NAME
Shell::GetEnv - extract the environment from a shell after executing
commands
SYNOPSIS
use Shell::GetEnv;
$env = Shell::GetEnv->new( $shell, $command );
$status = $env->status;
$envs = $env->envs( %opts )
$env->import_envs( %opts );
DESCRIPTION
Shell::GetEnv provides a facility for obtaining changes made to
environmental variables as the result of running shell scripts. It does
this by causing a shell to invoke a series of user provided shell
commands (some of which might source scripts) and having the shell
process store its environment (using a short Perl script) into a
temporary file, which is parsed by Shell::Getenv.
Communications with the shell subprocess may be done via standard IPC
(via a pipe), or may be done via the Perl Expect module (necessary if
proper execution of the shell script requires the shell to be attached
to a "real" terminal).
The new environment may be imported into the current one, or may be
returned either as a hash or as a string suitable for use with the *NIX
env command.
METHODS
new
$env = Shell::GetEnv->new( $shell, @cmds, \%attrs );
Start the shell specified by *$shell*, run the passed commands, and
retrieve the environment. Note that only shell built-in commands can
actually change the shell's environment, so typically the commands
source a startup file. For example:
$env = Shell::GetEnv->new( 'tcsh', 'source foo.csh' );
The supported shells are:
csh tcsh bash sh ksh zsh dash
Attributes:
"startup" *boolean*
If true, the user's shell startup files are invoked. This flag
is supported for "csh", "tcsh", and "bash". This is emulated
under ksh using its -p flag, which isn't quite the same thing.
There seems to be no clean means of turning off startup file
processing under the other shells.
This defaults to *true*.
"echo" *boolean*
If true, put shell is put in echo mode. This is only of use when
the "stdout" attribute is used. It defaults to *false*.
"interactive" *boolean*
If true, put the shell in interactive mode. Some shells do not
react well when put in interactive mode but not connected to
terminals. Try using the "expect" option instead. This defaults
to *false*.
"login" *boolean*
If true, invoke the shell as a login shell. Defaults to *false*.
tcsh and csh will only honor this option if no other command
line options are passed. For these shells Shell::GetEnv will
throw an exception if this option conflicts with another.
"redirect" *boolean*
If true, redirect the output and error streams (see also the
"STDERR" and "stdout" options). Defaults to true.
"verbose" *boolean*
If true, put the shell in verbose mode. This is only of use when
the "stdout" attribute is used. It defaults to *false*.
"stderr" *filename*
Normally output from the shells' standard error stream is
discarded. This may be set to a file name to which the stream
should be written. See also the "redirect" option.
"stdout" *filename*
Normally output from the shells' standard output stream is
discarded. This may be set to a file name to which the stream
should be written. See also the "Redirect" option.
"expect" *boolean*
If true, the Perl Expect module is used to communicate with the
subshell. This is useful if it is necessary to simulate
connection with a terminal, which may be important when setting
up some enviroments.
"timeout" *integer*
The number of seconds to wait for a response from the shell when
using Expect. It defaults to 10 seconds.
"shellopts" *scalar* or *arrayref*
Arbitrary options to be passed to the shell.
envs
$env = $env->envs( [%opt] );
Return the environment. Typically the environment is returned as a
hashref, but if the "envstr" option is true it will be returned as a
string suitable for use with the *NIX env command. If no options are
specified, the entire environment is returned.
The following options are recognized:
"diffsonly" *boolean*
If true, the returned environment contains only those variables
which are new or which have changed from the current
environment. There is no way of indicating Variables which have
been *deleted*.
"exclude" *array* or *scalar*
This specifies variables to exclude from the returned
environment. It may be either a single value or an array of
values.
A value may be a string (for an exact match of a variable name),
a regular expression created with the qr operator, or a
subroutine reference. The subroutine will be passed two
arguments, the variable name and its value, and should return
true if the variable should be excluded, false otherwise.
"envstr" *boolean*
If true, a string representation of the environment is returned,
suitable for use with the *NIX env command. Appropriate quoting
is done so that it is correclty parsed by shells.
If the "zapdeleted" option is also specified (and is true)
variables which are present in the current environment but *not*
in the new one are explicitly deleted by inserting "-u
variablename" in the output string. Note, however, that not all
versions of env recognize the -u option (e.g. those in Solaris
or OS X). In those cases, to ensure the correct environment, use
"diffsonly =" 0, zapdeleted => 0> and invoke env with the "-i"
option.
status
$status = $env->status;
Returns the invoked shell's status after executing the commands
provided to the constructor. See "system" in perlfunc for
instructions on how to interpret the status.
import_envs
$env->import_envs( %opt )
Import the new environment into the current one. The available
options are:
"exclude" *array* or *scalar*
This specifies variables to exclude from the returned
environment. It may be either a single value or an array of
values.
A value may be a string (for an exact match of a variable name),
a regular expression created with the qr operator, or a
subroutine reference. The subroutine will be passed two
arguments, the variable name and its value, and should return
true if the variable should be excluded, false otherwise.
"zapdeleted" *boolean*
If true, variables which are present in the current environment
but *not* in the new one are deleted from the current
environment.
EXPORT
None by default.
SEE ALSO
There are other similar modules on CPAN. Shell::Source is simpler,
Shell::EnvImporter is a little more heavyweight (requires
Class::MethodMaker).
This module's unique features:
can use Expect for the times you really need a terminal
uses a tiny Perl program to get the environmental variables rather than
parsing shell output
allows the capturing of shell output
more flexible means of submitting commands to the shell
DEPENDENCIES
The YAML::Tiny module is preferred for saving the environment (because
of its smaller footprint); the Data::Dumper module will be used if it is
not available.
The Expect module is required only if the "expect" option is specified.
AUTHOR
Diab Jerius, <djerius@cpan.org>
CONTRIBUTORS
Marty O'Brien <mob@cpan.org>
COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE
Copyright 2007 Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory
This software is released under the GNU General Public License. You may
find a copy at
http://www.gnu.org/licenses