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From: jvb@duke.UUCP (Jack V. Briner, Jr.)
Newsgroups: net.sources
Subject: Re: "printf" lookalike from shell-level (for VAXen)
Message-ID: <9068@duke.duke.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 14-Jan-87 10:30:14 EST
Article-I.D.: duke.9068
Posted: Wed Jan 14 10:30:14 1987
Date-Received: Thu, 15-Jan-87 18:51:49 EST
References: <9@gyre.UUCP> <1332@masscomp.UUCP>
Reply-To: jvb@duke.UUCP (Jack V. Briner)
Organization: Duke University, Durham NC
Lines: 8

In a series of articles people have been working on how to get a printf
function for the shell.  I would like to refine Sam Black's so that it
avoids an unnecessary piped command.  Try:

     alias printf "awk 'BEGIN {printf(\!*); exit;}'"

This will have to be modified if your history character is a "!".  If your
history character is a "," you will have to be careful about its usage.