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<== Date ==> <== Thread ==>

Subject: Make, Scripts, Shell, Perl!?
From: Kay-Uwe Kasemir <[email protected]>
To: [email protected]
Cc: [email protected]
Date: Wed, 22 Jan 1997 15:18:58 -0700
Dear Reader:

This is a suggestion how to make the
EPICS make-system more system independent.

While we can now use the 'Host' makesystem
to build most of EPICS on UNIX and WIN32,
there are still some shell scripts left
which are UNIX specific.

And: Their number seems to be increasing,
which threatens to make the make-system
more system-specific again!

The real problem is that a 'shell script'
does not only need a UNIX-style shell
but usually requires more tools like
 ls, cp, rm, mkdir, awk, grep, date, find, sed, ...

Solution A: Implement all these tools on every system.
---------------------------------------------------------
This is what we do right now:
- I use some free tools that compile with
  Visual C++, the 'native' compiler for Windows.
- Other approaches may use gnuwin32 which makes
  WIN32 look like Unix and will probably work some day.
The question is: Do we want a portable EPICS
or does everything have to look like UNIX?
And there will always be scripts that won't
work on WIN32 or VMS or ...


Solution B: Use no script but only ANSI C programs.
---------------------------------------------------------
This would work but many one-line-scripts
are hard to implement in C, so everybody who
likes to get his/her job done in time will
fall back on shell scripts.


Solution C: Replace all the tools mentioned above by perl.
---------------------------------------------------------
I am not sure if the Perl book is right when
it claims that Perl will save the world,
but:
* Perl does indeed replace all the tools mentioned above
* Perl is free and comes with sources
* Perl is already available for UNIX, WIN32, VMS, OS/2, ...
        (see http://www.perl.com/perl or
             http://www.perl.com/perl/info/software.html)
* Perl is heavily used by many people, not only for CGI scripts on Web-servers
  -> it is unlikely to vanish soon
  -> current implementations are well tested
* It's a strange language at first glance,
  but quite easy to learn. Even I can do everything I want to
  do with it after reading the book for one week.


Again, this is just a suggestion.
Maybe someone else has another and better idea
what to do, but everybody may think twice before
investing time in writing any more system dependent
shell scripts.

-Kay



Replies:
Re: Make, Scripts, Shell, Perl!? Jeff Hill
Re: Make, Scripts, Shell, Perl!? Marty Kraimer

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