How can I make a script to open a program then operate within that program?

graphixfx · 05-07-2010, 09:51 PM

I am very new to linux and am trying out script writing.
I am using shell.
How can I make a script to open a program then operate within that program?
Thanks

choogendyk · 05-07-2010, 10:08 PM

It's not very clear what you mean. If you could be more explicit, with an example, at least in concept, then we might be able to give an answer.

Also, if you start by doing some simple things, and then develop those, you will learn by doing, and you will also have more explicit questions.

graphixfx · 05-07-2010, 10:19 PM

Okay just for experimentation purposes I want to make a script to open firefox then perhaps go to a particular website or open VLC media player and play a specific file, stuff like this to open a program then have the program perform a task controlled by the script.....does that make more sense?

David the H. · 05-07-2010, 10:21 PM

Code:

#!/bin/bash

command1
command2
command3
etc...

At the most basic level, a script is nothing more than a text file containing a series of commands to be run serially. It doesn't matter if the command is cli, gui, or built-in. When one command exits, the script will launch the next one on the list.

At higher levels, there's also a scripting language that allows you to run commands conditionally, or in loops, or in other programmatic ways, and of course there are exceptions and special cases, but underneath it all it's still a one-command-at-a-time process.

If you gave us some details about what you're trying to accomplish, maybe we could help you more directly.

Edit: seeing your reply above, what you probably want is a macro recorder. These are programs that record a series of actions, mouse-clicks, key punches, etc. Then you can play the whole sequence back again.

Check out cnee/gnee/xnee or jw_record/playback.

If you want something more flexible, then it depends on the specific program you want to work with. If the program is controllable through cli, then you can probably script something for it.

catkin · 05-07-2010, 11:29 PM

Here's an example of starting Firefox and opening three LQ pages

Code:

# Linux Questions
/usr/bin/firefox \
    'http://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/search.php?do=process&showposts=0&starteronly=1&exactname=1&searchuser=catkin' \
    'http://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/subscription.php' &
sleep 10
/usr/bin/firefox \
    'http://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/search.php?do=getnew' \
    &

Notes:

The "\" characters mean the command is continued on the next line.
The "&" characters mean "do not wait for this command to complete before executing the next one".
The sleep for 10 seconds is necessary because LQ doesn't accept too-frequent searches.

sundialsvcs · 05-08-2010, 08:21 AM

It's worth noting ...

A script that invokes a program might or might not be able to subsequently control that program: it depends entirely upon the program in question.

If "the program in question" supports scripting on its own, however, then it's probably possible for "script #1" to start the program and to instruct that program to "run script #2 upon startup." Once again, it depends entirely upon what "the program in question" has been designed to do, what sort of scripting it supports, and so on.

Many scripting languages that are available in Linux are designed to be usable by programs, which are able to "expose interfaces" to those scripts. For example, Blender (the great open-source 3D-graphics package that I use a lot in my work these days) supports Python. You can write a script within the Blender environment, and say use Blender within that script, and "off you go."