PPWIZARD is a free preprocessor for HTML, REXX, Visual Basic or any text files.

PPWIZARD IN UNIX

These are things you need to be aware of:

• All command line switches should be specified using '-'.

• The use of the -Input switch can make it easier to use PPWIZARD under Unix.

• Project files or the -list switch can also make it easier for you by moving all switches and input masks into a file.

• The "$" character has special meaning on the command line, you can escape this with a slash (as in "{\$path}".

• There are other characters that will need to be handled, for example I know ";" is another special character. If anyone knows others please let me know and I will update this doco. Of course you have probably guessed it but to use the Unix escape character "\" you will of course need to use "\\".

• Note that temporary files are put into the directory identified by the "TMP" environment variable, you must have write access to this. If the environment variable does not exist then files are placed into the "/tmp" directory.

• If you have any problems (such as PPWIZARD not locating the input file) then you may need to use the /RedirMethod switch. If you need to do this please let me know (send me redirected output from "regina ppwizard DEBUG").

• You may need to use /Hook (for "GetFileList"), if you need to use this to get PPWIZARD going then please let me know (I need "-debug" output) and I'll fix it.

  If you are having a problem have a look at the doco for the -Input switch. You could ensure UNIX performs the filename expansion for you as a workaround!

These Work!

I either test under or have reason to believe that PPWIZARD works under:

1. BeOS
2. Linux
   Known to work with RedHat:
   • 5.1
   • 5.2
   • 6.2 Ultrasparc Linux (64-bit kernel)
3. FreeBSD
4. Mac OS X
5. SunOS
   Tested on SunOS 5.8 (64 bit enabled) using GNU "find" version 4.1 (64 bit) in place of Sun's regular "find". If you do not wish to change the "find" command (which appears to be very non-standard) you could use a /Hook of "GetFileList".

You will need to obtain the Regina source code and compile it (there are now binaries in Red Hat package manager format). All my testing used the generated "REXX" program. The source can be obtained from my http://www.labyrinth.net.au/~dbareis/regina.htm.

As with all operating systems, I am keen to fix any problems. Unix is a bigger unknown to me with all its different shells, etc.

If you have a problem, please use the "-debug" command line switch and redirect the command's output, along with the name of the shell you are using and any other relevant details (all zipped please). I will typically have a fix for you in a few days and maybe a workaround even faster.

Status Under BeOS

Looks like Unix to PPWIZARD. No known issues.

Status Under Macintosh OS X (Darwin)

Looks like Unix to PPWIZARD. No known issues.

Status Under AIX

May or may not work (probably does), regina is available. Anyone using it on AIX?

Status Under HP-UX

May or may not work (probably does), regina is available. Anyone using it on HP-UX?

Status Under QNX

May or may not work, regina is available. Anyone using it on QNX?

Status Under TSO

I have reorganised PPWIZARD's internals and done other things to make it easier to port (and have taken care of EBCDIC/ASCII issues) in an attempt to get it to work on REXX370 on OS390/zOS (Unix environment - omvs?).

It will not work as is, I need help (it may be close). I have a few stubs (e.g. "FileQueryExists()" that need filling out.

PPWIZARD Manual

Thursday January 17 2002 at 6:27pm