If you have to use a UNIX shell again, say bash, try looking into the bash_completions package (http://bash-completion.alioth.debian.org/ http://bash-completion

If you have to use a UNIX shell again, say bash, try looking into the bash_completions package (http://bash-completion.alioth.debian.org/ http://bash-completion.alioth.debian.org/). I hear tell that KSH and ZSH also do dynamic completions pretty well. Not sure if that's exactly what you mean, but I've found tab-completion to be getting better and better. As for the great unknown, that sounds like basic research. Would love to see more of that stuff, but not many people seem to be paying for it. Still, much research is happening at universities around the world. If I hadn't given up on my postgraduate degree, that might be where I would be today :)