573 lines
20 KiB
Text
573 lines
20 KiB
Text
@ignore
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This file documents the user interface to the GNU History library.
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Copyright (C) 1988-2007 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
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Authored by Brian Fox and Chet Ramey.
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Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of this manual
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provided the copyright notice and this permission notice are preserved on
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all copies.
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Permission is granted to process this file through Tex and print the
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results, provided the printed document carries copying permission notice
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identical to this one except for the removal of this paragraph (this
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paragraph not being relevant to the printed manual).
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Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
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manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided also that the
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GNU Copyright statement is available to the distributee, and provided that
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the entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
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permission notice identical to this one.
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Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
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into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
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@end ignore
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@node Programming with GNU History
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@chapter Programming with GNU History
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This chapter describes how to interface programs that you write
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with the @sc{gnu} History Library.
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It should be considered a technical guide.
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For information on the interactive use of @sc{gnu} History, @pxref{Using
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History Interactively}.
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@menu
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* Introduction to History:: What is the GNU History library for?
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* History Storage:: How information is stored.
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* History Functions:: Functions that you can use.
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* History Variables:: Variables that control behaviour.
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* History Programming Example:: Example of using the GNU History Library.
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@end menu
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@node Introduction to History
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@section Introduction to History
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Many programs read input from the user a line at a time. The @sc{gnu}
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History library is able to keep track of those lines, associate arbitrary
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data with each line, and utilize information from previous lines in
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composing new ones.
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The programmer using the History library has available functions
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for remembering lines on a history list, associating arbitrary data
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with a line, removing lines from the list, searching through the list
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for a line containing an arbitrary text string, and referencing any line
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in the list directly. In addition, a history @dfn{expansion} function
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is available which provides for a consistent user interface across
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different programs.
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The user using programs written with the History library has the
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benefit of a consistent user interface with a set of well-known
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commands for manipulating the text of previous lines and using that text
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in new commands. The basic history manipulation commands are similar to
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the history substitution provided by @code{csh}.
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If the programmer desires, he can use the Readline library, which
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includes some history manipulation by default, and has the added
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advantage of command line editing.
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Before declaring any functions using any functionality the History
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library provides in other code, an application writer should include
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the file @code{<readline/history.h>} in any file that uses the
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History library's features. It supplies extern declarations for all
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of the library's public functions and variables, and declares all of
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the public data structures.
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@node History Storage
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@section History Storage
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The history list is an array of history entries. A history entry is
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declared as follows:
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@example
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typedef void *histdata_t;
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typedef struct _hist_entry @{
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char *line;
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char *timestamp;
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histdata_t data;
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@} HIST_ENTRY;
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@end example
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The history list itself might therefore be declared as
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@example
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HIST_ENTRY **the_history_list;
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@end example
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The state of the History library is encapsulated into a single structure:
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@example
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/*
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* A structure used to pass around the current state of the history.
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*/
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typedef struct _hist_state @{
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HIST_ENTRY **entries; /* Pointer to the entries themselves. */
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int offset; /* The location pointer within this array. */
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int length; /* Number of elements within this array. */
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int size; /* Number of slots allocated to this array. */
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int flags;
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@} HISTORY_STATE;
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@end example
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If the flags member includes @code{HS_STIFLED}, the history has been
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stifled.
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@node History Functions
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@section History Functions
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This section describes the calling sequence for the various functions
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exported by the @sc{gnu} History library.
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@menu
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* Initializing History and State Management:: Functions to call when you
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want to use history in a
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program.
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* History List Management:: Functions used to manage the list
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of history entries.
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* Information About the History List:: Functions returning information about
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the history list.
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* Moving Around the History List:: Functions used to change the position
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in the history list.
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* Searching the History List:: Functions to search the history list
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for entries containing a string.
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* Managing the History File:: Functions that read and write a file
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containing the history list.
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* History Expansion:: Functions to perform csh-like history
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expansion.
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@end menu
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@node Initializing History and State Management
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@subsection Initializing History and State Management
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This section describes functions used to initialize and manage
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the state of the History library when you want to use the history
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functions in your program.
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@deftypefun void using_history (void)
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Begin a session in which the history functions might be used. This
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initializes the interactive variables.
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@end deftypefun
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@deftypefun {HISTORY_STATE *} history_get_history_state (void)
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Return a structure describing the current state of the input history.
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@end deftypefun
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@deftypefun void history_set_history_state (HISTORY_STATE *state)
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Set the state of the history list according to @var{state}.
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@end deftypefun
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@node History List Management
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@subsection History List Management
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These functions manage individual entries on the history list, or set
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parameters managing the list itself.
