NAME
Win32::CommandLine - Retrieve and reparse the Win32 command line
VERSION
$Win32::CommandLine::VERSION = "0.947_1";
SYNOPSIS
@ARGV = Win32::CommandLine::argv() if eval { require Win32::CommandLine; };
_or_
use Win32::CommandLine qw( command_line );
my $commandline = command_line();
...
DESCRIPTION
This module is used to reparse the Win32 command line, automating better
quoting, command substitution, and globbing of the command line.
Globbing is full bash POSIX compatible globbing. With the use of the
companion script ("xx.bat"), and "doskey" for macro aliasing, you can
add fully implemented, bash compatible, string quoting/expansion and
file globbing to *any* Win32 executable.
This module is compatible with both "cmd.exe" and "4nt/tcc/tcmd" shells,
and can be used to add better parsing and bash glob expansion to *any*
external command (by using the included "xx.bat" batch script).
"CMD.EXE"
doskey type=call xx type $*
type [a-c]*.pl
doskey perl=call xx perl $*
perl -e 'print "test"' &@:: would otherwise FAIL
@:: print all directories in current directory
xx echo $(" ls -ALp --quoting-style=c --color=no . | grep --color=no "[\\/]$" ")
@:: print all files (non-directories) in current directory
xx echo $(" ls -ALp --quoting-style=shell --color=no . | grep --color=no -v "[\\/]$" ") [print all files in CWD]
"4NT/TCC/TCMD"
alias type=call xx type
type [a-c]*.pl
alias perl=call xx perl
perl -e 'print "test"' &@:: would otherwise FAIL
Note that bash-compatible globbing and argument expansion are supplied,
including command substitution. Glob patterns may also contain
meta-notations, such as '"a[bc]*"' or '"foo.{bat,pl,exe,o}"'.
Command line string/character expansion
'...' literal (no escapes and no globbing within quotes)
"..." literal (no escapes and no globbing within quotes) (see *NOTE-1)
$'...' string including all ANSI C string escapes (see *NOTE-2); no globbing within quotes
$"..." literal (no escapes and no globbing within quotes) [same as "..."]
$( ... ) command substitution (see *NOTE-3)
$("...") command substitution (quotes removed; see *NOTE-4)
NOTE-1: DOS character escape sequences (such as "\"") are parsed prior
to being put into the command line and, so, are valid and still
(unavoidably) interpreted within double-quotes.
NOTE-2: ANSI C string escapes are "\a, \b, \e, \f, \n, \r, \t, \v, \\,
\', \", \[0-9]{1,3}, \x[0-9a-fA-F]{1,2}, \c[@A-Z[\\\]^_`?]"; all other
escaped characters are left in place without transformation ("\<x> =>
\<x>").
NOTE-3: Command substitution replaces the "$(...)" argument with the
standard output of that argument's execution. Command substitution
strings are not, themselves, automatically expanded; use "$(xx
*COMMAND*)" to trigger expansion of the subshell command line.
NOTE-4: "$("...")" is present to enable delayed DOS/Windows
interpretation of redirection & continuation characters. This allows
redirection & continuation characters to be used within the subshell
command string.
URLref: [bash ANSI-C Quoting]
<http://www.gnu.org/software/bash/manual/html_node/ANSI_002dC-Quoting.ht
ml> @@ <http://www.webcitation.org/66M8skmP8>
GLOB META CHARACTERS
\ Quote the next metacharacter
[] Character class
{} Multiple pattern
* Match any string of characters
? Match any single character
~ Current user home directory
~USERNAME Home directory of USERNAME
~TEXT Environment variable named ~TEXT (aka $ENV{~TEXT}) [overrides ~USERNAME expansion]
The multiple pattern metanotation '"a{b,c,d}e"' is a shorthand for '"abe
ace ade"'. Left to right order is preserved, with results of matches
being sorted separately at a low level to preserve this order.
INSTALLATION
To install this module, run the following commands:
perl Build.PL
perl Build
perl Build test
perl Build install
This is minor modification of the usual perl build idiom. This version
is portable across multiple platforms.
Alternatively, the standard make idiom is also available (although it is
deprecated):
perl Makefile.PL
make
make test
make install
(On Windows platforms, you should use "nmake"or "dmake", instead of
"make".)
