Argument list too long

[Robin Laing]

Todd Zullinger wrote:
> Robin Laing wrote:

>> The easiest headache to describe for me is usenet binary posts read
>> in Pan.  Some people will post a binary file that is 2000 or 3000
>> parts, though small but still numerous.  With the file name lengths
>> and whatever else is needed for Pan to join and/or decode the files,
>> I get error messages or crashes.  This is in the background so I
>> don't know what happens that causes it.
> 
> I don't use pan (or usenet :) so I don't know exactly where to look.
> If you can find the precise error message pan gives (and/or what you
> click on that causes the errors and the crash), it might help narrow
> it down.
> 

I will have to find some time to do some searching.  Most posts are not 
a problem.  It is the ones where someone takes a video and creates a 
3000 part post in yenc.  I have not tried this in the latest Pan due to 
many other tasks at hand.  I will have to find a DVD that I want to 
download. :)


>> I have tried to use xargs before but not much luck.  Lack of time to
>> play and learn how to pipe everything in the correct way.  I have
>> only learned about xargs a short while ago.
> 
> Check out the archives, Steven W. Orr has posted numerous times with
> good examples of xargs usage (I think he may be part of some shady
> xargs cult ;).
> 

Cool, where do I sign up.  No really in my case it is practice that 
makes perfect.  Somethings I only learn by doing.

> If that doesn't help out, post an example of what you need to do with
> the news files and I'm sure more than a few people here can offer
> suggestions.
> 

I find my way around it.  The last time I tried playing with xargs it 
was with one of these mutlipost files.  I had to feed it to the yenc 
decoder.  It was a character issue as I changed the file names to 
something that was only 5 or 6 characters and it ran with no problems.

>> My point in my other post is for new users, this is a real pain to
>> deal with.  In this day and age, it shouldn't be an issue as memory
>> is now much cheaper and larger than the days when this limit was put
>> into place.
> 
> That seems reasonable.  I'm not sure why it was rejected upstream, but
> I'd guess it has to do with compatibility?  And I'm sure that there
> are ways to code apps to not have this problem, which is more likely
> what should be fixed.  Definitely, end-users shouldn't see this sort
> of thing from a GUI app.  CLI users just need to learn to love xargs.
> 

It would have been nice if a reason had been posted with the rejection. 
  I would have preferred an ability to control this from a user point of 
view.

I have not had the time to think about this.  I will have to take some 
time to add to this.  I will sit down and play with xargs on my home 
machine and see if I can get the hang of it with the various things I 
work with.  I know that I am on the verge of not being able to ls and mv 
files in some directories on my home machine.


-- 
Due to the move to Exchange Server,
    anything that is a priority, please phone.
Robin Laing