NAME

xd - eXtra fast Directory changer

SYNOPSIS

xd [OPTIONS] arguments

DESCRIPTION

The program xd is used to perform eXtra fast Directory changes. Usually to change a directory the user is required to enter a command like, e.g., cd /usr/local/bin, possibly with the aid of shell completion. In many cases this is a tedious task: shell completion shows all entries, including files, when we’re only interested in directories and the full specification of our intented directory may eventually require many keyboard actions.

Xd was designed a long time ago (in the early 90s) to reduce the effort of changing directories. Often we’re well aware to which directory we want to change, and it’s easy to produce the initial directory characters of that directory. E.g., if the intent is to cd to /usr/local/bin, it’s quite easy to produce the letters ulb.

Xd capitalizes on this capability. By providing the initial directory characters of directories xd determines the proper expansion allowing you to change directories fast. So, entering the command xd ulb results in the expansion /usr/local/bin.

Often life is not that easy. Often there are multiple expansions from a given set of initial characters. E.g., when entering xd ulb xd may find several alternatives. E.g.,



 1: /usr/lib/base-config


 2: /usr/lib/bonobo


 3: /usr/lib/bonobo-activation


 4: /usr/local/bin

If these are the alternatives, this is exactly what xd will show you. Then, by simply pressing the 3 key (no Enter key required) xd will produce the required /usr/local/bin.

Commands to xd can be specified so as to fine-tune xd’s behavior:

o: By default (as specified by the configuration file, see below) expansions may start at the user’s home directory or at the system’s root directory.
o: Initial character /: If the first character of the command is / then all expansions are performed from the system’s root directory. E.g., xd /t results in /tmp but not in /home/user/tmp.
o: Initial character .: If the first character of the command is . then by default all expansions are performed from the user’s home directory. E.g., xd .t results in /home/user/tmp but not in /tmp. The home directory recognition character can be altered using the --homedir-char option, see below (section OPTIONS).
o: Initial character 0: If the first character of the command is 0, then all expansions start at the current working directory. In fact, this is a specialization of the following, more general form:
o: Initial character 1..9: If the first character of the command is a digit between 1 and 9 then all expansions start at that parent directory level of the current working directory (up to the system’s root directory). E.g., if the current working directory is /usr/share/doc then xd 2lb will offer the alternative /usr/local/bin: two steps up, then look for directories starting with l and therein directories starting with b.
o: Separators (space, and the forward slash (`/’)): sometimes it is clear that there are many alternatives and the intention is to reduce that number. By using separators subsequently nested directories must start with the characters between the separators. E.g., xd u l bi never produces the alternative /usr/lib/base-config anymore, since base-config does not start with bi. In this case only /usr/local/bin is produced. When used as initial character in a pattern the forward slash always indicates the root-directory.
o: Search patterns may contain dots (like .s). In such cases the dot represents hidden directories. However, xd usually also finds patterns containing /./, as the current directory matches the dot. Such patterns are considered spurious and are not reported.

If there’s only one solution, Xd writes that directory to its standard output stream. If there are multiple solutions, then a list of at most 62 alternatives (10 for the numbers 0..9, 26 for the letters a..z and 26 for the letters A..Z) is written to the standard error stream from which the user may select an alternative by simply pressing the key associated with the selection of choice. If no selection is requested any other key may be pressed (e.g., the space bar or the Enter key). If there is no solutioon xd writes the text No Solutions to the standard error stream.

When xd is given at least one argument, all its output is sent to the standard error stream, but for the selected directory name which is written to the standard output stream. If no selection is made or if the selection process is aborted a single dot is written to the standard output stream. Usually xd will be called by a shell alias, providing the cd command with xd’s output (see below at the SHELL SCRIPTS section) executing cd `xd $*`. The default dot produced by xd prevents an unintended change of directory.

When xd is merely given an initial directory specification, like a single dot (.) or digit (a digit in the set [0..9]) then xd returns the implied path. Specifying a parent before the root-directory (E.g., entering `xd 5’ when the current working directory is `/tmp’) results in writing the root directory (`/’) to the standard output stream.

If xd is called without arguments then usage information is written to the standard error stream.

Xd may be further configured using options and a configuration file, discussed in the OPTIONS and CONFIGURATION FILE sections below.

GENERALIZED DIRECTORY SEARCH

Starting with version 3.10.0 xd also supports generalized directory search command processing (GDS). When GDS is requested separators are no longer required, and xd will find all possible alternatives resulting from all possible sequential combinations of the initial search command. GDS is activated either by specifying the -g command line flag or by entering generalized-search in xd’s configuration file. Alternatively, when the latter is specified then the --traditional command line option will suppress GDS.

When using GDS each initial substring of the command to xd is considered as the initial characters of a directory. E.g., if the command xd tmps is entered using GDS then directories matching the following search patterns will be found;

o: /t*/m*/p*/s*/
o: /t*/m*/ps*/
o: /t*/mp*/s*/
o: /t*/mps*/
o: /tm*/p*/s*/
o: /tm*/ps*/
o: /tmp*/s*/
o: /tmps*/ Using the traditional processing mode only the first one of these alternative patterns is considered.

Multiple command line arguments, the slash and the underscore can still be used with GDS in which case they force a directory change in the considered patterns. E.g., with the command xd tm/ps the following patterns will be considered:

o: /t*/m*/p*/s*/
o: /t*/m*/ps*/
o: /tm*/p*/s*/
o: /tm*/ps*/ In this set all of the previous patterns showing the ...mp... combination were dropped, as a directory change is forced between the m and p characters.

RETURN VALUE

Xd returns 0 to the operating system unless an error occurs (e.g., when a non-existing configuration file is specified), or xd’s version or usage info is shown or requested.

OPTIONS

If available, single letter options are listed between parentheses following their associated long-option variants. Single letter options require arguments if their associated long options require arguments as well.