Puppy Linux Discussion Forum

Anyone here scripting with Rexx?

It's in the standard repostory for FossaPup (and others) as "Regina Rexx".

I've been having fun with it for some text processing scripts.

I saw where you can now get a free membership to the Rexx Language Assocation - http://www.RexxLA.org. Good place to get Rexx questions answered.

benali72 wrote: Tue Sep 27, 2022 7:58 pm

Anyone here scripting with Rexx?

Looks like not, but I read some of the docs and certainly interesting to have the object-oriented version and in a interpreted script language like it is. Pretty interesting really - doubt if I'd learn it, but you never know.

I was a little in my Amiga times:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ARexx

Ah, yes, the Amiga. A good system that had a bad end. Rexx was also the bundled scripting language on OS/2, another system that faded away about the same time.

REXX is one of the best, easiest and most logical object languages ever created! Low system resource impact, and low learning curb for anyone/everyone.

Never knew it was an offering in a PUP Repo. Thanks

benali72 wrote: Fri Sep 30, 2022 2:48 am

Ah, yes, the Amiga. A good system that had a bad end. Rexx was also the bundled scripting language on OS/2, another system that faded away about the same time.

Both systems still alive:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EComStation
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AmigaOS_4
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ArcaOS

Maybe should adopt Rexx and use for GUI dialog utility app creations instead of bash/gtkdialog:

Rexx Programmer`s Reference - The Rexx Language Association:

As a universal scripting language, Rexx runs on every imaginable platform. One advantage of this versatility is that several GUI packages interface with Rexx. These include Rexx/Tk, Rexx/DW, Rexx Dialog, OODialog, GTK+, Dr. Dialog, VX*Rexx, and VisPro/REXX. The downside to this variety is that no single GUI interface has established itself as the de facto standard for Rexx developers.

There are links to above out there, but its official WROX publisher book © 2005.
Also code examples from that book here: https://www.wiley.com/en-nz/Rexx+Progra ... ds-section

For example, Tk may be looked down at as 'old' but I don't mind it at all. Tcl/Tk is small to add to a distro and easy to use (unlike the likes of GTK+)

This is on windows, but Rexx and Tk work on Linux too of course so shows typical resulting GUI dialogs:
https://www.tutorialspoint.com/rexx/rex ... erface.htm

https://rexxtk.sourceforge.net/
https://rexxtk.sourceforge.net/usage.html

Yes, 20 years old though!

Yes, you can issue shell commands from REXX and it understands redirection so perfectly usable as alternative to bash/gtkdialog - you could use it with gtkdialog too of course, but maybe best to get away from that?

@puppy_apprentice, thanks for those links on how OS/2 and AmigaOS are still around. That gave me some interesting reading to update myself.

@wiak, good link to the Tutorialspoint Rexx course. That's a gold mine. I also found http://www.RexxInfo.org useful.

I've mainly written some text processing code, so I haven't had to worry about a GUI. (Thankfully, since that gui stuff gets pretty complicated.)

benali72 wrote: Sun Oct 02, 2022 5:18 am

@wiak, good link to the Tutorialspoint Rexx course. That's a gold mine. I also found http://www.RexxInfo.org useful.

I wouldn't myself post link for various reasons, but best gold mine you might find is by searching for title I gave earlier:

Rexx Programmer`s Reference - The Rexx Language Association

In fact first google post gave me archive.org copy

What path to install REXX in KLV? I will investigate REXX OO ability for programing with its GUI inputs.

I think you're indicating it will ALSO need tk...(true/not?)

BTW: Mike Cowlishaw is a legend in system designs. Knew him.

Actually, it may be that the Dynamic Windows may be the best way forward, though yes can use Tk:

http://dwindows.netlabs.org/en/site/index.xml
http://trac.netlabs.org/dwindows/wiki
http://trac.netlabs.org/dwindows/timeline

https://rexxdw.sourceforge.net/

https://www.oorexx.org/
https://sourceforge.net/projects/oorexx/

Older? REXX Regina Interpreter:
https://regina-rexx.sourceforge.io/
https://sourceforge.net/projects/regina-rexx/files/
https://sourceforge.net/projects/regina ... mentation/

Ubuntu Jammy or Focal can use apt install regina-rex
Arch Linux AUR has oorexx. Not sure about Void Linux

I've not used REXX myself or any of this, just been reading up a bit in case... Seems Dynamic Windows makes everything very cross-platform indeed - for Linux uses GTK+ (apparently includes GTK+2,3 or 4 so not old at all in that case.

It looks to me that dwindows is being maintained but problem might be with REXXDW - not sure that is maintained at all (looks dead for seven years...) - pity if so, since looks very promising otherwise.

With ARexx in Amiga you could transfer data between applications (that have ARexx port) or call application functions from console using ARexx . Windows has similar feature Visual Basic for Applications.

Calculates the square root of 2 to (almost) 1000 significant figures.

Rexx was an improved alternative to MTS's exec that ran on, for example. IBM 360 mainframes (or Amdahl 470 mainframes)

 numeric digits 1000
 n=2
 r=1
 do forever /* Newton's method */
   rr=(n/r+r)/2
   if r=rr then leave
   r=rr
 end
 say "sqrt" n ' = ' r
 

# rexx ./sqrt2.rexx
sqrt 2  =  1.414213562373095048801688724209698078569671875376948073176679737990732478462107038850387534327641572735013846230912297024924836055850737212644121497099935831413222665927505592755799950501152782060571470109559971605970274534596862014728517418640889198609552329230484308714321450839762603627995251407989687253396546331808829640620615258352395054745750287759961729835575220337531857011354374603408498847160386899970699004815030544027790316454247823068492936918621580578463111596668713013015618568987237235288509264861249497715421833420428568606014682472077143585487415565706967765372022648544701585880162075847492265722600208558446652145839889394437092659180031138824646815708263010059485870400318648034219489727829064104507263688131373985525611732204024509122770022694112757362728049573810896750401836986836845072579936472906076299694138047565482372899718032680247442062926912485905218100445984215059112024944134172853147810580360337107730918286931471017111168391658172688941975871658215212822951848847
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