fsx.ado, fork of fs.ado (capture ls as macro)

| Gabriel |

[Update: now hosted at ssc, just type “ssc install fsx” into Stata]

Nick Cox’s “fs.ado” command basically lets you capture the output of “ls” as a return macro. This is insanely useful if you want to do things like batching importing or appending.

For better or worse, when run without arguments “fs” shows all files, including files beginning with a dot. That is “fs” behaves more like the Bash “ls -a” command rather than hiding these files like the Bash “ls” command.

Since for most purposes Unix users are better off ignoring these files, I (with Nick’s blessing) wrote a fork of “fs” that by default suppresses the hidden files. The fork is called “fsx” as in “fs for Unix.” I haven’t tested it on Windows yet but it should run fine. However doing so is kind of pointless since Windows computers usually don’t have files beginning with dots unless they have been sharing a file system with Unix (for example, if a Mac user gives a Windows user data on a USB key). If you are interested in seeing the hidden files, you can either use the original “fs” command or use “fsx, all”.

After I write the help file I’ll post this to SSC.

BTW, as a coding note, this file has a lot of escaped quotes. I found this chokes TextMate’s syntax parser but Smultron highlights it correctly.

*! GHR and NJC 1.0 17 October 2010
* forked from fs.ado 1.0.5 (by NJC, Nov 2006)
program fsx, rclass
        syntax [anything] [, All ]
        version 8
        if `"`anything'"' == "" local anything *
        foreach f of local anything {
                if index("`f'", "/") | index("`f'", "\") ///
                 | index("`f'", ":") | inlist(substr("`f'", 1, 1), ".", "~") {
                        ParseSpec `f'
                        local files : dir "`d'" files "`f'"
                }
                else local files : dir . files "`f'"
                local files2 ""
                foreach f of local files {
                    if "`all'"=="all" {
                        local files2 "`files2' `f'"
                    }
                    else {
                        if strpos("`f'",".")!=1 {
                            local files2 "`files2' `f'"
                        }
                    }
                }
                local Files "`Files'`files2' "
        }
        DisplayInCols res 0 2 0 `Files'
        if trim(`"`Files'"') != "" {
                return local files `"`Files'"'
        }
end

program ParseSpec
        args f

        // first we need to strip off directory or folder information

        // if both "/" and "\" occur we want to know where the
        // last occurrence is -- which will be the first in
        // the reversed string
        // if only one of "/" and "\" occurs, index() will
        // return 0 in the other case

        local where1 = index(reverse("`f'"), "/")
        local where2 = index(reverse("`f'"), "\")
        if `where1' & `where2' local where = min(`where1', `where2')
        else                   local where = max(`where1', `where2')

        // map to position in original string and
        // extract the directory or folder
        local where = min(length("`f'"), 1 + length("`f'") - `where')
        local d = substr("`f'", 1, `where')

        // absolute references start with "/" or "\" or "." or "~"
        // or contain ":"
        local abs = inlist(substr("`f'", 1, 1), "/", "\", ".", "~")
        local abs = `abs' | index("`f'", ":")

        // prefix relative references
        if !`abs' local d "./`d'"

        // fix references to root
        else if "`d'" == "/" | "`d'" == "\" {
                local pwd "`c(pwd)'"
                local pwd : subinstr local pwd "\" "/", all
                local d = substr("`pwd'", 1, index("`pwd'","/"))
        }

        // absent filename list
        if "`f'" == "`d'" local f "*"
        else              local f = substr("`f'", `= `where' + 1', .)

        //  return to caller
        c_local f "`f'"
        c_local d "`d'"
end

program DisplayInCols /* sty #indent #pad #wid <list>*/
        gettoken sty    0 : 0
        gettoken indent 0 : 0
        gettoken pad    0 : 0
        gettoken wid    0 : 0

        local indent = cond(`indent'==. | `indent'<0, 0, `indent')
        local pad    = cond(`pad'==. | `pad'<1, 2, `pad')
        local wid    = cond(`wid'==. | `wid'<0, 0, `wid')

        local n : list sizeof 0
        if `n'==0 {
                exit
        }

        foreach x of local 0 {
                local wid = max(`wid', length(`"`x'"'))
        }

        local wid = `wid' + `pad'
        local cols = int((`c(linesize)'+1-`indent')/`wid')

        if `cols' < 2 {
                if `indent' {
                        local col "column(`=`indent'+1)"
                }
                foreach x of local 0 {
                        di as `sty' `col' `"`x'"'
                }
                exit
        }
        local lines = `n'/`cols'
        local lines = int(cond(`lines'>int(`lines'), `lines'+1, `lines'))

        /*
             1        lines+1      2*lines+1     ...  cols*lines+1
             2        lines+2      2*lines+2     ...  cols*lines+2
             3        lines+3      2*lines+3     ...  cols*lines+3
             ...      ...          ...           ...               ...
             lines    lines+lines  2*lines+lines ...  cols*lines+lines

             1        wid
        */

        * di "n=`n' cols=`cols' lines=`lines'"
        forvalues i=1(1)`lines' {
                local top = min((`cols')*`lines'+`i', `n')
                local col = `indent' + 1
                * di "`i'(`lines')`top'"
                forvalues j=`i'(`lines')`top' {
                        local x : word `j' of `0'
                        di as `sty' _column(`col') "`x'" _c
                        local col = `col' + `wid'
                }
                di as `sty'
        }
end

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