3 ms·

A few that I wish hadn't been ignored from 4BSD: jot -- print sequential or random data rs -- reshape a data array vis -- display non-printable c

by kps 6y ago

A few that I wish hadn't been ignored from 4BSD: jot -- print sequential or random data rs -- reshape a data array vis -- display non-printable characters in a visual format and from Unix >V7: apply -- apply a command to a set of arguments mc -- multicolumn print and from AT&T: tw -- file tree walk And then the obligatory personal tools that have stood the test of time: align -- align text columns crop -- crop lines to a width dabl -- delete adjacent blank lines dtb -- delete trailing blanks emboxxen / deboxxen -- convert to/from box drawing characters eol -- convert line endings field -- simple line field extraction freeze / thaw -- cross-shell synchronization mergl -- merge lines into previous lines' blanks pad -- pad lines to a width put / take -- cross-shell pipe uni -- unicode character properties and search

vram22 6y ago
Some of the above can easily be written in C or Python or Ruby (and some of the simpler ones even in shell), at least for simple versions, maybe without all the frills of the originals. And seq in Linux is like jot for sequential data, at least. And from my blog: An Unix seq-like utility in Python: https://jugad2.blogspot.com/2017/01/an-unix-seq-like-utility-in-python.html?m=0 https://jugad2.blogspot.com/2017/01/an-unix-seq-like-utility...
- kps 6y ago
  Yes, they're generally available in some form (now generally including the ‘originals’ now that V8–V10 have been published). And they're all very simple, which is the whole point of Unix tools. I've found I'm using the `put`/`take` pair, for splitting a pipeline across shells, more again in the WFH era where I often have multiple ssh sessions into a machine, when I would probably have used the clipboard in a GUI session. Also useful for things like seeing stderr from different parts of a pipeline in different windows. `put` is just `cat >>$(mkpipe "$1")` and `take` is `cat $(mkpipe "$1")` where `mkpipe` is fifo="${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/fifo-$(id -u)-$1}" test -p "$fifo" || mkfifo "$fifo" echo "$fifo"
  - vram22 6y ago
    >And they're all very simple, which is the whole point of Unix tools. Not all Unix tools are simple. E.g. make. But I know what you mean - the Unix philosophy. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unix_philosophy https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unix_philosophy The TAOUP book by Eric Raymond (The Art Of Unix Programming) has a lot about that. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Art_of_Unix_Programming https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Art_of_Unix_Programming And my IBM developerWorks tutorial / case study on Developing a Linux command-line utility (in C) may be of interest to people who want to write their own Unix tools that play well with others. https://jugad2.blogspot.com/2014/09/my-ibm-developerworks-article.html?m=0 https://jugad2.blogspot.com/2014/09/my-ibm-developerworks-ar...

by kps 6y ago

vram22 6y ago

Some of the above can easily be written in C or Python or Ruby (and some of the simpler ones even in shell), at least for simple versions, maybe without all the frills of the originals. And seq in Linux is like jot for sequential data, at least. And from my blog: An Unix seq-like utility in Python: https://jugad2.blogspot.com/2017/01/an-unix-seq-like-utility-in-python.html?m=0 https://jugad2.blogspot.com/2017/01/an-unix-seq-like-utility...

kps 6y ago
Yes, they're generally available in some form (now generally including the ‘originals’ now that V8–V10 have been published). And they're all very simple, which is the whole point of Unix tools. I've found I'm using the `put`/`take` pair, for splitting a pipeline across shells, more again in the WFH era where I often have multiple ssh sessions into a machine, when I would probably have used the clipboard in a GUI session. Also useful for things like seeing stderr from different parts of a pipeline in different windows. `put` is just `cat >>$(mkpipe "$1")` and `take` is `cat $(mkpipe "$1")` where `mkpipe` is fifo="${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/fifo-$(id -u)-$1}" test -p "$fifo" || mkfifo "$fifo" echo "$fifo"
- vram22 6y ago
  >And they're all very simple, which is the whole point of Unix tools. Not all Unix tools are simple. E.g. make. But I know what you mean - the Unix philosophy. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unix_philosophy https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unix_philosophy The TAOUP book by Eric Raymond (The Art Of Unix Programming) has a lot about that. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Art_of_Unix_Programming https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Art_of_Unix_Programming And my IBM developerWorks tutorial / case study on Developing a Linux command-line utility (in C) may be of interest to people who want to write their own Unix tools that play well with others. https://jugad2.blogspot.com/2014/09/my-ibm-developerworks-article.html?m=0 https://jugad2.blogspot.com/2014/09/my-ibm-developerworks-ar...