Replacing shell aliases with modules?

[Harlan S. <HS...@in...>]

I'm trying to generalize a set of hardcoded, shell-specific aliases that set
up some envariables.

I was hoping I could use modules to replace this system, as I'd like to have
the result support both sh and csh shelltypes.

The current aliases are named like:

 {alpha,beta,rel1,rel2}_foo
 {alpha,beta,rel1,rel2}_bar

which sets up the PATH to use the right compilers, updates CLASSPATH, and
finally does a "cd" to the right directory (alpha, beta, rel1, or rel2) for
the different copies of either the foo or bar product.

I haven't figured out how to do this with modules yet.

Any suggestions?

One idea I had was to have a "visible" module that contained shell-aliases,
which would invoke a "private" module to do the work of massaging the
envariables.  The problem I'm having with this approach is that I don't see
how to tell the private module which directory is the target.

Do I have to code shelltype-specific aliases and pass this in via an
envariable?

H

(PS - I hope this email comes out OK - I'm forced to use BillWare here and I
have spent my entire professional career avoiding BillWare.)