32 lines
1.4 KiB
Markdown
32 lines
1.4 KiB
Markdown
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---
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title: Abbreviations are better than aliases
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date: 2024-08-24
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permalink: daily/2024/08/24/abbreviations-are-better-than-aliases
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tags:
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- software-development
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- shell
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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 prefer abbreviations over aliases in my zsh configuration.
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---
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Shell aliases are a useful way to shorten long or complicated commands or to easily add additional arguments when running commands.
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Common aliases are I see are `gs` for `git status`, `a` for `artisan` and `dr` for `drush`.
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I've been experimenting with Zellij for the last day or so, and have written aliases like `zl` for `zellij list-sessions`, but have also added extra arguments such as `zellij list-sessions | sort | grep -v EXITED` to sort the sessions and filter any exited sessions.
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Running aliases makes it easier and quicker for me to run these commands, and less likely for me to make errors and type incorrectly.
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The issue with aliases is that you can forget that the underlying commands are if you only type and see `gs` or `zl`.
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It's also not easy when giving demos or pair or mob programming for others to see and understand the commands that are being run.
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Instead of aliases, I mostly use abbreviations with zsh-abbr that expand automatically after pressing the space key.
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That way, I and others get to see and understand the commands being run.
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I still have some aliases that don't expand but now I use abbreviations as my default approach.
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