File searches

There is a special command to allow the user to work his way through all files in the file system that match a given pattern (like in MS-DOS or UNIX the pattern *.c). Its syntax is

    first pattern

This command sets up all the internal variables for the search. After this each time the value of the variable `nextfile' is asked the next file will be looked for. The first file should be looked for also with the reading of `nextfile'. If its value is 1 (= true) there is another file and its properties can be found in the variables nextname (the name), nextatt (the attributes), nextdate (the date and time) and nextsize (the size in bytes). The attributes are presented in terms of a string of six characters. The meaning of the characters is (from the left to the right) format:

a

The object has been modified since the last archiving operation.

d

The object is a subdirectory.

v

The object is a volume label.

s

The object is a systems file.

h

The object is a hidden file.

w

The user has writing rights to this object.

If a character isn't apllicable it is replaced by the character $-$. A regular file is usually represented by the string `a - - - - w' indicating that the user may write to it and that it has been modified recently. The date is presented in such a format that it can be sorted in a lexicographic way. For an example, see p. .