Date: Tue, 12 Aug 1997 01:07:06 -0600 (MDT) From: Wes Peters <softweyr@xmission.com> To: "Studded" <Studded@dal.net> Cc: questions@freebsd.org Subject: FreeBSD/Tcl success story (Re: Info on shells and script writing) Message-ID: <199708120707.BAA25167@obie.softweyr.ml.org> In-Reply-To: <199708112306.QAA00849@mail.san.rr.com> References: <199708112306.QAA00849@mail.san.rr.com>
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Studded@dal.net writes:
> I'm looking for a good book on the sh shell and writing scripts
> with it. Even better would be some good FAQ's and such available on the
> net since "free" is much more in my price range nowadays. :)
>
> Alternatively, is sh "dead" in the modern Unix world? I know Perl
> and TCL are very popular, but I'm trying to produce some tools that will
> be compatible across a number of platforms, and are easily
> accesible/modifiable by people who are not professional system
> administrators.
I suspect both Perl and Tcl/Tk are more portable than shell scripts; My
Tcl/Tk book I bought a little while ago came with a CD-ROM with Tcl and
Tk for Windoze and Macintrash. I, of course, choose to use Tcl on the
platform it was intended for -- FreeBSD.
My adventure into Tcl programming was simple -- I needed to write a
manufacturing acceptance test for my new baby, the Dayna Internet
Station dial-up router. The MAT had to be able to do the following:
o Connect to the built-in command shell and issue several commands to
format the embedded flash disk, clear the NVRAM, and set the clock,
then reboot the system.
o FTP the initial system and configuration database to the system and
reboot to get the full-featured FTP server up.
o FTP the full system, which is a single TAR ball containing the entire
filesystem, and reboot.
o Connect to the configuration database and probe the three attached
modems to make sure the serial port and PCCard controller are working.
o Ascertain the ethernet hardware address contains the proper vendor and
product address ranges.
I did this in less than 5 hours, writing a Tcl script and a quick and
simple command-line driven ftp 'put' program using libftpio. It is a
complete success. It takes us about two and a half minutes to load the
code and test each iStation, plus I got to learn a new language. The
manfucturing manager wants me to wrap it in a window, so in the next
month or so I'll get to learn Tk as well. ;^)
> Finally, for general purposes, what is the "best" shell available,
> and why? I know that this topic borders on religious fervor for some
> people, but I'm at the point where I'm ready to pursue some
> intermediate/advanced learning and before I put a lot of effort into
> something that is never going to be the "best" I'd like some advice.
> Personally I'm happy with Bash for my everyday stuff, although from what
> I've heard it's looked down on by the purists.
I've been using bash for over 5 years now. It's big, but we have
modern, efficient virtual memory systems, so who cares? RAM is cheap.
Re-typing commands is stupid. Plus, I've been hooked on interactive
recall since the first time I used it. I even have bash for NT. ;^0
--
"Where am I, and what am I doing in this handbasket?"
Wes Peters Softweyr LLC
http://www.xmission.com/~softweyr softweyr@xmission.com
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