🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <pershing.720578129@teal> pershing@teal.csn.org (Paul Pershing) says:
: 
: Hello - I am trying to get some info on zsh. I have the .man pages,
: and I have the excellent "intro to z-shell" by Paul Falstad. But,
: as informative as they both are, they don't answer a few questions
: that I have, such as:
: why isn't there more info out there about zsh?

Well, bourne shell and C shell have had books written about them because
they can be found on almost every system out there (especially bourne).

I think that zsh has at least as much information out there as other
"add on" shells.

: who are/is the author(s)?

Paul Falstad (the guy who wrote the intro).  I'm sure that users on the
network have contributed significant chunks to it since its release.

: why do some sites not allow it as a logi shell?

Most systems ship with bourne shell, C shell and (a rather distant
third) Korn shell.  A great many systems never add more than this.

Though its been out for quite a while now its still one of the newest
shells out there.  Many sites "standardized" on tcsh or bash or one of
the default shells before zsh arrived on the scene.  Since each shell
adds a bit more work for a conscientious adminstrator many aren't
looking for more shells to add.  At some sites someone would be
expected to be able to answer questions about any shell that is
"supported."

And, I suppose, some administrators have reached their own decisions
about what the "best" shells are and only offer their users those
shells to choose from.  (note that I'm not defending this practice)

: why isn't it the shell of preference for more people? It seems
: to have most of the best features of csh, ksh, bash and sh,
: so what's the holdup?

For a lot of people "more" doesn't automatically imply "better".  In
fact, one fairly popular shell (rc) is based upon the principle that
"more" is "worse".  So a lot of people don't want "most of the best
features of ...".

Choice of shell is, basically, a personal one.  What I want out of a
shell is likely to have little more than a passing resemblence to what
you want out of a shell.  You might as well (a usenet posting isn't
complete without an analogy) ask why bananas aren't the fruit of
preference for more people.  (I happen to really, really like bananas
and can't understand why my sister prefers oranges)
--
Frank Peters  -  UNIX Systems Programmer  -  Mississippi State University
Internet: fwp@CC.MsState.Edu  -  Phone: (601)325-7030  -  FAX: (601)325-8921