;doc:run, repl: updates and edits

hledger/Hledger/Cli/Commands/Repl.md

@@ -1,35 +1,55 @@
 ## repl
 
-Runs hledger commands interactively.
+Start an interactive prompt, where you can run any of hledger's commands.
-
+Data files are parsed just once, so the commands run faster.
-This command is EXPERIMENTAL and could change in the future.
 
 ```flags
 Flags:
 no command-specific flags
 ```
 
-This command starts a read-eval-print loop (REPL) where you can enter commands interactively. To exit REPL, use "exit" or "quit", or send EOF.
+This command is experimental and could change in the future.
 
-It could also accept commands from standard input, if you pipe commands into it.
+`hledger repl` starts a read-eval-print loop (REPL) where you can enter commands interactively.
+As with the `run` command, each input file (or each input file/input options combination) is parsed just once,
+so commands will run more quickly than if you ran them individually at the command line.
 
-The commands will run more quickly than if run individually, because the input files would be parsed only once.
+Also like `run`, the input file(s) specified for the `repl` command will be the default input for all interactive commands,
+you can override this temporarily by specifying an `-f` option in particular commands,
+and commands will not see any changes made to input files (eg by `add`) until you exit and restart the REPL.
 
-Syntax of the commands is intentionally simple:
+The command syntax is the same as with `run`:
-- each line is a single hledger command
-- empty lines are skipped
-- everything after `#` is considered to be a comment and will be ignored, and will not be printed out
-- `echo <text>` will print out `<text>`
 
-You can use single or double quotes to quote arguments that need it ('like this' or "like this").
+- enter one hledger command at a time, without the usual `hledger` first word
+- empty lines and comment text from `#` to end of line are ignored
+- use single or double quotes to quote arguments when needed
+- type `exit` or `quit` or control-D to exit the REPL.
 
-### Caveats:
+While it is running, the REPL remembers your command history, and you can navigate in the usual ways:
+- Keypad or Emacs navigation keys to edit the current command line
+- UP/DOWN or control-P/control-N to step back/forward through history
+- control-R to search for a past command, etc.
 
-- `Repl`, like any other command, will load the input file(s) (specified by `LEDGER_FILE` or by `-f` arguments). The contents of those files would be used by all the commands that `repl` runs. If you want a particular command to use a different input file, you can use `-f` flag for that particular command. This will override (not add) the input for that particular command. All the input files would be cached, and would be read only once.
+The `commands` and `help` commands, and the command help flags (`CMD --tldr`, `CMD -h/--help`, `CMD --info`, `CMD --man`),
+work in the usual way, and can be useful.
 
-### Examples:
+You can type control-C to cancel a long-running command (but only once; typing it a second time will exit the REPL).
 
-To start the REPL:
+And in most shells you can type control-Z to exit temporarily to the shell (and `fg` to return to the REPL).
+
+### Caveats
+
+You may find some differences in behaviour between `run` command lines and normal hledger command lines.
+For example, in the REPL,
+
+- the command name must be written first, options afterward
+- full command names or official abbreviations (as in the command list) must be used
+- options parsing with addon commands might be less flexible than the CLI
+- the `stats` command gives false timings, currently
+
+### Examples
+
+Start the REPL:
 ```cli
 hledger repl
 ```
@@ -37,8 +57,3 @@ or
 ```cli
 hledger repl -f some.journal
 ```
-
-To pipe commands into REPL:
-```cli
-(echo "files"; echo "stats") | hledger repl -f some.journal
-```

hledger/Hledger/Cli/Commands/Run.md

@@ -1,57 +1,68 @@
 ## run 
 
-Runs a sequence of hledger commands on the same input file(s), taking them from the command line or from file(s).
+Run a sequence of hledger commands, provided as files or command line arguments.
-
+Data files are parsed just once, so the commands run faster.
-This command is EXPERIMENTAL and syntax could change in the future.
 
 ```flags
 Flags:
 no command-specific flags
 ```
 
-The commands will run more quickly than if run individually, because the input files would be parsed only once.
+This command is experimental and could change in the future.
 
-"run" has three ways of invocation:
+You can use `run` in three ways:
 
-- when all positional arguments of "run" are valid file names, "run" will read commands from these files, in order: `run -f some.journal file1.txt file2.txt file3.txt`.
+- `hledger run -- CMD1 -- CMD2 -- CMD3`  - read commands from the command line, separated by `--`
+- `hledger run SCRIPTFILE1 SCRIPTFILE2`  - read commands from one or more files
+- `cat SCRIPTFILE1 | hledger run`        - read commands from standard input.
 
