Why does this code not work with a variable?

RouterOS Scripting
1

This does not work

:local ssids [:toarray [:deserialize [/file/get ssids.txt  contents] delimiter="\n" from=dsv options=dsv.plain]];

:foreach line in=$ssids do={:put $line}

This works

:foreach line in=[:toarray [:deserialize [/file/get ssids.txt  contents] delimiter="\n" from=dsv options=dsv.plain]] do={:put $line}

The code is exactly the same, except one uses a variable. What is going on? I spent 2 hours trying to read a file and list line by line and found out variables are not working at all?

ssids.txt

test
test2
2

Are you trying to run the lines directly in the Terminal? If yes then each line has its own scope, the variable $ssids you declared on the first line no longer exists on the 2nd line.

If running from the Terminal command line, put both lines in a { ... } block. After the opening { you can put as many lines as you want, and close with a final }. The block will then be treated as one single scope.

Alternatively, create a script under /system script then use /system script run to run it.

1 Like
3

Maybe if you'd spent those two hours reading the documentation, however poor it may be,
you'd surely have figured out the problem yourself... [as @CGGXANNX wrote]

:warning: Each line written in the terminal is treated as local scope

4

Anyone would expect variables, to, well, do their thing by default when creating them you know.

5

Well, there is a difference between local and global variables. If you'd use global in first example its scope, it would have worked.

As @rextended points out, local variable scope defined to the current CLI line:

So the { } block is what create a new scope, but that is still part of the same CLI line.

Now local scope is valid through out a /system/script (or scheduler). So to test a script at CLI, you do need the { } to emulate same scoping as /system/script would use.