Note that the Makefile.PL script is just a pass-through, and
Module::Build is still ultimately required for installation. Makefile.PL
will throw an exception if Module::Build is missing from your current
installation. "cpan" will notify the user of the build prerequisites
(and install them for the build, if it is setup to do so [see the cpan
configuration option "build_requires_install_policy"]).
PPM installation bundles should also be available in the standard PPM
repositories (i.e. ActiveState, trouchelle.com
[<http://trouchelle.com/ppm/package.xml>]).
Note: On ActivePerl installations, '"./Build install"' will do a full
installation using "ppm" (see ppm). During the installation, a PPM
package is constructed locally and then subsequently used for the final
module install. This allows for uninstalls (using '"ppm uninstall
""*MODULE*"' and also keeps local HTML documentation current.
INTERFACE
"command_line( ): $"
* [out] : the original command line for the process, as a string
my $commandline = command_line();
Use the Win32 API to recapture the original command line for the current
process.
"argv( [\%options] ): @"
* [in] : (optional) reference to hash containing function options
* [out] : returns a new argument array (which can replace @ARGV)
@ARGV = argv();
Reparse & glob-expand the original command line, returning a new
argument array (which is a drop-in replacement for @ARGV).
"parse( $ [,\%options ] ): @"
* [in] : string argument to parse/glob-expand
* [in] : (optional) reference to hash containing function options
* [out] : returns an argument array
my @argv_new = parse( command_line() );
Parse & glob-expand a string argument; returns the results of
parsed/expanded argument as an array.
Function Options ( "\%options" )
my %options = (
remove_exe_prefix => 1, # = 0/<true> [default = true] # if true, remove all initial args up to and including the exe name from the @args array
dosquote => 0, # = 0/<true>/'all' [default = 0] # if true, convert all non-globbed ARGS to DOS/Win32 CLI compatible tokens (escaping internal quotes and quoting whitespace and special characters)
dosify => 0, # = 0/<true>/'all' [default = 0] # if true, convert all _globbed_ ARGS to DOS/Win32 CLI compatible tokens (escaping internal quotes and quoting whitespace and special characters); 'all' => do so for for _all_ ARGS which are determined to be files
unixify => 0, # = 0/<true>/'all' [default = 0] # if true, convert all _globbed_ ARGS to UNIX path style; 'all' => do so for for _all_ ARGS which are determined to be files
nullglob => defined($ENV{nullglob}) ? $ENV{nullglob} : 0, # = 0/<true> [default = 0] # if true, patterns which match no files are expanded to a null string (no token), rather than the pattern itself ## $ENV{nullglob} (if it exists) overrides the default
glob => 1, # = 0/<true> [default = true] # when true, globbing is performed
## TODO: rework this ... need carp/croak on unbalanced quotes/subshells (? carp_ub_quotes, carp_ub_shells, carp = 0/1/warn/carp/die/croak)
croak_unbalanced => 1, # = 0/true/'quotes'/'subshells' [default = true] # if true, croak for unbalanced command line quotes or subshell blocks (takes precedence over carp_unbalanced)
carp_unbalanced => 1, # = 0/true/'quotes'/'subshells' [default = true] # if true, carp for unbalanced command line quotes or subshell blocks
## ToDO: add globstar option
);
SUBROUTINES/METHODS
RATIONALE
This began as a simple need to work-around the less-than-stellar
"COMMAND.COM"/"CMD.EXE" command line parser, just to accomplish more
`correct` quotation interpretation. It then grew into a small odyssey:
learning XS and how to create a perl module, learning the perl build
process and creating a customized build script/environment, researching
tools and developing methods for revision control and versioning,
learning and creating perl testing processes, and finally learning about
PAUSE and perl publishing practices. And, somewhere in the middle,
adding some of the "bash" shell magic to the CMD shell (and,
additionally, making it compatible with the excellent [and free] TCC-LE
shell from JPSoft [find that at <http://jpsoft.com>]).