-- commands could be specified directly on the command line. All commands (including the very first one) should be preceded by argument "--": `run -f some.journal -- cmd1 -- cmd2 -- cmd3`.
+`run` first loads the input file(s) specified by `LEDGER_FILE` or by `-f` options, in the usual way.
+Then it runs each command in turn, each using the same input data.
+But if you want a particular command to use different input, you can specify an `-f` option within that command.
+This will override (not add to) the default input, just for that command.
 
-- it could also accept commands from standard input, if you don't provide an positional arguments and pipe commands into it.
+Each input file (more precisely, each combination of input file and input options) is parsed only once.
+This means that commands will not see any changes made to these files, until the next run.
+But the commands will run more quickly than if run individually (typically about twice as fast).
 
-Syntax of the command is intentionally simple:
+Command scripts, whether in a file or written on the command line, have a simple syntax:
-- each line read from a file is a single hledger command
-- empty lines are skipped
-- everything after `#` is considered to be a comment and will be ignored, and will not be printed out
-- `echo <text>` will print out `<text>`
-- `run` is a valid command to use as well, so you can have `run` call `run` if you want to.
 
-You can use single or double quotes to quote arguments that need it ('like this' or "like this").
+- each line may contain a single hledger command and its arguments, without the usual `hledger` first word
+- empty lines are ignored
+- text from `#` to end of line is a comment, and ignored
+- you can use single or double quotes to quote arguments when needed, as on the command line
+- these extra commands are available: `echo TEXT` prints some text, and `exit` or `quit` ends the run.
 
-You can use `#!/usr/bin/env hledger run` in the first line of the file to make it a runnable script. If this complains about "binary `hledger run` not found", use `/usr/bin/env -S hledger run`.
+On unix systems you can use `#!/usr/bin/env hledger run` in the first line of a command file to make it a runnable script.
+If that gives an error, use `#!/usr/bin/env -S hledger run`.
 
-### Caveats:
+It's ok to use the `run` command recursively within a command script.
 
-- If you meant to provide file name as an argument, but made a mistake and a gave file name that does not exist, "run" will attempt to interpret it as a command.
+### Caveats
 
-- `Run`, like any other command, will load the input file(s) (specified by `LEDGER_FILE` or by `-f` arguments). The contents of those files would be used by all the commands that `run` runs. If you want a particular command to use a different input file, you can use `-f` flag for that particular command. This will override (not add) the input for that particular command. All the input files would be cached, and would be read only once.
+You may find some differences in behaviour between `run` command lines and normal hledger command lines.
+For example, with `run`,
 
-### Examples:
+- the command name must be written first, options afterward
+- full command names or official abbreviations (as in the command list) must be used
 
-Pipe commands into `run`, one per line:
+### Examples
+
+Run commands specified on the command line:
 ```cli
-(echo "files"; echo "stats") | hledger repl -f some.journal
+hledger -f some.journal run -- balance assets --depth 2 -- balance liabilities -f /some/other.journal --depth 3 --transpose -- stats
+```
+This would load `some.journal`, run `balance assets --depth 2` on it, then run `balance liabilities --depth 3 --transpose` on `/some/other.journal`, and finally run `stats` on `some.journal`
+
+Run commands from standard input:
+```cli
+(echo "files"; echo "stats") | hledger -f some.journal run
 ```
 
-To provide commands on the command line, separate them with `--` (including the first one):
+Provide commands as a runnable script:
-```cli
-hledger run -f some.journal -- balance assets --depth 2 -- balance liabilities -f /some/other.journal --depth 3 --transpose -- stats
-```
-This would load `some.journal`, run `balance assets --depth 2` on it, then run `balance liabilities --depth 3 --transpose` on `/some/other.journal`, and finally will run `stats` on `some.journal`
-
-To provide commands in the file, as a runnable scripts:
 ```cli
 #!/usr/bin/env -S hledger run -f some.journal
+
 echo "List of accounts in some.journal"
 accounts
 
@@ -64,4 +75,3 @@ balance liabilities -f /some/other.journal --depth 3 --transpose
 echo "Commands from another.script, applied to another.journal"
 run -f another.journal another.script
 ```
-