Often I want to postprocess some output from a Shell command - Ok, pipe it to a temp file and read it in - thats fine, works.

But what about an external command (KiXpipe say) that could make that output stream available inside a script, this is what I am getting at...

code:

---

 
SHELL "IPCONFIG /ALL |KIXPIPE arrayname. "
? arrayname.0+" = size of returned array"
? arrayname.1+" = first line"
? arrayname.2+" = and so on"

---

If I have missed this in the 2001 manual - just shoot me now.

Mark

If this is regarded as a good idea, I cant take credit - REXX does this on NT - its called RXQUEUE or something.

[ 16 August 2001: Message edited by: Mark Antrobus ]

I'll second your idea - in fact - I think this is one of the best and most usefull KiXtart suggestions I've ever heard ...

Just imagine - not more kludgy file piping and re-reading ...

-Shawn

We agree with Shawn. It is a great idea, but we think that it can cost
a lot of time for implementation.
Reasons:

• how is it implemented by REXX? We think that the file will be read
  by an internal REXX command and it will read from memory or possible
  an unknown temporary file.
  Reading such information from memory needs special functions. Reading
  from a file is must easier.
  
• how much kixpipe handle incorrect lines. f.e. you only get
  lines with a LF instead of CR+LF.
  

Something like:
$RC = PIPE($MyArray[stdout], SHELL "IPCONFIG /ALL")

Returns:
0 if nothing to pipe
number of elements piped

It would be nice to not be encumbered with file I/O and all the overhead (create, open, read, error check, close, delete) associated with it.

Also, some external commands could be run without %comspec% as it would not be needed for the usual > or | operations.

Yeah, that's an even better idea ... but while we're waiting for this to be embedded in KiXtart, why can't "someone" write a PIPE() UDF to do exactly this (just like you laid out ... totally doable ... you busy today ? Kinda crappy weather anyway ...

-Shawn

It could probably be done with current version but may cost a pound to save a penny, performance wise.

Will watch this thread when I can to see what you may brew up.

Ahhh yes - you work for the same company that Doc, Jochen and I work for ... Know exactly what you mean my friend ... It's a sad sight when Shawn sneaks quietly back into the house, crawls down the basement stairs (on his belly), and silently tippy-taps on keyboard, checking-in on kixtart.org ...

I'll see what I can home-brew later on ... of course ... it would still involve piping stuff out to a temporary file ... but it would be nice to have it packaged in a single UDF - no ? In fact, if memory serves, there's a tempfile() UDF over at scriptlogic that might fit in quite nicely here ...

l8r

-Shawn

Anyway .... here'a a rather hastily written, over-wraught, tortured start to this endeavor ... the UDF is called PIPE() and it goes like this ...

$output = pipe("net user")

for each $line in output
?"output"
next

code:

---

break on

$output = pipe("net user")

for each $line in $output
 ?"$line"
next

exit

function pipe($command)
 ; 
 ; function: pipe() - Submits a command to %comspec% and pipes output to internal array
 ;
 ; example: 
 ;
 ;  $array = pipe("ddd")
 ;
 ; remarks:
 ;
 ; Do not specify any redirection of stdout or stderr in $command string
 ; Blank (null) lines are not included in output ( i think )
 ;
 dim $i,$fn,$chunk
 dim $array[9] 			; init dim of working array
 $chunk = ubound($array) 	; size of realloc chunk
 $fn = "%temp%\pipe.tmp" 	; temp file for output
 shell '%comspec% /c $command >"$fn" 2>nul'
 if open(1,"$fn") = 0		; open temp file
  $i=0				; used to index entire array
  $line = readline(1)		; get a line
  while not @error		; while not EOF
   if $line			; skip whitespace
    $array[$i] = $line		; stuff it
    if $i = ubound($array) 	; time to grow the array ?
     redim preserve $array[$i+$chunk] ; yup - grow arraysize by $chunk
    endif
    $i=$i+1			; inc index count
   endif
   $line = readline(1)		; get next line
  loop
  $=close(1)			; close 'er up
  redim preserve $array[$i] 	; trim back array to actual size
  $pipe = $array		; pass it back to caller
 endif
endfunction

---

-Shawn

[ 15 October 2001: Message edited by: Shawn ]

I guess, if you want to use the $array, you need to use GLOBAL instead of DIM.

And what's this REDIM stuff my friend... I thought you said you weren't a big user of it. Looks like you have a firm handle on it. Will you be adding it to your
K2K1/UDF - Anyone want to play with 2D & 3D arrays ? UDF?

