Communicating with program process using pipes - go

I want to be able to fully communicate with some programs after spawning them from Golang program. What I already have is spawning process and talking through pipes based on last line read from stdout:
package main
import (
"fmt"
"io"
"log"
"os/exec"
"strings"
)
var stdinPipe io.WriteCloser
var stdoutPipe io.ReadCloser
var err error
func main() {
cmd := &exec.Cmd{
Path: "/Users/seba/Projects/go/src/bootstrap/in",
Args: []string{"program"},
}
stdinPipe, err = cmd.StdinPipe()
if err != nil {
log.Fatal(err)
}
stdoutPipe, err = cmd.StdoutPipe()
if err != nil {
log.Fatal(err)
}
err = cmd.Start()
if err != nil {
log.Fatal(err)
}
var stdoutLines []string
go stdoutManage(stdoutLines, stdoutController)
cmd.Wait()
}
// TODO: imporove as in io.Copy
func stdoutManage(lines []string, manager func(string)) {
buf := make([]byte, 32*1024)
for {
nr, err := stdoutPipe.Read(buf)
if nr > 0 {
thelines := strings.Split(string(buf), "\n")
for _, l := range thelines {
manager(l)
lines = append(lines, l)
}
}
buf = make([]byte, 32*1024) // clear buf
if err != nil {
break
}
}
}
However this approach have problems with programs clearing terminal output and programs which somehow buffer it's stdin or don't use stdin at all (don't know if it's possible).
So the question: is there a portable way of talking with programs (it can be non-Golang solution)?

Problems like this are usually to do with the C library which changes its default buffering mode depending on exactly what stdin / stdout / stderr are.
If stdout is a terminal then buffering is automatically set to line buffered, else it is set to buffered.
This is relevant to you because when you run the programs through a pipe they aren't connected to a terminal and so will have buffering which messes up this sort of use.
To fix, you need to use a pseudo tty which pretends to be a terminal but acts just like a pipe. Here is a library implementing the pty interface which I haven't actually tried but it looks like it does the right thing!

Related

Bufio scan function is waiting for sometime for the last buffer (tailed operation) in GO

