Final answer:
The task is to implement a shell in C that can run in interactive or batch modes, parse inputs, create child processes, manage redirections, and use piping. Testing strategies include unit, integration, error, and performance testing, with a documented test plan.
Step-by-step explanation:
Writing a program that functions as a command-line shell in C programming language requires using system calls for process control, file operations, and inter-process communication. The project involves implementing a shell that can operate in both interactive and batch modes, processing commands from either the user input or a file. When in interactive mode, mysh will prompt the user for commands, execute them, and display the results. In batch mode, it will read commands from a specified file and execute them sequentially.
The development of mysh can be broken down into several stages:
- Parse inputs from the command line or a file.
- Implement the execution of commands by creating child processes using fork() and exec() family functions.
- Handle built-in commands like changing the working directory with chdir().
- Manage input and output redirections using dup2() and control inter-process communications with pipe().
The testing strategy for mysh involves:
- Unit testing individual functions for reliability.
- Integration testing to ensure different parts of the program work together.
- Testing error handling for invalid commands or arguments.
- Performance testing to evaluate the shell's responsiveness.
A detailed test plan should be documented which specifies the test cases, expected outcomes, and a procedure to automate the tests for consistency. Testing code can involve writing scripts to simulate user input or create batch files with a list of commands for the shell to process.