XML Parsing [serial number and hostname]

Scripting Forums AppleScript | Mac OS X
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#1

In this code…

set mySysInfo to do shell script "/usr/sbin/system_profiler -xml"
tell application "System Events"
	set theInfo to XML element 3 of mySysInfo
        set theProps to properties of theInfo
end tell

theProps errors out with a “can’t get properties of theInfo”. If I log theInfo, it seems like it’s just the first char of mySysInfo. If I change the code to get XML element 3, theInfo gets the 3rd char of mySysInfo.

Has anyone seen this before?

TIA

#2

Hi,

this cannot work, because the shell script returns just text
and the XML Suite of System Events must refer to a file on disk.

What information do you want to gather?

#3

Thanks so much Stefan. Certainly I can pipe the shell’s output to a temp file and work with that. I’ve seen plenty of examples. I was just trying to skip the step, thinking it wasn’t neccessary.

Typically, the xml file is opened and then the “contents of theFileHandle” are read into a var. I assumed (incorrectly) that the type of the “contents of” was just a string. I wonder if there’s a way to coerce the string var I’ve already got to XML? Will investigate.

I just need to parse out the serial number and host name.

Thanks again.

#4

You can get hostname from system info and just parse the hardware info for the SN


set hostName to host name of (system info)
set serialNum to word -1 of paragraph -2 of (do shell script "/usr/sbin/system_profiler SPHardwareDataType")
#5

That doesn’t work if your hardware includes a Sudden Motion Sensor.

Edit: We’ve been over this before. :stuck_out_tongue:

Find serial number

#6

Thanks for the :P. :slight_smile:

I did run through the system profiler search results and saw the alternative methods… but I am going to be using the system profiler. My question was really just about why my efforts to parse the xml results from a var weren’t working.

Thanks for your help!

#7

The link was for everyone, but the actual :stuck_out_tongue: was more for Adam. :wink:

The System Events dictionary states that the contents property of an XML file returns XLM data.

You could start with something like this:

set xmlTempPath to POSIX path of ((path to temporary items folder as Unicode text) & "digest4d_system_profiler.xml")

do shell script "/usr/sbin/system_profiler -xml > " & quoted form of xmlTempPath

tell application "System Events"
	tell contents of XML file xmlTempPath
		-- whatever
	end tell
end tell

However, it might be easier to parse the result as a property list:

set xmlTempPath to POSIX path of ((path to temporary items folder as Unicode text) & "digest4d_system_profiler.xml")

do shell script "/usr/sbin/system_profiler -xml SPHardwareDataType SPSoftwareDataType > " & quoted form of xmlTempPath

tell application "System Events"
	tell contents of property list file xmlTempPath
		tell property list item 1 -- dict (for SPHardwareDataType)
			tell property list item 1 of property list item "_items" -- first dict of the _items array
				set serialNumber to value of property list item "serial_number"
			end tell
		end tell
	end tell
end tell

Are you looking for <key>local_host_name</key>? I ask because that isn’t the same value that would be returned by host name of (system info) (that value doesn’t seem to be in the system_profiler results). Both of those values are viewable in the Sharing pane of System Preferences, but when I think of hostname I think of the second value.

#8

Thanks everyone! I’m good to go.