I am new to golang so please review the code and suggest any changes required.
So the problem statement goes below,
We have a file whose contents are in binary and are encrypted. The only way to read that contents if by using a custom utility say (named decode_it).. The command just accepts filename like below
decode_it filename.d
Now what I have to do is live monitoring the output of the decode_it utility in GO. I have written the code which is working great but somehow it is not able to process the latest tailed output (it is waiting for some amount of time for reading the last latest chunk before more data comes in ). s.Scan() is the function which is not returning the latest changes in output of that utility. I have another terminal side by side so I know that a line is appended or not. The GO Scan() function only scans when another chunk is appended at the end.
Please help. Suggest any changes required and also if possible you can suggest any other alternative approach for this.
Output of utility is - These are huge and come in seconds
1589261318 493023 8=DECODE|9=59|10=053|34=1991|35=0|49=TEST|52=20200512-05:28:38|56=TEST|57=ADMIN|
1589261368 538427 8=DECODE|9=59|10=054|34=1992|35=0|49=TEST|52=20200512-05:29:28|56=TEST|57=ADMIN|
1589261418 579765 8=DECODE|9=59|10=046|34=1993|35=0|49=TEST|52=20200512-05:30:18|56=TEST|57=ADMIN|
1589261468 627052 8=DECODE|9=59|10=047|34=1994|35=0|49=TEST|52=20200512-05:31:08|56=TEST|57=ADMIN|
1589261518 680570 8=DECODE|9=59|10=053|34=1995|35=0|49=TEST|52=20200512-05:31:58|56=TEST|57=ADMIN|
1589261568 722516 8=DECODE|9=59|10=054|34=1996|35=0|49=TEST|52=20200512-05:32:48|56=TEST|57=ADMIN|
1589261618 766070 8=DECODE|9=59|10=055|34=1997|35=0|49=TEST|52=20200512-05:33:38|56=TEST|57=ADMIN|
1589261668 807964 8=DECODE|9=59|10=056|34=1998|35=0|49=TEST|52=20200512-05:34:28|56=TEST|57=ADMIN|
1589261718 853464 8=DECODE|9=59|10=057|34=1999|35=0|49=TEST|52=20200512-05:35:18|56=TEST|57=ADMIN|
1589261768 898758 8=DECODE|9=59|10=031|34=2000|35=0|49=TEST|52=20200512-05:36:08|56=TEST|57=ADMIN|
1589261818 948236 8=DECODE|9=59|10=037|34=2001|35=0|49=TEST|52=20200512-05:36:58|56=TEST|57=ADMIN|
1589261868 995181 8=DECODE|9=59|10=038|34=2002|35=0|49=TEST|52=20200512-05:37:48|56=TEST|57=ADMIN|
1589261918 36727 8=DECODE|9=59|10=039|34=2003|35=0|49=TEST|52=20200512-05:38:38|56=TEST|57=ADMIN|
1589261968 91253 8=DECODE|9=59|10=040|34=2004|35=0|49=TEST|52=20200512-05:39:28|56=TEST|57=ADMIN|
1589262018 129336 8=DECODE|9=59|10=032|34=2005|35=0|49=TEST|52=20200512-05:40:18|56=TEST|57=ADMIN|
1589262068 173247 8=DECODE|9=59|10=033|34=2006|35=0|49=TEST|52=20200512-05:41:08|56=TEST|57=ADMIN|
1589262118 214993 8=DECODE|9=59|10=039|34=2007|35=0|49=TEST|52=20200512-05:41:58|56=TEST|57=ADMIN|
1589262168 256754 8=DECODE|9=59|10=040|34=2008|35=0|49=TEST|52=20200512-05:42:48|56=TEST|57=ADMIN|
1589262218 299908 8=DECODE|9=59|10=041|34=2009|35=0|49=TEST|52=20200512-05:43:38|56=TEST|57=ADMIN|
1589262268 345560 8=DECODE|9=59|10=033|34=2010|35=0|49=TEST|52=20200512-05:44:28|56=TEST|57=ADMIN|
1589262318 392894 8=DECODE|9=59|10=034|34=2011|35=0|49=TEST|52=20200512-05:45:18|56=TEST|57=ADMIN|
1589262368 439936 8=DECODE|9=59|10=035|34=2012|35=0|49=TEST|52=20200512-05:46:08|56=TEST|57=ADMIN|
1589262418 484959 8=DECODE|9=59|10=041|34=2013|35=0|49=TEST|52=20200512-05:46:58|56=TEST|57=ADMIN|
1589262468 531136 8=DECODE|9=59|10=042|34=2014|35=0|49=TEST|52=20200512-05:47:48|56=TEST|57=ADMIN|
1589262518 577190 8=DECODE|9=59|10=043|34=2015|35=0|49=TEST|52=20200512-05:48:38|56=TEST|57=ADMIN|
1589262568 621673 8=DECODE|9=59|10=044|34=2016|35=0|49=TEST|52=20200512-05:49:28|56=TEST|57=ADMIN|
1589262618 661569 8=DECODE|9=59|10=036|34=2017|35=0|49=TEST|52=20200512-05:50:18|56=TEST|57=ADMIN|
1589262668 704912 8=DECODE|9=59|10=037|34=2018|35=0|49=TEST|52=20200512-05:51:08|56=TEST|57=ADMIN|
1589262718 751844 8=DECODE|9=59|10=043|34=2019|35=0|49=TEST|52=20200512-05:51:58|56=TEST|57=ADMIN|
1589262768 792980 8=DECODE|9=59|10=035|34=2020|35=0|49=TEST|52=20200512-05:52:48|56=TEST|57=ADMIN|
1589262818 840365 8=DECODE|9=59|10=036|34=2021|35=0|49=TEST|52=20200512-05:53:38|56=TEST|57=ADMIN|
