2 This file is completely identical to hsuser.texinfo, except that it has the
3 reference to the programming manual removed. There are definately better ways
6 This file documents the user interface to the GNU History library.
8 Copyright (C) 1988, 1991 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
11 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of this manual
12 provided the copyright notice and this permission notice are preserved on
15 Permission is granted to process this file through Tex and print the
16 results, provided the printed document carries copying permission notice
17 identical to this one except for the removal of this paragraph (this
18 paragraph not being relevant to the printed manual).
20 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
21 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided also that the
22 GNU Copyright statement is available to the distributee, and provided that
23 the entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
24 permission notice identical to this one.
26 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
27 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
30 @node Using History Interactively
31 @appendix Using History Interactively
33 This chapter describes how to use the GNU History Library interactively,
34 from a user's standpoint.
37 * History Interaction:: What it feels like using History as a user.
40 @node History Interaction
41 @section History Interaction
44 The History library provides a history expansion feature that is similar
45 to the history expansion in Csh. The following text describes the sytax
46 that you use to manipulate the history information.
48 History expansion takes place in two parts. The first is to determine
49 which line from the previous history should be used during substitution.
50 The second is to select portions of that line for inclusion into the
51 current one. The line selected from the previous history is called the
52 @dfn{event}, and the portions of that line that are acted upon are
53 called @dfn{words}. The line is broken into words in the same fashion
54 that the Bash shell does, so that several English (or Unix) words
55 surrounded by quotes are considered as one word.
58 * Event Designators:: How to specify which history line to use.
59 * Word Designators:: Specifying which words are of interest.
60 * Modifiers:: Modifying the results of susbstitution.
63 @node Event Designators
64 @subsection Event Designators
65 @cindex event designators
67 An event designator is a reference to a command line entry in the
73 Start a history subsititution, except when followed by a space, tab, or
74 the end of the line... @key{=} or @key{(}.
77 Refer to the previous command. This is a synonym for @code{!-1}.
80 Refer to command line @var{n}.
83 Refer to the command line @var{n} lines back.
86 Refer to the most recent command starting with @var{string}.
88 @item @code{!?string}[@code{?}]
89 Refer to the most recent command containing @var{string}.
93 @node Word Designators
94 @subsection Word Designators
96 A @key{:} separates the event specification from the word designator. It
97 can be omitted if the word designator begins with a @key{^}, @key{$},
98 @key{*} or @key{%}. Words are numbered from the beginning of the line,
99 with the first word being denoted by a 0 (zero).
104 The zero'th word. For many applications, this is the command word.
110 The first argument. that is, word 1.
116 The word matched by the most recent @code{?string?} search.
119 A range of words; @code{-@var{y}} Abbreviates @code{0-@var{y}}.
122 All of the words, excepting the zero'th. This is a synonym for @code{1-$}.
123 It is not an error to use @key{*} if there is just one word in the event.
124 The empty string is returned in that case.
129 @subsection Modifiers
131 After the optional word designator, you can add a sequence of one or more
132 of the following modifiers, each preceded by a @key{:}.
137 The entire command line typed so far. This means the current command,
138 not the previous command, so it really isn't a word designator, and doesn't
139 belong in this section.
142 Remove a trailing pathname component, leaving only the head.
145 Remove a trailing suffix of the form @samp{.}@var{suffix}, leaving the basename.
148 Remove all but the suffix.
151 Remove all leading pathname components, leaving the tail.
154 Print the new command but do not execute it.