ppss/wiki/whynotxargs.wiki
2009-01-11 21:01:55 +00:00

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#summary Won't xargs do the same?.
= Introduction =
It is suggested that the command 'xargs' - that is often found on unix-like systems by default - does exactly the same as PPSS does when used with the -p option.
In it's most basic form, this is true to some extend. Xargs processes items and keeps an x number of jobs running in parallel. I think that there may be cases that xargs is sufficient for your task at hand. A simple example that demonstrates how xargs can be used:
`$ touch 10 15 20 25 30 35 40`
`$ ls -1 | xargs -n1 -P 4 sleep`
The additional value of PPSS is that it:
* provides logging (for free)
* provides a progress indicator
* is simpler to use (my own opinion)
* does not process items that already have been processed if interrupted.
However, use the tool that best fits the job at hand.