ncdt: An interesting evolution

Quick on the heels of tree and ddir, a loyal reader pointed out ncdt, which takes the tree model and adds a small feature or two.

As you can see, ncdt adds the size of files and directories as part of its default display. So in situations where it’s useful to see directory structure and size — such as labeling removable media, like CDs — it is probably more useful.

Unfortunately, I see no options to adjust what ncdt shows, so there are no “human-readable” (which I prefer) output flags or the like. What you see is what you get.

ncdt also promises to show “special” data for mp3 files, but the Debian version as well as the version I built on my Arch system from the Debian source package showed nothing. Even the sample screenshot in Debian doesn’t show anything “special” for mp3 files. Hmmm. 😦

It’s possible that there is an added dependency that I don’t have, or perhaps the mp3 files I tried post-date what ncdt is capable of analyzing. I checked the ReadMe and source files, but I got no hints. And the only home page I have for ncdt is the Debian package page above.

No matter. ncdt adds a little to the tree model and could probably, at one time in the past, show a little information about mp3 files. It’s an interesting evolution, even if it still needs some attention to reach fruition.

tree: Two and a half years later. …

I think I have just enough applications to round out the month, before calling it quits. Of course, as luck would have it, somehow I made it through 30 months of text-based applications without mentioning tree. So there will undoubtedly be something leftover at the end.

Mentioning ddir first was probably wise though, since tree does most (if not all) of what ddir can do, and then some. I never did find an option in ddir for line-drawing characters, but tree does that by default, has options for color, can use ANSI lines and even codepage 437 graphics (which may or may not produce decent lines on your machine, without the help of cp437).

And perhaps of interest to higher programming powers than I, tree also has options to export to XML and JSON. It’s not terrifically beautiful, but I can see where that would be a great option to have available.

But that’s about all there is to say about tree. It does much the same as yesterday’s program, just with a little more panache. In Debian, in Arch, in … just about everything, I think.

Now, having mentioned tree, I can safely rewrite all those posts from all these past years about software that relies on tree, like pstree and pass and. … 😯

ddir: Echoes of tree

If you’ve taken a look at the old blog in the last day or so, you’ll know that I’m closing up shop at the end of the month.

The long and boring explanation is over there; the short and snappy one is here: It’s been a decade since I started writing out my Linux experiences there, and two and a half years of chasing down console software here — a lot more than I anticipated on either side.

Suffice to say it’s time for me to move on to new things. I’m also putting an end to the name, so if someone offers you advice in the future and calls themselves “K.Mandla,” it’s not me. 😕

For today, I have ddir to show. It’s not terribly beautiful, but I think you will see its usefulness.

I’ve known about ddir for a while, but to be honest, whenever I’ve needed something like ddir, I just grabbed tree (which I see now is listed nowhere on this site. 😡 ) They are very similar, as I’m sure you’ll admit.

And given that ddir seems to only offer ASCII characters as output, tree offers a small visual improvement. True, it’s the difference between 1982 and 1983 in console graphics, but it’s there.

ddir’s “help” flag will spit out its man page if you ask, and its few options are there for your perusal. Probably of most interest is the -d flag, which will prune the output (get it? prune? tree? ) to directories only.

ddir is a basic tool and probably something an introductory-level CS student could replicate on a Saturday night as a party trick, but you can probably see a few uses for it. It’s in Debian as just “ddir,” but I don’t see it anywhere in Arch.

And the obvious post for tomorrow will be … tree. 🙄