ading Postscript files

[mikebw at bilow.bilow.uu.ids.net (Mike Bilow)]

Dale R Worley wrote in a message to Mike Bilow:

 DRW> One would think that one could invent a new special
 DRW> directory name to mean "the directory in which the current
 DRW> executable resides" (Multics has this concept), but it can't
 DRW> be done, because that directory has no unambiguous
 DRW> definition -- the executable file can be hardlinked from
 DRW> several different directories, and all of the links to the
 DRW> file are equal.

One ordinarily runs tools and utilities out of the search path, but not full
blown applications.  If this is really an issue, then the parent executable can
be replaced by a shell script that first sets the current directory and then
invokes the original parent executable.  Eventually you hit a limit of
practicality: the user has to be expected to know what is on the machine and
what will be running from where.  Unix is open to a lot of fair criticism, but
not on the ground that it can't read minds.
 
-- Mike