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Annotation of 43BSDTahoe/new/help/src/cshell/general, revision 1.1

1.1     ! root        1: .TI CSHELL/GENERAL
        !             2: The C Shell Command Interpreter
        !             3: 
        !             4: 
        !             5: The Unix shell is a program that accepts commands from a user
        !             6: and calls up programs to perform them.
        !             7: As it is also the only way of calling up programs,
        !             8: the shell effectively surrounds the Unix kernel, which is a special
        !             9: program having exclusive access to the computer hardware (memory,
        !            10: processor, disks, etc.) which other programs need to run.
        !            11: 
        !            12: Most Unix systems in the world offer users the choice of logging in to
        !            13: one of two shells:  (1) the standard shell from Bell Labs,
        !            14: also called the Bourne shell after its author; or (2) the C shell
        !            15: from UC Berkeley, reputed to have a syntax like the C language.
        !            16: The C shell is more convenient for interactive use than the Bourne shell,
        !            17: although it is less efficient for certain applications.
        !            18: 
        !            19: The C shell provides a variety of very useful services,
        !            20: but not always in a particularly obvious way.
        !            21: This is partly the fault of the shell and partly the fault
        !            22: of the documentation.
        !            23: The ultimate reference consists of the tersely worded
        !            24: manual pages for "csh" (type "man csh" to see them).
        !            25: As most people find this difficult to read, a document called "An
        !            26: Introduction to the C Shell" is also available.
        !            27: Here is a brief list of the C shell's features.
        !            28: 
        !            29: History Substitution:
        !            30: allows previous commands to be redone, possibly with changes
        !            31: 
        !            32: Job Control:
        !            33: allows programs to be switched from the foreground to the background,
        !            34: putting programs on hold while intermediate results are checked
        !            35: 
        !            36: Command Aliases:
        !            37: provides for renaming commands, abbreviating long commands, or
        !            38: turning off selected commands
        !            39: 
        !            40: C Shell Programming:
        !            41: has many useful high-level control structures and variable handling
        !            42: capabilities which make conventional programming less attractive
        !            43: 
        !            44: Filename Substitutions:
        !            45: provides for abbreviating groups of files and selecting filenames
        !            46: based on patterns
        !            47: 
        !            48: Input/Output Redirection:
        !            49: has input/output constructs for diverting input from any file or program
        !            50: and output to any file or program
        !            51: 
        !            52: Start Up Processing at Login:
        !            53: provides for commands to be executed automatically on logging in
        !            54: and customization of personal accounts
        !            55: 
        !            56: The help topics on the C shell below do not cover the entire
        !            57: story and some of them will be revised in the near future.
        !            58: You might do well to read them in the order of the list,
        !            59: though this is not required.
        !            60: 
        !            61: general          The C Shell Command Interpreter
        !            62: internals        Internal Operation of the C Shell
        !            63: flowcontrol      Control Statements:  Branching and Looping
        !            64: expressions      Expressions:  Arithmetic, Logic Operations, and Decisions
        !            65: history          Reusing Previous Commands and Command Parts
        !            66: aliases          Renaming and Abbreviating Commands

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