This patch should not affect any current users as they can continue to use -i and -o as they always have. However, for those who are slightly lazier (or forgetful, as in my case), xclip will now use a sensible mode if you forget to specify input or output.
Specifically: Default is still "input" mode, but if stdin is a user's keyboard, xclip will switch to "output" mode. (Unless the user invokes xclip with the -i flag, of course). That means xclip will do the right thing at the command line without having to specify any extra options:
Note that "input" mode is always used for filenames, same as before. The default mode is "output" only when a tty would be read as stdin.
Of course, if one is writing a shell script, it is probably best to still use the -i and -o flags for clarity and just in case there's some odd corner case where the presumed default is incorrect.
This patch should not affect any current users as they can continue to use -i and -o as they always have. However, for those who are slightly lazier (or forgetful, as in my case), xclip will now use a sensible mode if you forget to specify input or output.
Specifically: Default is still "input" mode, but if stdin is a user's keyboard, xclip will switch to "output" mode. (Unless the user invokes xclip with the -i flag, of course). That means xclip will do the right thing at the command line without having to specify any extra options:
Note that "input" mode is always used for filenames, same as before. The default mode is "output" only when a tty would be read as stdin.
Of course, if one is writing a shell script, it is probably best to still use the -i and -o flags for clarity and just in case there's some odd corner case where the presumed default is incorrect.