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diff --git a/expect/README b/expect/README new file mode 100644 index 00000000000..101f1c07cb0 --- /dev/null +++ b/expect/README @@ -0,0 +1,366 @@ +NOTE: ALPHA AND BETA RELEASES OF TCL/TK ARE NOT SUPPORTED! + +-------------------- +Introduction +-------------------- + +This is the README file for Expect, a program that performs programmed +dialogue with other interactive programs. It is briefly described by +its man page, expect(1). This directory contains the source and man +page for Expect. + +This is Expect 5 for Tcl 7.5, 7.6, and 8.0. Tk 4.1, 4.2, 8.0 and the +Tcl Debugger are also supported. Significant changes and other news +can be found in the NEWS file. + +The Expect home page is: http://expect.nist.gov +The Expect FAQ is: http://expect.nist.gov/FAQ.html + +-------------------- +Getting Started - The Preferable Way +-------------------- + +A book on Expect is available from O'Reilly with the title "Exploring +Expect: A Tcl-Based Toolkit for Automating Interactive Applications", +ISBN 1-56592-090-2. + +The book is filled with detailed examples and explanations, and is a +comprehensive tutorial to Expect. The book also includes a tutorial +on Tcl written specifically for Expect users (so you don't have to +read the Expect papers, the debugger paper, Ousterhout's book, or the +man pages). Exploring Expect is 602 pages. + +-------------------- +Getting Started - The Hacker Way +-------------------- + +While the book is the best way to learn about Expect, it is not +absolutely necessary. There are man pages after all and there are +numerous articles and papers on Expect. All of my own papers are in +the public domain and can be received free. If you are a hacker on a +tight budget, this may appeal to you. Nonetheless, I think you will +find the book pays for itself very quickly. It is much more readable +than the man pages, it includes well-written and explained examples, +and it describes everything in the papers as a coherent whole. The +concepts in the papers actually only make up a small fraction of the +book. + +The 1990 USENIX paper (see "Readings" below) is probably the best one +for understanding Expect conceptually. The 1991 Computing Systems and +the LISA IV papers provide a nice mix of examples. The only downside +is, the examples in these papers don't actually work anymore - some +aspects (e.g., syntax) of both Expect and Tcl have changed. The +papers still make interesting reading - just don't study the examples +too closely! Fortunately, most of the examples from the papers also +accompany this distribution - and all of these are up to date. + +For all the details, read the man page. It is long but you can get +started just by skimming the sections on the following commands: + + spawn (starts a process) + send (sends to a process) + expect (waits for output from a process) + interact (lets you interact with a process) + +To print out the Expect man page, invoke your local troff using the +-man macros, such as either of: + + ptroff -man expect.man + ditroff -man expect.man + +If Expect is installed, you can read the man pages using the "usual" +man commands, such as "man expect". If not installed, view the man +page on your screen by saying something like: + + nroff -man expect.man | more + +Expect uses Tcl as the underlying language for expressing things such +as procedures, loops, file I/O, and arithmetic expressions. For many +simple scripts, it is not necessary to learn about Tcl. Just by +studying the examples, you will learn enough Tcl to get by. But if +you would like to learn more about Tcl or use it in your own +applications, read the Tcl README file which provides pointers to the +extensive Tcl documentation. Or read Exploring Expect. Chapter 2 of +Exploring Expect is a Tcl tutorial specifically designed for Expect +users. + +An interactive debugger is bundled with Expect. The debugger has its +own documentation that comes separately. It is listed in the Readings +below. Again, it is slightly out of date. An up-to-date description +of the debugger appears in Chapter 18 of Exploring Expect. This +chapter also contains additional advice and tips for debugging. + +You may get the feeling that the Expect documentation is somewhat +scattered and disorganized. This was true prior to publication of +Exploring Expect. The book contains everything you need to know, all +up-to-date, and with examples of every concept. (The book contains no +references to any of the Expect papers because none are necessary.) + +---------------------- +Examples +---------------------- + +This distribution contains many example scripts. (All of the +substantive examples in the book are included.) They can be found in +the example directory of this distribution. The README file in that +directory briefly describes all of the example scripts. Many of the +more sophisticated examples have man pages of their own. + +Other interesting scripts are available separately in the directory +http://expect.nist.gov/scripts/ (ftpable as +ftp://ftp.nist.gov/mel/div826/subject/expect/scripts). (See below for +how to retrieve these.) You are welcome to send me scripts to add to +this directory. A number of Expect scripts are also available in the +Tcl