds both good (for direct use) and bad (for developing scripts) at the same time. And it's a general pattern. I wonder, is there a standard UNIX/Linux way of saying "run this, but pretend I'm not connected to a tty"?
- burntsushi 8y ago
  I just add `| cat` to the end of my pipeline. It hasn't failed me yet. I don't think this has been an issue for me yet, but it has tripped some people up, yes. Overall, I think it's worth it.
- sunfish 8y ago
  "| cat" has this effect.
jolmg 8y ago
> When you run ripgrep with its output connected to a tty, then its output is "prettified." That means results are grouped by file, colorized and include line numbers. But if you aren't connected to a tty, then ripgrep reverts to the standard grep format (e.g., no line numbers). This means you should be able to use ripgrep in pipelines pretty much exactly like you would use grep. It just does the right thing. Yes, I knew that. What I meant to say is that in the particular case of "rg pattern file", I feel it doesn't to the right thing. I understand that my usual usage of that kind of invocation may not be like the majority, so I understand that other people might prefer that default as it is right now. In my usual usage, though, I feel the numbers are burdensome, because I have to imagine the output without it to know what I'm passing in to the next command I've yet to type in the pipeline. I can't remember the last time I used that kind of invocation to look for the line number a match was in. I only ever use the line numbers when matching a directory or multiple files. > Yes. That's the -M/--max-columns option. I have that set by default in my config: That's awesome, and thanks for sharing your config.