Re: ppm rep describe

[planetscape]

Specifically,

my $rep_describe = `ppm rep describe $name`;

returns undef:

.main::(updateWorkingRepositories3.pl:41):
41:                     my $rep_describe = `ppm rep describe $name`;
  DB<1> x $name
0  'ActiveState PPM2 Repository'
  DB<2> x $rep_describe
0  undef

Although if I type ppm rep describe ActiveState PPM2 Repository manually into a command prompt:

Describing Active Repository 1:
    Name: ActiveState PPM2 Repository
Location:
http://ppm.ActiveState.com/cgibin/PPM/ppmserver-5.8-windows.pl?urn:/PP
+MServer
    Type: PPMServer 2.0

Details of my WinXP Pro SP2 install:

C:\Perl>perl -V
Summary of my perl5 (revision 5 version 8 subversion 6) configuration:
  Platform:
    osname=MSWin32, osvers=4.0, archname=MSWin32-x86-multi-thread
    uname=''
    config_args='undef'
    hint=recommended, useposix=true, d_sigaction=undef
    usethreads=define use5005threads=undef useithreads=define usemulti
+plicity=de
fine
    useperlio=define d_sfio=undef uselargefiles=define usesocks=undef
    use64bitint=undef use64bitall=undef uselongdouble=undef
    usemymalloc=n, bincompat5005=undef
  Compiler:
    cc='cl', ccflags ='-nologo -Gf -W3 -MD -Zi -DNDEBUG -O1 -DWIN32 -D
+_CONSOLE -
DNO_STRICT -DHAVE_DES_FCRYPT  -DNO_HASH_SEED -DPERL_IMPLICIT_CONTEXT -
+DPERL_IMPL
ICIT_SYS -DUSE_PERLIO -DPERL_MSVCRT_READFIX',
    optimize='-MD -Zi -DNDEBUG -O1',
    cppflags='-DWIN32'
    ccversion='', gccversion='', gccosandvers=''
    intsize=4, longsize=4, ptrsize=4, doublesize=8, byteorder=1234
    d_longlong=undef, longlongsize=8, d_longdbl=define, longdblsize=10
    ivtype='long', ivsize=4, nvtype='double', nvsize=8, Off_t='__int64
+', lseeksi
ze=8
    alignbytes=8, prototype=define
  Linker and Libraries:
    ld='link', ldflags ='-nologo -nodefaultlib -debug -opt:ref,icf  -l
+ibpath:"C:
\Perl\lib\CORE"  -machine:x86'
    libpth=\lib
    libs=  oldnames.lib kernel32.lib user32.lib gdi32.lib winspool.lib
+  comdlg32
.lib advapi32.lib shell32.lib ole32.lib oleaut32.lib  netapi32.lib uui
+d.lib ws2_
32.lib mpr.lib winmm.lib  version.lib odbc32.lib odbccp32.lib msvcrt.l
+ib
    perllibs=  oldnames.lib kernel32.lib user32.lib gdi32.lib winspool
+.lib  comd
lg32.lib advapi32.lib shell32.lib ole32.lib oleaut32.lib  netapi32.lib
+ uuid.lib
ws2_32.lib mpr.lib winmm.lib  version.lib odbc32.lib odbccp32.lib msvc
+rt.lib
    libc=msvcrt.lib, so=dll, useshrplib=yes, libperl=perl58.lib
    gnulibc_version='undef'
  Dynamic Linking:
    dlsrc=dl_win32.xs, dlext=dll, d_dlsymun=undef, ccdlflags=' '
    cccdlflags=' ', lddlflags='-dll -nologo -nodefaultlib -debug -opt:
+ref,icf  -
libpath:"C:\Perl\lib\CORE"  -machine:x86'


Characteristics of this binary (from libperl):
  Compile-time options: MULTIPLICITY USE_ITHREADS USE_LARGE_FILES PERL
+_IMPLICIT_
CONTEXT PERL_IMPLICIT_SYS
  Locally applied patches:
        ActivePerl Build 811
        21540 Fix backward-compatibility issues in if.pm
        23565 Wrong MANIFEST.SKIP
  Built under MSWin32
  Compiled at Dec 13 2004 09:52:01
  @INC:
    C:/Perl/lib
    C:/Perl/site/lib
    .

Otherwise, as you say, it seems to work just fine...

HTH,

[PodMaster]

Try something like

# escape shell metachars, search around for something complete
$name =~ s/([&"])/^$1/g;
my $rep_describe = `ppm rep describe "$name"`;

See when you use ``, you're subject to the shell (like the pod says).