Michael A. Peters wrote: > PJ wrote: > >>> >> Gee, thanks. So, when was I supposed to have used this alias? Hell, I >> can live with my ignorance. What's a POSIX system and why is it a POSIX >> - a language, I think I heard.... > > cd ~ > > brings you to your home directory. > > cd ~/stuff > > brings you to the stuff sub-directory of your home directory. > > [mpeters@athens ~]$ echo ~ > /home/mpeters > [mpeters@athens ~]$ > > Notice the tilde in the prompt - tells me I am in my home directory > when I issued the command. > > POSIX is not a programming language, it is a specification that allows > for some compatability between different operating systems. > > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/POSIX > > -=- > > With respect to value of issuing shell commands from within php - I'm > sure there are some legitimate uses. I use to do it all the time but > now I really try not to because it makes the php less portable. > > IE not only is it now tied to the php modules that I use, but features > of the operating system it is running on top of. > > In some cases it may really be necessary - IE when calling the TeX > system to generate a document, or when writing a search engine capable > of indexing not html/xml formats (IE pdf, MS Word, etc.) you may > really need to use the shell of the underlying operating system, but I > think one really should try to find a "pure php" way whenever possible. > Thank you, thank you. In the defense of clear, straight-forward explanations with no attitude or preconceptions about my ignorance; this is great. You just made my day. It was worth the wait. :-) -- Phil Jourdan --- pj@xxxxxxxxxxxxx http://www.ptahhotep.com http://www.chiccantine.com -- PHP General Mailing List (http://www.php.net/) To unsubscribe, visit: http://www.php.net/unsub.php
