From: Karl Voit <devnull@...>
Date: 2006-10-06T17:00:05+09:00
Subject: system() and changing (path-)environment

Hi!

I want to replace some shellscripts using ruby and therefore I need a
method to execute external scripts (ksh). Without rewriting a lot of
scripts, I need the possibility to execute external scripts in another
directory (as the ruby-script) but within their directory context:

path1 -> rubyscript.rb
         module.rb

path2 -> shellscript.ksh
         anotherscript.ksh
         path3 -> last_script.ksh
                  found_another_one.pl

shellscript.ksh calls the other scripts using relative path statements
but when I use system("path2/shellscript.ksh"), shellscript.ksh is
started with the rubyscript.rb-directory context and within
shellscript.ksh, the call of "./anotherscript.ksh" or
"path3/last_script.ksh" results in "script not found here you fool!".

I tried some things like
   system("cd path2; shellscript.ksh")
   system("ENVIRONMENTVARIABLE=something shellscript.ksh")
but none of them worked out.

What do you suggest?

-- 
Karl Voit