Sometimes one remembers a function name or something else, but not where
it is documented. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to do something like
$ dmdfind typeinfo
and simply get a list of the files where it is mentioned.
The output might be something like what one gets with
$ grep -il typeinfo /usr/local/digitalmars/dmd2026/html/d/*.html
changelog.html
expression.html
function.html
Of course, every seasoned D programmer already has something like this
set up, right? But for others it would be very nice to get used to using
this from the start. (I remember spending sometimes a lot of time
searching for things. And sometimes I find myself googling around for
things, instead of looking at local dmd files.)
So, I got a suggestion: why not have a little program with the other
binaries, that outputs this info? Something like:
dmdfind [option] word [word...]
--html search in dmd html documents (the default)
--browse same as --html, except opens browser into the files
--dmd search in dmd source code
--druntime search in druntime source code
--phobos search in phobos source
--version
--modules list importable modules
Of these, --html would have the same output as the grep line I mentioned
above. --dmd would search for definitions for functions, etc. in the dmd
compiler source. Likewise --druntime and --phobos. --modules would
simply list all importable modules. (--version and --modules don't take
arguments.)
---------
This is just an idea. Is this any good? And what should such a program
do? My suggestion above is simply an idea, so far.
This could, of course, be simply a shell script, or it could be a real D
program a la rdmd.
Done right, it would not even have to be recompiled for every dmd
version, only when something fundamental changes.
