The biggest thing for me is that you can name the configurations for what they're doing not how.

For example:

> fetch---api.github.com---repos/owner/project---q=stars>100---o=json.exe

could become something like

top_starred_repos.bat/exe/sh

This also removes the need to get myself and others to battle escaping problems as you start adding arbitrary arguments into this.

To have two different things you need to run, now you need to have multiple copies of the same thing.

What does the parsing? How do you split out a URL, what order are the "flags" in? Do you have named arguments, etc? Well now you need to have your own custom parsing library instead of just using exactly what anyone else would use.

Where do you go for help? Do you rename it to my_program_help.exe then rerun it?

What about chaining things together? Anything dynamic? Is the caller script expected to rename your program before running it?

> fetch---api.github.com---repos/owner/project---q=stars>100---o=json.exe

Oh lord.

> Imagine install_PY3_MODULE_NAME.exe. It reads the filename, extracts the Python module name, downloads dependencies, sets up Python if needed, and creates a launcher. Rename it, and you have a new installer for a different project. Icons, mirrors, or other metadata can also live in the file as resources – all self-contained, all shareable.

Imagine changing that to "install_python.exe --module module_name".

The thing you really want to do instead is have a single executable, then have scripts or even aliases that are named for what they do that are super thing wrappers. One copy, no moving, renaming, anything.

`fetch---api.github.com---repos/owner/project---q=stars>100---o=json.exe`

and 50 different copies for various different projects, is replaced with

`fetch.exe`

and

`top_100_github_repos.exe`

`highest_rated_github_repos.exe`

`get_weather.exe`

Which are single line scripts that pass on arguments to the base program. Which also means you can fix any issues in one place.

And good luck trying to run the same programs with different arguments. You'll have to take turns renaming the file, or create hardlinks just for ephemeral arguments.

It can be useful but there's time and place to do it.

IMV it's a clever trick, and like you my instinct is that if I attempted to integrate this into my own workflows, I would endure some sort of hardship down the line but it's not immediately obvious when or how. Or maybe for certain things it would be fine and less painful than other options, like other similarly clever tricks I felt uneasy about at first

> Flags are ephemeral – you have to share the command line or wrap it in a script. Scripts depend on environment, which can break portability. Filenames solve both: the program describes itself, requires zero setup, and any configuration can be shared by simply renaming the file.

[Emphasis added] Although I find a script that wraps the command and calls it more versatile, there might be some value in this idea for some very simple cases, like example #4.

I truly think it should be avoided in general, especially when what you actually want (in OP’s article) is a config file.

[0] https://github.com/Frizlab/frizlabs-conf/blob/44030f4123e683... (w/ that, also see the aliases in the folder of the script)

bunzip2 / bzcat / bzip2

gunzip / uncompress

unzip / zipinfo

pigz / unpigz

pkg-config / x86_64-pc-linux-gnu-pkg-config

perlbug / perlthanks

Use ls -li to show the inode number for each file or directory. For example:

    $ ls -li /usr/bin/{bzip2,bunzip2,bzcat}
    23069197 -rwxr-xr-x 3 root root 39144 Sep  5  2019 /usr/bin/bunzip2
    23069197 -rwxr-xr-x 3 root root 39144 Sep  5  2019 /usr/bin/bzcat
    23069197 -rwxr-xr-x 3 root root 39144 Sep  5  2019 /usr/bin/bzip2