Any way to call .exe as filter in Scite LUA?

[blue...@onepost.net]

Is there some way that I've missed, or are there any plans to add the ability to, from a LUA function, execute an .exe, feeding a LUA string in as its STDIN, and capture its STDOUT back as a LUA string? Something like:

local sendToSTDIN = editor:GetSelText()
local reformattedResults = scite.Execute( "perl.exe myReformat.pl", sendToSTDIN )
print( reformattedResults )

I've been trying to fake this for years with LUA winapi.dll's "execute" function, along with temp files on a RAM disk (since it doesn't manage STDIN/STDOUT).

I also saw one example dynamically setting user commands and calling them from within LUA, but that seemed deprecated?

props["command.49.*"] = command
props["command.mode.49.*"] = "subsystem:shellexec"
-- trigger user command #49
scite.MenuCommand(1149)

Thanks in advance for any additional information. And if it's not available and not yet planned, might I suggest the immense usefulness of such a method <smile>?

Thanks!
--John

[Philippe Lhoste]

On 26/11/2014 22:28, blue...@onepost.net wrote:
> Is there some way that I've missed, or are there any plans to add the ability to, from a LUA function, execute an .exe, feeding a LUA string in as its STDIN, and capture its STDOUT back as a LUA string? Something like:
>
> local sendToSTDIN = editor:GetSelText()
> local reformattedResults = scite.Execute( "perl.exe myReformat.pl", sendToSTDIN )
> print( reformattedResults )
>
> I've been trying to fake this for years with LUA winapi.dll's "execute" function, along with temp files on a RAM disk (since it doesn't manage STDIN/STDOUT).
>
> I also saw one example dynamically setting user commands and calling them from within LUA, but that seemed deprecated?
>
> props["command.49.*"] = command
> props["command.mode.49.*"] = "subsystem:shellexec"
> -- trigger user command #49
> scite.MenuCommand(1149)
>

In pure Lua, from memory, people use popen to do that. Maybe it works in SciTE?

PS.: That's Lua, not LUA, it is not an acronym.

--
Philippe Lhoste
-- (near) Paris -- France
-- http://Phi.Lho.free.fr
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

[blue...@onepost.net]

Thank you, Philippe. I'm hoping there's a way (or a planned feature) to do it more directly within SciTE; but if not, popen may be more direct than the execute-and-temp-files method I've been using. Some quick research looks like I might need to get the "ex" API and a simulated popen2 (for both stdin and stdout) working within Lua for Windows (and then within SciTE), though that seems to be hanging on the STDIN portion for me so far.

[Neil Hodgson]

bluelake:

> I'm hoping there's a way (or a planned feature)

There are currently no features planned for SciTE. New features normally occur when someone implements them and asks for the code to be integrated.

Neil

[blue...@onepost.net]

Thanks, Neil. I'll experiment and see if there's a better way than I've been doing. If I wind up with anything that might be usefully incorporated into SciTE, I'll contact you.

And thanks as always for Scintilla and Scite!
--John

[Gavin Holt]

Work around for windows:

I used the shell.dll (https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/scite-interest/bVeyCfZ3OIc) which has a nice shell.exec function, 

This has the appearance of piping the results to the output window. 

You can execute any string, in my example I am constructing this in the form of props[find.command]:

function help_local_search()

    if scite.GetProp("CurrentSelection") then

props["find.what"] = '"'..scite.GetProp("CurrentSelection")..'"'

    else

props["find.what"] = scite.GetProp("CurrentWord")

    end

    props["find.directory"] = scite.GetProp("SciteDefaultHome").."\\help"

    props["find.files"] = "*.txt"

    local success, output = shell.exec(props["find.command"], nil,true,true)

    print(">"..props["find.command"]) -- Just to mimic the normal echo of commands

    print(output)

end

I have pasted the help for shell.exec below for those who may be interested:

exec (strCommand, [strOperation], [boolNoShow], [bWaitOnReturn])

--Run external programm or open file with associate application. Allows to execute files, documents and links and to open folders in Windows Explorer.

Parameters:

strCommand  - filename or folder with possible startup parameters. Can contain %environments_variable%

strOperation  - executed operation from listed in the table:

boolNoShow  - true | false (default) - silent or show a window of the started program

bWaitOnReturn  - true | false (default) - boolean value indicating whether the script should wait for the program to finish executing before continuing to the next statement in your script

Operation Description

open  Open. strCommand - filename or folder name (default)

edit  Edit. Opens a file for editing. strCommand should be the document.

print  Print. strCommand should be the document.

explore  ` Opens a folder in Explorer window (with two panels). strCommand - file or folder

select  Opens a folder in Explorer window and chooses the specified folder or a file. strCommand - file or folder

find  Showing a dialog box "File Search". strCommand should specify a folder path from which search will begin

properties Showing file|folder "Properties" window. strCommand - file or folder

other  Other operation available in context menu of a file. For example "Play" operation available for media files.

Return value:

  The first contains

    - at successful end: true or (if function has been started with parameter bWaitOnReturn = true), exit code of process

    - at failure: false

  The second value contains error/success message of operation;

  or contains the output text of the console application (if execute console applications with parameters boolNoShow = true and bWaitOnReturn = true)

Example:

-- run application

shell.exec("clipbrd.exe")

shell.exec("CMD /c IPCONFIG /all > out.txt", nil, true, false)

-- show result of console application

print( shell.exec("CMD /c DIR", nil, true, true) )

print( shell.exec("cscript /nologo %WINDIR%\\system32\\eventquery.vbs /?", nil, true, true) )

-- analysis of the exit code of process

if shell.exec("ping -n 1 localhost", nil, true, true) == 0 then

    print("Network works") else print("Network does not work")

end

-- open folder

shell.exec("%TEMP%")

shell.exec("%USERPROFILE%", "find")

shell.exec("%WINDIR%\\regedit.exe", "explore")

shell.exec("%ProgramFiles%", "properties")

shell.exec("%ComSpec%", "select")

-- open URL link

shell.exec("http://scite.net.ru/")

-- send e-mail

shell.exec("mailto:support"at"gmail.com")

-- open file (with associate application)

shell.exec("%WINDIR%\\WindowsUpdate.log")

-- print file

shell.exec("%WINDIR%\\win.ini", "print")

-- edit file

shell.exec("%WINDIR%\\winnt.bmp", "edit")

Kind Regards

Gavin

[Pascal Guimier]

Too bad, this is a windows only solution.
Trying to execute php debug each time the file is changed. Lua could have been the solution. But not under linux.
Scite-ru is windev only apparently (I tried to compile the sources, but I'm not skilled enough to go further).