From: David Garamond <lists@...6.isreserved.com>
Date: 2004-05-08T00:25:11+09:00
Subject: Re: any ideas for a shell based on Ruby?

Martinus wrote:
> hello newsgroup,
> 
> Recently I have played with the idea of writing a shell based on ruby.
> I think this would be pretty cool, consider the following syntax:
> 
> user@machine ~> ls.sort(:time).last.rm
> 
> removes the oldest file in current directory:
> 1. ls returns a special array of Filename objects
> 2. The array is sorted by the attribute :date
> 3. the last element is chosen from the array
> 4. the file removes itself
> 
> I am looking for other good ideas that justify creating such a ruby
> based shell :-)

Don't take this as a discouragement, but I've always had a mixed feeling 
towards a Ruby shell (or Perl shell, or C# shell, etc). If we stick to 
Ruby syntax strictly, it will be a more cumbersome/verbose shell than 
bash/csh (e.g. we will need to quote all filenames, environment 
variables will need to in a special container, etc). If we add many 
magic or shortcuts (e.g. adding methods like #filesize to String or even 
overriding #size), it will not be Ruby anymore. Some people have trouble 
  remembering Ruby and bash, and then they now have to remember _yet 
another_ syntax (which is not exactly Ruby, and not quite bash either). 
I think I'll pass from using such a mixture shell on a daily basis, 
except when I'm bored ;-)

-- 
dave