# Clipboard command line utility **URL:** \ **Category:** Ruby\ **Created:** [January 2, 2008, 10:10pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/clipboard-command-line-utility/124823 "2008-01-02T22:10:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dfinnie](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/d/e9bcb4/32.png) [@dfinnie](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/dfinnie)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2008, 10:10pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/clipboard-command-line-utility/124823/1 "2008-01-02T22:10:49Z")
I’ve been doing a lot of Python for Google’s Highly Open Participation contest lately but finally found the time to make a utility I thought of a few weeks ago. Basically, it allows you to pipe to and from the clipboard on the command line. Example: daniel@daniel-desktop:~$ echo ‘ruby’ | clipboard daniel@daniel-desktop:~$ clipboard ruby daniel@daniel-desktop:~$ You can also access it with the normal Control-C/Control-V shortcuts. So, it’s a great concept, but not such a good implementation. First, I doctored the output above. ruby-gnome2 seems to be outputting error messages that I can’t get rid of, even after a Google search. This is the real output: daniel@daniel-desktop:~$ echo ‘ruby’ | clipboard /usr/lib/ruby/1.8/glib2.rb: line 55 GLib-GObject-CRITICAL \*\*:g\_boxed\_type\_register\_static: assertion `g_type_from_name (name) == 0' failed /usr/lib/ruby/1.8/glib2.rb: line 55 GLib-GObject-CRITICAL **:g_param_spec_boxed: assertion `G\_TYPE\_IS\_BOXED (boxed\_type)’ failed /usr/lib/ruby/1.8/glib2.rb: line 55 GLib-GObject-CRITICAL \*\*:g\_object\_class\_install\_property: assertion `G_IS_PARAM_SPEC (pspec)' failed /usr/lib/ruby/1.8/glib2.rb: line 55 GLib-GObject-CRITICAL **:g_param_spec_boxed: assertion `G\_TYPE\_IS\_BOXED (boxed\_type)’ failed /usr/lib/ruby/1.8/glib2.rb: line 55 GLib-GObject-CRITICAL \*\*:g\_object\_class\_install\_property: assertion `G_IS_PARAM_SPEC (pspec)' failed daniel@daniel-desktop:~$ clipboard /usr/lib/ruby/1.8/glib2.rb: line 55 GLib-GObject-CRITICAL **:g_boxed_type_register_static: assertion `g\_type\_from\_name (name) == 0’ failed /usr/lib/ruby/1.8/glib2.rb: line 55 GLib-GObject-CRITICAL \*\*:g\_param\_spec\_boxed: assertion `G_TYPE_IS_BOXED (boxed_type)' failed /usr/lib/ruby/1.8/glib2.rb: line 55 GLib-GObject-CRITICAL **:g_object_class_install_property: assertion `G\_IS\_PARAM\_SPEC (pspec)’ failed /usr/lib/ruby/1.8/glib2.rb: line 55 GLib-GObject-CRITICAL \*\*:g\_param\_spec\_boxed: assertion `G_TYPE_IS_BOXED (boxed_type)' failed /usr/lib/ruby/1.8/glib2.rb: line 55 GLib-GObject-CRITICAL **:g_object_class_install_property: assertion `G\_IS\_PARAM\_SPEC (pspec)’ failed ruby daniel@daniel-desktop:~$ I have tried doing something like this with stderr, stdout, and defout with no luck: require ‘stringio’ old\_stderr = $stderr $stderr = StringIO.new require ‘gtk2’ $stderr = old\_stderr Any suggestions? I have posted the full source code to [http://ruby.pastebin.com/f5ef5f028](http://ruby.pastebin.com/f5ef5f028) I would also like a better way to capture STDIN without blocking if there is no text on STDIN. Thanks, Dan Finnie removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid ---
**Author:** ![dfinnie](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/d/e9bcb4/32.png) [@dfinnie](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/dfinnie)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2008, 10:32pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/clipboard-command-line-utility/124823/2 "2008-01-02T22:32:29Z")
On Jan 3, 2008 2:39 AM, dfinnie [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid) wrote: > You can also access it with the normal Control-C/Control-V shortcuts. > /usr/lib/ruby/1.8/glib2.rb: line 55 > `G_IS_PARAM_SPEC (pspec)' failed /usr/lib/ruby/1.8/glib2.rb: line 55 GLib-GObject-CRITICAL **:g_param_spec_boxed: assertion `G\_TYPE\_IS\_BOXED (boxed\_type)’ failed > /usr/lib/ruby/1.8/glib2.rb: line 55 > GLib-GObject-CRITICAL \*\*:g\_object\_class\_install\_property: assertion > `G\_IS\_PARAM\_SPEC (pspec)’ failed > ruby > daniel@daniel-desktop:~$ I have seen these errors as well, you will have better luck if you compile ruby-gnome2 directly from SVN. Yeah, it has lots of dependencies, but probably you will have them. I will love to play with code and see where it takes me! > $stderr = old\_stderr > removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid – Let them talk of their oriental summer climes of everlasting conservatories; give me the privilege of making my own summer with my own coals. [http://gnufied.org](http://gnufied.org) ---
**Author:** ![dfinnie](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/d/e9bcb4/32.png) [@dfinnie](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/dfinnie)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2008, 10:42am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/clipboard-command-line-utility/124823/3 "2008-01-03T10:42:33Z")
On Thu, Jan 03, 2008 at 06:09:58AM +0900, dfinnie wrote: > I’ve been doing a lot of Python for Google’s Highly Open Participation > contest lately but finally found the time to make a utility I thought > of a few weeks ago. Basically, it allows you to pipe to and from the > clipboard on the command line. Example: > > daniel@daniel-desktop:~$ echo ‘ruby’ | clipboard > daniel@daniel-desktop:~$ clipboard > ruby > daniel@daniel-desktop:~$ I’m not saying you shouldn’t write this utility – I’ve been known to duplicate existing utilities at times, too, sometimes with a good reason and sometimes for less-good reasons. However . . . Are you aware there’s a commonly available utility for this already called xclip? I use it pretty extensively. ren@kokopelli:~\> echo ‘ruby’|xclip ren@kokopelli:~\> xclip -o ruby ren@kokopelli:~\> cat books.txt Policy Made Easy ren@kokopelli:~\> xclip books.txt ren@kokopelli:~\> xclip -o Policy Made Easy ren@kokopelli:~\> . . . et cetera. FreeBSD: root@host:/\> portinstall xclip (assuming you use portupgrade) Debian: root@host:/# apt-get install xclip If you already knew about xclip, I’m curious why you are writing what amounts to a Ruby replacement for it. Are you just practicing? Do you want to rewrite a bunch of utilities in Ruby kinda like the Perl Power Tools? Do you dislike the xclip licensing? Feel free to refuse to cater to my idle curiosity. I’m just nosy that way. ---
**Author:** ![dfinnie](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/d/e9bcb4/32.png) [@dfinnie](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/dfinnie)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2008, 12:33am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/clipboard-command-line-utility/124823/4 "2008-01-04T00:33:41Z")
> If you already knew about xclip, I’m curious why you are writing what > amounts to a Ruby replacement for it There are probably a many reasons, I do not know why he wants to have this, but one thing which immediately comes to my mind is: - To have the same functionality available in pure ruby, without depending on some C program like xclip. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![dfinnie](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/d/e9bcb4/32.png) [@dfinnie](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/dfinnie)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2008, 2:54am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/clipboard-command-line-utility/124823/5 "2008-01-05T02:54:49Z")
I actually did not know about xclip, I wrote the utility to use it, not as an exercise. Thanks for the link. Do you have any other favorite command line utilities? Thanks, Dan Finnie