# Running shell scripts

**URL:** <https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/running-shell-scripts/115539>\
**Category:** Ruby\
**Created:** [September 26, 2007, 3:15am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/running-shell-scripts/115539 "2007-09-26T03:15:57Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 8\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![eggie5](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/e/7c8e57/32.png) [@eggie5](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/eggie5)\
**Post date:** [September 26, 2007, 3:15am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/running-shell-scripts/115539/1 "2007-09-26T03:15:57Z")

</div>

How can I run this command from my ruby script?

/usr/bin/java -jar #{jsmin\_path}/custom\_rhino.jar -c  
#{tmp\_path}\_uncompressed.js

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![eggie5](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/e/7c8e57/32.png) [@eggie5](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/eggie5)\
**Post date:** [September 26, 2007, 3:20am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/running-shell-scripts/115539/2 "2007-09-26T03:20:38Z")

</div>

veggie5 wrote:

> How can I run this command from my ruby script?
> 
> /usr/bin/java -jar #{jsmin\_path}/custom\_rhino.jar -c  
> #{tmp\_path}\_uncompressed.js

ri Kernel#system

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![eggie5](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/e/7c8e57/32.png) [@eggie5](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/eggie5)\
**Post date:** [September 26, 2007, 4:00am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/running-shell-scripts/115539/3 "2007-09-26T04:00:56Z")

</div>

Tim H. [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid) wrote:

> veggie5 wrote:
> 
> > How can I run this command from my ruby script?
> > 
> > /usr/bin/java -jar #{jsmin\_path}/custom\_rhino.jar -c  
> > #{tmp\_path}\_uncompressed.js
> 
> ri Kernel#system

## ---------------------------------------------------------- Kernel#system system(cmd [, arg, …]) =\> true or false

```
 Executes _cmd_ in a subshell, returning +true+ if the command was
 found and ran successfully, +false+ otherwise. An error status is
 available in +$?+. The arguments are processed in the same way as
 for +Kernel::exec+.

    system("echo *")
    system("echo", "*")

 _produces:_

    config.h main.rb
    *

```

(END)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![eggie5](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/e/7c8e57/32.png) [@eggie5](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/eggie5)\
**Post date:** [September 26, 2007, 4:02am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/running-shell-scripts/115539/4 "2007-09-26T04:02:44Z")

</div>

Une Bévue [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid) wrote:

> > ri Kernel#system

better (on mac os x) :

ri Kernel#system

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![eggie5](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/e/7c8e57/32.png) [@eggie5](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/eggie5)\
**Post date:** [September 26, 2007, 5:00am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/running-shell-scripts/115539/5 "2007-09-26T05:00:03Z")

</div>

On Sep 25, 2007, at 9:00 PM, Une Bévue wrote:

> Une Bévue [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid) wrote:
> 
> > > ri Kernel#system
> 
> better (on mac os x) :
> 
> ri Kernel#system

The first version works fine on my OS X box:

## Welcome to Darwin! Firefly:~$ ri -T Kernel#system ---------------------------------------------------------- Kernel#system system(cmd [, arg, …]) =\> true or false

```
  Executes _cmd_ in a subshell, returning +true+ if the command was
  found and ran successfully, +false+ otherwise. An error status is
  available in +$?+. The arguments are processed in the same way as
  for +Kernel::exec+.

     system("echo *")
     system("echo", "*")

  _produces:_

     config.h main.rb
     *

```

James Edward G. II

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![eggie5](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/e/7c8e57/32.png) [@eggie5](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/eggie5)\
**Post date:** [September 26, 2007, 4:05am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/running-shell-scripts/115539/6 "2007-09-26T04:05:40Z")

</div>

On Sep 25, 6:59 pm, removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid (Une  
Bévue) wrote:

> Une Bévue [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid) wrote:
> 
> > > ri Kernel#system
> 
> better (on mac os x) :
> 
> ri Kernel#system
> 
> –  
> Une Bévue

thanks

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![eggie5](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/e/7c8e57/32.png) [@eggie5](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/eggie5)\
**Post date:** [September 27, 2007, 12:00am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/running-shell-scripts/115539/7 "2007-09-27T00:00:17Z")

</div>

Une Bévue wrote:

> 

ri Kernel.system or enclosing the arguments to ri in ‘’ should work on  
most  
systems too 🙂

TerryP.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![eggie5](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/e/7c8e57/32.png) [@eggie5](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/eggie5)\
**Post date:** [September 26, 2007, 6:03am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/running-shell-scripts/115539/8 "2007-09-26T06:03:46Z")

</div>

James Edward G. II [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid) wrote:

> The first version works fine on my OS X box:

here is my output :

~%\> ri Kernel#system  
zsh: no matches found: Kernel#system

i’m using zsh as shell script, may u aren’t using it, this could be the  
reason, because it’s zsh interpreting the command line and which found  
something wrong, the reason for my escaping #…

otherwise i’m using :

~%\> which ruby  
/opt/local/bin/ruby  
~%\> /opt/local/bin/ruby --version  
ruby 1.8.6 (2007-03-13 patchlevel 0) [powerpc-darwin8.9.0]  
~%\>

over MacOS X 10.4.10 running in a PPC iMac.

and also :

~%\> zsh --version  
zsh 4.3.2 (powerpc-apple-darwin8.8.0)