Re: [Nmh-workers] does "folder +inbox -noprint" work?

[Paul Fox]

ralph wrote:
 > Hi Paul,
 > 
 > > Valdis wrote:
 > > > Ralph wrote:
 > > > > That quickly bores.  -noprint doesn't seem a good fit for a
 > > > > general `please be quiet'.  If folder's regaining that
 > > > > functionality then perhaps it's the opportunity to use a more
 > > > > general, positive rather than negative, option?  Especially if it
 > > > > has an often unambiguous abbreviation.
 > > > 
 > > > -silent?
 > >
 > > i guess i don't think -noprint is so bad.  it's pretty much
 > > self-explanatory, and has never worked in the past (so we wouldn't be
 > > breaking anything).
 > 
 > I agree -noprint wouldn't break anything, but, if mh-chart(7) is correct
 > and I've plucked options from it without error, then there's already
 > 
 >     -noprefer  -noprepend  -nopreserve
 > 
 > so `-nopri' would be needed to be unambiguous if it were to become the
 > common option across nmh commands.  That's tedious, and doesn't
 > obviously say `be quiet', ending in an `eye' sound, not an `ee', so the
 > `...nt' would be added anyway.

you kind of lost me in that last bit, but i'll take your word for it.  ;-)

i'm fine with the idea of creating a "universal hush" option.  but i
don't think i'll hold up actually implementing -noprint, for the
folder command, on the development branch.  we can make a new -quiet
or -silent option, and make it synonymous with -noprint, sometime in
the future.  how's that?

paul

 > 
 > `-silent' is already used by one command, inc(1).  `-s' is naturally
 > very common, but `-si' is unique.
 > 
 > `-quiet' is also used by one command, burst(1).  `-q' isn't unique
 > because of `-query', solely used by repl(1) for "asking", the man page
 > says.
 > 
 > POSIX grep(1) has `-q', GNU long form `--quiet'.  Searching section 1 of
 > the man pages suggest `quiet' is the common term.  Ignoring the loads of
 > uncommon commands that use it, there's still many users: git, gpg, less,
 > passwd, readlink, rsync, script, systemctl, valgrind, wget, and the
 > compressors -- bzip2, gzip, lzop, etc., all have `-q' for quietness.
 > 
 > `-s' is used by fewer, the old Bell Labs commands: cmp, ed, make, and
 > tty.
 > 
 > I'd prefer `-q'; as a one-letter option in other commands, it's familiar
 > for this meaning.  `-si' would be an nmh thing.  That would either mean
 > nobbling repl's -query, does anyone use it?  :-)  Or altering option
 > parsing to allow a precedence, perhaps just for single letters, so a
 > command with `-query' and `-quiet' can declare `-q' means shush.  I'm
 > been thinking the option parsing could benefit from `improvement' in
 > this and other ways for a while.
 > 
 > -- 
 > Cheers, Ralph.
 > https://plus.google.com/+RalphCorderoy
 > 
 > -- 
 > Nmh-workers
 > https://lists.nongnu.org/mailman/listinfo/nmh-workers
 > 


=----------------------
paul fox, address@hidden (arlington, ma, where it's -3.6 degrees)