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https://github.com/property404/lax

Locate Args and Execute
https://github.com/property404/lax

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Locate Args and Execute

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README 

        
# Lax



An argument substitution utility intended to make working on projects with

deeply nested directories a bit easier.



"Lax" stands for "Locate Arguments and Execute."



## Basic Usage



Given a binary and an "@" pattern "@foo", Lax will will find the file "foo" and

replace "@foo" with "foo"'s full path, then execute the binary with the new arguments



`lax echo @foo` -> `echo ./foobar/foo`



Multiple "@" patterns are possible:



`lax stat @foo @bar @baz` -> `stat ./foobar/foo ./foobar/target/bar ./foobar/src/baz`



Mixing and matching "@" patterns and normal arguments is also possible:



`lax cat -n @foo bar @baz` -> `cat -n ./foobar/foo bar ./foobar/src/baz`



## Globbing



Globbing is fully supported via [globset](https://docs.rs/globset/0.4.6/globset/).



`lax echo @*.rs` -> `echo ./some/directory/main.rs`



`**` is also supported, but is treated specially. The portion of the pattern

before the first `/**/`(note the surrounding slashes) is the search entry

point. That is, given a pattern like `@foo/**/bar`, Lax will look in the

directory `./foo` for a file that matches `bar`. Any following `**` are handled

normally:



```bash

$ lax echo @foo/**/bar/**/baz

foo/bizz/bazz/bar/beez/baz

```



Will look in directory `./foo` for a path that matches `bar/**/baz`. That is, any

entity `baz` that is a descendent of directory `bar`.



Making use of the search entry point can speed up searches if you know which top-level

subdirectory your query is in, but you don't want to `cd` into it for whatever

reason. It can also be used to specify a path outside your directory.



## Using in Git/Subversion Repositories



You can search from the git(or svn) root by using a `%`:



`lax vim @%README.md`



## Selectors



If there are multiple files matching the given name, Lax will prompt you to choose.

However, you can also specify which file you'd want ahead of time:



```bash

$ lax echo @*.rs^1 # Select the first match

a.rs

$ lax echo @*.rs^2 # Select the second match

b.rs

$ lax echo @*.rs^l # Select the last match. You can also use '-1'

d.rs

$ lax echo @*.rs^-2 # Select the second to last match

c.rs

$ lax echo @*.rs^1,3 # Select the first and third match

a.rs c.rs

$ lax echo @*.rs^a # Select all matches

a.rs b.rs c.rs d.rs

$ lax echo @*.rs^/[ab] # Select with regex

a.rs b.rs

```



Now you know the full syntax for "@" patterns:



`@[%][SEARCH_ENTRY_POINT/**/]GLOB_PATTERN[^SELECTOR[,SELECTOR]...]`



Where `SEARCH_ENTRY_POINT` is a directory, `GLOB_PATTERN` is a glob pattern,

and `SELECTOR` is `[-n..-1|1..n|'a'|'l'|/regex]`



## Miscellaneous Features



```bash

# Escape the initial '@' symbol

$ lax echo \\@

@

$ lax echo '\@'

@



# Only match *directories* by adding a forward slash

$ lax echo @foo/

./foo/



# You can also use command-line options to achieve a similar effect

$ lax -d echo @foo

./foo/



# Or only look for files

$ lax -f echo @foo

./tests/foobar/foo



# Or transform a file to its parent

$ lax -fD echo @foo

./tests/foobar



# We also have the ability to specify fallback binaries. This will use `cowsay`

# if it's installed, otherwise it will fallback to `echo`

$ lax 'cowsay|echo' hello

 _______

< hello >

 -------

        \   ^__^

         \  (oo)\_______

            (__)\       )\/\

                ||----w |

                ||     ||

```



## Primary Use Case



In your `.bashrc`, you can write `alias vim="lax vim"`



From now on, you can just write:



`vim @foo` -> `vim ./foobar/foo`



This makes working on projects with deep directories, like U-Boot and Yocto,

easier. If the compiler complains about an error in

`my_stupid_little_c_file.c`, you can:



`vim @*stupid*file.c`



## Using With `cd`



You might try to use Lax to do things like:



`lax cd @some_deep_nested_subdirectory`



But you will quickly discover this does not work as intended, as cd is

affecting the current directory of its environment, which belongs to a child

process of the shell.



Instead, you can add this to your `.bashrc`:



```bash

cd(){

    local args;

    if ! args=$(lax -pd -- ${@}); then

        return 1

    fi

    command cd ${args}

}

```



The `-p` flag tells Lax to not execute anything, but simply transform arguments

and print them to stdout. The `-d` flag tells it to only match with directories,

as `cd` has no interest in files. You could also use the `-D` flag if you want

to match files, but `cd` to their parent directory, instead.



## Installing



```bash

cargo install --git https://github.com/Property404/lax

```



or for a more optimized build:



```bash

cargo install --git https://github.com/Property404/lax --profile lto

```



## License



MIT or Apache-2.0