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@ -124,51 +124,45 @@ Ive noticed that people are rethinking and reinventing tools that have existed s
## The lessons learned from the past ## The lessons learned from the past
A large amount of the innovation in the area, I think, can be attributed to A large amount of the innovation in the area, I think, can be attributed to lessons that have been learned in 50 years of using software;
lessons that have been learned in 50 years of using software; sharp edges we sharp edges we have repeatedly cut ourselves on,
have repeatedly cut ourselves on, unintuitive interfaces that repeatedly trip us unintuitive interfaces that repeatedly trip us up,
up, and growing frustration at the limitations that maintaining decades of and growing frustration at the limitations that maintaining decades of backwards compatibility imposes on our tools.
backwards compatibility imposes on our tools.
These lessons have been gathering in the collective conciousness, through These lessons have been gathering in the collective conciousness;
cheatsheets, guides, and FAQs; resources to guide us through esoteric error through cheatsheets, guides, and FAQs;
messages, complex configurations, and dozens upon dozens of flags. resources to guide us through esoteric error messages, complex configurations, and dozens upon dozens of flags.
Id like to go over a couple of the more prominent lessons that I feel terminal Id like to go over a couple of the more prominent lessons that I feel terminal tools have learned in the past several decades.
tools have learned in the past several decades.
### A good out of the box experience ### A good out of the box experience
While configurability is great, one should not need to learn a new configuration While configurability is great,
language and dozens or hundreds of options to get a usable piece of software. one should not need to learn a new configuration language and dozens or hundreds of options to get a usable piece of software.
Configuration should be for customization, not setup. Configuration should be for customization, not setup.
One of the earliest examples of this principle may be the fish shell. One of the earliest examples of this principle may be the fish shell.
Both zsh and fish have powerful prompt and autocompletion engines, but zsh Both zsh and fish have powerful prompt and autocompletion engines,
requires you to setup a custom prompt and enable completions in order to use the but zsh requires you to setup a custom prompt and enable completions in order to use the features that set it apart from the competition.
features that set it apart from the competition. With no config file, zsh is no With no config file, zsh is no better than bash.
better than bash. When starting fish for the first time, however, its powerful When starting fish for the first time however,
autocompletion and information rich prompt are front and center with no its powerful autocompletion and information rich prompt are front and center with no configuration required.
configuration required. Of course, fish still has the same level of Of course, fish still has the same level of configurability as zsh, it just also has sensible defaults.
configurability as zsh, it just also has sensible defaults.
To demonstrate my point, this is the default prompt for zsh with no To demonstrate my point, this is the default prompt for zsh with no configuration.
configuration. It *only* shows the hostname, none of the advanced featurs you It *only* shows the hostname, none of the advanced featurs you can get out of a zsh prompt even without plugins.
can get out of a zsh prompt even without plugins.
![zsh prompt, only shows hostname](zsh_prompt.png) ![zsh prompt, only shows hostname](zsh_prompt.png)
Here is bash's prompt. It actually gives more info than zsh's, even though zsh Here is bash's prompt.
can do more when properly configured. It actually gives more info than zsh's, even though zsh can do more when properly configured.
![bash prompt, shows hostname and current directory](bash_prompt.png) ![bash prompt, shows hostname and current directory](bash_prompt.png)
And here is fish's default prompt. It has a few colours, shows everything the And here is fish's default prompt.
bash prompt does, and additionally shows the git branch we are on. It has a few colours, shows everything the bash prompt does, and additionally shows the git branch we are on.