1589262868 879185 8=DECODE|9=59|10=037|34=2022|35=0|49=TEST|52=20200512-05:54:28|56=TEST|57=ADMIN|
1589262918 925163 8=DECODE|9=59|10=038|34=2023|35=0|49=TEST|52=20200512-05:55:18|56=TEST|57=ADMIN|
1589262968 961584 8=DECODE|9=59|10=039|34=2024|35=0|49=TEST|52=20200512-05:56:08|56=TEST|57=ADMIN|
1589263018 10120 8=DECODE|9=59|10=045|34=2025|35=0|49=TEST|52=20200512-05:56:58|56=TEST|57=ADMIN|
1589263068 53127 8=DECODE|9=59|10=046|34=2026|35=0|49=TEST|52=20200512-05:57:48|56=TEST|57=ADMIN|
1589263118 92960 8=DECODE|9=59|10=047|34=2027|35=0|49=TEST|52=20200512-05:58:38|56=TEST|57=ADMIN|
1589263168 134768 8=DECODE|9=59|10=048|34=2028|35=0|49=TEST|52=20200512-05:59:28|56=TEST|57=ADMIN|
1589263218 180362 8=DECODE|9=59|10=035|34=2029|35=0|49=TEST|52=20200512-06:00:18|56=TEST|57=ADMIN|
1589263268 220070 8=DECODE|9=59|10=027|34=2030|35=0|49=TEST|52=20200512-06:01:08|56=TEST|57=ADMIN|
1589263318 269426 8=DECODE|9=59|10=033|34=2031|35=0|49=TEST|52=20200512-06:01:58|56=TEST|57=ADMIN|
1589263368 309432 8=DECODE|9=59|10=034|34=2032|35=0|49=TEST|52=20200512-06:02:48|56=TEST|57=ADMIN|
1589263418 356561 8=DECODE|9=59|10=035|34=2033|35=0|49=TEST|52=20200512-06:03:38|56=TEST|57=ADMIN|
Code -
package main
import (
"bytes"
"bufio"
"io"
"log"
"os/exec"
"fmt"
)
// dropCRLR drops a terminal \r from the data.
func dropCRLR(data []byte) []byte {
if len(data) > 0 && data[len(data)-1] == '\r' {
return data[0 : len(data)-1]
}
return data
}
func newLineSplitFunc(data []byte, atEOF bool) (advance int, token []byte, err error) {
if atEOF && len(data) == 0 {
return 0, nil, nil
}
if i := bytes.IndexByte(data, '\n'); i >= 0 {
// We have a full newline-terminated line.
return i + 1, dropCRLR(data[0:i]), nil
}
// If we're at EOF, we have a final, non-terminated line. Return it.
if atEOF {
return len(data), dropCRLR(data), nil
}
// Request more data.
// fmt.Println("Returning 0,nil,nil")
return 0, nil, nil
}
func main() {
cmd := exec.Command("decode_it", "filename.d", "4", "1")
var out io.Reader
{
stdout, err := cmd.StdoutPipe()
if err != nil {
log.Fatal(err)
}
stderr, err := cmd.StderrPipe()
if err != nil {
log.Fatal(err)
}
out = io.MultiReader(stdout, stderr)
}
if err := cmd.Start(); err != nil {
log.Fatal(err)
}
// Make a new channel which will be used to ensure we get all output
done := make(chan struct{})
go func() {
// defer cmd.Process.Kill()
s := bufio.NewScanner(out)
s.Split(newLineSplitFunc)
for s.Scan() {
fmt.Println("---- " + s.Text())
}
if s.Err() != nil {
fmt.Printf("error: %s\n", s.Err())
}
}()
// Wait for all output to be processed
<-done
// Wait for the command to finish
if err := cmd.Wait(); err != nil{
fmt.Println("Error: " + string(err.Error()))
}
// if out closes, cmd closed.
log.Println("all done")
}
Also, Since scan() is taking a lot of time and goes into a loop from which I am not able to break as well. Please help for that too..
try something like this one, i fixed some issues and make it more simple:
package main
import (
"bufio"
"fmt"
"io"
"log"
"os/exec"
)
func main() {
var err error
// change to your command
cmd := exec.Command("sh", "test.sh")
var out io.Reader
{
var stdout, stderr io.ReadCloser
stdout, err = cmd.StdoutPipe()
if err != nil {
log.Fatal(err)
}
stderr, err = cmd.StderrPipe()
if err != nil {
log.Fatal(err)
}
out = io.MultiReader(stdout, stderr)
}
if err = cmd.Start(); err != nil {
log.Fatal(err)
}
scanner := bufio.NewScanner(out)
for scanner.Scan() {
fmt.Println("---- " + scanner.Text())
}
if err = scanner.Err(); err != nil {
fmt.Printf("error: %v\n", err)
}
log.Println("all done")
}
test.sh that i used in test:
#!/bin/bash
while [[ 1 = 1 ]]; do
echo 1
sleep 1
done
:)
I tried resolving the above issue using stdbuf -
cmd := exec.Command("stdbuf", "-o0", "-e0", "decode_it", FILEPATH, "4", "1")
Reference link - STDIO Buffering
When programs write to stdout they write with line bufferring. If they are writing to something else, then they use fully buffered mode. golang exec.Command seems to end up using fully buffered mode so using stdbuf forces no buffering.

