[Zope] running C/Fortran progz via command line ?

[Thomas B. Passin]

You should run your external programs from Python using an External Method.
However, you want to think about security - you don't want to let a random
client be able to execute just anything.  I recommend some configuration
code that checks the request (and maybe the user) and only allows certain
specified programs to be run.  Requests for anything else would be
rejected - in fact, they would not even be understood.

You also have to work out how to handle it in case the external program
fails or hangs.

Cheers,

Tom P

[Lee Philip Reilly]
>
> I wonder if anyone could perhaps answer a question for me regarding Zope
> and it's ability to inter(face/act) with external applications - running
> on the same (linux) machine. I am developing a web application and one
> of it's functions requires it to be able to execute programs (mainly
> written in c, but also Fortran) via command lines including all the
> required arguments;
>
>     e.g. ./do-something -i1 file1.txt - i2 file2.txt -o results.txt
>
> In some cases the program output would have to be obtained (and returned
> to Zope for processing), and in others it would not - some of the
> calculations take a few hours - in which case the results would be
> mailed directly to the user when complete. I anticipate the flow of
> things will be as follows:
>
> 1-User will submit some data / upload files via web forms.
> 2-Zope will then use this data and then generate a command to execute an
> external program running on the same machine.
> 3-The user can then be notified if the program executed correctly, and
> if applicable, return any data.
>
> Can Zope be of any use here? Is the above possible? Is anyone doing
> something similar at the present time? If anyone could provide me with
> any information, I would greatly appreciate it.
>