RE: Open files in a new frames from command line - Revised

["Bingham, Jay" <jay.bingham@hp.com>]

On Monday, February 02, 2004 at 4:18 PM Kevin Rodgers wrote

> Oliver Scholz wrote:
> 
>> There is no such command line option, but you could make your own 
>> command line option, if you put something like this (only slightly
>> tested) into your .emacs:
>> 
>> (defun my-is-option-p (str)
>>   "Return non-nil if STR is an command line option."
>>   (string-match "^--?"
>> 		str))
>> 
>> (defun my-command-line-make-new-frames ()
>>   "Process open each files in a new frame.
>> This function is supposed to be an element of 
>> `command-line-functions' (q.v.). Its functionality is triggered if 
>> ARGI is \"--as-frames\" and opens each element in 
>> COMMAND-LINE-ARGS-LEFT not starting with a slash as a file in a 
>> separate frame."
>>   (when (string= argi "--as-frames")
>>     (unless (my-is-option-p (car command-line-args-left))
>>       (find-file (pop command-line-args-left)))
>>     (while (and command-line-args-left
>> 		(not (my-is-option-p
>> 		      (car command-line-args-left))))
>>       (find-file-other-frame
>>        (pop command-line-args-left))
>>       t)))
>> 
>> (push 'my-command-line-make-new-frames
>>       command-line-functions)
> 
> It's a lot easier to use command-switch-alist:
> 
> (setq command-switch-alist
>  (cons '("--other-frame" . find-file-other-frame-command-line-arg) ;-R
>     command-switch-alist))

I agree it is a lot easier to use command-switch-alist, especially when
I found that Oliver's suggested function does not work in emacs 21.1 or
20.4. However, I question your setting of command-switch-alist, since my
reading of the documentation on command-switch-alist indicates that the
hyphen is not included in the CAR of the alist.  Your setting above
would cause the usage to be:  emacs ---other-frame some-file.txt.

> (defun find-file-other-frame-command-line-arg (switch)
>    "Visit next command line argument (after SWITCH) in a new frame."
>    ;; (prog1 (car x) (setq x (cdr x))) == (pop x):
>    (find-file-other-frame (prog1 (car command-line-args-left)
> 			   (setq command-line-args-left
> 				 (cdr command-line-args-left)))))

If you are looking for easy (and I think that was one of the OP's
requirements), why would you want to type that long option before every
file name?  Here is what I did to Oliver's function to make it work with
only one option that affects all the remaining file names on the command
line.


(setq
 command-switch-alist
 (append
  '(("fpf" . jcb-frame-per-file)
    ("-other-frames" . jcb-frame-per-file))))

(defun jcb-frame-per-file (arg)
  "Open file(s) in a new frame.
Process the '-fpf' command line option.  Open each file specified on the
command
line following this option (until another option is encountered) in its
own
frame. "
  (while (and command-line-args-left
             (not (string-match "^--?"
                   (car command-line-args-left))))
    (find-file-other-frame
     (pop command-line-args-left) t)
    t))

>> Use as
>>
>> emacs --as-frames lirum.txt larum.txt
> 
> Invoke as emacs --other-frame FILE ...

Invoke as:
 emacs first-file -fpf second-file ...
or
 emacs first-file --other-frames second-file ...

if the -fpf option is before the first file name then n+1 frames are
opened and *scratch* is in the first frame.

-_
J_)
C_)ingham
.    HP - NonStop Austin Software & Services - Software Quality
Assurance
.    Austin, TX
. "Language is the apparel in which your thoughts parade in public.
.  Never clothe them in vulgar and shoddy attire."   -Dr. George W.
Crane-