X-Authentication-Warning: acp3bf.physik.rwth-aachen.de: broeker owned process doing -bs
Date: Wed, 14 Jun 2000 15:39:30 +0200 (MET DST)
From: Hans-Bernhard Broeker <broeker AT physik DOT rwth-aachen DOT de>
X-Sender: broeker AT acp3bf
To: Eli Zaretskii <eliz AT is DOT elta DOT co DOT il>
cc: djgpp AT delorie DOT com
Subject: Re: PBM Utilities
In-Reply-To: <Pine.SUN.3.91.1000614162810.841C-100000@is>
Message-ID: <Pine.LNX.4.10.10006141536150.6658-100000@acp3bf>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=iso-8859-1
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit
X-MIME-Autoconverted: from QUOTED-PRINTABLE to 8bit by delorie.com id JAA22475
Reply-To: djgpp AT delorie DOT com
Errors-To: nobody AT delorie DOT com
X-Mailing-List: djgpp AT delorie DOT com
X-Unsubscribes-To: listserv AT delorie DOT com
Precedence: bulk

On Wed, 14 Jun 2000, Eli Zaretskii wrote:

> 
> On 14 Jun 2000, Hans-Bernhard Broeker wrote:
> 
> > A truckload of batchfiles substitutes the normal
> > executables. But you cannot pipe stuff into batchfiles, usually, so
> > the usual pipes of PBM utitily calls passing data from one to the next
> > didn't work.
> 
> It should be possible to invoke the batch files via an inferior 
> COMMAND.COM, as in "command /c batch1.bat | command /c batch2.bat ...", 
> no?  That should work, since COMMAND.COM is just another program.

Yes, it is, but it's awful, and existing scripts would almost certainlyñ 
not expect this to be necessary. They'll assume that if the PBM utilities
are present, a command line like

	ppmquant < foo.ppm | ppmtogif > foo.gif

will work. There's also the additional complication that most PBM
utilities need their stdout and stdin in binary mode. I'm not sure 
the command/c method preserves this across the '|', off hand. I'ld
have to test that.

Hans-Bernhard Broeker (broeker AT physik DOT rwth-aachen DOT de)
Even if all the snow were burnt, ashes would remain.