How to access new variables created with .bset?

Here are some examples:


STEP .bset env "${BF_SERVER}_ISDIRTHERE = $TESTDIR"
EXEC .bset env 'my_laptop_ISDIRTHERE' = 'C:\Andy' (New Variable)

So we see above that BF created a new variable.
But if I then try to echo out the value (which should be C:\Andy). I can't do it. None of these work.

1) echo "the value after is: ${BF_SERVER_ISDIRTHERE} "
2) echo "the value after is: ${${BF_SERVER}_ISDIRTHERE} "
3) echo "the value after is: $${BF_SERVER}_ISDIRTHERE "


1) results in undefined variable referenced
2) results in ${my_laptop_ISDIRTHERE} (note that it resoved the inner ${BF_SERVER})
3) results in ${BF_SERVER}_ISDIRTHERE

and in my output log of the steps there is a line that reads:
my_laptop_ISDIRTHERE=C:\Andy

so I know it's defined.

I just can't figure out how to reference it.

remember, the name of the variable is created based on the BF_SERVER variable so it's not known to me until the job runs.

Andy

I found the same question on DeveloperWorks. Unanswered unfortunately.

http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/forums/thread.jspa?threadID=326799&tstart=15

More examples and a slightly different use case.

Same issue though..

Andy

I found the same question on DeveloperWorks. Unanswered unfortunately.

http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/forums/thread.jspa?threadID=326799&tstart=15

More examples and a slightly different use case.

Same issue though..

Andy

Hi Andy,

This solution might work for you if you can assure that the last step below runs on a computer using Windows. The issue is that Build Forge does not do double pass substitution on these variables. Therefore, we'll have to be creative. What the first step does is to create another variable with the value set to the name of ${BF_SERVER}_ISDIRTHERE . The following step then uses the Windows shell environment to get at the new variable's value.

Step 1
.bset env "${BF_SERVER}_ISDIRTHERE=$TESTDIR" "SERVER_VAR=${BF_SERVER}_ISDIRTHERE"

Step 2
.bset env "SERVER_VAR_VALUE=`echo %${SERVER_VAR}%`"


The step output would look like the following statements.

Step 1
8 6/3/10 12:16 PM STEP .bset env "${BF_SERVER}_ISDIRTHERE=$TESTDIR" "SERVER_VAR=${BF_SERVER}_ISDIRTHERE"
9 6/3/10 12:17 PM EXEC .bset env 'S_1_ISDIRTHERE' = 'C:\temp' (New Variable)
10 6/3/10 12:17 PM EXEC .bset env 'SERVER_VAR' = 'S_1_ISDIRTHERE' (New Variable)


Step 2
8 6/3/10 12:17 PM STEP .bset env "SERVER_VAR_VALUE=`echo %${SERVER_VAR}%`"
9 6/3/10 12:17 PM EXEC .bset env 'SERVER_VAR_VALUE' = 'C:\temp' (New Variable)


bju

Hi Folks.

I think I figured this out.

Important things.......

1) This is windows.

2) Usually , using $ notation for variables in BF steps on Windows, works just fine.

This is example where $ notation on windows came back to bite me.


Creating a variable with .bset like this works just fine:
.bset "${BF_SERVER}_VAR= `(some command)`"

However, referencing it is tough.

when I tried referencing it like this: ${${BF_SERVER}__VAR}

I got ${Server1_VAR} after BF did the first variable substitution.
However, it only did one substitution and passed ${Server1_VAR} to the agent.

Of course Windows doesn't know what to do with the $ notation.

However, both of these notations worked.
%${BF_SERVER}__VAR
%%BF_SERVER%_VAR%

bju,

I posted my final findings before reading reading your post. :)

so thanks for confirming that BF only does one pass for variable substitution.


Thanks for the tip on trying a system variable.

I was going crazy last night.

Andy

bju <ulbricht> wrote:

This solution might work for you if you can assure that the last step
below runs on a computer using Windows. The issue is that Build
Forge does not do double pass substitution on these variables.
Therefore, we'll have to be creative. What the first step does is to
create another variable with the value set to the name
of ${BF_SERVER}_ISDIRTHERE . The following step then uses the
Windows shell environment to get at the new variable's value.

Step 1
.bset env "${BF_SERVER}_ISDIRTHERE=$TESTDIR" "SERVER_VAR=${BF_SERVER}_ISDIRTHERE"

Step 2
.bset env "SERVER_VAR_VALUE=`echo %${SERVER_VAR}%`"

I assume that if you use .tset, they can be done in the same Build
Forge step.

That uses the fact that all Build Forge variables are put into the CMD
environment, though normally it's hard to get to them without Build
Forge intercepting the use.


If the syntax %...${NAME}...% offends your sensibilities, or you can't
use it, you can get at the variable another way. On Windows, for
example,

set ${BF_SERVER}_ISDIRTHERE>tempfile
.edit /${BF_SERVER}_ISDIRTHERE// tempfile

This puts the value into a file instead of a Build Forge variable or a
shell variable. That may be more or less useful depending on what you
plan to do with the value. You can then put it into a Build Forge
variable with something like

.set env SomeEnv "OtherVar=`type tempfile`"

You can instead use FOR /F ... ('type tempfile') ... to get it into a
CMD variable.

Which shows how to do the trick on UNIXy systems, where you might not
be able to do ${...%VAR%...} (I can't test it). You can change the
two lines to something like

env | sed -e "s/^${BF_SERVER}_ISDIRTHERE=//" > tempfile

"eval" can then be used to construct an assignment statement.

--
Tim McDaniel, tmcd@panix.com

In article <hvm5db>,
Tim McDaniel <tmcd> wrote:

If the syntax %...${NAME}...% offends your sensibilities, or you can't
use it, you can get at the variable another way. On Windows, for
example,

set ${BF_SERVER}_ISDIRTHERE>tempfile
.edit /${BF_SERVER}_ISDIRTHERE// tempfile

This puts the value into a file instead of a Build Forge variable or a
shell variable.

Ack! I copied and pasted from my own code and screwed up the
editing. My apologies. It should have removed the equal sign too:

set ${BF_SERVER}_ISDIRTHERE>tempfile
.edit /${BF_SERVER}_ISDIRTHERE=// tempfile

That's because, in Windows CMD, "set {prefix}" emits the definitions
of all CMD environment variables that start with {prefix}, and each
definition is of the form "NAME=VALUE", even if there's just one
variable. For example, on my current system, "set USER" outputs
USERDOMAIN=QA-TMCDANIEL
USERNAME=tmcdaniel
USERPROFILE=C:\Documents and Settings\tmcdaniel

--
Tim McDaniel, tmcd@panix.com