System call different when calling from controller and from console

[thebasti]

Hello,

I have a problem with making a system call to a Java program via Rails. When I call it through controller it doesn't seem to work, but when I do the same thing in console it works perfectly.

There are two models Order and Payment (Order has one Payment). Payment model that has following method:

def transaction_register()
  output_raw = `java -jar #{JAR} #{MERCHANT} -a #{(self.amount*100).to_i.to_s} #{CURRENCY} #{self.ip_address}`
 
  output = YAML.parse output_raw
  # ...removed rest of the code...
end

It runs a Java program that should contact the payment gateway and return transaction information. It is called in controller like this (some code removed for clarity):

def save_order
  order = Order.new
  order.order_items << @cart.items
  order.payment = Payment.new
  order.payment.ip_address = request.env["REMOTE_ADDR"]
  order.payment.amount = order.total_cost
  order.payment.transaction_register
 
  # ...removed rest of the code...
end

The problem is that when this code is run through a controller it doesn't seem to execute, but when I do almost (I only fake ip_address) the same thing in console it works.

Does anyone has any ideas what might be the problem?

Thanks.

[ruby-lang]

It may be that java is in your PATH environment var when you run it from the console, but not when run from the webserver, with a different user.

I'd try adding the whole path to your command line, for example `/usr/bin/java ...`.

[thebasti]

Thanks. That helped.

I should have thought of that sooner.

[ruby-lang]

That kind of thing is pretty hard to spot without a second, rested pair of eyes.

I'm glad I could help.