usr/man/cat1/apply.0



APPLY(1)            UNIX Programmer's Manual             APPLY(1)


N\bNA\bAM\bME\bE
     apply - apply a command to a set of arguments

S\bSY\bYN\bNO\bOP\bPS\bSI\bIS\bS
     a\bap\bpp\bpl\bly\by [ -\b-a\ba_\bc ] [ -\b-_\bn ] command args ...

D\bDE\bES\bSC\bCR\bRI\bIP\bPT\bTI\bIO\bON\bN
     _\bA_\bp_\bp_\bl_\by runs the named _\bc_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd on each argument _\ba_\br_\bg in turn.
     Normally arguments are chosen singly; the optional number _\bn
     specifies the number of arguments to be passed to _\bc_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd.
     If _\bn is zero, _\bc_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd is run without arguments once for each
     _\ba_\br_\bg. Character sequences of the form %_\bd in _\bc_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd, where _\bd
     is a digit from 1 to 9, are replaced by the _\bd'th following
     unused _\ba_\br_\bg. If any such sequences occur, _\bn is ignored, and
     the number of arguments passed to _\bc_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd is the maximum
     value of _\bd in _\bc_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd. The character `%' may be changed by
     the -\b-a\ba option.

     Examples:
          apply echo *
     is similar to ls(1);
          apply -2 cmp a1 b1 a2 b2 ...
     compares the `a' files to the `b' files;
          apply -0 who 1 2 3 4 5
     runs who(1) 5 times; and
          apply 'ln %1 /usr/joe' *
     links all files in the current directory to the directory
     /usr/joe.

S\bSE\bEE\bE A\bAL\bLS\bSO\bO
     sh(1)

A\bAU\bUT\bTH\bHO\bOR\bR
     Rob Pike

B\bBU\bUG\bGS\bS
     Shell metacharacters in _\bc_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd may have bizarre effects; it
     is best to enclose complicated commands in single quotes
     ' '.

     There is no way to pass a literal `%2' if `%' is the argu-
     ment expansion character.


Printed 7/9/88           April 29, 1985                         1