i want to make a cli command that ...

[Skaperen]

If you want to do it, then it doesn't matter whether or not I do it, right?  Because you'd still end up doing it yourself anyway :p

perhaps.

---

import sys


def get_buffer_size():
buffer_size = 1
if len(sys.argv) > 1:
buffer_size = abs(int(sys.argv[1]))
return buffer_size


def consume_input(buffer_size):
buffer =
head_sent = False
for line in sys.stdin:
buffer.append(line)
if len(buffer) > buffer_size:
if not head_sent:
head_sent = True
for line in buffer:
print(line, end="")
buffer =
else:
buffer.pop(0)

if head_sent and buffer:
print("-" * 78)
for line in buffer:
print(line, end="")


if __name__ == "__main__":
try:
buffer_size = get_buffer_size()
consume_input(buffer_size)
except ValueError as err:
print("Invalid buffer size. Any argument to this script should be a number.")

Output:
E:\Projects\etc>pip help | headtail.py

Usage:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
download. Implied with --no-index.

E:\Projects\etc>pip help | headtail.py -4

Usage:
pip <command> [options]

Commands:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--disable-pip-version-check
Don't periodically check PyPI to determine
whether a new version of pip is available for
download. Implied with --no-index.

off by one: i'm getting 1 more line than specified for the head

---

it looks like quoting source code loses indents.

---

perhaps i would code it anyway.  coding is fun.  but for headtail, i just want to have the tool.

i guess i will code one of my own to have something in a free license i can give away in a "collection of POSIX commands done in Python" unless nilamo puts his own in such a license (BSD, MIT, GPL, etc.).