Problems Returning Different Values to Shell Script using Perl Script

[EchoAngel]

Hi Monks I have this example. Within a shell script, asdf.sh, I do `setenv script.pl`; Inside the script.pl, it will print out a menu and list options for users to enter and etc. I want to return back to the shell script the variable and data so I can set up the tools. IE setenv PEOPLE 321-23. But since i'm outputing to screen a menu, that text will get into setenv. Any help?

[tachyon]

Why not just do it all in Perl?

#!/usr/bin/perl

$ENV{PEOPLE} = '321-23';  # setenv PEOPLE

$res = menu();  # some menu function that gets input

# call shell stuff via `cmd` qx[ cmd ] system('cmd') exec('cmd')

# backtics get you STDOUT results, add 2>&1 to capture STDERR as well
my $results = `cmd $some $args 2>&1`;
print "Got $results\n";

# system lets you check exit codes but ingnores output
system("cmd");
my $exit_val = $? >> 8;

# exec mutates the perl script into some other program
exec("there_can_be_only_me");

[saintmike]

Just print the menu to STDERR and the result to STDOUT. Similar to this shell bookmark script.

[perlcapt]

In a shell script, you can substitute any result into any aspect of the script by enclosing the routine in backquotes. For example:

$ export IE=`myScript.pl $someShellValue $etc`

I'm not much of a csh user, but I believe it would be something like this:

% setenv IE `myScript.pl $someShellValue $etc`

I really don't understand your last statement:

But since i'm outputing to screen a menu, that text will get into setenv.

. Would you restate it with different words, please.