Using a Rexx script as a plug-in

General questions about using ExamDiff Pro, ideas for new features, bug reports, and usage tips.
misi01
Junior Member
Posts: 17
Joined: Tue Sep 12, 2017 8:59 am

Using a Rexx script as a plug-in

Post by misi01 »

Where I used to work, we used Beyond Compare. Where I am now, they have Exam Diff (I think Pro, but I'll check tomorrow).

We used/use software called Mainframe Express that creates EBCDIC files based on a special layout that's "hidden" in a proprietary catalog.
At my previous job, I had already written a plug-in for BC that could analyze the catalog and extract and convert the data (*.DAT files) from EBCDIC to ANSI. All works fine.

Now I am playing with doing the same thing in Exam Diff. I've "almost" got it working, but I'm obviously missing something rather trivial. I'll start with the various screen captures. (2 of them failed to attach, so I'll append them in a reply to this append).

One is obviously the settings for the plug-in in Exam Diff. One thing that not's obvious - at the moment, I'm hard-coding the output file for the conversion as being c:\temp\temp.txt. As the temp_txt_created capture shows, this is created by my code. Should I be setting it to something else on the settings panel ?

Two of the other captures show the "half-way" messages shown by Exam Diff as a result of my settings being incorrect ??

The exam diff results shown capture shows what is shown in the resulting ED window.

Finally, the temp_txt_created capture shows that my program HAS created an output file, but somehow, ED doesn't realize that it needs to read this file into memory.

Can someone help point me in the right direction.

BTW. Is there some sort of setting in the arguments that can indicate whether the plug-in is being called for the first or second file ?

Thank you (I'll continue experimenting in the meantime to see if I can get to a solution).
Attachments
no_CRLF_msg2.jpg
no_CRLF_msg2.jpg (34.87 KiB) Viewed 15985 times
Exam_diff_results_shown.jpg
Exam_diff_results_shown.jpg (136.05 KiB) Viewed 15985 times
Temp_txt_created.jpg
Temp_txt_created.jpg (116.41 KiB) Viewed 15985 times
misi01
Junior Member
Posts: 17
Joined: Tue Sep 12, 2017 8:59 am

Re: Please excuse the fact that this has probably been asked SOMEWHERE before

Post by misi01 »

Reading through my first append, I thought I'd clarify my first append.

Basically:-
  • should I use an output file parm in the ED plugin settings?
  • whether I do or don't, how does ED know the name of the output file?
  • how do I get ED to recognize/read in the file created by my plug-in
I'm sure the answer is REALLY trivial, but so far it eludes me.
Attachments
Temp_text_with_CRLF_characters.jpg
Temp_text_with_CRLF_characters.jpg (164.7 KiB) Viewed 15979 times
Exam_diff_plug_in_settings.jpg
Exam_diff_plug_in_settings.jpg (46.03 KiB) Viewed 15979 times
plug_in_no_output_msg1.jpg
plug_in_no_output_msg1.jpg (58.38 KiB) Viewed 15979 times
misi01
Junior Member
Posts: 17
Joined: Tue Sep 12, 2017 8:59 am

Re: Please excuse the fact that this has probably been asked SOMEWHERE before

Post by misi01 »

One final (?) append. I removed the output file on the options settings, so now I have arguments = $INPUTFILEPATH only.

I'm now seeing the attached capture. So .... how do I point at the file that ED should be reading?

Thought I'd include one extra screen capture (this was found in C:\Users\Michael\AppData\Local\Temp).
Seems to show that SOMETHING is being created/used, albeit with no content.
I should mention, maybe, that my plug-in READS the input file, converts from EBCDIC to ANSI and WRITES the resulting conversion to an OUTPUT file.
Attachments
temp_ED_file_created.jpg
temp_ED_file_created.jpg (30.8 KiB) Viewed 15979 times
plug_in_successful.jpg
plug_in_successful.jpg (58.73 KiB) Viewed 15979 times
JeremyNicoll
Expert Member
Posts: 108
Joined: Sun May 02, 2010 12:00 pm
Location: Edinburgh

Re: Please excuse the fact that this has probably been asked SOMEWHERE before

Post by JeremyNicoll »

The EDP Help screen for plugins suggests that if you just provide $INPUTFILEPATH then the plugin needs to write its output to stdout; does your one do that? Presuambly EDP then captures that using file redirection (so you needn't ever know the name of any of the output files).

I don't think a plugin that writes to a fixed-name output file is any use, because presumably the plugin will be run twice, once for each of the files being compared, so you'd need two output files.
misi01
Junior Member
Posts: 17
Joined: Tue Sep 12, 2017 8:59 am

Re: Please excuse the fact that this has probably been asked SOMEWHERE before

Post by misi01 »

Thanks Jeremy - I'll test tonight and let you know.
misi01
Junior Member
Posts: 17
Joined: Tue Sep 12, 2017 8:59 am

Re: Please excuse the fact that this has probably been asked SOMEWHERE before

Post by misi01 »

Okay, have tested a bit more at home, and this is what I'm seeing. First of all, I realize/appreciate that the following comments are a bit "apples and pears" (no pun intended based on ED's icon).

In Beyond Compare, I specify the plug-in in the following manner

H:\A_MS_exe\BC_CONVERT_MFE_FILE.exe %n %s %t

where %n %s and %t are defined as
%s source file
%t target file
%n original file
When I then run Beyond Compare and trace the input parms, the BC startup parms are shown in the attached screen capture. Note how the third parm (target file) is some sort of temporary file (I haven't defined it in any way)

With ED, I have ONLY specified (rightly or wrongly) $INPUTFILEPATH . The resulting parms are shown in the second capture. Note that when I added an output file as $INPUTFILEPATH, $OUTPUTFILEPATH (with or without the comma), NO output filename was passed to my plug-in.