Some initial attempts were made using "Win32::API" and "Inline::C". For
example, a "Win32::API" attempt [which caused GPFs]:
@rem = '--*-Perl-*--
@echo off
if "%OS%" == "Windows_NT" goto WinNT
perl -x -S "%0" %1 %2 %3 %4 %5 %6 %7 %8 %9
goto endofperl
:WinNT
perl -x -S %0 %*
if NOT "%COMSPEC%" == "%SystemRoot%\system32\cmd.exe" goto endofperl
if %errorlevel% == 9009 echo You do not have Perl in your PATH.
if errorlevel 1 goto script_failed_so_exit_with_non_zero_val 2>nul
goto endofperl
@rem ';
#!/usr/bin/perl -w
#line 15
#
use Win32::API;
#
Win32::API->Import("kernel32", "LPTSTR GetCommandLine()");
my $string = pack("Z*", GetCommandLine());
#
print "string[".length($string)."] = '$string'\n";
# ------ padding --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
__END__
:endofperl
Unfortunately, "Win32::API" and "Inline::C" were shown to be too fragile
at the time (in 2007). "Win32::API" caused occasional (but reproducible)
GPFs, and "Inline::C" was shwon to be very brittle on Win32 systems
(i.e, not compensating for paths with embedded strings). [ See
<http://www.perlmonks.org/?node_id=625182> for a more full explanation
of the problem and initial attempts at a solution. ]
So, an initial XS solution was implemented. And from that point, the
lure of "bash"-like command line parsing led inexorably to the full
implementation. The parsing logic is unfortunately still complex, but
seems to be holding up well under testing.
IMPLEMENTATION and INTERNALS
This is a list of internal XS functions (brief descriptions will be
added at a later date):
SV * _wrap_GetCommandLine() // [XS] Use C and Win32 API to get the command line
HANDLE _wrap_CreateToolhelp32Snapshot ( dwFlags, th32ProcessID )
bool _wrap_Process32First ( hSnapshot, lppe )
bool _wrap_Process32Next ( hSnapshot, lppe )
bool _wrap_CloseHandle ( hObject )
// Pass useful CONSTANTS back to perl
int _const_MAX_PATH ()
HANDLE _const_INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE ()
DWORD _const_TH32CS_SNAPPROCESS ()
// Pass useful sizes back to Perl (for testing) */
unsigned int _info_SIZEOF_HANDLE ()
unsigned int _info_SIZEOF_DWORD ()
// Pass PROCESSENTRY32 structure info back to Perl
SV * _info_PROCESSENTRY32 ()
DIAGNOSTICS
Pending documentation...
CONFIGURATION AND ENVIRONMENT
"Win32::CommandLine" requires no configuration files or environment
variables.
OPTIONAL Environment Variables
"NULLGLOB" - override the default glob expansion behavior for empty
matches
$ENV{NULLGLOB} = 1; # undef/0 | <true>
Default glob expansion, as in bash, expands glob patterns which
match nothing into the glob pattern itself. Use $ENV{NULLGLOB} to
override this default behavior.
Analogous to the bash command '"shopt -s nullglob"', when
$ENV{NULLGLOB} is set to a true (non-NULL, non-zero) value, a glob
expansion which matches nothing will expand to the null string (aka,
"q{}").
Note: the default glob expansion behavior can also be modified
programmatically via the function option, "nullglob", when passed to
the argv() and parse() functions. This option, when passed to
"argv()" or "parse()", will override both the default behavior *and*
the $ENV{NULLGLOB} setting.
DEPENDENCIES
"Win32::CommandLine" requires "Carp::Assert" for internal error checking
and warnings.
The optional modules "Win32", "Win32::Security::SID", and
"Win32::TieRegistry" are recommended to allow full glob tilde expansions
for user home directories (eg, "~administrator" expands to
"C:\Users\Administrator"). Expansion of the single tilde ("~") has a
backup implementation based on %ENV variables, and therefore will still
work even without the optional modules.
INCOMPATIBILITIES
None reported.
BUGS AND LIMITATIONS
Please report any bugs or feature requests to
"bug-Win32-CommandLine@rt.cpan.org", or through the web interface at
<http://rt.cpan.org/NoAuth/ReportBug.html?Queue=Win32-CommandLine>. The
developers will be notified, and you'll automatically be notified of
progress on your bug as any changes are made.
Operational Notes
IMPORTANT NOTE: Special shell characters (shell redirection [ '|', '<',
"'"'> ] and continuation '&') must be DOUBLE-quoted to escape shell
interpretation (eg, "foo | bar"). The shell does initial parsing and
redirection/continuation (stripping away everything after I/O
redirection and continuation characters) before any process can get a
look at the command line. So, the special shell characters can only be
hidden from shell interpretation by quoting them with double-quote
characters.
"%<X>" is also replaced by the corresponding %ENV variable by the shell
before handing the command line off to the OS. So, "%%" must be used to
place single %'s in the command line (eg, "perl -e "use
Win32::CommandLine; %%x = Win32::CommandLine::_home_paths(); for (sort
keys %%x) { print qq{$_ => $x{$_}\n}; }"").
