Running a perl script with parameters in a file

[Riverstorm]

I've been trying to figure out if it's possible to run a perl script with parameters from a "batch" file so I don't have to type the whole command every time. I tried several things but I can't seem to figure it out. Here's the command. Is it possible to put it into like an executable file or batch file to run if that makes sense? It's a scraper that associates screenshots with games. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

perl mameGenXml.pl -rompath /home/pi/mame4all/roms/ -mode mame -extension zip > gamelist.xml

[DougieLawson]

Wrap a shell script round it.

Code: Select all

#!/bin/bash

/usr/bin/perl mameGenXml.pl -rompath /home/pi/mame4all/roms/ -mode mame -extension zip > gamelist.xml

[Riverstorm]

Ok, I will give that a try. Should I also add the full path to the MameGenXml.pl part of the command (i.e. - /home/pi/genScript/mameGenXml.pl) or is that not needed or is it good practice to do it?

[DougieLawson]

It depends how you're planning to run the script. If you're in a normal shell you'll inherit the normal environment, if you're running from crontab you run in a limited environment. It can be a good idea to include full paths.

[Riverstorm]

Ok, I don't quite understand that but I tried it both ways with the path added and without but I get the same error from the script with a different path. I am in the directory where all the files are located too.

It does run fine outside the file just from a shell. I also made it an executable with chmod +x mame (mame is the file I created).

readdir() attempted on invalid dirhandle DIR at /home/pi/genScript/mameGenXml.pl line 51.
closedir() attempted on invalid dirhandle DIR at /home/pi/genScript/mameGenXml.pl line 52.

readdir() attempted on invalid dirhandle DIR at mameGenXml.pl line 51.
closedir() attempted on invalid dirhandle DIR at mameGenXml.pl line 52.

Do I need to enclose the parameters in quotes or something?

[AndrewS]

Sounds like there's a bug in the mameGenXml.pl script - it's not checking to see if the directory exists before opening it (which is why you're getting the 'invalid dirhandle' errors). Double-check the paths you're giving as arguments to the perl script actually exist.

[Riverstorm]

Thanks Dougie and Andrew, the command worked perfectly and I also did have a typo in the path. I really appreciate the help as it will save a ton of keystrokes!