Golang io.Copy blocks in internal ReadFrom

I am building a terminal emulator in golang and I was trying to run detached processes from which I can copy output and display it to the user but the io.Copy function blocks and hence I cannot continue to the output part
I looked in the source code and it blocks in the internal ReadFrom method, I cannot understand why this is happening
package main
import (
"bytes"
"fmt"
"io"
"os"
)
func main() {
inputReader, inputWriter, _ := os.Pipe()
outputReader, outputWriter, _ := os.Pipe()
io.Copy(inputWriter, bytes.NewReader([]byte("\n")))
stdin := inputReader
stdout := outputWriter
stderr := outputWriter
var attr = os.ProcAttr{
Dir: "/tmp",
Env: nil,
Files: []*os.File{
stdin,
stdout,
stderr,
},
Sys: nil,
}
process, startProcessErr := os.StartProcess("/usr/bin/ls", []string{"ls"}, &attr)
if startProcessErr != nil {
panic(startProcessErr)
}
if releaseProcessErr := process.Release(); releaseProcessErr != nil {
panic(releaseProcessErr)
}
var output bytes.Buffer
io.Copy(&output, outputReader)
fmt.Println(output)
}
Maybe it is because I release the process but I dont think it should happen
The call io.Copy(&output, outputReader) blocks until read on outputReader returns EOF or some other error. Read on outputReader does not return EOF because the write side of the pipe is still open in the parent process. Fix by closing the writer in the parent process.
...
if releaseProcessErr := process.Release(); releaseProcessErr != nil {
panic(releaseProcessErr)
}
outputWriter.Close() // <-- add this line
var output bytes.Buffer
io.Copy(&output, outputReader)
fmt.Println(output)
...
Use the os/exec package to simplify the code:
cmd := exec.Command("/usr/bin/ls")
cmd.Dir = "/tmp"
output, err := cmd.CombinedOutput()
if err != nil {
log.Fatal(err)
}
fmt.Println(string(output))

Reading from exec command stdout without buffering

I'm running a command in Go via exec.Command and scanning the output. On some systems the output is immediate. But on some systems the output seems to be buffered. Unless the amount of data produced by the command is large enough, I don't actually receive the output.
Is there anyway to get more immediate output, reliably?
package main
import (
"fmt"
"log"
"os/exec"
"time"
)
func main() {
cmd := exec.Command("udevadm", "monitor")
stdout, err := cmd.StdoutPipe()
if err != nil {
log.Fatal(err)
}
err = cmd.Start()
if err != nil {
log.Fatal(err)
}
for {
p := make([]byte, 10)
n, _ := stdout.Read(p)
fmt.Println("# ", time.Now().Unix(), " ", n)
}
}
I will propose that running stdbuf -oL udevadm <args> will achieve effectively what i"m after (line buffered output).

how can I get stdin to exec cmd in golang

I have this code
subProcess := exec.Cmd{
Path: execAble,
Args: []string{
fmt.Sprintf("-config=%s", *configPath),
fmt.Sprintf("-serverType=%s", *serverType),
fmt.Sprintf("-reload=%t", *reload),
fmt.Sprintf("-listenFD=%d", fd),
},
Dir: here,
}
subProcess.Stdout = os.Stdout
subProcess.Stderr = os.Stderr
logger.Info("starting subProcess:%s ", subProcess.Args)
if err := subProcess.Run(); err != nil {
logger.Fatal(err)
}
and then I do os.Exit(1) to stop the main process
I can get output from the subprocess
but I also want to put stdin to
I try
subProcess.Stdin = os.Stdin
but it does not work
I made a simple program (for testing). It reads a number and writes the given number out.
package main
import (
"fmt"
)
func main() {
fmt.Println("Hello, What's your favorite number?")
var i int
fmt.Scanf("%d\n", &i)
fmt.Println("Ah I like ", i, " too.")
}
And here is the modified code
package main
import (
"fmt"
"io"
"os"
"os/exec"
)
func main() {
subProcess := exec.Command("go", "run", "./helper/main.go") //Just for testing, replace with your subProcess
stdin, err := subProcess.StdinPipe()
if err != nil {
fmt.Println(err) //replace with logger, or anything you want
}
defer stdin.Close() // the doc says subProcess.Wait will close it, but I'm not sure, so I kept this line
subProcess.Stdout = os.Stdout
subProcess.Stderr = os.Stderr
fmt.Println("START") //for debug
if err = subProcess.Start(); err != nil { //Use start, not run
fmt.Println("An error occured: ", err) //replace with logger, or anything you want
}
io.WriteString(stdin, "4\n")
subProcess.Wait()
fmt.Println("END") //for debug
}
You interested about these lines
stdin, err := subProcess.StdinPipe()
if err != nil {
fmt.Println(err)
}
defer stdin.Close()
//...
io.WriteString(stdin, "4\n")
//...
subProcess.Wait()
Explanation of the above lines
We gain the subprocess' stdin, now we can write to it
We use our power and we write a number
We wait for our subprocess to complete
Output
START
Hello, What's your favorite number?
Ah I like 4 too.
END
For better understanding
There's now an updated example available in the Go docs: https://golang.org/pkg/os/exec/#Cmd.StdinPipe
If the subprocess doesn't continue before the stdin is closed, the io.WriteString() call needs to be wrapped inside an anonymous function:
func main() {
cmd := exec.Command("cat")
stdin, err := cmd.StdinPipe()
if err != nil {
log.Fatal(err)
}
go func() {
defer stdin.Close()
io.WriteString(stdin, "values written to stdin are passed to cmd's standard input")
}()
out, err := cmd.CombinedOutput()
if err != nil {
log.Fatal(err)
}
fmt.Printf("%s\n", out)
}
Though this question is a little old, but here is my answer:
This question is of course very platform specific as how standard IO is handled depends on the OS implementation and not on Go language. However, as general rule of thumb (due to some OSes being prevailing), "what you ask is not possible".
On most of modern operating systems you can pipe standard streams (as in #mraron's answer), you can detach them (this is how daemons work), but you cannot reassign or delegate them to another process.
I think this limitation is more because of security concern. There are still from time to time bugs being discovered that allow remote code execution, imagine if OS was allowing to reassign/delegate STDIN/OUT, then with such vulnerabilities the consequences would be disastrous.
While you cannot directly do this as #AlexKey wrote earlier still you can make some workarounds. If os prevents you to pipe your own standard streams who cares all you need 2 channels and 2 goroutines
var stdinChan chan []byte
var stdoutChan chan []byte
//when something happens in stdout of your code just pipe it to stdout chan
stdoutChan<-somehowGotDataFromStdOut
then you need two funcs as i mentioned before
func Pipein(){
for {
stdinFromProg.Write(<-stdInChan)
}
}
The same idea for the stdout