archive, available at ftp://ftp.neosoft.com/pub/tcl. + +-------------------- +Readings on Expect +-------------------- + +The implementation, philosophy, and design are discussed in "expect: +Curing Those Uncontrollable Fits of Interaction", Proceedings of the +Summer 1990 USENIX Conference, Anaheim, CA, June 11-15, 1990. + +Examples and discussion, specifically aimed at system administrators, +are in "Using expect to Automate System Administration Tasks", +Proceedings of the 1990 USENIX Large Systems Administration Conference +(LISA) IV, Colorado Springs, CO, October 17-19, 1990. + +A comprehensive paper of example scripts is "expect: Scripts for +Controlling Interactive Programs", Computing Systems, Vol. 4, No. 2, +University of California Press Journals, 1991. + +Regression and conformance testing is discussed in "Regression Testing +and Conformance Testing Interactive Programs", Proceedings of the +Summer 1992 USENIX Conference, San Antonio, TX, June 8-12, 1992. + +An explanation of some of the more interesting source code to an early +version of Expect is in Chapter 36 ("Expect") of "Obfuscated C and +Other Mysteries", John Wiley & Sons, ISBN 0-471-57805-3, January 1993. + +A paper on connecting multiple interactive programs together using +Expect is "Kibitz - Connecting Multiple Interactive Programs +Together", Software - Practice & Experience, Vol. 23, No. 5, May 1993. + +The debugger is discussed in "A Debugger for Tcl Applications", +Proceedings of the 1993 Tcl/Tk Workshop, Berkeley, CA, June 10-11, +1993. + +Using Expect with Tk is described in the paper "X Wrappers for +Non-Graphic Interactive Programs", Proceedings of Xhibition '94, San +Jose, CA, June 20-24, 1994. + +Simple techniques to allow secure handling of passwords in background +processes are covered in "Handling Passwords with Security and +Reliability in Background Processes", Proceedings of the 1994 USENIX +LISA VIII Conference, San Diego, CA, September 19-23, 1994. + +More publications can be found in the Expect home page (see elsewhere). + +-------------------- +How to Get the Latest Version of Expect or the Readings +-------------------- + +Expect may be ftp'd as mel/div826/subject/expect/expect.tar.gz from +expect.nist.gov. (Yes, the URL is much shorter: +http://expect.nist.gov/expect.tar.Z) Request email delivery by mailing +to "library@cme.nist.gov". The contents of the message should be (no +subject line) "send pub/expect/expect.tar.Z". + +Once you have retrieved the system, read the INSTALL file. The papers +mentioned above can be retrieved separately (from the same directories +listed above) as: + + doc/seminal.ps.Z (USENIX '90 - Intro and Implementation) + doc/sysadm.ps.Z (LISA '90 - System Administration) + doc/scripts.ps.Z (Comp. Systems '91 - Overview of Scripts) + doc/regress.ps.Z (USENIX '92 - Testing) + doc/kibitz.ps.Z (SP&E '93 - Automating Multiple + Interactive Programs Simultaneously) + doc/tcl-debug.ps.Z (Tcl/Tk '93 - Tcl/Tk Debugger) + doc/expectk.ps.Z (Xhibition '94 - Using Expect with Tk) + doc/bgpasswd.ps.Z (LISA '94 - Passwds in Background Procs) + doc/chargraph.ps.Z (SP&E '96 - Testing and Automation + of Character Graphic Applications) + +The book "Exploring Expect" is described in more detail earlier in +this file. + +The book "Obfuscated C and Other Mysteries" is not on-line but is +available in bookstores or directly from the publisher (Wiley). + +Overhead transparencies I've used at conferences are also available in +the same way as the papers themselves. The transparencies are sketchy +and not meant for personal education - however if you are familiar +with Expect and just want to give a short talk on it to your +colleagues, you may find the transparencies useful. They vary in +length from 15 to 20 minutes in length. These are: + + doc/seminal-talk.ps.Z (USENIX '90 - Intro and Implementation) + doc/sysadm-talk.ps.Z (LISA '90 - System Administration) + doc/regress-talk.ps.Z (USENIX '92 - Testing) + doc/tcl-debug-talk.ps.Z (Tcl/Tk '93 - Tcl/Tk Debugger) + doc/expectk-talk.ps.Z (Xhibition '94 - Expect + Tk = Expectk) + doc/bgpasswd-talk.ps.Z (LISA '94 - Passwords in the Background) + +All of the documents are compressed PostScript files and should be +uncompressed and sent to a PostScript printer. The documents are +intended for printing at 8.5"x11" and may fail on some ISO A4 +printers. According to Hans Mayer <Hans.Mayer@gmd.de>, you can make +them A4-able by searching for "FMVERSION" and changing the next line +from: + + 1 1 0 0 612 792 0 1 13 FMDOCUMENT +to: + 1 1 0 0 594 841 0 1 13 FMDOCUMENT + + +-------------------- +Using Expect with and without Tcl and/or Tk. +-------------------- + +The usual way of using Expect is as a standalone program with Tcl as +the control language. Since you may already have Tcl, it is available +separately. Tcl may be retrieved as tcl.tar.Z in the same way as +described above for Expect. When new releases of Tcl appear, I will +try to check them out for Expect as soon as possible. If you would +like to get the newest Tcl release without waiting, ftp it from +ftp.smli.com (directory pub/tcl). + +Expect may also be built using the Tk library, a Tcl interface to the +X Window System. Tk is available in the same way as Tcl. + +It is possible to embed the