使用 Homebrew, apk, apt, dnf, MacPorts, Nix, pacman, zypper, winget 安装 expect

项目链接

• 主页
• 仓库
• 上游文档
• 软件包管理器页面

命令和别名

• autoexpect
• autopasswd
• cryptdir
• decryptdir
• dislocate
• expect
• ftp-rfc
• kibitz
• lpunlock
• mkpasswd
• multixterm
• passmass
• rftp
• rlogin-cwd
• timed-read
• timed-run
• tknewsbiff
• tkpasswd
• unbuffer
• weather
• xkibitz
• xpstat

项目历史

The Expect homepage says Expect was conceived in September 1987, with the bulk of version 2 designed and written between January and April 1990. It was later rewritten substantially for Tcl 6.0 in October 1991, then advanced through Expect 4 and Expect 5 as Tcl and Tk evolved.

Expect's history is tightly tied to Tcl and Tk. Expect uses Tcl as its control language for procedures, loops, file I/O, arithmetic, and scripting, and Tk support arrived with the Expect 4 line. The project also includes libexpect for C or C++ programs, although the README argues that the standalone expect scripting tool is usually the easier path.

采用历史

Expect spread through sysadmin and testing culture before today's automation stacks existed. The official site lists papers from USENIX 1990, LISA IV, Computing Systems, USENIX 1992, and other venues covering system administration, regression testing, conformance testing, and automating interactive network applications.

The README presents practical adoption signals from the era: users could get readings and transparencies, build Expect with or without Tcl and Tk, embed it in C programs, and buy commercial support or classes from companies such as ActiveState, Cygnus Support, and Computerized Processes Unlimited.

使用方式

Expect scripts spawn a program, send input, wait for expected output, and optionally hand control back to the user. The official introduction names telnet, ftp, passwd, fsck, rlogin, and tip as examples, and also calls out testing interactive applications.

The package includes helper programs such as autoexpect and unbuffer. In package-manager terms, Expect is often installed not because it is fashionable, but because some installer, test, login workflow, serial-console workflow, or legacy admin script needs to drive an interactive prompt reliably.

为什么软件包爱好者会关心

Expect is one of the canonical examples of a small Unix automation language that survived because the problem survived. SSH, CI, APIs, and configuration management reduced many uses, but they did not eliminate password prompts, REPLs, terminal programs, embedded consoles, or old scripts.

For packagers, Expect also brings the Tcl dependency relationship into focus: the executable is useful by itself, but its language runtime, optional Tk integration, examples, man pages, and legacy scripts shape how downstream packages split and test it.

时间线

• 1987: Expect was conceived in September.
• 1990: The bulk of version 2 was designed and written between January and April.
• 1991: About half of Expect was rewritten for Tcl 6.0.
• 1993: Expect 4 alpha introduced Tk support; production Expect 4 followed in August.
• 1994: Production Expect 5 was released in March.
• 1995: The Exploring Expect book became available in January.
• 1999: Substantial rewriting added Tcl 8.2 support, an exp-channel driver, object support, and Unicode-related work.

Related projects

• Tcl is Expect's control language and runtime foundation.
• Tk is the GUI toolkit used by Expect variants such as expectk.
• DejaGnu is related through the regression and conformance testing use case mentioned in Expect's readings.

来源

• https://core.tcl-lang.org/expect
• https://core.tcl-lang.org/expect/dir