expect-lite
Automation for the rest of us with Windows
Using expect-lite with Cygwin
Althought expect-lite was initially created for the Linux environment, there are many users of expect-lite using windows and cygwin. Version 4.0.1, has been tested extensively on cygwin.Unfortunately, the current version of expect, used by expect-lite, in cygwin is quite old (2003).
NOTE (June 2012): versions 4.2.0 thru 4.30 will not work with the old version of expect in cygwin. This has been fixed in 4.3.1
Limitations of using the old cygwin expect from 2003
The Powerful new Debugger in expect-lite is using underlying features of expect which are just not available in the 2003 version. Although expect-lite script should execute without problem, some of the newer cool debugger features will not work correctly.The limitations in the Debugger are:
- Copy/Paste expect-lites into the debugger - not supported. A warning will be printed when entering the Debugger
- Debugger commands: must use back-quote ` rather than the escape key
There is a newer version of expect available
I have compiled the CVS version of expect 5.45 for cygwin. A tar
file is available which includes the expect binary, and required
libraries.Download the newer version of expect, and unleash the full potential of expect-lite on your cygwin system.
To install the tarball, untar from the root
- cd /
- tar xvzf cygwin_expect_5_45.tar.gz
If anyone has experience creating Cygwin packages, please drop me a note, I would like to update the version expect in the Cygwin repository.