ls_cmd

Dynamic ls Implementation

Overview

This project is a custom implementation of the ls command. Made with dynamic memory allocation, allowing it to handle directories of any size efficiently. This implementation supports many of the common flags used with the standard ls command and provides formatted output.

Features

• Dynamic memory allocation for handling directories of any size
• Support for the following flags:
  • -l: Long listing format
  • -a: Show hidden files (starting with .)
  • -t: Sort by modification time
  • -u: Sort by access time
  • -c: Sort by change time
  • -i: Show inode numbers
  • -f: Do not sort
  • -d: List directory entries instead of contents
  • -1: List one file per line
• Formatted output for both long listing and column-based display
• Support for processing multiple directories
• Options parsing with different styles (as shown in examples)
• Support for ls standard file coloring (use long option --color)

Usage

Compile the program:

gcc -o myls my_ls.c

Basic usage:

./myls [OPTIONS] [FILE/DIRECTORY...]

Examples (test is a folder with all file types of linux):

1. List contents of the current directory:

   ❯ ./myls test
      setuid_file   symlink.txt   reg.txt       exec          
      my_fifo       dir           socketfile    block_device  
      setgid_file   stkDir        char_device  
   

2. Long listing of a specific directory:

    ❯ ./myls /home/belal/Desktop/STM/ls/test -l
      total 32
      brw-r--r--  1 root  root      0 Sep 12 13:06 block_device
      crw-r--r--  1 root  root      0 Sep 12 13:05 char_device
      drwxrwxr-x  2 belal belal  4096 Sep 12 13:20 dir
      -rwxrwxr-x  1 belal belal 21560 Sep 12 12:54 exec
      prw-rw-r--  1 belal belal     0 Sep 12 13:06 my_fifo
      -rw-rw-r--  1 belal belal     0 Sep 12 12:53 reg.txt
      -rw-rwSr--  1 belal belal     0 Sep 12 13:21 setgid_file
      -rwSrw-r--  1 belal belal     0 Sep 12 13:21 setuid_file
      srwxrwxr-x  1 belal belal     0 Sep 12 13:11 socketfile
      drwxrwxr-t  2 belal belal  4096 Sep 12 12:54 stkDir
      lrwxrwxrwx  1 belal belal     7 Sep 12 12:56 symlink.txt -> reg.txt
   

3. Show hidden files and sort by modification time:

    ❯ ./myls -at test                          
      ..            setuid_file   my_fifo       symlink.txt   reg.txt       
      .             dir           block_device  stkDir        
      setgid_file   socketfile    char_device   exec   
   

4. Display inode numbers and use one file per line:

   ❯ ./myls -i -1 test  
      3924 setuid_file
      3921 my_fifo
      3926 setgid_file
      3918 symlink.txt
      3923 dir
      3917 stkDir
      3915 reg.txt
      3922 socketfile
      3919 char_device
      3916 exec
      3920 block_device
   

5. List multiple directories:

   ❯ ./myls test -u / -t ~ -i 
    3924 setuid_file   3923 dir           3921 my_fifo       3918 symlink.txt   
    3926 setgid_file   3916 exec          3920 block_device  3915 reg.txt       
    3917 stkDir        3922 socketfile    3919 char_device   
    
    /:
     786433 tmp          524289 opt          655361 etc              17 libx32      1572865 boot        
         18 sbin        2097153 usr         2621441 var              15 lib32            12 swapfile    
         13 bin          262145 snap        3276801 mnt         2883585 media             1 proc        
         14 lib         1048577 cdrom             1 run               1 dev          131073 root        
         16 lib64        393217 srv               1 sys         3014657 home             11 lost+found  
    
    /home/belal:
    3014670 Public        3014669 Templates     3014668 Downloads     3014674 Videos        3014673 Pictures      
    3186955 STM32CubeIDE  3014671 Documents     3014667 Desktop       3014901 snap   
   

myls.mp4

Limitations

It dosen't not cover all the options of the system's built-in ls command.