water cooler :: shell script question

how can i automate logging in when i'm writing little shell scripts? specifically, some examples would be to su to root, enter the root pwd and then do a find command on the whole filesystem. another would be to run a vncviewer with a certain ip, and pipe in the password automatically.

eg #!/bin/sh
vncviewer 192.168.1.102:3
"pipe in password here for the vncauth window"

i know, i know. this is dangerous, but i'm only going to do these types of things locally, behind a firewall

Code Sample

dsl@box:~$ vncviewer --help
VNC viewer version 3.3.7 - built Nov 16 2003 08:08:33
Copyright (C) 2002-2003 RealVNC Ltd.
Copyright (C) 1994-2000 AT&T Laboratories Cambridge.
See http://www.realvnc.com for information on VNC.

usage: vncviewer [<options>] <host>:<display#>
vncviewer [<options>] -listen [<display#>]

<options> are standard Xt options, or:
-shared
-viewonly
-fullscreen
-passwd <passwd-file>
-noauto
-encodings <encoding-list> (e.g. "raw copyrect")
-bgr233
-owncmap
-truecolour
-depth <depth>

Please try to use the --help flag for a program before asking questions about run-time options, it usually has the info you need.

-J.P.

added for future reference....
some programs use "-help" or "-h" instead of "--help".

While we are on the subject, another way to get information is to search google for the man page of the program. In other words, search keywords like:

man vncviewer

My personal favorite for man pages is a site called die.net, so you can search via this syntax:

man vncviewer site:die.net

You're looking for `expect'. Most people don't use expect anymore but, it used to be real handy for use with minicom to dial-up to your isp.

There's a bit of a learning curve (say ten to fifteen minutes) but you can automate a whole bunch of stuff with it.

I don't have a url for documentation, but a quick google should find some stuff.

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