![fish prompt, has colours, shows hostname, current directory, and git ![fish prompt, has colours, shows hostname, current directory, and git info](fish_prompt.png)
info](fish_prompt.png)
Text editors are another great example of the evolution of out of the box Text editors are another great example of the evolution of out of the box defaults.
defaults. Vim and Neovim both improved on their predecessors, but so much of Vim and Neovim both improved on their predecessors,
that improvement is locked behind extremely complex configuration experiences but much of that improvement is locked behind extremely complex configuration experiences and plugins.
and plugins. Heres four different terminal text editors with no configuration Heres four different terminal text editors with no configuration applied:
applied:
![vi, vim, neovim, and helix editors in their default ![vi, vim, neovim, and helix editors in their default
configuration](editors.png) configuration](editors.png)
@ -177,33 +171,26 @@ Vi, (top left) is our baseline, and, as far as I can tell, doesnt actually
support much for configuration. What you see out of the box is more or less support much for configuration. What you see out of the box is more or less
whats there. whats there.
Vim (top right) greatly improved on Vi, adding things such as syntax highlighting, line Vim (top right) greatly improved on Vi, adding things such as syntax highlighting, line numbers, spellchecking, split windows, folding, and even basic autocompletion.
numbers, spellchecking, split windows, folding, and even basic autocompletion. However, everything but syntax highligting is either extremely clunky or outright disabled without configuration.
However, everything but syntax highligting is either extremely clunky or (for example, the earliest things I did when I first made a `.vimrc` was to enable indent folding,
outright disabled without configuration. (for example, the earliest things I did make some better keybinds for navigating windows, and adding a line number ruler to the side)
when I first made a `.vimrc` was to enable indent folding, make some better
keybinds for navigating windows, and adding a line number ruler to the side)
Neovim (bottom left) further improved on Vim, adding support for Treesitter and Neovim (bottom left) further improved on Vim, adding support for Treesitter and the Language Server Protocoll, but the out of the box experience is the *exact* same as vim!
the Language Server Protocoll, but the out of the box experience is the *exact* In order to take advantage of the LSP and Treesitter support, you have to install plugins,
same as vim! In order to take advantage of the LSP and Treesitter support, you which means learning a Nvim package manager, learning how to configure LSPs, and configuring a new LSP for every language you want to use it with.
have to install plugins, which means learning a Nvim package manager, learning (Or finding out about Mason and being OK with having multiple levels of package management in your Nvim install alone).
how to configure LSPs, and configuring a new LSP for every language you want to Dont get me wrong, Neovim is a great editor once you get over the hump, I still use it as my daily driver, but so much of its functionality is simply hidden.
use it with. (Or finding out about Mason and being OK with having multiple
levels of package management in your Nvim install alone). Dont get me wrong,
Neovim is a great editor once you get over the hump, I still use it as my daily
driver, but so much of its functionality is simply hidden.
Then we have the Helix (bottom right) editor. Colour scheme aside, everything is Then we have the Helix (bottom right) editor. Colour scheme aside, everything is just there.
just there. Helix doesnt have plugin support Helix doesnt have plugin support [yet](https://github.com/helix-editor/helix/discussions/3806),
[yet](https://github.com/helix-editor/helix/discussions/3806), but it has so but it has so much stuff in core that,
much stuff in core that, looking through my neovim plugins, pretty much all of looking through my neovim plugins,
them are in the core editor! (ironically, the one feature that I feel helix is pretty much all of them are in the core editor!
missing, [folding](https://github.com/helix-editor/helix/issues/1840), is a core (ironically, the one feature that I feel helix is missing, [folding](https://github.com/helix-editor/helix/issues/1840),
part of neovim, albiet one that requires some configuration to get good use out is a core part of neovim, albiet one that requires some configuration to get good use out of).
of). Helix does have a config file where you can change a huge amount of Helix does have a config file where you can change a huge amount of settings,
settings, but its an extremely usable IDE out of the box, thanks to having all but its an extremely usable IDE out of the box, thanks to having all of its features enabled by default.
of its features enabled by default.
### Friendly error messages ### Friendly error messages

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content/posts/nushell.md
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@ -54,8 +54,7 @@ You can sort, filter, and aggregate the data,
use a SQL style join statement between two tables, use a SQL style join statement between two tables,
and use functional programming patterns to manipulate tables. and use functional programming patterns to manipulate tables.
