behavior(s); e.g., `-Xd' versus `-dX' did not produce the same results.
The libraries common.subr and dialog.subr automatically process the
arguments passed to the program and enable/disable functionality without the
need to process the arguments within your program. For example, if "$@"
contains `-d', common.subr will see this and enable debugging regardless of
whether you process "$@" yourself or not (this automatic processing can
easily be disabled for custom scripts that don't want it; see the afore-
mentioned scripts for additional details).
NOTE: common.subr stores a copy of "$@" in $ARGV for convenient (and
repeated) processing by libraries such as dialog.subr which provide such
transparent functionality for the consuming script(s).
However, the libraries don't know if a program wants to accept `extra'
options. Flags are not really a problem, because the library can be
programmed to silently ignore unknown flags. The trouble comes into play
when the program wants to define an option that takes an argument.
For example:
bsdconfig -D logfile -X
In the above example, the library uses getopts to process $ARGV and if it
doesn't know that `-D' takes an argument, the option processing will
prematurely terminate on `logfile' (this is standard/correct behavior for
getopts but is undesired in our situation where we have partially off-loaded
main argument processing).
The problem is solved by allowing the program to define an extra set of
options to be included in each library's handling of $ARGV. Only options
that require arguments are truly necessary to be pre-specified in this new
manner.
invocation. Specifically, "top-load" your arguments and in the order in-
which they will be displayed. For example, many [if not all] widgets display
information in the following order, top-to-bottom (visually):
+ backtitle (displayed behind the widget at top-left)
+ title (at the top of the `window')
+ prompt text (just below the title and above whatever widget you choose)
+ Depending on widget, _one_ of the following:
- menu list
- radio list
- check list
- text input box with initial text
- [Xdialog(1)] 2x or 3x text input boxes
- [dialog(1)] a multi-part form
- progress bar
- etc. (many more widget choices)
+ buttons (right below the selected widget)
+ [dialog(1)] the hline (displayed at bottom of `window')
NOTE: Xdialog(1) accepts and silently ignores --hline
When building local arguments for your dialog invocation, if the value can't
be cleanly loaded into a local, add "# Calculated below" to the end of the
local declaration while retaining the block order of argument declarations.
Move other local declarations that are not associated with this top-loading
the dialog arguments to right-above where they are first-used.
Also, standardize on the names of the arguments. For example, always use
$prompt (instead of sometimes $msg and sometimes $prompt); use $menu_list
or $shell_list or $radio_list for those respective widgets; ad nauseum.
While we're doing this, flush-out full arguments for many invocations that
were passing NULL strings (making it unapparent if you were staring at this
one invocation what argument that NULL string was supposed to represent).
Last, while we're in startup/rcconf let's remove the unnecessary use of a
GLOBAL (RCCONF_MENU_LIST) for the menu_list.
and f_dialog_default_fetch(). Operating similar to functions introduced by
SVN r251236 and r251242, these functions operate as a pair for helping track
the default-item data (for the --menu, --checklist, and --radiolist
widgets).
This replaces the direct usage of a global to store the data with an
abstract method for readability and to centralize the code.
responsible for retrieving stored input (for the --inputbox and --password
widgets).
When we (Ron McDowell and I) developed the first version of bsdconfig, it
used temporary files to store responses from dialog(1). That hasn't been
true for a very long time, so the need to always execute some clean-up
function is long-deprecated. The function that used to perform these clean-
up routines for these widgets was f_dialog_inputstr().
We really don't need f_dialog_inputstr() for its originally designed purpose
as all dialog invocations no longer require temporary files.
Just as in r251236, redesign f_dialog_inputstr() in the following four ways:
1. Rename f_dialog_inputstr() to f_dialog_inputstr_fetch()
2. Introduce the new first-argument of $var_to_set to reduce forking
3. Create a corresponding f_dialog_inputstr_store() to abstract storage
4. Offload the sanitization to a new function, f_dialog_line_sanitize()
It should be noted that f_dialog_line_sanitize() -- unlike its cousin from
SVN r251236, f_dialog_data_sanitize() -- trims leading/trailing whitespace
from the user's input. This helps prevent errors and common mistakes caused
by the fact that the new cdialog implementation allows the right-arrow
cursor key to go beyond the last byte of realtime input (adding whitespace
at the end of the typed value).
While we're centralizing the sanitization, let's rewrite f_dialog_input()
while we're here to likewise reduce forking. The f_dialog_input() function
now expects the first argument of $var_to_set instead of producing results
on standard-out.
These changes greatly improve readability and also improve performance.
retrieving stored data (for the --menu, --calendar, --timebox, --checklist,
and --radiolist widgets).
