--------------------
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
documentation for Expect.
Please read CHANGES.3to4 if you have scripts that used Expect version
3 or version 4 alpha or beta. This version of Expect 4 is not
intended to run with the beta Tcl 7.0. (I am currently working this.)
--------------------
Readings on Expect
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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 Expect
itself is in Chapter 36 ("Expect") of "Obfuscated C and Other
Mysteries", John Wiley & Sons, 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.
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How to Get the Latest Version of Expect or the Readings
--------------------
Expect may be ftp'd as pub/expect/expect.tar.Z from ftp.cme.nist.gov.
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, please
read the INSTALL file. The papers mentioned above can be retrieved
separately as pub/expect/seminal.ps.Z, pub/expect/sysadm.ps.Z,
pub/expect/scripts.ps.Z, pub/expect/regress.ps.Z,
pub/expect/kibitz.ps.Z, pub/expect/tcl-debug.ps.Z. The book is not
on-line but is available in bookstores or directly from the publisher.
While expect.tar.Z contains some example scripts, other interesting
scripts are available separately in the pub/expect/scripts directory
(retrieved as above). You are welcome to send me scripts to add to
this directory.
--------------------
Using Expect with and without Tcl and/or Tk.
--------------------
The usual way of using Expect is as a stand-alone program. This
requires Tcl. Since you may already have Tcl, it is available
separately. Tcl may be retrieved as pub/expect/tcl6.7.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 sprite.berkeley.edu. You may request email copies of Tcl by
writing to ouster@sprite.berkeley.edu.
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 libexptcl(3) and libexptk(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. I suspect it
is a more appropriate solution for most people than the library.
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Systems Supported
--------------------
I do not know of any systems which Expect will not run on. 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.
--------------------
Installing Expect
--------------------
Read the INSTALL file.
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History
--------------------
Expect was conceived of in September, 1987. The bulk of version 2 was
designed and written between January and April, 1990. Minor evolution
occurred after that until Tcl 6.0 was released. At that time
(October, 1991) approximately half of Expect was rewritten for version
3. See the HISTORY file for more information. The HISTORY file may
be retrieved separately as pub/expect/HISTORY.
Around January 1993, an alpha version of Expect 4 was introduced.
This included Tk support as well as a large number of enhancements. A
few changes were made to the user interface itself, which is why the
major version number was changed. A production version of version 4
was release in August 1993. Work is currently in progress on a
version of Expect for Tcl 7.0.
This documentation and software distribution is version 4 of Expect.
The papers listed above correspond to version 2 and 3, although they
are still the best introduction to Expect. There are important
differences between version 3 and 4. See the CONVERTING file if you
want to read about them. Expect 3 has ceased further development and
will no longer be supported. However, if for some reason you want the
old code, it is available from pub/expect/old as described below.
--------------------
Support
--------------------
Although I can't promise anything in the way of support, I'd be
interested to hear about your experiences using it (either good or
bad). I'm also interested in hearing bug reports (please include
version # reported by expect -d) and suggestions for improvement even
though I can't promise to implement them immediately.
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@cme.nist.gov or uunet!cme-durer!libes
Design and implementation of this program was paid for by U.S. tax
dollars. Therefore it is public domain. However, the author and NIST
would appreciate credit if this program or parts of it are used.
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Cygnus Support
--------------------
Cygnus Support provides commercial support for Expect (as well as Tcl
and Tk). 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. Cygnus may be reached at:
Cygnus Support
1937 Landings Drive
Mountain View, CA 94043
+1 (415) 903-1400
info@cygnus.com
Neither I nor NIST has any commercial relationship with Cygnus.
Cygnus is in the process of signing an agreement with NIST that
describes its non-exclusive position to support Expect. Other
companies are welcome to apply for such an agreement or other kinds of
agreements such as permission-to-use. Strictly speaking, such
agreements are not necessary, however they make us look good to our
funding source, the U.S. Congress.
These are the contents of the former NiCE NeXT User Group NeXTSTEP/OpenStep software archive, currently hosted by Netfuture.ch.