topic Re: Modify ksh script to accept input from file in Operating System - Linux

Modify ksh script to accept input from file

Stuart Abramson — Fri, 18 Nov 2005 11:15:16 GMT

I wrote a script (let's call it the 2nd script) to process a file, which was a required argument:

...script [file]

Inside the sciprt I check some stuff and go:

...INFILE=$1

and thenn operate on $INFILE.

Now I find I want to pipe the output of another script (my 1st script) into my 2nd script.

..first_script.ksh | second_script.ksh

so that my 2nd script has no argument now.

How do I modify the 2nd script to take standard input if no file is specified; or read a file if a file is specified?

I tried:

...INFILE=&0

but that didn't do it...

Re: Modify ksh script to accept input from file

James R. Ferguson — Fri, 18 Nov 2005 11:32:46 GMT

Hi Stuart:

Do something like this:

[ -z "${1}" ] && exec < /dev/tty || exec < ${1}

...instead of :

INFILE=$1

Regards!

...JRF...

Re: Modify ksh script to accept input from file

Sandman! — Fri, 18 Nov 2005 12:14:18 GMT

Stuart,

Pipe stdin with xargs w/o changing code in the 2nd script to get the result...

# first_script.ksh | xargs second_script.ksh

...this way you don't need to change the definition of INFILE=$1.

cheers!

Re: Modify ksh script to accept input from file

john korterman — Fri, 18 Nov 2005 13:59:24 GMT

Hi,

try this in 2nd script:

#!/usr/bin/sh

if [ -t 0 ]
then
echo I am not piped to, read parameter
INFILE=$1
else
while read line
do
echo processing std in from $line
done
fi
~

regards,
John K

Re: Modify ksh script to accept input from file

Howard Marshall — Mon, 21 Nov 2005 10:24:51 GMT

I fear the real, correct answer to your question is going to reside in how you wrote the 2nd script. If you make several references to the input file during your script you may have problems.

You may only have to make very small changes to the script, you may have to do a major renovation, epically if you want to keep both capabilities.

Another option, though somewhat less efficient, is to give your 2nd script a flag that takes piped input and just writes it to a temp file and then uses that tmp file name as the parameter for the input file. I know thatâ s kind of dirty and you have to remember to clean up the file at the end too but it requires less script renovation and the script works basically the same way for either piped or file name data.

Howard

Re: Modify ksh script to accept input from file

Stuart Abramson — Mon, 05 Dec 2005 17:33:11 GMT

JRF led me to the correct answer:

He wrote:

[ -z "${1}" ] && exec
The correct answer was:

[ -z "${1}" ] && exec<&0 || exec<${1}

i.e. - take input from "stdin" if $1 zero, or from $1 if $1 is non-zero.

Points not working - I'll do them tomorrow.