How to start a shell script within "expect script"?

Question

In this expect script there will be no ssh server connected, I just want to execute a ".sh" file locally, is that possible?

For instance:

#!/bin/expect

command "xxx.sh" # a command which starts a certain shell script

Also, is it possible to execute a expect script within a expect script?

For instance:

#!/bin/expect

command "xxx.exp" # a command which starts a certain expect script

Any help?

Why does it matter whether there's an SSH server connected? Expect has no special relationship with SSH. — Barmar, May 14 '14 at 18:16

score 6 · Answer 1 · answered May 14 '14 at 20:07

6

If you need to interact with this script, use spawn xxx.sh

If you just need to run it and capture the output, use set output [exec xxx.sh]

Expect is an extension of the Tcl language, so you would be well served to go through the Tcl tutorial.

answered May 14 '14 at 20:07

glenn jackman

score 5 · Accepted Answer · answered May 14 '14 at 18:20

5

The command in Expect to run a shell command is spawn.

#!/bin/expect
spawn command arg1 arg2 ...

command can be any program -- a binary executable, a shell script, another expect script, etc. So you can do:

spawn xxx.sh

or:

spawn xxx.exp

answered May 14 '14 at 18:20

Barmar

2 Answers2