xargs documentation

[Eric Blake]

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The documentation for xargs could use several improvements.  The Invoking
`xargs' section of the info pages do not mention -E or -L, and implies
that -I's argument is optional when it is not.  Showing the difference
between -i and -I may be useful:

$ echo 1 | xargs -i echo echo {} echo    # replace {} in 'echo {} echo'
echo 1 echo
$ echo 1 | xargs -iecho echo {} echo     # replace echo in '{} echo'
{} 1
$ echo 1 | xargs -I echo echo {} echo    # replace echo in '{} echo'
{} 1
$ echo 1 | xargs -Iecho echo {} echo     # replace echo in '{} echo'
{} 1

It also fails to mention that -L and -n are mutually exclusive, and that
since -i/-I implies -L1, that the use of -i and -n is order-dependent.  As
an example,

$ echo -e '1\n2' | xargs -i -n 2 echo {}
{} 1 2
$ echo -e '1\n2' | xargs -n 2 -i echo {}
1
2

Meanwhile, the output of 'xargs --help' is pretty sparse, especially when
compared with the --help output of other GNU utilities such as ls(1), and
fails to mention -L, -E, or -I.

- --
Life is short - so eat dessert first!

Eric Blake             address@hidden

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