blob: 45a58c1f5151315738578147a54b98992c3ee1c8 (
plain)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
|
`bfs`
=====
Breadth-first search for your files.
`bfs` is a variant of the UNIX `find` command that operates [breadth-first](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breadth-first_search) rather than [depth-first](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depth-first_search).
It is otherwise intended to be [compatible](https://github.com/tavianator/bfs/issues/6) with GNU `find`.
If you're not familiar with `find`, have a look at the [GNU find manual](https://www.gnu.org/software/findutils/manual/html_mono/find.html) to get acquainted first.
Breadth vs. depth
-----------------
The advantage of breadth-first over depth first search is that it usually finds the file(s) you're looking for faster.
Imagine the following directory tree:
<pre>
haystack
├── deep
│ └── 1
│ └── 2
│ └── 3
│ └── 4
│ └── ...
└── shallow
└── <strong>needle</strong>
</pre>
`find` will explore the entire `deep` directory tree before it ever gets to the `shallow` one that contains what you're looking for.
<pre>
$ <strong>find</strong> haystack
haystack
haystack/deep
haystack/deep/1
haystack/deep/1/2
haystack/deep/1/2/3
haystack/deep/1/2/3/4
...
haystack/shallow
<strong>haystack/shallow/needle</strong>
</pre>
On the other hand, `bfs` lists files from shallowest to deepest, so you never have to wait for it to explore an entire unrelated subtree.
<pre>
$ <strong>bfs</strong> haystack
haystack
haystack/deep
haystack/shallow
haystack/deep/1
<strong>haystack/shallow/needle</strong>
haystack/deep/1/2
haystack/deep/1/2/3
haystack/deep/1/2/3/4
...
</pre>
Easy
----
`bfs` tries to be easier to use than `find`, while remaining compatible.
For example, `bfs` is less picky about where you put its arguments:
<pre>
$ <strong>find</strong> -L -name 'needle' <em>haystack</em>
find: paths must precede expression: haystack
$ <strong>bfs</strong> -L -name 'needle' <em>haystack</em>
<strong>haystack/needle</strong>
$ <strong>find</strong> <em>haystack</em> -L -name 'needle'
find: unknown predicate `-L'
$ <strong>bfs</strong> <em>haystack</em> -L -name 'needle'
<strong>haystack/needle</strong>
$ <strong>find</strong> -L <em>haystack</em> -name 'needle'
<strong>haystack/needle</strong>
$ <strong>bfs</strong> -L <em>haystack</em> -name 'needle'
<strong>haystack/needle</strong>
</pre>
`bfs` also adds some extra options that make some common tasks easier.
Compare `bfs -nohidden` to `find -name '.?*' -prune -o -print`.
Pretty
------
When `bfs` detects that its output is a terminal, it automatically colors its output with the same colors `ls` uses.
This makes it easier to identify relevant files at a glance.
Try it!
-------
To get `bfs`, download one of the [releases](https://github.com/tavianator/bfs/releases) or clone the [git repo](https://github.com/tavianator/bfs).
Then run
$ make
This will build the `bfs` binary in the current directory.
You can test it out:
$ ./bfs -nohidden
If you're interested in speed, you may want to build the release version instead:
$ make clean
$ make release
Finally, if you want to install it globally, run
$ sudo make install
If you're on Arch Linux, `bfs` is available in the [AUR](https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/bfs/).
|