No need to GLOBAL $array, because the PIPE() UDF returns the value of $array to the caller.

$return = pipe("dir c:\*.exe")

Bryce

code:

---

break on
$output = pipe("net user")
for each $line in $output
 ?"$line"
next
For $X = 0 To ubound($array)
 ? $array[$X]
Next
get $
function pipe($command)
...

---

But, if I change DIM $array[9] to GLOBAL $array[9], it works.

-Shawn

code:

---

For $X = 0 To ubound($output)
 ? $output[$X]
Next

---

Shawn,
Stick to programming... it's what you do best!

Well - if anything - this UDF gives us a sampler of how tasty a builtin function like PIPE() could be ... very handy me thinx ...

-Shawn

Shawn,
Nice UDF - Ill use it...
Nice Doggerel too ...

Les,
I know what you mean - I think it was implemented in REXX as an external command to 'partition' it from the real language.
But integrating it would give the advantage of losing the %comspec% as you say.

MCA,
In Rexx there is a concept of a REXX Datastack - which is shareable from any REXX program. Programs can add items into it in a LIFO or FIFO fashion, This is how programs tend to share large pieces of information between subroutines (in REXX subroutines can be internal and external - the external ones cannot access variables of the parent).
Thus you can have a bunch of Rexx programs running (in parallel) and using the stack as a kind of bus to share info.
Now clearly maintaining this is no trivial deal - but it does mean that its possible to write extrenal programs and such which can very easily share data with REXX programs.

As Shawn commented - it does make housekeeping temp files etc much easier- and makes for elegant coding (as does Shawns UDF).

Its also very fast.

Mark

[ 18 October 2001: Message edited by: Mark Antrobus ]

Yeah, it's funny how threads can just re-awaken, then twist and turn in different directions ...

But your talk about the REXX datastack got me to thinking (a dangerous thing) ... I'm wondering if it's possible to use the Windows CLIPBOARD as a data staging area. I think there are reskit-like programs for piping DOS command output to the clipboard. Then, if one could use COM to read this data back into the script ... hmmm .... kinda like this (concept only) :

shell 'cmd /c dir c:\*.exe | clipbrd.exe'
$clipbrd = createobject("?")
for each $line in $clipbrd.buffer
?"$line"
next

Something like that anyway. Thing is, I haven't done any research on this and I'm not too sure if there is a clipboard object ??? Just throwing this out as a concept ... using the clipboard in this fashion would sure be handy ...

-Shawn

totally missed this thread !
Shawn - Neaaaat udf !!! Even much more I like your limerick, you're a poet in disguise
This comes closer than anything to a shell->KiX piping solution I saw lately ! Ok, still some file handling , but we getting used to !

Clipboard abuse as container for shell output ??? would be really a workaround ... But I apprehend that would be not that simple

Jochen

btw ... what is REXX ???

REXX is quite similar to Kix, its an interpreted language, good string handling, good OS interfaces etc.

I think its been around 15+ years, started on VM and MVS (IBM Mainframes) and has been fairly poular amongst the IBM Mainframe Dinosaurs (like myself )

Nowadays it runs on most platforms (DOS,Windows anything etc) and free versions are available for most of them.

We converted to kix because of its superior Windows OS interfaces, plus its is clearly being developed and REXX has pretty much stabilised.

Mark.

OLE automation support ... Scary !!!

btw. who is Regina ???

J.

w32CreateObject
w32ReleaseObject
w32CallFunc, w32CallProc
w32GetProperty
w32PutProperty
w32GetObject
w32GetSubObj

Like with KiXtart 2001, I think REXX is long over-due for a make-over eh ?

-Shawn

The NTReskit util is called CLIP and is used like this...

Clip version 1.1. Copyright 1997 Microsoft Corporation.

Command-line output redirector.
Clip.exe redirects command-line output to the Windows Clipboard.

Examples:
---------
dir | clip
Places a copy of the current directory listing into the Windows clipboard.

clip < readme.txt
Places a copy of the text from readme.txt into the Windows clipboard.

as for COM calls to retreive the info... Let me get back to you.

Shawn, great UDF.

cj

Hey ceej, are you back or what ? Every now and then you pop back into the board and I think "hey cj's back" - then you fart-off for another 2 to 3 weeks - whazzup my brother ? Work been keeping you busy ? Family ? - How's little Frances ?
The Wife ?

-Shawn

Learning from the master, Shawn, currently at 1745.

Looks like maybe we're a step closer to no file I/O and the overhead...