Re: uncommon shell code

Robert Watson [off-list ref] writes:

Well, it's fine now that I know what it is.  But it hurts
readability, and probably it's a good idea to simplify it.

I try to stay away from style discussion, but readability is
always relative and personal.  Things like 'while case $# in
..." is an idiom for some but not for others -- and I am
included in the former group of people (unfortunately).  In any
case, 'while test $# != 0' is not too much of a simplification
anyway.

Any reasonable shell should built-in test(1)?

Correct.  The idiom comes from performance issues -- lack of
built in test long ago -- and that issue is not relevant
anymore.  But the pattern being an idiom for some still is.

Having said that, I do not feel too strong about enforcing _my_
style.  I _do_ feel somewhat strong about consistency, so if
somebody wants to update them, without dropping the ball in the
middle, it is very likely that I can be persuaded to take a
series of patches to modernize them.