DEC-like user interface shell for BSD4.2?

[Douglas J Freyburger]

	We have a mixture of DEC machines running DEC
operating systems, and some VAXen running unix, so I go back
and forth constantly.  Some of my users have some trouble
doing that.  They are accustomed to the DEC supplied user
interfaces to RT-11 and VMS.  I'd like to find a shell to
run under VAX unix (bsd4.2) that is remenicent of the TOPS-20
CLI. Does anyone know of one out there, especially public
domain or very low price?  Its features in order of
importance would be:

1) Unambiguous command abreviation.  Typing "dir" and
"direct" and getting the same results is nice.  I can go
through the system directories and make links to them
giving them mneumonic names.

2) Being able to call "sh" or "csh".  Great programming
languages to write scripts in.

3) Pipes and arrow redirection.  Probably even back-quote
command redirection.

---- Now the dreams start ----

4) Escape and question mark expanding the command name out
to ambiguity or completion or giving me the current list of
choises.

5) Escape and question mark doing it for file names, too.

6) Escape and question mark knowing the switch names for
system utilities.  This would involve writing up some sort
of database defining the command line formats for each
program.  User expandable, even?  VMS has the CLD files
for use with SET COMMAND, but I don't think something that
extravagent is called for.

7) Recoding all of the utilities so their switch names are
mneumonic, too.  This is quite a "| dream", but while I was
asking...

8) Case insensitivity.  I'm sure there are plenty of
ridiculous other features that might be nice to TOPS-20
migrators.  This is the only one I could think of off-hand.

		(-)NX for bearing with me,
		Doug

Doug Freyburger		DOUG at JPL-VLSI, DOUG at JPL-ROBOTICS,
JPL 171-235		...escher!doug, doug at aerospace,
Pasadena, CA 91109	etc.
-- 

Doug Freyburger		DOUG at JPL-VLSI, DOUG at JPL-ROBOTICS,
JPL 171-235		...escher!doug, doug at aerospace,
Pasadena, CA 91109	etc.