On 14/03/08 09:29:41, Tadziu Hoffmann wrote: > > My script runs in the foreground but launches > > both the editor and gv to run in the background. > > Ah. I misunderstood. (Probably because your philosophy > is somewhat different from mine -- I launch the script > from the editor (not the other way around), and the > editor is "blocked" until the script terminates, so this > kind of thing can't happen.) > > But now I'm wondering: how does the editor communicate > with the script, i.e., how does the script know when > you've pressed the "save" button? (Apart from the script > simply polling the file in regular intervals, which either > wastes CPU time (not too much of an issue these days) or > makes you wait unnecessarily until the next update.)
You are correct. My script runs stat against the input file every two seconds -- kludgy, I know. CPU cycles are not really an issue, at least not when compared to my scripting skills. After all, I am supposed to be writing a letter, not doing a Gentoo-style "re-compile world". At the moment a maximum delay of two seconds is not a problem, but I intend to reduce that to one second and see if the faster re-groffing actually achieves anything practicable. BTW, the reason why the script launches the editor rather than vice versa is that the script first loads a config-style file into the editor. This way I can feed in all the information about addressee, subject matter headings, references, signature blocks, etc etc. Then I close the editor and the script turns the original input file into a proper groff file which it loads into the relaunched editor (in the bg). The script also outputs a postscript file which it loads into gv (also in the bg). The script then monitors the newly created groff file, into which I can add the body copy and amend the preliminary stuff. It is this lastmentioned file that is monitored for changes. > I think I'll agree with Ted -- this is mostly > an academic issue, since no permanent harm is > being done by "saving at the wrong time". Yes. Not being a programmer, I was concerned that I might be getting carried away with my own cleverness. Robert Thorsby Without C we would only have Pasal, Basi, and obol.