Brackets ('{' and '}') and braces ('[' and ']') must be quoted (single
or double quotes) to be matched literally. This may be a gotcha for some
users, although if the filename has internal spaces, tab expansion of
filenames for the standard Win32 shell (cmd.exe) or 4NT/TCC/TCMD will
automatically surround the entire path with spaces (which corrects the
issue).
Some programs may expect their arguments to maintain their surrounding
quotes, but argv() parsing only quotes arguments which require it to
maintain equivalence for shell parsing (i.e., those containing spaces,
special characters, etc). And, since single quotes have no special
meaning to the shell, all arguments which require quoting for correct
shell interpretation will be quoted with double-quote characters, even
if they were originally quoted with single-quotes. Neither of these
issues should be a problem for programs using Win32::CommandLine, but
may be an issue for 'legacy' applications which have their command line
expanded with "xx.bat".
Be careful with backslashed quotes within quoted strings. Note that
"foo\" is an unbalanced string containing a double quote. Place the
backslash outside of the quotation ("foo"\) or use a double backslash
within ("foo\\") to include the backslash it in the parsed token.
However, backslashes ONLY need to be doubled when placed prior to a
quotation mark ("foo\bar" will work as expected).
Bugs
No bugs have been reported.
SUPPORT
You can find documentation for this module with the perldoc command.
perldoc Win32::CommandLine
You can also look for further information at:
* CPAN
<https://metacpan.org/search?q=Win32-CommandLine>
<http://search.cpan.org/dist/Win32-CommandLine>
<http://kobesearch.cpan.org/dist/Win32-CommandLine>
* CPAN Ratings
<http://cpanratings.perl.org/dist/Win32-CommandLine>
* RT: CPAN's request tracker (aka buglist)
<http://rt.cpan.org/Public/Dist/Display.html?Name=Win32-CommandL
ine>
* CPANTESTERS: Test results
<http://www.cpantesters.org/show/Win32-CommandLine.html>
* CPANTS: CPAN Testing Service
"[kwalitee]"
<http://cpants.perl.org/dist/kwalitee/Win32-CommandLine>
"[ used by]"
<http://cpants.perl.org/dist/used_by/Win32-CommandLine>
TODO
Expand and polish the documentation. Add argument/option explanations
and examples for interface functions.
TESTING
For additional testing, set the following environment variables to a
true value ("true" in the perl sense, meaning non-NULL, non-ZERO value):
TEST_AUTHOR
Perform distribution correctness and quality tests, which are
essential prior to a public release.
TEST_FRAGILE
Perform tests which have a specific (i.e., fragile) execution
context (eg, network tests to named hosts). These are tests that
must be coddled with specific execution contexts or set up on
specific machines to complete correctly.
TEST_SIGNATURE
Verify signature is present and correct for the distribution.
TEST_ALL
Perform ALL (non-FRAGILE) additional/optional tests. Given the
likelyhood of test failures without special handling, tests marked
as 'FRAGILE' are still NOT performed unless TEST_FRAGILE is also
true. Additionally, note that the 'build testall' command can be
used as an equivalent to setting TEST_ALL to true temporarily, for
the duration of the build, followed by a 'build test'.
LICENSE AND COPYRIGHT
Copyright (c) 2007-2013, Roy Ivy III <rivy[at]cpan[dot]org>. All rights reserved.
This module is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
under the Perl Artistic License v2.0 (see
<http://opensource.org/licenses/artistic-license-2.0.php>).
DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY
THIS PACKAGE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDER AND CONTRIBUTORS "AS IS"
AND WITHOUT ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES. THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF
MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT
ARE DISCLAIMED TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY YOUR LOCAL LAW. UNLESS REQUIRED
BY LAW, NO COPYRIGHT HOLDER OR CONTRIBUTOR WILL BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT,
INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF
THE USE OF THE PACKAGE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
[REFER TO THE FULL LICENSE FOR EXPLICIT DEFINITIONS OF ALL TERMS.]
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thanks to BrowserUK and syphilis (aka SISYPHUS on CPAN) for some helpful
ideas (including an initial XS starting point for the module) during a
discussion on PerlMonks (see
<http://www.perlmonks.org/?node_id=625182>).
AUTHOR
Roy Ivy III <rivy[at]cpan[dot]org>