# Convert string containing quotes to command
**URL:** https://discourse.julialang.org/t/convert-string-containing-quotes-to-command/101334
**Category:** General Usage
**Tags:** question, strings, cmd
**Created:** [July 7, 2023, 10:50pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/convert-string-containing-quotes-to-command/101334 "2023-07-07T22:50:34Z")
**Posts on this page:** 6
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@maths.tex](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/maths.tex)
#### Post date: [July 7, 2023, 10:50pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/convert-string-containing-quotes-to-command/101334/1 "2023-07-07T22:50:35Z")
I’m new to julia. I have the following strings readen from a json file:
pathtoexe = “c:\my soft\myexe.exe”
folder = “c:\folder with spaces”
mycommand= “‘pathtoexe’ /option /D=‘folder’”
The following commands replace pathtoexe and folder with their values in mycommand:
mycommand=replace(mycommand, “pathtoexe” =\> pathtoexe)
mycommand=replace(mycommand, “folder” =\> folder)
This gives “‘c:\my soft\myexe.exe’ /option /D=‘c:\folder with spaces’”, which is great.
Now i need to convert mycommand to a command before running it. Both commands:
cmd =`$mycommand`
and
cmd = @cmd(mycommand)
add extras “” that breaks it:
They gives `"'c:\my soft\myexe.exe' /option /D='c:\folder with spaces'"`
instead of `'c:\my soft\myexe.exe' /option /D='c:\folder with spaces'`
then run fails.
How could i properly convert the string to a command ?
---
### Author:  [@Jeff\_Emanuel](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/Jeff_Emanuel)
#### Post date: [July 7, 2023, 10:55pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/convert-string-containing-quotes-to-command/101334/2 "2023-07-07T22:55:36Z")
Try interpolating your `pathtoexe` etc directly into the command, with quoting as necessary.
[https://docs.julialang.org/en/v1/manual/running-external-programs/#command-interpolation](https://docs.julialang.org/en/v1/manual/running-external-programs/#command-interpolation)
Something like this:
```julia
cmd = `'$pathtoexe' /option /D='$folder'`
```
---
### Author:  [@stevengj](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/stevengj)
#### Post date: [July 8, 2023, 12:29am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/convert-string-containing-quotes-to-command/101334/3 "2023-07-08T00:29:12Z")
> [@Jeff\_Emanuel](#):
>
> with quoting as necessary.
You shouldn’t need to quote. Command strings aren’t a shell.
---
### Author:  [@maths.tex](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/maths.tex)
#### Post date: [July 8, 2023, 11:54am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/convert-string-containing-quotes-to-command/101334/4 "2023-07-08T11:54:44Z")
Exact, the problem is that i can’t write in the json file:
```julia
"mycommand": `'$pathtoexe' /option /D='$folder'`,
```
because after
```julia
mycommand=get!(mydict, "mycommand",0)
```
fails. And if i write in json
```julia
"mycommand": "`'$pathtoexe' /option /D='$folder'`",
```
then
```julia
mycommand=get!(mydict, "mycommand",0)
```
returns “`'\$pathtoexe' /option /D='\$folder'`”, thus escaping $ and not interpolating.
---
### Author:  [@stevengj](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/stevengj)
#### Post date: [July 8, 2023, 12:08pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/convert-string-containing-quotes-to-command/101334/5 "2023-07-08T12:08:19Z")
> [@maths.tex](#):
>
> Exact, the problem is that i can’t write in the json file:
If you’re going to store a command in a JSON file, you should store it as list of strings, one per argument, not as a single string. This is how Julia stores a `Cmd`, actually.
You can call `collect(cmd)` (or `cmd.exec`) to get a list of strings from a `cmd::Cmd`, and you can call `Cmd(list_of_strings)` to reconstruct the `Cmd`.
(To store it as a single string, you’d have to do some parsing to break it up into arguments, and it’s easy to muck that up if there are spaces or other special characters.)
> [@maths.tex](#):
>
> returns “`'\$pathtoexe' /option /D='\$folder'`”, thus escaping $ and not interpolating.
If you want to load a string/command from a file that has a `$expression` and _then_ interpolate the value of the expression, then you basically have to invoke the Julia interpreter via `eval`, or write a custom interpreter.
---
### Author:  [@maths.tex](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/maths.tex)
#### Post date: [July 28, 2023, 9:46pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/convert-string-containing-quotes-to-command/101334/6 "2023-07-28T21:46:49Z")
Thank you @stevengj for your answer, and sorry for this late reply.
I made the json line as you suggested:
`mycommand= ["$pathtoexe","/option","/D=$folder"]`
then the following instruction cancelled `&` changing it to `\$`, thus didn’t interpolate:
`mycommand=Vector{String}(get!(soft, "mycommand",0))`
But i could manage to get the desired result applying `replace.` to the list of string, before making the command:
```julia
mycommand = ["pathtoexe","/option","/D=folder"] (in json)
mycommand .=replace.(mycommand, "pathtoexe" => pathtoexe)
mycommand .=replace.(mycommand, "folder" => folder)
mycommand =Cmd(mycommand)
```
This is a satisfying solution for my needs, therefore I didn’t try your other idea with `eval`.
Thanks for your help.