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[binutils.git] / readline / history.texinfo

\input texinfo.tex
@setfilename history.info

@ifinfo
This file documents the GNU History library.

Copyright (C) 1988 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
Authored by Brian Fox.

Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of this manual
provided the copyright notice and this permission notice are preserved on
all copies.

@ignore
Permission is granted to process this file through Tex and print the
results, provided the printed document carries copying permission notice
identical to this one except for the removal of this paragraph (this
paragraph not being relevant to the printed manual).
@end ignore

Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided also that the
GNU Copyright statement is available to the distributee, and provided that
the entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
permission notice identical to this one.

Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
@end ifinfo

@node Top, Introduction, , (DIR)

This document describes the GNU History library, a programming tool that
provides a consistent user interface for recalling lines of previously
typed input.

@menu
* Introduction::	What is the GNU History library for?
* Interactive Use::	What it feels like using History as a user.
* Programming::		How to use History in your programs.
@end menu

@node Introduction, Interactive Use, , Top
@unnumbered Introduction

Many programs read input from the user a line at a time.  The GNU history
library is able to keep track of those lines, associate arbitrary data with
each line, and utilize information from previous lines in making up new
ones.

The programmer using the History library has available to him functions for
remembering lines on a history stack, associating arbitrary data with a
line, removing lines from the stack, searching through the stack for a
line containing an arbitrary text string, and referencing any line on the
stack directly.  In addition, a history @dfn{expansion} function is
available which provides for a consistent user interface across many
different programs.

The end-user using programs written with the History library has the
benifit of a consistent user interface, with a set of well-known commands
for manipulating the text of previous lines and using that text in new
commands.  The basic history manipulation commands are similar to the
history substitution used by Csh.

If the programmer desires, he can use the Readline library, which includes
history manipulation by default, and has the added advantage of Emacs style
command line editing.

@node Interactive Use, Programming, Introduction, Top
@chapter Interactive Use

@section History Expansion
@cindex expansion

The History library provides a history expansion feature that is similar to
the history expansion in Csh.  The following text describes what syntax
features are available.

History expansion takes place in two parts.  The first is to determine
which line from the previous history should be used during substitution.
The second is to select portions of that line for inclusion into the
current one.  The line selected from the previous history is called the
@dfn{event}, and the portions of that line that are acted upon are called
@dfn{words}.  The line is broken into words in the same fashion that the
Bash shell does, so that several English (or Unix) words surrounded by
quotes are considered as one word.

@menu
* Event Designators::	How to specify which history line to use.
* Word Designators::	Specifying which words are of interest.
* Modifiers::		Modifying the results of susbstitution.
@end menu

@node Event Designators, Word Designators, , Interactive Use
@subsection Event Designators
@cindex event designators

An event designator is a reference to a command line entry in the history
list.

@table @var

@item !
Start a history subsititution, except when followed by a @key{SPC},
@key{TAB}, @key{RET}, @key{=} or @key{(}.

@item !!
Refer to the previous command.  This is a synonym for @code{!-1}.

@item !n
Refer to command line @var{n}.

@item !-n
Refer to the current command line minus @var{n}.

@item !string
Refer to the most recent command starting with @var{string}.

@item !?string[?]
Refer to the most recent command containing @var{string}.

@end table

@node Word Designators, Modifiers, Event Designators, Interactive Use
@subsection Word Designators

A @key{:} separates the event specification from the word designator.  It
can be omitted if the word designator begins with a @key{^}, @key{$},
@key{*} or @key{%}.  Words are numbered from the beginning of the line,
with the first word being denoted by a 0 (zero).

@table @asis

@item @var{0} (zero)
The zero'th word.  For many applications, this is the command word.

@item n
The @var{n}'th word.

@item @var{^}
The first argument.  that is, word 1.

@item @var{$}
The last argument.

@item @var{%}
The word matched by the most recent @code{?string?} search.

@item @var{x}-@var{y}
A range of words; @code{-@var{y}} is equivalent to @code{0-@var{y}}.

@item @var{*}
All of the words, excepting the zero'th.  This is a synonym for @samp{1-$}.
It is not an error to use @samp{*} if there is just one word in the event.
The empty string is returned in that case.

@end table

@node Modifiers, , Word Designators, Interactive Use
@subsection Modifiers

After the optional word designator, you can add a sequence of one or more
of the following modifiers, each preceded by a @key{:}.

@table @code

@item #
The entire command line typed so far.  This means the current command,
not the previous command, so it really isn't a word designator, and doesn't
belong in this section.

@item h
Remove a trailing pathname component, leaving only the head.

@item r
Remove a trailing suffix of the form ".xxx", leaving the basename (root).

@item e
Remove all but the suffix (end).

@item t
Remove all leading  pathname  components (before the last slash), leaving
the tail.

@item p
Print the new command but do not execute it.  This takes effect
immediately, so it should be the last specifier on the line.

@end table

@node Programming, , Interactive Use, Top
@chapter Programming

@bye