Some examples of things that nushell enables with this structured data passing Some examples of things that nushell enables with this structured data passing through pipelines includes:
through pipelines includes:
{{<highlight sh>}} {{<highlight sh>}}
# show all files recursively that were modified in the last week # show all files recursively that were modified in the last week
@ -123,26 +122,23 @@ update bytes_sent {into int}
{{</highlight>}} {{</highlight>}}
(each line has a comment explaining what it does, for those unfamiliar with the nushell language) (each line has a comment explaining what it does, for those unfamiliar with the nushell language)
Now that we have it in nushell tables, we can bring all of nushells tools to Now that we have it in nushell tables, we can bring all of nushells tools to bear on the data.
bear on the data. For example, we could plot a histogram of the most common For example, we could plot a histogram of the most common ips, just by piping the whole thing into `histogram ip`.
ips, just by piping the whole thing into `histogram ip`. We could easily We could easily calculate the average bytes sent per request.
calculate the average bytes sent per request. We could group the records by the We could group the records by the day or hour they happened, and analyze each of those groups independently.
day or hour they happened, and analyze each of those groups independently. And And we can do all of that after arbitrarily filtering, sorting, or otherwise transforming the table.
we can do all of that after arbitrarily filtering, sorting, or otherwise
transforming the table.
While it would be a pretty long one liner if we decided to put it in a single While it would be a pretty long one liner if we decided to put it in a single line,
line, its still quite easy and straightforward to write. its still quite easy and straightforward to write.
Most log formats and command outputs are similarly straightforward. Most log formats and command outputs are similarly straightforward.
## Defining custom commands, with built-in arg parsing ## Defining custom commands, with built-in arg parsing
Nushell has a feature called Custom Commands, which fill the same purpose as Nushell has a feature called Custom Commands,
functions in other shells/programming languages, but are a bit more featurefull which fill the same purpose as functions in other shells/programming languages,
than traditional POSIX shell functions. but are a bit more featurefull than traditional POSIX shell functions.
First of all, nushell custom commands specify the number of positional arguments First of all, nushell custom commands specify the number of positional arguments they take.
they take.
{{<highlight sh>}} {{<highlight sh>}}
def recently-modified [cutoff] { def recently-modified [cutoff] {
@ -168,8 +164,8 @@ def recently-modified [cutoff: string] {
} }
{{</highlight>}} {{</highlight>}}
You can give the arguments a default value, making it optional, (can be combined You can give the arguments a default value, making it optional.
with a type specification) (can be combined with a type specification)
{{<highlight sh>}} {{<highlight sh>}}
def recently-modified [cutoff = '1 week ago'] { def recently-modified [cutoff = '1 week ago'] {
@ -181,9 +177,8 @@ def recently-modified [cutoff = '1 week ago'] {
} }
{{</highlight>}} {{</highlight>}}
You have flag parsing, complete with short flags, is included as well. (A You have flag parsing, complete with short flags, is included as well.
flag without a type will be taken as a boolean flag, set by its presence or (A flag without a type will be taken as a boolean flag, set by its presence or absence)
absence)
{{<highlight sh>}} {{<highlight sh>}}
def recently-modified [cutoff: string = '1 week ago' --older-than (-o)] { def recently-modified [cutoff: string = '1 week ago' --older-than (-o)] {
@ -203,8 +198,8 @@ def recently-modified [cutoff: string = '1 week ago' --older-than (-o)] {
} }
{{</highlight>}} {{</highlight>}}
And finally, you can add a rest command at the end, allowing you to take a variable number of And finally, you can add a rest command at the end, allowing you to take a variable number of arguments.
arguments.
