read a file of commands and execute them

Hi all,

I have read the FAQ on running a program from within a program, but I don't think that that's my answer. From google, I only got C++ stuff.
I'd appreciate any input, or ideas on where to start looking (functions, links, etc.)

I basically have the following:
- a file of data (matrices), [cameraFile]
- a file of commands, [commFile]: for example:
<commFile>
# comment
# comment
datafile cameraFile

function1 arg1 arg2 arg3
function1 arg1 arg2
function2 arg1 arg2 arg3 arg4
..... ,,,</commFile>

Now, the user is supposed to type:
myFile commFile

where myFile is my C file with the main.
This will access the command file, fetch the data file name from there, read the data file, store it, and them apply the commands on the data. The commands are functions that I will write (foo(), bar()...).

I wrote the piece of code that reads the commands and stores the data. I intended to put foo(), bar() and the rest of them in the same file as the one called by main, but I'm not sure it's the best idea.
My main problem is that I don't know how to go from the stored commands and args as strings (after I read the command file, e.g. "foo", "bar", "args1", "args2"), to actually calling them: foo(args1), bar(args2). I'm also not sure if I should put them in another file or the same one.

My code (with collapsed functions):

main:

Code:

---

#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <string.h>

int main(int argc, char *argv[]){
 
  [... var declarations ... ]        
 
  readCommands(argv[1]);

  return 0;

}

---

the other file:

Code:

---

#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <string.h>

#include "helperFunctions.h"


// returns the tokens in a file, and the number of tokens
int getWords(char *fptr, char* words[]){

}

//store variables in camera file (tokens)
void storeVarsCam(int nbWords, char* words[]){
       
}

//store variables in command file (tokens)
void storeVarsComm(int nbWords, char* words[], char* cameraFile){
       
}

//reads data from the camera files and stores it
void readCameras(char* fptr, char* words[]){

}

void readCommands(char* fptr){
       
        int i;       
        int nbTokens = 0;
        char* camFile;
        char* tokens[500];                            //500 words per file, change to dynamic allocation

        camFile = malloc(7*sizeof(char));                  //"camera"
        for(i=0; i<500; i++){
                tokens[i] = malloc(30*sizeof(char));          // 29 characters + '\0'
        }

        nbTokens = getWords(fptr, tokens);
        storeVarsComm(nbTokens, tokens, camFile);
        readCameras(camFile, tokens);

}

---

Thanks.

I would place functions dealing with each command into a separate file. This might seem like overkill at first, but will pay off if your commands become more numerous or complex.

You need a function to read the first word of a line (the command) in the command file and delegate reading the rest of the line (the args) to a setup function specific to the command. The setup function will read the rest of the args, change them from a C string to the required datatype (int, float, whatever), and call the actual function handling the command. This gives you flexibility of executing your commands by placing function calls in main, or by placing commands in the command file.

For example:

In Command1.c

Code:

---


Command1(arg1, arg2)
{
}

Command1_SetupAndRun()
{
    Read args and translate to appropriate type using atio, atof, if required.
    Call Command1 with args.
}

---

In CommandReader.c

Code:

---

commandReader()
{
    Read command
    If(command is "command1")
    {
          Command1SetupAndRun()
    }
    else if (command is "command2")
    {
          Command2SetupAndRun()
    }
}

---

I hope that helps you in organizing your program. Do you have any problems with the mechanics of reading files?

Hi,
and thanks.
That's what I was thinking too, but it seemed a bit un-elegant and repetitive. I was wondering if there was a way of "translating" the string "command1" into command1() directly, instead of having a huge if-then-else statement. I guess not though, and it's fine, I just didn't want to miss any easier way of doing it.
I'm okay with reading and storing the files, I'll put the command functions into a different file, like you suggested.

Thanks for your time.

Nope. That's the easiest way. If you have a lot of commands, a better solutions would be to have a hash table, so that you don't have to do string comparison, but that's not simple.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by surlyTomato

Hi,
and thanks.
That's what I was thinking too, but it seemed a bit un-elegant and repetitive. I was wondering if there was a way of "translating" the string "command1" into command1() directly, instead of having a huge if-then-else statement. I guess not though, and it's fine, I just didn't want to miss any easier way of doing it.
I'm okay with reading and storing the files, I'll put the command functions into a different file, like you suggested.

Thanks for your time.

---

Instead of having a huge if-then-else statement you can try switch.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by msh

Instead of having a huge if-then-else statement you can try switch.

---

Not with strings you can't.

Not if you don't hash the string up into a number.