Redirect stdout pipe of child process in Go

I'm writing a program in Go that executes a server like program (also Go). Now I want to have the stdout of the child program in my terminal window where I started the parent program. One way to do this is with the cmd.Output() function, but this prints the stdout only after the process has exited. (That's a problem because this server-like program runs for a long time and I want to read the log output)
The variable out is of type io.ReadCloser and I don't know what I should do with it to achieve my task, and I can't find anything helpful on the web on this topic.
func main() {
cmd := exec.Command("/path/to/my/child/program")
out, err := cmd.StdoutPipe()
if err != nil {
fmt.Println(err)
}
err = cmd.Start()
if err != nil {
fmt.Println(err)
}
//fmt.Println(out)
cmd.Wait()
}
Explanation to the code: uncomment the Println function to get the code to compile, I know that Println(out io.ReadCloser) is not a meaningful function.
(it produces the output &{3 |0 <nil> 0} ) These two lines are just required to get the code to compile.
Now I want to have the stdout of the child program in my terminal
window where I started the parent program.
No need to mess with pipes or goroutines, this one is easy.
func main() {
// Replace `ls` (and its arguments) with something more interesting
cmd := exec.Command("ls", "-l")
cmd.Stdout = os.Stdout
cmd.Stderr = os.Stderr
cmd.Run()
}
I believe that if you import io and os and replace this:
//fmt.Println(out)
with this:
go io.Copy(os.Stdout, out)
(see documentation for io.Copy and for os.Stdout), it will do what you want. (Disclaimer: not tested.)
By the way, you'll probably want to capture standard-error as well, by using the same approach as for standard-output, but with cmd.StderrPipe and os.Stderr.
For those who don't need this in a loop, but would like the command output to echo into the terminal without having cmd.Wait() blocking other statements:
package main
import (
"fmt"
"io"
"log"
"os"
"os/exec"
)
func checkError(err error) {
if err != nil {
log.Fatalf("Error: %s", err)
}
}
func main() {
// Replace `ls` (and its arguments) with something more interesting
cmd := exec.Command("ls", "-l")
// Create stdout, stderr streams of type io.Reader
stdout, err := cmd.StdoutPipe()
checkError(err)
stderr, err := cmd.StderrPipe()
checkError(err)
// Start command
err = cmd.Start()
checkError(err)
// Don't let main() exit before our command has finished running
defer cmd.Wait() // Doesn't block
// Non-blockingly echo command output to terminal
go io.Copy(os.Stdout, stdout)
go io.Copy(os.Stderr, stderr)
// I love Go's trivial concurrency :-D
fmt.Printf("Do other stuff here! No need to wait.\n\n")
}

Resources