38 lines
1.3 KiB
Markdown
38 lines
1.3 KiB
Markdown
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---
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title: Why I use long parameter names in scripts
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date: 2024-05-23
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permalink: daily/2024/05/23/why-i-use-long-parameter-names-in-scripts
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tags:
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- software-development
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- bash
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- zsh
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- linux
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cta: ~
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snippet: |
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Why I use long parameter names in scripts, such as `--force` instead of `-f`.
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---
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The other day, [I posted about a script I'd written][0] that found the longest commit message in a repository.
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As I couldn't find a native way to do this with Git, the script loops over each commit in the repository, calculates its length and stores the length and commit SHA in a file.
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The lines in the file are sorted so the longest commit is first.
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Whilst I commonly use short parameters, such as `git add -p` when typing commands, in scripts, I prefer to use the equivalent longer parameters, where possible.
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For example, in the script, I execute this command to sort the lines:
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```bash
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sort "${result_file}" --reverse --numeric-sort --output "${result_file}"
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```
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This could be re-written as:
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```bash
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sort "${result_file}" -rn -o "${result_file}"
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```
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Whilst the original is more verbose and longer to type, I prefer its verbosity which makes it easier for me or others to read and understand in the future.
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[0]: {{site.url}}/daily/2024/05/21/which-commit-has-the-largest-message
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