FrameMaker and Perl

murugu has asked for the wisdom of the Perl Monks concerning the following question:

Hi Monks,

Im currently working on FDK(FrameMaker Developers Kit) for automating typesetting jobs. The FDK API fully consist of C functions and structures. I want to do some find and replace options and text editing operations which require Regular Expressions. Can I use Perl Interpreter along with the FDK API. IF possible means how?

I want ur suggestions very quickly.

Thanks in advance.

Murugesan

Comment on FrameMaker and Perl

Replies are listed 'Best First'.
Re: FrameMaker and Perl by tbone1 (Monsignor) on Feb 20, 2004 at 14:21 UTC
Given that the API is C functions and structures, you might be better off using C's regular expression package. Contrary to common perception, there areregular expressions available for C, though of course they aren't as robust or flexible as Perl's regular expressions. Still, they may be enough for what you need. Check out libgen.h, regcmp, and regex if you are using Unix. If you can find a copy of David A. Curry's UNIX Systems Programming for SVR4 from O'Reilly, it has a small discussion of them. I'm sure they exist on other OSes, but my knowledge of those systems is limited. -- tbone1, YAPS (Yet Another Perl Schlub) And remember, if he succeeds, so what. - Chick McGee	[reply]
Re: FrameMaker and Perl by mirod (Canon) on Feb 20, 2004 at 15:00 UTC
I haven't used the FDK, but usually the way I process Frame files is by using Perl on the MIF. MIF is very parsable, especially if you trust Frame to insert comments when it closes a wrapping element (I do).	[reply]
Re: FrameMaker and Perl by asarih (Hermit) on Feb 20, 2004 at 22:46 UTC
Try Perl Compatible Regular Expressions library. For a side-by-side comparison with Perl's regex, you might find Regular Expressions Pocket Reference useful.	[reply]