command parsers (and lack thereof)

[utzoo!decvax!ucbvax!menlo70!sri-unix!mclure at SRI-UNIX]

Recently, I wrote a simple command parser for my mail program.  It is
similar to the TOPS-20 COMND jsys, uses Termcap to take advantage of display
terminals, expands commands from their minimum unambiguous abbreviations
automatically, and parses multiple fields and arguments on a single command
line.  Mine is too rough to be of use generally, but it would be nice if the
standard I/O library had its own command scanner so that people wouldn't
have to brew their own.  Unix is getting to be sort of like Tenex since
every program has its own command scanner.  It's a real shame to see Unix
get bogged down by such inconsistent command interfaces.

I have long felt that this is TOPS-20's major single advantage in human
engineering over Unix.