Execute External Program

From InstallJammer Wiki

The Execute External Program action will execute an external program like a shell script or batch file and return the results in specified virtual text. It can also be used to show progressive output while the external program is running, so that the user can see what the program is doing while it runs.

You cannot execute in a console or as root if Show Progressive Output is true.

Contents 1 Standard Properties 2 Advanced Properties 2.1 Execute as Root (UNIX only) 2.2 Console Title (UNIX only) 2.3 Execute in Console 2.4 Program Command Line 2.5 Progressive Output Widget 2.6 Result Virtual Text 2.7 Show Progressive Output 2.8 Status Virtual Text 2.9 Wait for Program

[edit] Standard Properties

See Standard Action Properties.

[edit] Advanced Properties

[edit] Execute as Root (UNIX only)

If this property is true, InstallJammer will attempt to execute the given program as root. If the user is already root, the action will execute as normal. If the user is not root, they will be prompted for their root password which will then execute the program as root.

[edit] Console Title (UNIX only)

If this property is not null, it specifies the title to use on the console window if the Execute in Console property is true.

[edit] Execute in Console

If this property is true, InstallJammer will execute the external program in a console window. This is useful for executing scripts that expect some kind of input from the user on the command-line.

InstallJammer will attempt to choose an appropriate console based on the desktop environment. Konsole for KDE, gnome-terminal for Gnome, or fall back to xterm if nothing else is found. If you want something different, specify it explicitly in your command line. If Execute in Console is specified in conjunction with Execute as Root, and the user is not root, the console will first ask the user for their root password in the same console window before executing.

[edit] Program Command Line

This is the command-line of the program to execute. The command line is executed exactly as it is input with all arguments included. Virtual text will automatically be substituted.

It should be noted that arguments on the command-line are separated by spaces, and each argument is passed separately to the system as arguments to the command being executed. Each argument is parsed individually for virtual text rather than substituting the string as a whole so that each argument is properly appended to a list of arguments to execute.

[edit] Progressive Output Widget

This property specifies a textbox widget on the current pane that will be updated with the output of a progressive command as it becomes available. The textbox will automatically scroll down to keep up with new input.

[edit] Result Virtual Text

This is a virtual text variable to store the result of external program. This will be any data that is output to standard out while the program is running. If progressive output is being shown, this variable will be the entire result that was output when the program finishes executing.

[edit] Show Progressive Output

If this value is true, the Progressive Output Widget will be updated with new data as it becomes available from the external program. If this value is false, all output from the external program is buffered and stored in Result Virtual Text.

[edit] Status Virtual Text

This is a virtual text variable that stores the exit code of the external program. An exit code of 0 usually means that the program succeeded without error. Any other exit code usually means that the program failed in some way.

[edit] Wait for Program

This tells InstallJammer to wait until the external program finishes before continuing on with the install. If this value is false, InstallJammer will execute the external program in the background and continue on.