Re: tab completion error

[Brian Vargo]

This is going to be very hard to explain over email.  I tried to use script from util-linux in GNU bash v.5.1.16 on Ubuntu 22.04, but that doesn't seem to offer any help.

Here's a tree to show the directory structure and let's say I want to move the Hofstadter book to /dev/shm/cache.  I'll try tab completion after entering ` "Hofs `

$ tree /library/books/audiobooks/Hof*
/library/books/audiobooks/Hoffman,\ Donald
`-- The\ Case\ Against\ Reality:\ Why\ Evolution\ Hid\ the\ Truth\ from\ Our\ Eyes\ (2019)
    |-- The\ Case\ Against\ Reality\ --\ Cover.jpg
    |-- The\ Case\ Against\ Reality\ --\ Part\ 01.opus
    |-- The\ Case\ Against\ Reality\ --\ Part\ 02.opus
    |-- The\ Case\ Against\ Reality\ --\ Part\ 03.opus
    |-- The\ Case\ Against\ Reality\ --\ Part\ 04.opus
    |-- The\ Case\ Against\ Reality\ --\ Part\ 05.opus
    |-- The\ Case\ Against\ Reality\ --\ Part\ 06.opus
    |-- The\ Case\ Against\ Reality\ --\ Part\ 07.opus
    |-- The\ Case\ Against\ Reality\ --\ Part\ 08.opus
    |-- The\ Case\ Against\ Reality\ --\ Part\ 09.opus
    |-- The\ Case\ Against\ Reality\ --\ Part\ 10.opus
    |-- The\ Case\ Against\ Reality\ --\ Part\ 11.opus
    |-- The\ Case\ Against\ Reality\ --\ Part\ 12.opus
    |-- The\ Case\ Against\ Reality\ --\ Summary.nfo
    `-- metadata.json
/library/books/audiobooks/Hofstadter,\ Richard
`-- Anti-Intellectualism\ in\ American\ Life\ (1963)
    |-- Anti-Intellectualism\ in\ American\ Life\ --\ Cover.jpg
    |-- Anti-Intellectualism\ in\ American\ Life\ --\ Part\ 01.opus
    |-- Anti-Intellectualism\ in\ American\ Life\ --\ Part\ 02.opus
    |-- Anti-Intellectualism\ in\ American\ Life\ --\ Part\ 03.opus
    |-- Anti-Intellectualism\ in\ American\ Life\ --\ Part\ 04.opus
    |-- Anti-Intellectualism\ in\ American\ Life\ --\ Part\ 05.opus
    |-- Anti-Intellectualism\ in\ American\ Life\ --\ Part\ 06.opus
    |-- Anti-Intellectualism\ in\ American\ Life\ --\ Part\ 07.opus
    |-- Anti-Intellectualism\ in\ American\ Life\ --\ Part\ 08.opus
    |-- Anti-Intellectualism\ in\ American\ Life\ --\ Part\ 09.opus
    |-- Anti-Intellectualism\ in\ American\ Life\ --\ Part\ 10.opus
    |-- Anti-Intellectualism\ in\ American\ Life\ --\ Part\ 11.opus
    |-- Anti-Intellectualism\ in\ American\ Life\ --\ Part\ 12.opus
    |-- Anti-Intellectualism\ in\ American\ Life\ --\ Part\ 13.opus
    |-- Anti-Intellectualism\ in\ American\ Life\ --\ Part\ 14.opus
    |-- Anti-Intellectualism\ in\ American\ Life\ --\ Part\ 15.opus
    |-- Anti-Intellectualism\ in\ American\ Life\ --\ Part\ 16.opus
    |-- Anti-Intellectualism\ in\ American\ Life\ --\ Summary.nfo
    |-- cover.jpg
    `-- metadata.json

1 directory, 20 files

To start with, I begin entering the command followed by ` "Hofs ` and a tab:

/library/books/audiobooks $ mv "Hofs<Tab>

This results in the following being completed:

/library/books/audiobooks $ mv "Hofstadter, Richard"/

If I then try to get tab completion of the subdirectory, i.e., by opening a double quote and starting to type Anti followed by tab, the result here is the issue.

start with: /library/books/audiobooks $ mv "Hofstadter, Richard"/

enter: "Anti<tab>

the result is 

$ mv "Hofstadter, Richard"/"Hofstadter, Richard/Anti-Intellectualism in American Life (1963)"/

What I expect is:

$ mv "Hofstadter, Richard"/"Anti-Intellectualism in American Life (1963)"/

OR

$ mv "Hofstadter, Richard/Anti-Intellectualism in American Life (1963)"/

but not to have the wrong parent directory left on the entry line.

If there's a better way to demonstrate what's going on, please let me know.

this is on Ubuntu 22.04.

This has always failed any time I can remember trying it with Ubuntu/bash.

On Mon, Sep 25, 2023 at 9:12 AM Chet Ramey <chet.ramey@case.edu> wrote:

On 9/22/23 5:58 PM, Brian Vargo wrote:

> $ mv Bu<TAB>   --->  $ mv Buehrer\,\ Ted/How\ to\ Listen\ to\ and\
> Appreciate\ Jazz\ \[TMS\]\ \(2006\)/ "Bu<TAB> ----> $ mv Buehrer\,\
> Ted/How\ to\ Listen\ to\ and\ Appreciate\ Jazz\ \[TMS\]\ \(2006\)/
> "Buehrer, Ted"/<TAB> -----> $ mv Buehrer\,\ Ted/How\ to\ Listen\ to\ and\
> Appreciate\ Jazz\ \[TMS\]\ \(2006\)/ "Buehrer, Ted"/"Buehrer, Ted/How to
> Listen to and Appreciate Jazz [TMS] (2006)"/

I can't reproduce this. I'm testing with bash-5.2.

I get, broken into different lines for clarity:

$ mv Buehrer\,\ Ted/    [after the first tab]

$ mv Buehrer\,\ Ted/How\ to\ Listen\ to\ and\ Appreciate\ Jazz\ \[TMS\]\
\(2006\)/               [after the second tab]

(Note that default completion stops at directory boundaries; I'm not sure
how you got multiple directory names completed with a single tab.)

Then you add the space and start a new double-quoted argument:

$ mv Buehrer\,\ Ted/How\ to\ Listen\ to\ and\ Appreciate\ Jazz\ \[TMS\]\
\(2006\)/ "Buehrer, Ted"/       [after the third tab]

$ mv Buehrer\,\ Ted/How\ to\ Listen\ to\ and\ Appreciate\ Jazz\ \[TMS\]\
\(2006\)/ Buehrer\,\ Ted/How\ to\ Listen\ to\ and\ Appreciate\ Jazz\
\[TMS\]\ \(2006\)/      [after the fourth tab]

Note that bash/readline default completion requotes the entire pathname
once there is another directory name requiring quoting.

Now, this command will obviously fail because you're trying to move a
directory name to itself.



> Expected:
> For the last tab completion, I expect $ mv Buehrer\,\ Ted/How\ to\ Listen\
> to\ and\ Appreciate\ Jazz\ \[TMS\]\ \(2006\)/ "Buehrer, Ted"/"How to Listen
> to and Appreciate Jazz [TMS] (2006)"/
> and then for it to change into that directory.

Quoting differences aside, these are identical directory names, so the
`mv'is going to fail regardless. But why would you expect bash or another
application to change to that directory?

--
``The lyf so short, the craft so long to lerne.'' - Chaucer
                 ``Ars longa, vita brevis'' - Hippocrates
Chet Ramey, UTech, CWRU    chet@case.edu    http://tiswww.cwru.edu/~chet/