Get return value of `\write18`
A very elementary approach using shell facilities:
Write the script execution state (either of the script itself or of the last command to an external file using >
redirection and then read this generated file to a \def\foomacro
.
\documentclass{book}
\newread\myscriptresult
\begin{document}
\immediate\write18{./myscript.sh; echo $? > scriptresult.txt}
\immediate\openin\myscriptresult=scriptresult.txt
\read\myscriptresult to \ScriptResult
\immediate\closein\myscriptresult
The result was \ScriptResult
\end{document}
myscript.sh
:
#!/bin/bash
ls -la
The following MWE show how you can directly \input
from, say, the date
command. It also shows how to \read
the output of date
in a control sequence, by means of \openin
.
\documentclass[a4paper]{article}
\usepackage[T1]{fontenc}
\newread\teststream
\newcommand*\testline{}
\openin\teststream=|date
\ifeof\teststream
\typeout{Unable to open test stream.}
\else
\typeout{Test stream opened.}
\read\teststream to \testline
\typeout{\testline}
\fi
\begin{document}
\input{|date}
\end{document}
However, to avoid problems with special characters, it is probably better to use \readline
innstead of \read
, if you are running with e-TeX extensions enabled (as you ordinarily do, nowadays).
Of course, the above code requires that you enable the shell-escape feature.
Addition
I think it may be useful to add references to a couple of related (questions and) answers: first of all (and above all) there is Write18: capturing shell (script) output as command/variable?; however, none of the answers to this question (or to this other, related one) mention the fact that the “piped input” feature also works with \openin
. For this reason, I take the liberty to cite also Include/input every subfile from a subfolder, even if it includes an answer by myself (and this surely qualifies as self-promotion, which isn’t very nice -- please be forgiving).