Using Completion in the zsh Shell


Using Completion in the zsh Shell

The zsh shell also offers completion but with added twists over the bash shell for the power user. Basically, though, you can type just part of a command, press , and have the Z-shell complete the command for you (Code Listing 3.10).

Code Listing 3.10. In this example, we typed only the ls command followed by cd pub and pressed the key; zsh completed the command for us.

$ ls CompleteNewProject  bogus2  ftp   puppy Completed     News    dead.letter  mail  temp Mail  access files  public_html   testme $  cd public_html/ $ 

To use completion in the zsh shell:

1.

ls -l

Use ls -l to list the files in your current directory.

2.

cd pub

Type in a partial command, and then press to complete the command. In this example, we typed the cd command and part of the public_html directory (truncated to pub in the example), and then pressed the key to complete it (see Code Listing 3.10).

Tips

  • In the Z-shell, command completion works even if multiple files might match the partial command that you type. For example, if you type cd pu (for public_html) and there's another subdirectory called puppy, then use to complete the name, the shell will show you the options (public_html and puppy), then cycle through the options as you continue hitting .

  • You can use command completion to complete commands, directory names within commands, and nearly anything else you might enter.

  • The Z-shell is smart enough to show you only the subdirectories you could change to. bash, on the other hand, would show you files and directories, and beep at you not as helpful, for sure.





Unix(c) Visual Quickstart Guide
UNIX, Third Edition
ISBN: 0321442458
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2006
Pages: 251

flylib.com © 2008-2017.
If you may any questions please contact us: flylib@qtcs.net