Show in Frame No Frame
Up Previous Next Title Page Index Contents Search

internal execute, internal executeBlocking
internal read
internal read with textForMERL:

6.4.8 Internal execute, read

To run a stream of MetaEdit+ command-line operations in this MetaEdit+ session use:
internal 'forAll:run: WatchFamily Checkings' execute
The example runs the forAll:run: command-line operation with its two arguments, in this case running the Checkings generator on all instances of WatchFamily. If an argument contains a space, you can surround that argument in double quotes, as you would on the command line (a double quote in a quoted argument can be escaped by duplicating it, e.g. "use ""scare quotes"" sparingly"). Multiple commands can be executed in one long space-separated string, just as on the command line. You can find more details on the available command-line operations in Chapter 10; note that some only make sense before logging in, and so are not generally usable here.

internal execute, internal executeBlocking

Note that there is no use here for non-blocking execution, so the execute and executeBlocking closing tags behave identically, with both blocking.

internal read

Some MetaEdit+ command-line operations return a string, and the internal..read command can be used to retrieve that string, e.g. for output or to store in a variable. These command-line operations are string functions that can return information about the state of MetaEdit+ or answer questions about the environment. For instance, you can retrieve the name of the logged in user:
'This generator was run by '	
internal 'user' read
Some of the string functions take string arguments, e.g. a filename whose existence we want to check. The exists: function returns 'T' for true if the file exists, or an empty string if not, so it can be used in conditionals:
if __(internal 'exists: name.txt' read) then
   @a = __(filename 'name.txt' read)
else
   @a = 'unnamed'
endif
For consistency with internal..execute, multiple operations can be called inside a single internal...read. Each string function result will start on a new line in the output (note that some string function results may themselves include newlines).

Operations that are not string functions can still be used in internal..read. They will run their command as normal, but will have no effect on the output (not even a new line). Similarly, string functions can be used in internal..execute, but their output will be discarded.

internal read with textForMERL:

A special case worth mentioning is the command-line string function textForMERL:. When used in internal..read, this can allow MERL to generate MERL on the fly and run it. This is generally regarded as a Bad Idea, and any permanent mental damage caused is at the user’s own risk. On the face of it, the usage of the command is like any other case:
internal 'textForMERL: "..."' read
Note that the MERL code to run is enclosed in double quotes (as it will generally include a space), and the whole command is enclosed in single quotes. Any double quote in the MERL code must thus be doubled (as must any single quote there in a literal, as is always the case).

Note that textForMERL: will not inherit the current generator context: it is intended for use on the command line, where there is no context. Context can however be provided by building the MERL to be run so that it includes Live Code hyperlinks, e.g. something like:
do 'hyperlinkedString' { do contents {...}}
Within the inner block, we thus have the context of the Live Code target of the hyperlinked string. For example, to provide the current model element as context and run the MERL code in @merl in that context:
to '%dblq' newline '" $""' endto
@merl = 'foreach .() { id '': '' type newline }'
internal 'textForMERL: '
   '"'
   'do ''' oid ''' { do contents {' @merl%dblq '}}'
   '"'
read
Of course, nothing stops you from using this approach recursively: the MERL code that you generate and run could itself generate MERL code and run it. For further details, see Section 6.4.8.

Show in Frame No Frame
Up Previous Next Title Page Index Contents Search