From:	Larry A. Shurr
		Lattice, Inc.
		P. O. Box 3148
		Glen Ellyn, IL 60138


	To:	Ed Nather and all other interested parties

	Subj:	"New" and "Improved" ls utility


	I was especially glad to run across this utility from my old
	alma mater (University of Texas at Austin).  I liked it a
	and, being the kind of person I am, couldn't resist making a
	few "improvements" (hope you don't mind, Ed).  It works as
	before with the additions described below:

	Apology and disclaimer:  I have never met any UNIX system, so
	I find it difficult to "keep faith" with the behavior of UNIX
	utilities as I do not know what I am doing.  If I have done
	something "wrong", please forgive me.  Naturally, I offer no
	warranty of any kind on this program.  It is, as its prede-
	cessor was, placed in the public domain and is offered "as
	is."  Like its predecessor, however, it appears to be largely
	bug free and "safe" to use.

	New or changed aspects of ls:


	1) Use of Lattice C:

	Naturally, I prefer to use Lattice C, under which ls would
	not orginally compile.  In converting it for use with Lattice
	C, I hope I have not "broken" it with respect to alternative
	(ahem -- Brand X) C compilers.


	2) Use of environment variables:

	Default settings for options may now be changed by defining
	MS-DOS environment variables:

		LSALL		list all files option
		LSCOLM		one column listing option
		LSDU		disk usage option
		LSID		always identify directory option
		LSLONG		long listing option
		LSMORE		pause for more option
		LSRSORT		reverse sort direction option
		LSTSORT		sort by time option

	For convenience in discussion, I refer to these as "dynamic
	defaults."

	To set a default to "ON" use the MS-DOS command:

		set <variable>=1

	That's all there is to it!  You can set a default to "OFF"
	with

		set <variable>=0

	but this is unnecessary.  By omitting any definition for the
	variable it will be assumed to be set to "OFF".

	The corresponding command line options always reverse the
	default as set by the environment variable.  For example, if
	LSALL = 0 (OFF), then the -a option will turn the "list all"
	option ON.  Conversely, if LSALL = 1 (ON), then the -a option
	will turn the "list all" option OFF.

	Refer to ls.doc for more information.


	3) "Pause for more" is now an option:

	Previously, the listing was always paused after each 22 lines
	when output was to the console.  Now, this option may be set
	using -m on the command line or by setting the LSMORE default
	variable to 1.


	4) Heapsort code added:

	Lattice C does not have the qsort() function available in
	CI86 and DeSmet C.  Therefore, I have supplied a sort function.
	My sort uses the heapsort algorithm and can be readily modified
	for your own purposes.  I ask that you credit me in anything
	you use it with and that you help keep the goodies coming.

	Heapsort is fast (proportional to n*log2(n)) and non-recursive
	(therefore, no trouble with stack overflow).  


	5) Help feature added:

	Specifying the -h option causes a summary of the available
	options to be printed on the standard error file.  In addition
	to the help summary, the current settings of the dynamic
	defaults are also displayed.  The help summary is also printed
	if any invalid options are specified.


	6) Filename pattern matching on recursive descent:

	You may specify a filename pattern (i.e., a filename with wild-
	cards allowed) as part of an argument to ls with the -R option.
	When you do so, ls will search for all matches for the filename
	pattern in the directory tree beginning from the specified
	directory pathname in the argument and produce a display in
	accordance with the option settings you set or specify.  Thus:

			ls *.asm

	will search for all files matching "*.asm" in the directory tree
	commencing from the current directory and

			ls e:\*.c

	will search for all the C source files on drive "e:".

	Thus, among other things, ls may be used as a "find" utility.


	7) Sorting for -R option:

	Directories are sorted and searched in the order selected by
	your sort settings/options.


	8) Full directory paths printed:

	No matter how the directory path is specified in an ls argument,
	the fully-extended pathname is displayed, if requested, so that
	you can always tell exactly what directory is being listed.