Automation: (Was: List of Command Line Tools) - Hijacked from PGP

[Matt Graham]

After a long battle with technology, Bryan O'Neal wrote:
> While we are on the subject, excluding writing everything in bash, what is
> the best way for various programs (pick your language) to access command
> line tools and parse the output?

Every language I've seen implements popen() somewhere.  That's a good way to 
use external tools that output text.

-- 
   Yesterday upon the stair, I met a man who wasn't there.
   He wasn't there again today -- I think he's from the CIA.
  My blog: http://crow202.org/wordpress/
Matt G|There is no Darkness in Eternity/But only Light too dim for us to see