What if we reverse the directory hierarchy so that all files are located in the working directory at all times, and tab autocompletion is optionally used to resolve ambiguity? For example, if there is
file.txt\user\home\ and file.txt\etc\, then typing file.txt followed by tab lets the user select from those two, no matter what the working dir is. If there is only one file called file.txt, then simply listing that suffices.Most filenames among personal documents are unique, so it'd provide quick access to each one. Users should still specify the location of each file, and then they can still list a specific type of file with
ls Documents\~.So tab goes in the other direction. This makes it easier to see where files called
file.txt or dirs called Documents are listed, but not as easy to see what is listed inside Documents\~. With normal tab auto-complete, that will show mid-command what's listed in there, but it cannot auto-complete in both directions so instead it will list each instance of Documents and not what's inside of them. That is the trade-off.Would you use such a shell?