[OT] writing filters in sh

[Chad Perrin]

On Thu, Oct 28, 2010 at 08:11:48AM -0700, Chip Camden wrote:
> 
> Here's a way to do what you're wanting to do.  Unfortunately, it isn't a
> generalized, single construct:
> 
> #!/bin/sh
> if [ $# -ge 1 ];then
>   exec cat $@ | $0
>   exit
> fi
> 
> while read data; do
>   echo $data
> done
> 
> My lame attempts to generalize the first paragraph into an alias,
> function, or shell script have met with disappointment.

I was hoping for a generalized, simple idiom for this, rather than
needing to implement it myself, for demonstration purposes (and for easy
reuse later, of course).  Your solution does not exactly fit my
preferences for simplicity, but I might include it in an article I'm
writing anyway.  It's simple and readable enough that it should not
clutter up the article much.

I tested it for some simple use cases, and it works well.  Thanks for
saving me a little trouble.

-- 
Chad Perrin [ original content licensed OWL: http://owl.apotheon.org ]
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