A proposal for a Linux SuperCommand Set
I wanted to write a SuperCommand set that can be used in command line mode for Linux (and can I say UNIX) but am bringing that up here for few reasons
- Maybe I reinventing the wheel & such sets already do exist. If such command supersets exist please let me know here
- I am not a Linux expert by any means & there has be Linux geniuses out there with far more experience who can do a much better job than me
What I am proposing essentially is an extension of the existing Linux Command set into a superset that is
- Easier to use for experts
- Easier to learn for beginners
I have used Linux on & off over the years but when I come back to use it I am always using a different distribution or shell & all the command line options are harder to relearn and it also seems not all commands etc are not consistent across distributions (not a major issue for me but still an annoyance).
My proposal based on this experience is to expand & extend the existing command set (leaving the existing command set in tact & as well as it grows in future) for command line options for each command by simplifying each command when used with an option. This is my simple initial example.
For instance let us take the basic command “ls” which lists the files in a directory but the problem is it has scores of options and one cannot remember it unless you use it everyday. But you say , use the “alias” dummy, to save all your most used commands. Aha exactly my point. However not all users use all command line options for a specific command.
Continuing with “ls” command . What if I created a superset of commands (now using alias & then saving it permanently an user\bin or bashrc file or wherever) for ls commands.
This aliasing could give me 100s of commands for “ls” alone
Here is a partial list to explain my point
Super existing PreHelped
-command command SuperSuperCommand
lsa ls –all lsah
lsA ls -A lsAh
lsar ls –all -r lsarh
Piped PreHelped
Super existing Piped
-Command commands SuperSuperCommand
cdlsa cd… | ls –all cdlsah
cdrlsa cd / | ls –all cdrlsah
So here is a brief explanation
lsa is self explanatory . What is a PreHelped SuperSuperCommand ? if you suffix a h to any given supercommand then detailed Help for that SuperCommand will popup first & after a user presettable delay (for user to read the help) of few seconds, the SuperCommand will be executed & results displayed (or optionally the user can say press the escape button to stop the SuperCommand from executing if they only want to read the Help). Of course it would be a nice option if the user by default can toggle to turn off (or on) execution of command after Help is displayed at individual (super)command level.
I am sure by now you know what I mean by piped SuperCommand & PreHelped Piped SuperCommand
Many may object that this is unnecessary spoon-feeding for newbiew but I disagree because the Help presently is not context sensitive in Linux but just displays a huge list of command line options many of which I have no clue as somewhat experienced user.
Many experienced admins may have more ideas to expand on this concept (like I did for Piped Super Commands). Maybe if you have a different prefix other tha h (like I did for help here) may be you can develop similar SuperSuperCommands . Maybe you can use a standard prefix before any superCommand such an any character to have Linux do something else (if this is possible) .
Your imagination is the limit.
It does not matter if people came up with fifty different superCommand sets of their own personally (using alais function) or for each distribution at system kernel levl but hopefully eventually they can all be consolidated in some sort of Linux standard.
I used the “alias” as a method of creating these SuperCommands. Even if they can be made permanent using something like a bashrc file it is still primitive. I hope these SuperCommands can be absorbed by Linux distributions at kernel command level just like other regular commands (because these SuperCommands shoul not effect the existing commands and are basically aliases)
Thanks