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The difference with cat is that at least it is looks nicer in some cases. For example, if I want to put the input file at the start of the pipeline, the cat-les

by ufo 4y ago

The difference with cat is that at least it is looks nicer in some cases. For example, if I want to put the input file at the start of the pipeline, the cat-less version looks weird and confusing. <file1 somecmd >file2 I wish that shells would just optimize the useless cat behind the scenes, so I could use it without soliciting complaints :)

__del__ 4y ago
it's a short walk from shells that optimize "known commands" to signed apps and an ecosystem you can't contribute to unless you've paid the appropriate gatekeeper
- ufo 4y ago
  Shells already implement many commands as shell builtins. For example, echo, true, and so on.