GNU bug report logs - #13120
expand/unexpand: streamline first-only/initial options

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Message #5 received at submit <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Todd Shandelman <todd.shandelman <at> gmail.com>
To: bug-coreutils <at> gnu.org
Subject: Not quite a bug, but ...
Date: Fri, 7 Dec 2012 14:23:12 -0600

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Hi,  bug-coreutils <at> gnu.org  -

Not quite a bug, but why does the same option, essentially, have two very
different names in the 'expand' and 'unexpand'  utilities?

This is confusing and hampers convenient usage.

I am referring to* --initial* in the one case and* --first-only* in the
other.

See below.

Or what am I missing?

Thanks.

Todd Shandelman
Houston, TX

############################################################################################

* expand --help*
Usage: expand [OPTION]... [FILE]...
Convert tabs in each FILE to spaces, writing to standard output.
With no FILE, or when FILE is -, read standard input.

Mandatory arguments to long options are mandatory for short options too.
  -i, --initial       do not convert tabs after non blanks
  -t, --tabs=NUMBER   have tabs NUMBER characters apart, not 8
  -t, --tabs=LIST     use comma separated list of explicit tab positions
      --help     display this help and exit
      --version  output version information and exit

Report bugs to <bug-coreutils <at> gnu.org>.

$ *unexpand --help*
Usage: unexpand [OPTION]... [FILE]...
Convert blanks in each FILE to tabs, writing to standard output.
With no FILE, or when FILE is -, read standard input.

Mandatory arguments to long options are mandatory for short options too.
  -a, --all        convert all blanks, instead of just initial blanks
      --first-only convert only leading sequences of blanks (overrides -a)
  -t, --tabs=N     have tabs N characters apart instead of 8 (enables -a)
  -t, --tabs=LIST  use comma separated LIST of tab positions (enables -a)
      --help     display this help and exit
      --version  output version information and exit

Report bugs to <bug-coreutils <at> gnu.org>.

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