I have tried sending the output to STDOUT, but it doesn't SEEM to be getting picked up and used. Any suggestions as to how to proceed gratefully accepted. Is there a way of tracing what is written to STDOUT that I'm not aware of ?
Attachments
ED_startup_parms.jpg
ED_startup_parms.jpg (15.41 KiB) Viewed 15967 times
BC_startup_parms.jpg
BC_startup_parms.jpg (18.91 KiB) Viewed 15967 times
User avatar
psguru
Site Admin
Posts: 2228
Joined: Sat May 15, 2004 4:23 pm
Location: California
Contact:

Re: Please excuse the fact that this has probably been asked SOMEWHERE before

Post by psguru »

I'm not sure, maybe I missed it, but what are your plug-in's command line parameters? EDP can accommodate both stdout and file output form a plug-in app.
psguru
PrestoSoft
misi01
Junior Member
Posts: 17
Joined: Tue Sep 12, 2017 8:59 am

Re: Please excuse the fact that this has probably been asked SOMEWHERE before

Post by misi01 »

Basically, anything you like. The SIMPLEST would be to be able to specify an output file that ED then picks up and reads in and shows.

What seems to be the problem is that I can't seem to specify some sort of output file as an argument that is then picked up in ED the same way it is in BC.
User avatar
psguru
Site Admin
Posts: 2228
Joined: Sat May 15, 2004 4:23 pm
Location: California
Contact:

Re: Please excuse the fact that this has probably been asked SOMEWHERE before

Post by psguru »

Can you provide an example of your command line and execution (console window)?
psguru
PrestoSoft
misi01
Junior Member
Posts: 17
Joined: Tue Sep 12, 2017 8:59 am

Re: Please excuse the fact that this has probably been asked SOMEWHERE before

Post by misi01 »

Hmmm, not sure what you mean there.

The EXE is compiled Rexx on the PC. A (hopefully) similar Rexx script looks like this:-

Code: Select all

/* REXX */
arg parms
say 'In test1 ***'
do i = 1 to words(parms)             /* Loop round showing each argument passed */
	say 'Parm 'i' 'word(parms,i)
end	
do I = 1 to 10
	result = LINEOUT(, 'Record 'i)   /* Loop 10 times writing to STDOUT (ie, the console) */
end
return 0
The screen capture (SC) shows how I called the EXE from a DOS window (using test1 argument1 argument2) and the results written
to STDOUT. (The double ended arrow ISN'T supposed to be there, not sure where it came from)
Attachments
2017-09-13_19-52-01.jpg
2017-09-13_19-52-01.jpg (73.35 KiB) Viewed 15961 times
User avatar
psguru
Site Admin
Posts: 2228
Joined: Sat May 15, 2004 4:23 pm
Location: California
Contact:

Re: Please excuse the fact that this has probably been asked SOMEWHERE before

Post by psguru »

Assuming that test1 is the app (executable file), what are argument1 and argument2? I was hoping for a real world example, with actual, presumably, file names and the output.
psguru
PrestoSoft
MSpagni
Expert Member
Posts: 537
Joined: Mon Mar 30, 2009 12:53 am
Location: Italy

Re: Please excuse the fact that this has probably been asked SOMEWHERE before

Post by MSpagni »

I remembered having seen EBCDIC somewhere in EDP, even if I never used EBCDIC in my last 40 years of computer use...
EBCDIC is indeed handled, but only in the binary compare.
I can't seem to specify some sort of output file as an argument that is then picked up in ED the same way it is in BC.
"specify some sort of output file"? Don't!
Use the default. That's all.
I don't see where the difficulty lies: simply read a line from the input file, transcode it and write it to the default device (stdout: usually the screen).
If I'll have a little spare time I'll write it myself.
JeremyNicoll
Expert Member
Posts: 108
Joined: Sun May 02, 2010 12:00 pm
Location: Edinburgh

Re: Please excuse the fact that this has probably been asked SOMEWHERE before

Post by JeremyNicoll »

In screenshot: BC_startup_parms.jpg
the BC plugin has 3 file paths as parms, and for reasons that make no sense to me the first and second of them look the same.

You also suggest that the BC plugin is used like: H:\A_MS_exe\BC_CONVERT_MFE_FILE.exe %n %s %t
where %n %s and %t are defined as %s source file %t target file %n original file

- so does that mean the BC plugin gets handed both of the files that are being compared? If not, what did source/target/original mean?

But in: Exam_diff_plug_in_settings.jpg
you show settings with only two filepaths?

I would have expected either the new plugin to take a single filepath as its sole argument, read and process that file, and write a converted file to sysout, OR it to take two filepaths as arguments, then read the first one, convert it, and write output to the second one.


Surely (in EDP) a plugin only processes a single file at a time?
User avatar
psguru
Site Admin
Posts: 2228
Joined: Sat May 15, 2004 4:23 pm
Location: California
Contact:

Re: Please excuse the fact that this has probably been asked SOMEWHERE before

Post by psguru »

Surely (in EDP) a plugin only processes a single file at a time?
You can actually use the opposite file path as a plug-in argument: $OPPOSITEFILEPATH.
psguru
PrestoSoft
JeremyNicoll
Expert Member
Posts: 108
Joined: Sun May 02, 2010 12:00 pm
Location: Edinburgh

Re: Please excuse the fact that this has probably been asked SOMEWHERE before

Post by JeremyNicoll »

> You can actually use the opposite file path as a plug-in argument: $OPPOSITEFILEPATH.

So, in that situation would EDP call the plugin twice, the first time for: lefthandfile vv righthandfile, and then for: rh vv lh?
Or just once?
Post Reply