NAME

Net::CLI::Interact::Role::Prompt - Command-line prompt management

DESCRIPTION

This is another core component of Net::CLI::Interact, and its role is to keep track of the current prompt on the connected command line interface. The idea is that most CLI have a prompt where you issue commands, and are returned some output which this module gathers. The prompt is a demarcation between each command and its response data.

Note that although we "keep track" of the prompt, Net::CLI::Interact is not a state machine, and the choice of command issued to the connected device bears no relation to the current (or last matched) prompt.

INTERFACE

set_prompt( $prompt_name )

This method will be used most commonly by applications to select and set a prompt from the Phrasebook which matches the current context of the connected CLI session. This allows a sequence of commands to be sent which share the same Prompt.

The name you pass in is looked up in the loaded Phrasebook and the entry's regular expression stored internally. An exception is thrown if the named Prompt is not known.

Typically you would either refer to a Prompt in a Macro, or set the prompt you are expecting once for a sequence of commands in a particular CLI context.

When a Macro completes and it has been defined in the Phrasebook with an explicit named Prompt at the end, we can assume the user is indicating some change of context. Therefore the "prompt" is automatically updated on such occasions to have the regular expression from that named Prompt.

prompt_re

Returns the current Prompt in the form of a regular expression reference. The Prompt is used as a default to catch the end of command response output, when a Macro has not been set up with explicit Prompt matching.

Typically you would either refer to a Prompt in a Macro, or set the prompt you are expecting once for a sequence of commands in a particular CLI context.

unset_prompt

Use this method to empty the current "prompt" setting (see above). The effect is that the module will automatically set the Prompt for itself based on the last line of output received from the connected CLI. Do not use this option unless you know what you are doing.

has_set_prompt

Returns True if there is currently a Prompt set, otherwise returns False.

prompt_looks_like( $name )

Returns True if the current prompt matches the given named prompt. This is useful when you wish to make a more specific check on the current prompt.

find_prompt( $wake_up? )

A helper method that consumes output from the connected CLI session until a line matches any one of the named Prompts in the loaded Phrasebook, at which point no more output is consumed. As a consequence the "prompt" will be set (see above).

This might be used when you're connecting to a device which maintains CLI state between session disconnects (for example a serial console), and you need to discover the current state. However, "find_prompt" is executed automatically for you if you call a "cmd" or "macro" before any interaction with the CLI.

The current device output will be scanned against all known named Prompts. If nothing is found, the default behaviour is to die. Passing a positive number to the method (as $wake_up) will instead send the content of our "wake_up_msg" slot (see below), typically a carriage return, and try to match again. The idea is that by sending one carriage return, the connected device will print its CLI prompt. This "send and try to match" process will be repeated up to "$wake_up" times.