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LISA 2000 Abstract
An Expectant Chat about Script Maturity
Dr. Alva L. Couch, Tufts University
Abstract
Using scripts to automate common administrative tasks is a
ubiquitous practice. Powerful scripting languages and approaches
support seemingly `efficient' scripting practices that actually
compromise the robustness of our scripts, as well as indirectly
detracting from the stability and maturity of our support
infrastructure. This is especially true for scripts that automate
complex interactive processes using the scripting tools Expect or
Chat. I present a formal methodology for the design and implementation
of interactive scripting that, with a little more effort than writing
a simple Expect script, produces scripts with substantially improved
robustness and permanence. My scripting tool Babble interprets a
detailed structural description of an interactive session as a script.
Using this declarative, fourth-generation language, one can craft
interactive scripts that are easier to perfect, inherently more
robust, easier to maintain over time, and self-documenting.
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