autodie and IPC::System::Simple on Windows

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

Hello Monks. I seek your wisdom.

I'm writing a program on Windows 7 using Strawberry Perl 5.12.3. I'm having a problem using two modules which give me no trouble on Linux.

IPC::System::Simple (v1.21) doesn't seem to work.

use IPC::System::Simple qw(capture capturex system systemx run runx $E
+XITVAL EXIT_ANY);

# This fails.
system('dir', 'test.pl');
[download]

autodie (v2.11) uses IPC::System::Simple, but if (and only if) you have explicity loaded IPC::System::Simple, then you can avoid the problem by temporarily disabling autodie. But you also lose the advantage of having it, at least while it is disabled.

use autodie 'system';

# This works.
no autodie 'system';
  system('dir', 'test.pl');
use autodie 'system';

# This fails.
system('dir', 'test.pl');
[download]

The error I'm seeing is: "dir" failed to start: "The system cannot find the file specified" at C:/strawberry/perl/vendor/lib/IPC/System/Simple.pm line 480.

According to CPAN both these modules are supposed to work on Windows and are widely used. So I'm guessing that there is something that I'm overlooking. I did try the tests on another Windows machine and got the same results.

Thanks, John

P.S. autodie's lexical feature doesn't seem to work on Windows, also. I didn't try it on Linux.

Comment on autodie and IPC::System::Simple on Windows Select or Download Code

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Re: autodie and IPC::System::Simple on Windows by cztmonk (Monk) on Jun 02, 2012 at 11:33 UTC
This works for Windows 7,64 bit, ActiveState Perl v5.14.2 : `use IPC::System::Simple qw(capture capturex system systemx run runx $E +XITVAL EXIT_ANY); # This works. system('dir test.pl');` [download]	[reply] [d/l]
Re^2: autodie and IPC::System::Simple on Windows by JohnRS (Scribe) on Jun 02, 2012 at 18:06 UTC
Same here. Very interesting. As long as I feed it the command and argument as one string, rather than two, it works. Thanks!	[reply]
Re: autodie and IPC::System::Simple on Windows by Anonymous Monk on Jun 02, 2012 at 07:31 UTC
So I'm guessing that there is something that I'm overlooking. It is a basic trap , there is no dir.exe, which autodie is looking for `$ dir NUL Directory of \\. File Not Found $ perl -Mautodie=system -e " system q[dir NUL] " "dir NUL" unexpectedly returned exit value 255 at (eval 10) line 13. at -e line 1 $ perl -Mautodie=system -e " system q[C:\\WINDOWS\\system32\\cmd.EXE / +x /c dir NUL] " Directory of \\. File Not Found "C:\WINDOWS\system32\cmd.EXE /x /c dir NUL" unexpectedly returned exit + value 1 at (eval 10) line 13. at -e line 1` [download] Basically you need to read system followed by Config#sh followed by `help dir` at your console, followed by autodie and for good measure perlport#system and How Command Line Parameters Are Parsed and Behind the GUI lives the Shell See also Re: system() implementation on Windows (again), Re^3: system() implementation on Windows (again) Yeah, system really stinks, and the sad part is, it stinks everywhere	[reply] [d/l] [select]
Re: autodie and IPC::System::Simple on Windows by BrowserUk (Patriarch) on Jun 02, 2012 at 08:05 UTC
Given that both modules are by the same author, you'd probably get better answers by raising the issue(s) with him directly. From my perspective, 600 lines of code for "producing a well-formatted error string", seems excessive and unnecessary. Adding another 1000+ lines of code in order to avoid typing `... or die $!;` just seems gratuitous. With the rise and rise of 'Social' network sites: 'Computers are making people easier to use everyday' Examine what is said, not who speaks -- Silence betokens consent -- Love the truth but pardon error. "Science is about questioning the status quo. Questioning authority". In the absence of evidence, opinion is indistinguishable from prejudice. The start of some sanity?	[reply] [d/l]
Re^2: autodie and IPC::System::Simple on Windows by Anonymous Monk on Jun 02, 2012 at 08:15 UTC
Better answers? It says "dir" failed to start: "The system cannot find the file specified It is lookin for a file dir and it can't find it, there is no dir.exe on win32	[reply]
Re^3: autodie and IPC::System::Simple on Windows by BrowserUk (Patriarch) on Jun 02, 2012 at 08:24 UTC
It is wrongly assuming that `dir` is an executable when it is actually a cmd.exe built-in. Use the built-in system and that does not happen. With the rise and rise of 'Social' network sites: 'Computers are making people easier to use everyday' Examine what is said, not who speaks -- Silence betokens consent -- Love the truth but pardon error. "Science is about questioning the status quo. Questioning authority". In the absence of evidence, opinion is indistinguishable from prejudice. The start of some sanity?	[reply] [d/l]
Re^4: autodie and IPC::System::Simple on Windows by JohnRS (Scribe) on Jun 02, 2012 at 17:56 UTC
Re^4: autodie and IPC::System::Simple on Windows by Anonymous Monk on Jun 02, 2012 at 08:35 UTC
Re^5: autodie and IPC::System::Simple on Windows by BrowserUk (Patriarch) on Jun 02, 2012 at 09:45 UTC
Some notes below your chosen depth have not been shown here
Re^2: autodie and IPC::System::Simple on Windows by JohnRS (Scribe) on Jun 02, 2012 at 18:01 UTC
Yes and no. Comparing apples to apples, from purely a typing perspective: Using autodie is 1 line of typing to save numerous "... or die" lines throughout my code. And I don't have to worry about missing one. :)	[reply]