Expect/Tcl core and optionally Tk in your +own C programs. This is described in libexpect(3). + +Expect can also be used from a C or C++ program without Tcl. This is +described in libexpect(3). While I consider this library to be easy +to use, the standalone Expect program is much, much easier to use than +working with the C compiler and its usual edit, compile, debug cycle. +Unlike typical programming, most of the debugging isn't getting the C +compiler to accept your programs - rather, it is getting the dialogue +correct. Also, translating scripts from Expect to C is usually not +necessary. For example, the speed of interactive dialogues is +virtually never an issue. So please try 'expect' first. It is a more +appropriate tool than the library for most people. + +-------------------- +Systems Supported +-------------------- + +I do not know of any UNIX systems on which Expect will not run. +Systems which do not support select or poll can use Expect, but +without the ability to run multiple processes simultaneously. I am +willing to work with you to complete a port. + +Before sending me changes, please download or verify that you have the +latest version of Expect (see above). Then send me a "diff -c" along +with a suitable English explanation. If your diff involves something +specific to a machine, give me diffs for configure.in as well or give +me a hint about when the diffs should be done so I can write the +configure support myself. Also please include the version of the OS +and whether it is beta, current, recent, or totally out-of-date and +unsupported. + +-------------------- +Installing Expect +-------------------- + +Expect comes with a configure script that provides for an automated +installation. I believe you will find that Expect is very easy to +install. (Tcl and Tk, too.) + +For more information, read the INSTALL file. + +-------------------- +Support from Don Libes or NIST +-------------------- + +Although I can't promise anything in the way of support, I'd be +interested to hear about your experiences using it (good or bad). I'm +also interested in hearing bug reports and suggestions for improvement +even though I can't promise to implement them. + +If you send me a bug, fix, or question, include the version of Expect +(as reported by expect -d), version of Tcl, and name and version of +the OS that you are using. Before sending mail, it may be helpful to +verify that your problem still exists in the latest version. You can +check on the current release and whether it addresses your problems by +retrieving the latest HISTORY file (see "History" above). + + +Awards, love letters, and bug reports may be sent to: + +Don Libes +National Institute of Standards and Technology +Bldg 220, Rm A-127 +Gaithersburg, MD 20899 +(301) 975-3535 +libes@nist.gov + +I hereby place this software in the public domain. NIST and I would +appreciate credit if this program or parts of it are used. + +Design and implementation of this program was funded primarily by +myself. Funding contributors include the NIST Automated Manufacturing +Research Facility (funded by the Navy Manufacturing Technology +Program), the NIST Scientific and Technical Research Services, the +ARPA Persistent Object Bases project and the Computer-aided +Acquisition and the Logistic Support (CALS) program of the Office of +the Secretary of Defense. + +Especially signicant contributions were made by John Ousterhout, Henry +Spencer, and Rob Savoye. See the HISTORY file for others. + +-------------------- +Support for Don Libes or NIST +-------------------- + +NIST accepts external funding and other resources (hardware, software, +and personnel). This can be a fine way to work more closely with NIST +and encourage particular areas of research. + +Funding can be earmarked for specific purposes or for less-specific +purposes. For example, if you simply like the work I do, you can +contribute directly to my funding which will reduce the amount of time +I have to spend writing proposals and submitting them to other people +for funding on my own. + +I can also participate in the NIST Fellows program allowing me to +spend several months to a year working directly with your company and +potentially even at your location. I am also interested in returning +to an academic program. I presently have an MS and am hunting for +Ph.D. topics and advisors. Let me know if you have ideas or are +interested in being my advisor. + +-------------------- +Commercial Support, Classes +-------------------- + +Several companies provide commercial support for Expect. If your +company has a financial investment in Expect or you wish to be assured +of continuing support for Expect, you can buy a support contract this +way. These companies currently include: + +Cygnus Support +1937 Landings Drive +Mountain View, CA 94043 ++1 (415) 903-1400 +info@cygnus.com +http://www.cygnus.com + +Computerized Processes Unlimited (CPU) +4200 S. I-10 Service Rd., Suite 205 +Metairie, LA 70006 ++1 (504) 889-2784 +info@cpu.com +http://www.cpu.com +http://www.cpu.com/cpu/expect.htm (Expect class page) + +CPU provides Expect support and also Expect classes. Contact them for +more information. + +Neither NIST nor I have any financial relationship with these +companies. + + |