We have large data sets in a 4D database. Recently we needed to automate certain tasks to export, import, or process data, which requires some connection between 4D and the unix shell (bash and zsh).We did fine whenever a 4D function had to call a shell command or shell script, using the LAUNCH EXTERNAL PROCESS instruction. But I am having trouble doing the opposite, starting a 4D function from a shell script. The on-line documentation did not give me any suggestion on how to do this.
How would I run a 4D function at a specific date+time? 4D itself does not seem to provide a way to schedule an action. OS X provides a perfectly good way to start a command at any future time (weekly or monthly). I just do not know 4D well enough to figure out how to call a 4D function from a shell script. If it was MySQL or PostgreSQL then I had no problem, because I could call the mysql or pgsql client, which can work without a GUI. Can I do something similar with 4D?