When we (Ron McDowell and I) developed the first version of bsdconfig, it
used temporary files to store responses from dialog(1). That hasn't been
true for some very long time, so the need to always store the return status
of dialog(1) and then call some function to clean-up is long-deprecated. The
function that used to do the clean-up was f_dialog_menutag().
We really don't need f_dialog_menutag() for its originally designed purpose,
as all dialog invocations (even when in a sub-shell) do not use temporary
files anymore.
However, we do need to keep f_dialog_menutag() around because it still fills
the need of being able to abstract the procedure for fetching stored data
provided by functions that display the aforementioned widgets.
In re-designing f_dialog_menutag(), four important changes are made:
1. Rename f_dialog_menutag() to f_dialog_menutag_fetch()
2. Introduce the new first-argument of $var_to_set to reduce number of forks
3. Create a corresponding f_dialog_menutag_store() to abstract the storage
4. Offload the sanitization to a new function, f_dialog_data_sanitize()
NOTE: That last one is important. Not all functions need to store their data
for later fetching, meanwhile every invocation of dialog should be sanitized
(as we learned early-on in the i18n-effort -- underlying libraries will spit
warnings to stderr for bad values of $LANG and since dialog outputs its
responses to stderr, we need to sanitize every response of these warnings).
These changes greatly improve readbaility and also improve performance by
reducing unnecessary forking.
calculating widget sizes. Instead of forking a sub-shell to calculate the
optimum size for a widget, use a byRef style call-out to set variables in
the parent namespace. For example, instead of:
size=$( f_dialog_buttonbox_size title btitle msg )
$DIALOG --title title --backtitle btitle --msgbox msg $size
The new API replaces the above with the following:
f_dialog_buttonbox_size height width title btitle msg
$DIALOG --title title --backtitle btitle --msgbox msg $height $width
This reduces the number of forks, improves performance, and makes the code
more readable by revealing the argument-order for widget sizing. It also
makes performing minor adjustments to the calculated values easier as
you no longer have to split-out the response (which required knowledge of
ordering so was counter-intuitive).
should be noted that newlines are both preserved and included in said byte-
count. If you want to truncate single-line values without regard to line
termination, there's always f_substr() which already exists herein.
a bug in which certain combinations of arguments produced unexpected results
such as `-dX' (now properly produces debugging and X11), `-XS' (now properly
produces X11 in secure mode), `-df-' (enables debugging when reading a
script from standard-input, etc. Multi-word variations such as `-d -X',
`-X -S', `-d -f-', `-d -f -', etc. also work as expected. Also tested were
variations in argument order, which are now working as expected.
categories, view packages, mark packages for installation, de-installation,
or re-installation, calculate and track dependencies, as well as ability to
review selections.
Still to come is the actual processing of selections (performing the
various actions associated with the user's selections, such as installing
dependencies first, then selections, etc.).
X11 side of things from bleeding into Xdialog(1) stderr output). It should
be duely noted that such errors are not a by-product of anything in the
Xdialog(1) utility or API, but optional libraries that it can link against
(such as Gtk1 versus Gtk2; if you compile xdialog from ports against Gtk2
AND misconfigure your fonts or generally make Gtk2 unhappy, these warning
messages can bleed into the captured stderr -- that is we we sanitize!).
possible to save keystrokes. Second, overhaul startup/rcdelete for much
improved performance. Last, but not least, kill-off useage of --clear
and implement --keep-tite in harmony to minimize jarring transitions.
Also, fix local variable names where necessary while we're here with
other minor comment-enhancements/typo-corrections.
improve debugging initialization. Also fixup USAGE statements while we're
here. Also, change initialization of main program to _not_ change working
directory, allowing the debugFile to be relative without confusion.
accessing files from various types of media nice and abstracted away from
the wet-work involved in preparing, validating, and initializing those
types of media. This will be used for the package management system module
and other modules that need access to files and want to allow the user to
decide where those files come from (either in a scripted fashion, prompted
fashion, or any combination thereof).
Heavily inspired by sysinstall and even uses the same reserved words so
that scripts are portable. Coded over months, tested continuously through-
out, and reviewed several times.
Some notes about the changes:
- Move network-setting acquisition/validation routines to media/tcpip.subr
- The options screen from sysinstall has been converted to a dialog menu
- The "UFS" media choice is renamed to "Directory" to reflect how sysinstall
treats the choice and a new [true] "UFS" media choice has been added that
acts on real UFS partitions (such as external disks with disklabels).
- Many more help files have been resurrected from sysinstall (I noticed that
some of the content seems a bit dated; I gave them a once-over but they
could really use an update).
- A total of 10 media choices are presented (via mediaGetType) including:
CD/DVD, FTP, FTP Passive, HTTP Proxy, Directory, NFS, DOS, UFS, Floppy, USB
- Novel struct/device management layer for managing the issue of passing
more information than can comfortably fit in an argument list.
