GLOB(1) General Commands Manual GLOB(1)
NAME
glob - global command (file name generation)
SYNOPSIS
glob command [arg ...]
DESCRIPTION
Glob is a port of the global command from Version 6 (V6) UNIX. It is
passed an argument list by tsh(1) which contains one or more unquoted
pattern characters (*, ?, [) and performs the actions described below
on behalf of the shell.
Glob attempts to generate file-name arguments which match the given
pattern arguments. The name of the specified command may also be given
as a pattern. The meaning of each pattern character is as follows:
o The * character in a pattern matches any string of characters in a
file name (including the null string).
o The ? character in a pattern matches any single character in a file
name.
o The [...] brackets in a pattern specifies a class of characters
which matches any single file-name character in the class. Within
the brackets, each character is taken to be a member of the class.
A pair of characters separated by an unquoted - specifies the class
as a range which matches each character lexically between the first
and second member of the pair, inclusive. A - matches itself when
quoted or when first or last in the class.
Any other character in a pattern matches itself in a file name.
Notice that the `.' character at the beginning of a file name, or
immediately following a `/', is always special in that it must be
matched explicitly. The same is true of the `/' character itself.
If the pattern contains no `/' characters, the current directory is
always used. Otherwise, the specified directory is the one obtained by
taking the pattern up to the last `/' before the first unquoted *, ?,
or [. The matching process matches the remainder of the pattern after
this `/' against the files in the specified directory.
If the argument contains no unquoted pattern characters, glob uses it
as is. Otherwise, glob searches for file names in the current (or
specified) directory which match the pattern. It then sorts them in
ascending ASCII order, and the new sequence of arguments replaces the
given pattern. The same process is carried out for each of the given
arguments; the resulting lists are not merged. Finally, glob attempts
to execute the command with the resulting argument list.
EXIT STATUS
If glob detects an error, it prints an appropriate diagnostic and exits
with a non-zero status. Otherwise, the exit status is that of the
executed command.
ENVIRONMENT
Notice that the concept of `user environment' was not defined in
Version 6 (V6) UNIX. Thus, use of the following environment variables
by this port of the global command is an enhancement:
EXECSHELL
If set to a non-empty string, the value of this variable is
taken as the path name of the shell which is invoked to execute
the specified command when it does not begin with the proper
magic number or a `#!shell' sequence.
PATH If set to a non-empty string, the value of this variable is
taken as the sequence of directories which is used to search for
the specified command. Notice that the global command from
Version 6 (V6) UNIX always used the equivalent of
`.:/bin:/usr/bin', not PATH.
SEE ALSO
tsh(1)
Etsh home page:
https://etsh.nl/
HISTORY
A glob command appeared as /etc/glob in Version 1 (V1) UNIX.
AUTHORS
This port of the glob command is derived from Version 6 (V6) UNIX
/usr/source/s1/glob.c. It was written by Ken Thompson of Bell Labs.
Jeffrey Allen Neitzel <
[email protected]> ported and maintains it as glob(1).
LICENSE
See either the LICENSE file which is distributed with etsh or
https://etsh.nl/license/ for full details.
etsh-5.4.0 March 28, 2019 GLOB(1)
