Suggestion: enhanced automatic quoting of filenames

[Steve Fabian]

Add options to DO and FOR to automatically quote the control variable when
it is a file or directory name. Two modes: a/ always quote (provides more
consistent string handling), b/ quote when needed, as if by @QUOTE[] (when
the name is not parsed).

Add optional parameter to functions which parse or process filenames (e.g.,
@name, @ext, @lfn) to do the same.

Add internal variables _cwdq and _cwdsq for like purpose.

These new features would substantially reduce the development time of batch
programs (and aliases) which process files. Admittedly, these features can
be emulated already, but at much greater cost in batch file design time and
complexity.
--
Steve

 

[rconn]

Add options to DO and FOR to automatically quote the control variable when
it is a file or directory name. Two modes: a/ always quote (provides more
consistent string handling), b/ quote when needed, as if by @QUOTE[] (when the name is not parsed).

I believe I've mentioned a few dozen times that there is no chance of any additional options being added to FOR. (Not to mention the fact that it would seriously bend and/or break a lot of existing batch files that are already quoting the arguments -- and that you'd need the DWIM parser to automagically guess when you want it quoted and when you don't.)

 

[Steve Fabian]

rconn wrote:
| ---Quote (Originally by Steve Fbin)---
|| Add options to DO and FOR to automatically quote the control
|| variable when
|| it is a file or directory name. Two modes: a/ always quote (provides
|| more
|| consistent string handling), b/ quote when needed, as if by @QUOTE[]
|| (when the name is not parsed).
| ---End Quote---
|
| I believe I've mentioned a few dozen times that there is no chance
| of any additional options being added to FOR.

I accept that FOR has so many options already that more cannot be added.
I may forget this though.
Strangely though FOR is the one where the feature is needed more,
because in DO it is easy to add an extra SET command, but in FOR the extra
command may make it necessary to use a command group instead of a plain
command, or may necessitate repeated application. As an example:
FOR %f in (...) copy %@quote[%f] %@replace[s,x,%@quote[%f]]

| (Not to mention the
| fact that it would seriously bend and/or break a lot of existing
| batch files that are already quoting the arguments -- and that you'd
| need the DWIM parser to automagically guess when you want it quoted
| and when you don't.)

Any new command features that are not default, but require the use of a
new option to be activated are 99.99% backward compatible. The 0.01% is for
coincidences - those users who created an alias (or batch file) with the
same name as the command which parses the command dynamically for the
specific option code. Likewise, any new command (or new internal variable or
new function) may have a name already used by someone. This possible
coincidence should not, and has never in the past did, stop adding new
features. However, for the specific suggestion of added option to DO and FOR
I cannot conceive that anybody would have created aliases or batch files
named DO or FOR...
As to when the value should be quoted and when not I think my suboptions
are clear: a/ requires unconditional quoting; b/ requires the internal
application of the logic used by the @QUOTE[] function. Selecting between
none of the options, option a/ or option b/ is indeed DWIM - DWIM coding,
that is. I must figure out what I need in the subsequent code, and tell the
parser explicitly what it is to do. I am not asking the parser to do
anything autonomously.
--
Steve