Retaining Exported Variables from a Spawned Script Inside of an Expect Script

[tetsuo13]

I'm completely stumped as to how to do this. I have an Expect script which spawns a Korn Shell script. The ksh script exports all sorts of variables which I would normally have access to following the completion of the script on the command line, however, because it's spawned from the Expect script, it seems everything is lost.

Example. If I execute this Expect script from the command line:

#!/usr/bin/expect

spawn ksh_script

#!/usr/bin/ksh

TMP_VAR="Today is warm"
export TMP_VAR

and then 'echo $TMP_VAR', it's not set.

Is there a way in in the Expect script to "capture" or somehow tell it to retain any new environment variables from a spawned process? I can't use exec or system which might do what I'm looking for in the Expect script because the ksh script is interactive.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Franklin52]

Try to export the variable in your expect script.

Regards

[tetsuo13]

#!/usr/bin/expect

spawn ksh_script

parray env

TMP_VAR isn't in the list and the variable $TMP_VAR doesn't exist. If I could get the Expect script to even see these exported variables in the ksh script I could then export them.

[Franklin52]

Sorry I misunderstood your question, you can export a variable for the script you're calling but not visa versa. When you call a script, the script runs in another shell.

Regards

[tetsuo13]

Right, that's what it seams. Perhaps there's a different approach I might be able to take? Or a command in Expect that won't launch a new subprocess but instead within the same?

I've never encountered an issue like this and it's a complete dead end.

[Franklin52]

A temporary file?

Regards

[tetsuo13]

What do you mean?

[Franklin52]

Write the value in the ksh script in a temporary file and read the value back with your expect script.

Regards

[tetsuo13]

In the actual environment, the one Expect script spawns a ksh script which in turn sources and executes about four other ksh scripts, each of which export a ton variables. Changing all of the ksh scripts involved would be a chore. If I had that luxury, I would clean them all up and not have to write this Expect script in the first place

:drown: