Hello all,
I am on a Apple. I am trying to use Shell command. I am trying to change the folder I am in using cd, but it does not seem to be working. I can move to other folders in the Terminal on the Apple, but the Shell in Pure data does not seem to work.

Any ideas on what I am doing wrong?

Thanks for the response. I still think cd is not working in shell or command. I am trying to do the same actions in terminal as shell and command. But when I use ls, shell and command is "stuck" in the directory that was in.

This does not happen if ofelia was not opened, but once ofelia is opened, then cd does not work.

ofelia does seem to do something. AND ofelia changes things even if deleted from a patch.

Have you tried ofelia?

@raynovich said:

Thanks for the response. I still think cd is not working in shell or command. I am trying to do the same actions in terminal as shell and command.

My whole post was about why these objects are not the same as a terminal window.

You're programmatically generating the commands, so you can programmatically generate them with full paths, and not use cd.

Why "not use cd"? Because as you've already found, cd is unreliable with these objects. So you kinda have a couple of options here: 1/ complain, and not make progress; 2/ generate the commands in a way that avoids the failure point and is certain to work, and move forward today with your project.

E.g., to work just with the filename upstream, and concatenate the path only at the moment of building the command:

EDIT: Symbols needed to be tagged -- this patch works:

EDIT: Oops, the [t] object should be [t s b].

hjh

@ddw_music Oh, I think I now understand better. Let me try that.

I honestly did not understand your initial explanation well. You are a much better and experienced programmer than myself.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING PATIENT WITH ME!!!

I did not understand your initial post well enough. It was overwhelming. Sorry.

I am closer to making this work, I think.

OK, I think I might be closer to a problem with this. I do not think I understand unix and the structure of the program well enough to understand how to rectify the problem I am having.

I get not using cd. Understood now. Thanks dd2_music.

Here is the problem I am running into.

I have a patch I am using when run by itself, the path way is (all of this is on a mac):

Let's say I have a folder that is called test2delete

user/name/Desktop/test2delete

I can use the unix command

mkdir user/name/Desktop/test2delete

and

rm -r user/name/Desktop/test2delete

to make and delete the directory.

Also, this works:

mkdir /user/name/Desktop/test2delete

and

rm -r /user/name/Desktop/test2delete

BOTH work.

Now, if I open ofelia or ofelia was an object in any file while pd was open during the session.

then ONLY the version that starts with a backslash works.

mkdir /user/name/Desktop/test2delete

and

rm -r /user/name/Desktop/test2delete

So part of my frustration as I read your initial help was that you did not include the '/' in you example:

I.e. not cd xxx/yyy/zzz && ls, but ls xxx/yyy/zzz. (See above)

Once I added the backslash to any of the desired actions the unix commands work. So, I can use ls, mkdir, rm, and such.

So, your example would have been /xxx/yyy/zzz

So, I think my question about ofelia still "somewhat" pertains. Perhaps you know the answer?

Why does ofelia make unix commands include a backslash before the beginning of the path?

Whereas if ofelia was never opened it does not need the backslash?

I hope that vindicates me a bit.

@raynovich The version without the backslash shouldn't work unless you are in the root directory, which is unlikely, or you have a directory named 'user' containing that directory structure in the directory you are in, which is also unlikely. Leading slash is root directory, where cd / takes you. Have you created the directory without leading slash and then confirmed in the terminal it has been created? Something else could be happening that just makes it seem like it works as expected. You should ALWAYS use a leading slash with absolute paths, no leading slash means the path is relative to your current directory.

@raynovich said:

So part of my frustration as I read your initial help was that you did not include the '/' in you example:

I.e. not cd xxx/yyy/zzz && ls, but ls xxx/yyy/zzz. (See above)

I guess my thinking here was that xxx/yyy/zzz was meant to represent any path, including absolute paths -- the important thing about the example was the format of command, not the relative-ness of the path placeholder that I wrote.

I'll also say that I feel a bit like I'm getting criticized for omitting one character that would have been helpful. Which... nah. Sure, it was a mistake, but... I'll continue to post at times, and some of those posts will have errors.

So, I think my question about ofelia still "somewhat" pertains. Perhaps you know the answer?

Why does ofelia make unix commands include a backslash before the beginning of the path?

Whereas if ofelia was never opened it does not need the backslash?

I look at it this way. When you use relative paths, the behavior of your code depends on something outside of the control of your code: the current working directory. That's a risk factor: you might get away with it, or you might not. Whereas absolute paths are, well, absolute -- every absolute path leads to one and only one location -- so, no risk of cwd messing that up.

Clearly ofelia is changing the Pd process's working directory. That's a bit rude -- I'd assume that externals would try to minimize side effects outside of their own scope -- but if that's what it's doing, then you just have to avoid dependence on a specific cwd.

Or: "It works sometimes, so it should always work" is not always a realistic expectation. I think it's more realistic to think, "If it doesn't work sometimes, then it's not reliable, so find another way."

hjh

Hey @ddw_music,
Please, please, please. I am not criticizing you. I honestly am just trying to understand. Sincerely and respectfully.

You have honestly helped out a great deal. Seriously. I was having to do somethings and changing my patches in ways that was rather disappointing to say the least or upsetting to be blunt. Your explanation and your persistence has helped me to understand better.

How can I make it up to you for helping out @ddw_music? I would gladly provide you compensation or some other way to make it up to you.

FYI, if the ofelia is opened or was opened, then the file cannot be made without the leading slash (I think I got my slash terminology reversed?) In fact to prove this to my self. I used mkdir and rm -r to create and delete a directory without the leading slash, then I opened up ofelia and it did not work. So, I assume ofelia rudely takes over shell or command or something else.

And you also provided a good point as well that I need a leading slash when going with an absolute path. Thank you.

I honestly did not know the nuances of of the slash usage which I understand a bit better now.
And thank you @old for the additional information. I think pd starts in the root directory, if I am understanding the terminology correctly.

@old, thank you as well for the response!

@raynovich No need, it was just a grumpy moment in the morning before coffee. Glad that I could point you in a good direction with the patch, no worries.

hjh