diff --git a/source/_daily_emails/2024-05-23.md b/source/_daily_emails/2024-05-23.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..b64ccbaa5 --- /dev/null +++ b/source/_daily_emails/2024-05-23.md @@ -0,0 +1,37 @@ +--- +title: Why I use long parameter names in scripts +date: 2024-05-23 +permalink: daily/2024/05/23/why-i-use-long-parameter-names-in-scripts +tags: + - software-development + - bash + - zsh + - linux +cta: ~ +snippet: | + Why I use long parameter names in scripts, such as `--force` instead of `-f`. +--- + +The other day, [I posted about a script I'd written][0] that found the longest commit message in a repository. + +As I couldn't find a native way to do this with Git, the script loops over each commit in the repository, calculates its length and stores the length and commit SHA in a file. + +The lines in the file are sorted so the longest commit is first. + +Whilst I commonly use short parameters, such as `git add -p` when typing commands, in scripts, I prefer to use the equivalent longer parameters, where possible. + +For example, in the script, I execute this command to sort the lines: + +```bash +sort "${result_file}" --reverse --numeric-sort --output "${result_file}" +``` + +This could be re-written as: + +```bash +sort "${result_file}" -rn -o "${result_file}" +``` + +Whilst the original is more verbose and longer to type, I prefer its verbosity which makes it easier for me or others to read and understand in the future. + +[0]: {{site.url}}/daily/2024/05/21/which-commit-has-the-largest-message