Hi,
While delivering a small app (a project scheduler), people asked me if it's possible to execute it by a command line without opening an image. I have a pseudo-dsl to define a project (collection of tasks) that the app is scheduling and so, what I'd like is launching the app by passing a file as parameter. Then squeak "open headless", process the entry file, write an outputfile with results and eventually errors, and exit.
I did something but this is a terrible hack :) I'd like to have other idea on that. If we consider:
squeak -headless test.image file.in
According to the vm man, file.in must be a script (st file with bang notation). I'm not aware of a way to pass a plain text file. So I just hacked ProjectLauncher>>startUpAfterLogin (this is where I get a dnu if passing a file as parameter) so that my file can be processed and the image closed afterwhile.
Can people point me a better way of doing that ? My feeling is I need to create a ScriptClass that has a startUp method where file processing can be implemented.
Thanks
-- Cédrick
ps: a related question would be which startUp classes are not necessary if we only need to process a File (do we need InputSensor, etc...)
Cédrick Béler wrote:
Hi,
While delivering a small app (a project scheduler), people asked me if it's possible to execute it by a command line without opening an image. I have a pseudo-dsl to define a project (collection of tasks) that the app is scheduling and so, what I'd like is launching the app by passing a file as parameter. Then squeak "open headless", process the entry file, write an outputfile with results and eventually errors, and exit.
I did something but this is a terrible hack :) I'd like to have other idea on that. If we consider:
squeak -headless test.image file.in
According to the vm man, file.in must be a script (st file with bang notation). I'm not aware of a way to pass a plain text file. So I just hacked ProjectLauncher>>startUpAfterLogin (this is where I get a dnu if passing a file as parameter) so that my file can be processed and the image closed afterwhile.
Can people point me a better way of doing that ? My feeling is I need to create a ScriptClass that has a startUp method where file processing can be implemented.
Thanks
-- Cédrick
You might like to try Installer-Launcher which is loaded with LPF
http://installer.pbwiki.com/LevelPlayingField
This allows you to pass a sequence of classes and parameters to the command line
squeak my.image TestReporter suite=allTests SmalltalkImage save="out.image" +quit
The parameters are handled by the class methods #launchWith: paramsDict
Keith
If you are shipping a "real" application (i.e., not some image that people do further development in) it is probably advantageous to do the command line handling yourself. This is extremely simple:
1) Execute "AutoStart deinstall" when you prepare your app to get AutoStart and ProjectLauncher out of the way.
2) When your app starts, process command line args as you'd like, for example:
processCommandLine "Process command line arguments for this application" | index attr arg forumToLoad robot | self isSealedApplication ifFalse:[^nil]. "only process command line for sealed apps" index := 0. [attr := Smalltalk getSystemAttribute: (index := index + 1). attr isNil] whileFalse:[ attr caseOf:{ ['-enableDebug'] -> [ self enableDebug: true. ]. ['-debugLevel:'] -> [ arg := (Smalltalk getSystemAttribute: (index := index + 1)) asNumber. self debugLevel: arg. ]. } otherwise:[ "Check if this is just a file that was associated with the app" (self isKnownFileType: attr) ifTrue:[self launchWithFile: attr]. ]. ].
Cheers, - Andreas
Cédrick Béler wrote:
Hi,
While delivering a small app (a project scheduler), people asked me if it's possible to execute it by a command line without opening an image. I have a pseudo-dsl to define a project (collection of tasks) that the app is scheduling and so, what I'd like is launching the app by passing a file as parameter. Then squeak "open headless", process the entry file, write an outputfile with results and eventually errors, and exit.
I did something but this is a terrible hack :) I'd like to have other idea on that. If we consider:
squeak -headless test.image file.in
According to the vm man, file.in must be a script (st file with bang notation). I'm not aware of a way to pass a plain text file. So I just hacked ProjectLauncher>>startUpAfterLogin (this is where I get a dnu if passing a file as parameter) so that my file can be processed and the image closed afterwhile.
Can people point me a better way of doing that ? My feeling is I need to create a ScriptClass that has a startUp method where file processing can be implemented.
