Argument list too long

[Les Mikesell]

Robin Laing wrote:

>>> With the number of multimedia files on computers, this is becoming
>>> an issue. 

It has never been correct to assume that an expanded list of filenames 
will fit on a command line.  Having a large number of files is not a new 
concept.

> Applications that call another routine or process files in the 
> background.  I don't know if they have a problem with xargs but they 
> have a problem with "Argument list too long" errors when using them. How 
> do you call xargs from a GUI application?

You can find bad programming practices and incorrect assumptions in a 
lot of places.  I'd look for a smarter application.

> I have tried to use xargs before but not much luck.  Lack of time to 
> play and learn how to pipe everything in the correct way.  I have only 
> learned about xargs a short while ago.

It's not a new program.  Plus, applications can do their own 
opendir()/readdir() operations if they want to be able to handle 
unlimited streams of filenames.

> My point in my other post is for new users, this is a real pain to deal 
> with.  In this day and age, it shouldn't be an issue as memory is now 
> much cheaper and larger than the days when this limit was put into place.

But there is no real limit on what you can have on your disks - or what 
the size of a wildcard expansion might be.

-- 
   Les Mikesell
    lesmikesell at gmail.com