[Expectperl-discuss] expect output split into pieces

[Jason G. <JG...@cw...>]

Hello,

Here is the problem I am having:

I use expect to spawn an SSH session to a cisco router and run the command =
'show arp', which sends a lot of data back.  example:

gw>show arp
Protocol  Address          Age (min)  Hardware Addr   Type   Interface
Internet  XX.XX.108.17            0   XXXX.319f.c3d9  ARPA   Vlan133
Internet  XX.XX.97.28           171   XXXX.c525.d4c3  ARPA   Vlan122
Internet  XX.XX.99.30            41   XXXX.420c.e73f  ARPA   Vlan124
... (there are thousands of lines sent back)

The problem I get is that expect seems to process this data in chunks.  =
For example, it will process:

Protocol  Address          Age (min)  Hardware Addr   Type   Interface
Internet  XX.XX.108.17            0   XXXX.319f.c3d9  ARPA   Vlan133
Internet  XX.XX.97.28           171   XXXX.c5

where it will pull out the data correctly for the first line, but will not =
match the second line since it is incomplete.  Then, it processes the next =
chunk.  example:

25.d4c3  ARPA   Vlan122
Internet  XX.XX.99.30            41   XXXX.420c.e73f  ARPA   Vlan124

where it will not pull the data correctly for the first line (incomplete), =
but will pull the correct data for the second line.

I have used the TCL expect before and it does the same thing so I know it =
is not a bug.  I think there is just a gap in my understanding of how =
expect processes the data that is sent back from spawned processes.

Is there a way to make expect deal with all of the data as one big chunk, =
rather than processing it in pieces?  I hope someone can explain how this =
works.



--Jason