Shell Programming and Scripting

It possible. What you have to do is to set the fpath, call autoload in the calling script and use the function. Like,

Code:

#!/bin/ksh
export FPATH=/dir/where/functions/are/in/scripts/ #better set this var in .profile
autoload #alias for typeset -fu; It loads the functions into memory
func1 #use the functions in the script.

I am not near a system, so have not tested it. But this is possible. Guys, please correct if wrong.

Is it possible to just make a direct call to a function in another script without having to do this FPATH stuff? I may wish to reuse some scripts that have already been written.

Put your functions in a file, and source that file in any script that needs those functions:

Code:

## Functions file: $HOME/bin/funcs
xx()
{
  printf "%s\n" "$@"
}

xy()
{
  shift
  printf "%s\n" "$@"  
}

Code:

## Script that uses functions

. "$HOME/bin/funcs"

xx 12 34 56
xy qw er ty

FPATH is not standard (ksh only).

That is not exactly correct. The way this works changes depending on whether you are using ksh88 or ksh93. Suppose I write a script that contains a command like this:
xyzzy arg1 arg2 arg3
That "xyzzy" might be a command or it might be a function. So ksh88 will scan PATH looking for "xyzzy". If it finds it on PATH, it must be a command. If it is not found, then FPATH is scanned, if it is found there, it must be a function. Suppose I have both a command called "xyzzy" and a function called "xyzzy". I'm stuck...it will find the command first. This is where autoloading comes in. By autoloading "xyzzy", I declare that it must be a function.

With ksh93, autoloading is supported but deprecated. Instead you can put a directory both in FPATH and PATH. Such a directory is assumed to contain functions only. But you can sequence the search of commands and functions by the order of the directories in PATH.

This is weird enough that I suggest you forget about FPATH and just use cfajohnson's suggestion.

Nice thing to learn. Else I would have been stuck to the same old thought process!!! Thanks for the explanation.