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@deftypefun void add_history (const char *string)
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Place @var{string} at the end of the history list. The associated data
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field (if any) is set to @code{NULL}.
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@end deftypefun
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@deftypefun void add_history_time (const char *string)
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Change the time stamp associated with the most recent history entry to
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@var{string}.
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@end deftypefun
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@deftypefun {HIST_ENTRY *} remove_history (int which)
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Remove history entry at offset @var{which} from the history. The
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removed element is returned so you can free the line, data,
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and containing structure.
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@end deftypefun
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@deftypefun {histdata_t} free_history_entry (HIST_ENTRY *histent)
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Free the history entry @var{histent} and any history library private
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data associated with it. Returns the application-specific data
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so the caller can dispose of it.
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@end deftypefun
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@deftypefun {HIST_ENTRY *} replace_history_entry (int which, const char *line, histdata_t data)
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Make the history entry at offset @var{which} have @var{line} and @var{data}.
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This returns the old entry so the caller can dispose of any
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application-specific data. In the case
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of an invalid @var{which}, a @code{NULL} pointer is returned.
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@end deftypefun
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@deftypefun void clear_history (void)
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Clear the history list by deleting all the entries.
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@end deftypefun
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@deftypefun void stifle_history (int max)
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Stifle the history list, remembering only the last @var{max} entries.
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@end deftypefun
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@deftypefun int unstifle_history (void)
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Stop stifling the history. This returns the previously-set
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maximum number of history entries (as set by @code{stifle_history()}).
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The value is positive if the history was
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stifled, negative if it wasn't.
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@end deftypefun
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@deftypefun int history_is_stifled (void)
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Returns non-zero if the history is stifled, zero if it is not.
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@end deftypefun
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@node Information About the History List
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@subsection Information About the History List
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These functions return information about the entire history list or
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individual list entries.
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@deftypefun {HIST_ENTRY **} history_list (void)
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Return a @code{NULL} terminated array of @code{HIST_ENTRY *} which is the
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current input history. Element 0 of this list is the beginning of time.
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If there is no history, return @code{NULL}.
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@end deftypefun
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@deftypefun int where_history (void)
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Returns the offset of the current history element.
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@end deftypefun
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@deftypefun {HIST_ENTRY *} current_history (void)
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Return the history entry at the current position, as determined by
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@code{where_history()}. If there is no entry there, return a @code{NULL}
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pointer.
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@end deftypefun
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@deftypefun {HIST_ENTRY *} history_get (int offset)
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Return the history entry at position @var{offset}, starting from
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@code{history_base} (@pxref{History Variables}).
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If there is no entry there, or if @var{offset}
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is greater than the history length, return a @code{NULL} pointer.
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@end deftypefun
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@deftypefun time_t history_get_time (HIST_ENTRY *entry)
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Return the time stamp associated with the history entry @var{entry}.
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@end deftypefun
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@deftypefun int history_total_bytes (void)
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Return the number of bytes that the primary history entries are using.
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This function returns the sum of the lengths of all the lines in the
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history.
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@end deftypefun
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@node Moving Around the History List
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@subsection Moving Around the History List
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These functions allow the current index into the history list to be
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set or changed.
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@deftypefun int history_set_pos (int pos)
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Set the current history offset to @var{pos}, an absolute index
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into the list.
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Returns 1 on success, 0 if @var{pos} is less than zero or greater
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than the number of history entries.
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@end deftypefun
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@deftypefun {HIST_ENTRY *} previous_history (void)
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Back up the current history offset to the previous history entry, and
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return a pointer to that entry. If there is no previous entry, return
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a @code{NULL} pointer.
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@end deftypefun
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@deftypefun {HIST_ENTRY *} next_history (void)
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Move the current history offset forward to the next history entry, and
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return the a pointer to that entry. If there is no next entry, return
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a @code{NULL} pointer.
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@end deftypefun
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@node Searching the History List
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@subsection Searching the History List
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@cindex History Searching
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These functions allow searching of the history list for entries containing
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a specific string. Searching may be performed both forward and backward
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from the current history position. The search may be @dfn{anchored},
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meaning that the string must match at the beginning of the history entry.
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@cindex anchored search
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@deftypefun int history_search (const char *string, int direction)
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Search the history for @var{string}, starting at the current history offset.
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If @var{direction} is less than 0, then the search is through
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previous entries, otherwise through subsequent entries.
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If @var{string} is found, then
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the current history index is set to that history entry, and the value
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returned is the offset in the line of the entry where
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@var{string} was found. Otherwise, nothing is changed, and a -1 is
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returned.