Thanks
-- Cédrick
ps: a related question would be which startUp classes are not necessary if we only need to process a File (do we need InputSensor, etc...)
Thanks for your answers :)
2009/5/20 Andreas Raab andreas.raab@gmx.de:
If you are shipping a "real" application (i.e., not some image that people do further development in) it is probably advantageous to do the command line handling yourself.
Yes, this si sort of what I did.
This is extremely simple:
- Execute "AutoStart deinstall" when you prepare your app to get AutoStart
and ProjectLauncher out of the way.
ok, cool thanks. I hadn't noticed that.
- When your app starts, process command line args as you'd like, for
example:
processCommandLine "Process command line arguments for this application" | index attr arg forumToLoad robot | self isSealedApplication ifFalse:[^nil]. "only process command line for sealed apps" index := 0. [attr := Smalltalk getSystemAttribute: (index := index + 1). attr isNil] whileFalse:[ attr caseOf:{ ['-enableDebug'] -> [ self enableDebug: true. ]. ['-debugLevel:'] -> [ arg := (Smalltalk getSystemAttribute: (index := index + 1)) asNumber. self debugLevel: arg. ]. } otherwise:[ "Check if this is just a file that was associated with the app" (self isKnownFileType: attr) ifTrue:[self launchWithFile: attr]. ]. ].
Does this kind of method goes in a class that has to be added to the StartUpList ?
MyFinalizationClass>>startUp
self processCommandLine
Another question I have in mind is if it's possible to have a minimum classes at startUp (if useful). Right now, in the StartUpList var, I have for StartUpList:
#(#Delay #DisplayScreen #Cursor #InputSensor #ProcessorScheduler #LanguageEnvironment #FileDirectory #ShortIntegerArray #ShortRunArray #CrLfFileStream #PasteUpMorph #NaturalLanguageTranslator #ImageSegment #ThisOSProcess #PowerManagement #ExternalSettings #SecurityManager #FreeTypeFontProvider #AutoStart #SspApplication #UUIDGenerator #ProcessBrowser #CPUWatcher #DateAndTime #SmalltalkImage #HostSystemMenus #Utilities #MenuIcons #WeakArray #MultiByteFileStream #InternetConfiguration #Locale #CommandHistory #HostWindowProxy #FreeTypeSettings #UITheme #WAServerManager #WAExternalID #SpEnvironment #ApplicationService #ModDoc #SDCheckPointer nil nil nil nil nil nil nil nil nil nil nil nil nil nil nil nil nil nil nil nil nil nil nil nil nil nil nil nil nil nil nil nil nil nil nil nil nil nil)
Is there somewhere a "minimal" list of needed classes to run an image headless ? Maybe this is not important anyway but I'd like to have a "minimum system" to be shipped.
Last, I'd like to know if there's a way to run headless without specifiing the parameter -headless. Actually, I'd like a vm that run headless by default. Do I need to build my own vm for that ? At the moment, I just created a small script so that all parameters are hidden inside.
Thanks,
Cédrick
Cédrick Béler wrote:
2009/5/20 Andreas Raab andreas.raab@gmx.de:
- When your app starts, process command line args as you'd like, for
example:
processCommandLine "Process command line arguments for this application"
Does this kind of method goes in a class that has to be added to the StartUpList ?
It depends on how you start your app. What we do for our images is that we use a class method called #runAsApp that is implemented on the main UI class. It looks roughly like here:
runAsApp "Run me as a standalone app, sealed without development information." WorldState addDeferredUIMessage:[ World submorphs do:[:each| each delete]. Preferences disable: #warnIfNoSourcesFile. Preferences disable: #warnIfNoChangesFile. (self confirm: 'Save the sealed image?') ifTrue:[ AutoStart deinstall. "no autostart please" Smalltalk saveAs. ]. self launchAppFrame. ].
#launchAppFrame then instantiates the actual UI which (indirectly) calls processCommandLine.
Last, I'd like to know if there's a way to run headless without specifiing the parameter -headless. Actually, I'd like a vm that run headless by default. Do I need to build my own vm for that ? At the moment, I just created a small script so that all parameters are hidden inside.
That's what we do as well.
Cheers, - Andreas
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Keith Hodges