{{<highlight sh>}} {{<highlight sh>}}
def recently-modified [--cutoff = '1 week ago' ...paths] { def recently-modified [--cutoff = '1 week ago' ...paths] {
for $path in $paths { for $path in $paths {
@ -217,8 +212,8 @@ def recently-modified [--cutoff = '1 week ago' ...paths] {
} }
{{</highlight>}} {{</highlight>}}
All of the specified parameters are automatically added to a generated `--help` All of the specified parameters are automatically added to a generated `--help` page,
page, along with a documentation comments, so that the following code block: along with a documentation comments, so that the following code block:
{{<highlight sh>}} {{<highlight sh>}}
# display recently modified files # display recently modified files
@ -260,13 +255,11 @@ Input/output types:
╰───┴───────┴────────╯ ╰───┴───────┴────────╯
``` ```
(the input/output table at the bottom has to do with how the command is used in (the input/output table at the bottom has to do with how the command is used in a pipeline,
a pipeline, and is covered in more detail in the and is covered in more detail in the [book](https://www.nushell.sh/book/command_signature.html))
[book](https://www.nushell.sh/book/command_signature.html))
This addition of easy argument parsing makes it incredibly convenient to add This addition of easy argument parsing makes it incredibly convenient to add command line arguments to your scripts and functions,
command line arguments to your scripts and functions, something that is anything something that is anything but easy in POSIX shells.
but easy in POSIX shells.
## Error messages ## Error messages
@ -296,8 +289,8 @@ done
(standard_in) 1: syntax error (standard_in) 1: syntax error
{{</highlight>}} {{</highlight>}}
This error tells you nothing about what went wrong, and your only option is to This error tells you nothing about what went wrong,
start print debugging. and your only option is to start print debugging.
The equivalent in nushell would be: The equivalent in nushell would be:
@ -305,8 +298,9 @@ The equivalent in nushell would be:
> ls | get size | each {|item| $item / 1000} > ls | get size | each {|item| $item / 1000}
{{</highlight>}} {{</highlight>}}
If we typo the size column, we get a nice error telling us exactly what we got If we typo the size column, we get a nice error telling us exactly what we got wrong,
wrong, and where in the pipeline the error and value originated. Much better. and where in the pipeline the error and value originated.
Much better.
{{<highlight sh "linenos=false">}} {{<highlight sh "linenos=false">}}
> ls | get szie | each {|item| $item / 1000} > ls | get szie | each {|item| $item / 1000}
@ -325,8 +319,8 @@ Error: nu::shell::column_not_found
Now, nushell is not finished yet. Now, nushell is not finished yet.
As I write, I am running version 0.91 of nu. As I write, I am running version 0.91 of nu.
Similar to fish, it not being a POSIX shell means that you still need to drop Similar to fish,
into bash or zsh in order to source env files in order to, it not being a POSIX shell means that you still need to drop into bash or zsh in order to source env files in order to,
for example, use a cross-compiling c/c++ sdk. for example, use a cross-compiling c/c++ sdk.
(thankfully, python virtualenvs already come with a nu script for you to source, (thankfully, python virtualenvs already come with a nu script for you to source,
so doing python dev will not require you to launch a POSIX shell) so doing python dev will not require you to launch a POSIX shell)
@ -362,14 +356,12 @@ def recently-modified [
> recently-modified --cutoff '2 weeks ago' ./ > recently-modified --cutoff '2 weeks ago' ./
{{</highlight>}} {{</highlight>}}
Its certainly not the most ergonomic, but seems to be the best way at the moment Its certainly not the most ergonomic,
to make 'scripts' that are integrated with the rest of nushell. but seems to be the best way at the moment to make 'scripts' that are integrated with the rest of nushell.
## So, overall, is it worth it? ## So, overall, is it worth it?
Nushell is certainly an promising project, and I will almost certainly be Nushell is certainly an promising project, and I will almost certainly be continuing to use it as my daily shell.
continuing to use it as my daily shell. It cant do everything, but dropping into It cant do everything, but dropping into zsh for a task or two every once in a while isnt that big a deal for me,
zsh for a task or two every once in a while isnt that big a deal for me, and and having access to such a powerful shell by default has made other tasks much easier.
having access to such a powerful shell by default has made other tasks much If you regularly use pipelines in your default shell, consider giving Nushell a try.
easier for me. If you regularly use pipelines in your default shell, consider
giving Nushell a try.