From: Rob Biedenharn <Rob@...>
Date: 2009-08-08T01:05:11+09:00
Subject: Re: how to "source" a file?

On Aug 7, 2009, at 11:00 AM, Ilan Berci wrote:
> Ken Feng wrote:
>> I have a bash file ~/.myenv that contains environmental variables  
>> like:
>>
>> export EDITOR=vi
>> export FOO=bar
>> ...
>>
>> How do I source this file from within a ruby script that starts like?
>>
>> #!/usr/bin/ruby
>>
>> I could source the file in bash before running the ruby script, but I
>> prefer that the script do it, in case the user forgets.
>>
>> Thx.
>>
>> -Ken
>
> `source ~/.myenv`
>
> at work.. NOT TESTED.. guess
>
> ilan

Nope! That will set those variables in the child process and any of  
its children, but they'll go away and have no effect on your ruby  
process.

Your best bet is to warn the user if you are using defaults and tell  
him/her/yourself to fix it.

unless ENV['EDITOR']
   ENV['EDITOR'] = 'vi'
   puts "Environment has no EDITOR using '#{ENV['EDITOR']}'"
   puts "Did you mean to?:  source ~/.myenv"
end

You could also exit without doing anything if the value has no  
acceptable default.

-Rob

Rob Biedenharn		http://agileconsultingllc.com
Rob@AgileConsultingLLC.com