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@end deftypefun
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@deftypefun int history_search_prefix (const char *string, int direction)
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Search the history for @var{string}, starting at the current history
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offset. The search is anchored: matching lines must begin with
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@var{string}. If @var{direction} is less than 0, then the search is
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through previous entries, otherwise through subsequent entries.
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If @var{string} is found, then the
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current history index is set to that entry, and the return value is 0.
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Otherwise, nothing is changed, and a -1 is returned.
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@end deftypefun
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@deftypefun int history_search_pos (const char *string, int direction, int pos)
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Search for @var{string} in the history list, starting at @var{pos}, an
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absolute index into the list. If @var{direction} is negative, the search
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proceeds backward from @var{pos}, otherwise forward. Returns the absolute
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index of the history element where @var{string} was found, or -1 otherwise.
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@end deftypefun
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@node Managing the History File
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@subsection Managing the History File
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The History library can read the history from and write it to a file.
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This section documents the functions for managing a history file.
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@deftypefun int read_history (const char *filename)
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Add the contents of @var{filename} to the history list, a line at a time.
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If @var{filename} is @code{NULL}, then read from @file{~/.history}.
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Returns 0 if successful, or @code{errno} if not.
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@end deftypefun
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@deftypefun int read_history_range (const char *filename, int from, int to)
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Read a range of lines from @var{filename}, adding them to the history list.
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Start reading at line @var{from} and end at @var{to}.
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If @var{from} is zero, start at the beginning. If @var{to} is less than
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@var{from}, then read until the end of the file. If @var{filename} is
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@code{NULL}, then read from @file{~/.history}. Returns 0 if successful,
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or @code{errno} if not.
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@end deftypefun
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@deftypefun int write_history (const char *filename)
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Write the current history to @var{filename}, overwriting @var{filename}
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if necessary.
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If @var{filename} is @code{NULL}, then write the history list to
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@file{~/.history}.
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Returns 0 on success, or @code{errno} on a read or write error.
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@end deftypefun
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@deftypefun int append_history (int nelements, const char *filename)
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Append the last @var{nelements} of the history list to @var{filename}.
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If @var{filename} is @code{NULL}, then append to @file{~/.history}.
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Returns 0 on success, or @code{errno} on a read or write error.
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@end deftypefun
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@deftypefun int history_truncate_file (const char *filename, int nlines)
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Truncate the history file @var{filename}, leaving only the last
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@var{nlines} lines.
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If @var{filename} is @code{NULL}, then @file{~/.history} is truncated.
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Returns 0 on success, or @code{errno} on failure.
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@end deftypefun
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@node History Expansion
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@subsection History Expansion
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These functions implement history expansion.
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@deftypefun int history_expand (char *string, char **output)
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Expand @var{string}, placing the result into @var{output}, a pointer
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to a string (@pxref{History Interaction}). Returns:
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@table @code
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@item 0
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If no expansions took place (or, if the only change in
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the text was the removal of escape characters preceding the history expansion
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character);
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@item 1
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if expansions did take place;
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@item -1
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if there was an error in expansion;
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@item 2
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if the returned line should be displayed, but not executed,
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as with the @code{:p} modifier (@pxref{Modifiers}).
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@end table
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If an error ocurred in expansion, then @var{output} contains a descriptive
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error message.
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@end deftypefun
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@deftypefun {char *} get_history_event (const char *string, int *cindex, int qchar)
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Returns the text of the history event beginning at @var{string} +
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@var{*cindex}. @var{*cindex} is modified to point to after the event
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specifier. At function entry, @var{cindex} points to the index into
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@var{string} where the history event specification begins. @var{qchar}
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is a character that is allowed to end the event specification in addition
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to the ``normal'' terminating characters.
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@end deftypefun
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@deftypefun {char **} history_tokenize (const char *string)
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Return an array of tokens parsed out of @var{string}, much as the
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shell might. The tokens are split on the characters in the
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@var{history_word_delimiters} variable,
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and shell quoting conventions are obeyed.
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@end deftypefun
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@deftypefun {char *} history_arg_extract (int first, int last, const char *string)
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Extract a string segment consisting of the @var{first} through @var{last}
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arguments present in @var{string}. Arguments are split using
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@code{history_tokenize}.
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@end deftypefun
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@node History Variables
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@section History Variables
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This section describes the externally-visible variables exported by
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the @sc{gnu} History Library.
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@deftypevar int history_base
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The logical offset of the first entry in the history list.
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@end deftypevar
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@deftypevar int history_length
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The number of entries currently stored in the history list.
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@end deftypevar
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@deftypevar int history_max_entries
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The maximum number of history entries. This must be changed using
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@code{stifle_history()}.
