bash programmable completion 20060301 review
DownloadA relatively new feature in bash is programmable completion, which has been available since the beta version of 2.04
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A relatively new feature in bash is programmable completion, which has been available since the beta version of 2.04. Programmable completion will be familiar to you if you are a zsh user. It also exists, albeit in a much less usable form, in tcsh.
It's much easier to demonstrate programmable completion than it is to explain it, so I suggest installing one of the files below and trying it out. If you don't like it, you can always disable it for a particular command, disable it completely, or remove it from your system. bash programmable completion can be installed and removed very cleanly, so you shouldn't be wary of giving it a whirl.
Here are some key features of "bash programmable completion":
Path-name completion:
This type of completion occurs on the first token of the command line, allowing you to complete on executable files. Together with file-name completion, it is the most known and used type.
File-name completion:
This allows you to complete on file and directory names at the second and subsequent token position on the command line.
User-name completion:
This allows you to complete on user names by prefixing the token with a ~ (tilde).
Host-name completion:
This allows you to complete on host names by prefixing the token with a @.
Variable-name completion:
This allows you to complete on variable names by prefixing the token with a $.
What's New in This Release:
Many new completion functions have been added, and many existing ones have been improved or optimised.
In addition, innumerable bugs have been fixed, including important bash 3.1 compatibility issues.
This release is believed to be bash 3.1 compliant.
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