So I have a weird question for my unix shell script. I wrote a shell script that does several things, but one of the things it does is call an executable. The executable then proceeds to start asking me questions, which it won't proceed until an input is entered. The answer to the questions is always the same (for my application) so I am hoping to automate this. So for instance, it would be:
What is your name?
<my input>John
What is your last name?
<my input>Doe
Where do you live?
<my input>Drury Lane
What do you know?
<my input>Nothing
So the question is, is there a way to automate these answers, and if so, how do I do this?
Does "your application" read from standard input?
$ cat Script1
read a
read b
read c
read d
echo "a is $a"
echo "b is $b"
echo "c is $c"
echo "d is $d"
$ printf "John\nDoe\nDrury Lane\nNothing" | ./Script1
a is John
b is Doe
c is Drury Lane
d is Nothing
If not, there's always expect
So two questions. The way I read what you are saying, I don't think my program reads from standard I/O. I am not sure if I really understood what you meant by that though. If you mean can I do cat program_name, no I can not.
As far as expect, the way I read it it seems like something that has to be installed on a server. How would I find out or is the only way is to ask one of the server people that manage it? This is a three-tier architecture and I am only on the application level.
Some programs, particularly those that prompt for passwords, are written in a way that disallows input to be directed to them (the program authors have gone to special measures to stop input being directed from a file), unless your program is in this category, we can say it reads from standard I/O.
Another question: after the fixed set of answers (those we would like to automate) do you need to interact with the program from the keyboard (ie type any more commands in or input anything)?
Hey, I figured out what you meant with the whole printf | program thing and it worked like a charm. I appreciate your help, you solved a dilemma we had here at the office for several months!!