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@end deftypevar
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@deftypevar int history_write_timestamps
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If non-zero, timestamps are written to the history file, so they can be
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preserved between sessions. The default value is 0, meaning that
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timestamps are not saved.
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@end deftypevar
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@deftypevar char history_expansion_char
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The character that introduces a history event. The default is @samp{!}.
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Setting this to 0 inhibits history expansion.
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@end deftypevar
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@deftypevar char history_subst_char
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The character that invokes word substitution if found at the start of
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a line. The default is @samp{^}.
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@end deftypevar
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@deftypevar char history_comment_char
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During tokenization, if this character is seen as the first character
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of a word, then it and all subsequent characters up to a newline are
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ignored, suppressing history expansion for the remainder of the line.
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This is disabled by default.
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@end deftypevar
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@deftypevar {char *} history_word_delimiters
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The characters that separate tokens for @code{history_tokenize()}.
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The default value is @code{" \t\n()<>;&|"}.
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@end deftypevar
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@deftypevar {char *} history_search_delimiter_chars
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The list of additional characters which can delimit a history search
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string, in addition to space, TAB, @samp{:} and @samp{?} in the case of
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a substring search. The default is empty.
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@end deftypevar
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@deftypevar {char *} history_no_expand_chars
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The list of characters which inhibit history expansion if found immediately
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following @var{history_expansion_char}. The default is space, tab, newline,
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carriage return, and @samp{=}.
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@end deftypevar
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@deftypevar int history_quotes_inhibit_expansion
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If non-zero, single-quoted words are not scanned for the history expansion
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character. The default value is 0.
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@end deftypevar
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@deftypevar {rl_linebuf_func_t *} history_inhibit_expansion_function
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This should be set to the address of a function that takes two arguments:
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a @code{char *} (@var{string})
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and an @code{int} index into that string (@var{i}).
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It should return a non-zero value if the history expansion starting at
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@var{string[i]} should not be performed; zero if the expansion should
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be done.
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It is intended for use by applications like Bash that use the history
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expansion character for additional purposes.
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By default, this variable is set to @code{NULL}.
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@end deftypevar
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@node History Programming Example
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@section History Programming Example
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The following program demonstrates simple use of the @sc{gnu} History Library.
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@smallexample
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#include <stdio.h>
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#include <readline/history.h>
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main (argc, argv)
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int argc;
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char **argv;
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@{
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char line[1024], *t;
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int len, done = 0;
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line[0] = 0;
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using_history ();
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while (!done)
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@{
|
|
printf ("history$ ");
|
|
fflush (stdout);
|
|
t = fgets (line, sizeof (line) - 1, stdin);
|
|
if (t && *t)
|
|
@{
|
|
len = strlen (t);
|
|
if (t[len - 1] == '\n')
|
|
t[len - 1] = '\0';
|
|
@}
|
|
|
|
if (!t)
|
|
strcpy (line, "quit");
|
|
|
|
if (line[0])
|
|
@{
|
|
char *expansion;
|
|
int result;
|
|
|
|
result = history_expand (line, &expansion);
|
|
if (result)
|
|
fprintf (stderr, "%s\n", expansion);
|
|
|
|
if (result < 0 || result == 2)
|
|
@{
|
|
free (expansion);
|
|
continue;
|
|
@}
|
|
|
|
add_history (expansion);
|
|
strncpy (line, expansion, sizeof (line) - 1);
|
|
free (expansion);
|
|
@}
|
|
|
|
if (strcmp (line, "quit") == 0)
|
|
done = 1;
|
|
else if (strcmp (line, "save") == 0)
|
|
write_history ("history_file");
|
|
else if (strcmp (line, "read") == 0)
|
|
read_history ("history_file");
|
|
else if (strcmp (line, "list") == 0)
|
|
@{
|
|
register HIST_ENTRY **the_list;
|
|
register int i;
|
|
|
|
the_list = history_list ();
|
|
if (the_list)
|
|
for (i = 0; the_list[i]; i++)
|
|
printf ("%d: %s\n", i + history_base, the_list[i]->line);
|
|
@}
|
|
else if (strncmp (line, "delete", 6) == 0)
|
|
@{
|
|
int which;
|
|
if ((sscanf (line + 6, "%d", &which)) == 1)
|
|
@{
|
|
HIST_ENTRY *entry = remove_history (which);
|
|
if (!entry)
|
|
fprintf (stderr, "No such entry %d\n", which);
|
|
else
|
|
@{
|
|
free (entry->line);
|
|
free (entry);
|
|
@}
|
|
@}
|
|
else
|
|
@{
|
|
fprintf (stderr, "non-numeric arg given to `delete'\n");
|
|
@}
|
|
@}
|
|
@}
|
|
@}
|
|
@end smallexample
|