Subject: Re: NETBSD vs. Linux 'ls' command
To: David Martin <davidm@hous.inmet.com>
From: Ken Hornstein <kenh@cmf.nrl.navy.mil>
List: port-i386
Date: 02/01/1996 23:54:16
>Linix has a nice feature such that when using the 'ls' command directorys, 
>links, etc. show up in different colors. Does BSD support that feature. Its
>nice to be able to tell what something is at a glance!

I'd like to point out that this feature of GNU ls is extremely evil.  Why?
Because it assumes that ANSI color-setting codes work on the tty you're
using.  If you happen to use a terminal that locks up when sent ANSI term
escape sequences, this really really _really_ sucks.

(I happen to own a terminal that does this.  While I fully admit it's a
bogus terminal, it only cost me $10, and it works just fine).

A friend of mine had one of these terminals and was using it with a local
ISP when they decided to "upgrade" the system ls to GNU ls.  He was rather
unhappy to discover that all of a sudden, his terminal locked up when he
ran "ls".

That being said, there's no reason you can't just compile the GNU fileutils
and replace the NetBSD ls.  But it's highly unlikely that it will be the
default (this is coming from someone who is not a NetBSD core member, so
take this with a grain of salt).

(To be honest, "ls -F" works for me, and it doesn't hose up my terminal,
either :-) ).

--Ken