Re: A Qt alternative for KDE?
Okay, people I'm up to this challenge.
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> basic funktions (inputfield, menus etc) could also be available on
> textterminals (thru curses, termcap, slang ...). That makes it a perfect
> choice fore system tools...
>
> Anyone intrested? We culd start out whit two platforms, (eg curses and
> Tcl/Tk) and create the basic stuff.
An accepted standard along these lines would help tremendously. One of the
biggest drawbacks of some other distributions is the need to have X
running to use many of the config and admin tools. Suppose you want to
setup an "old" machine with a 386, 8mb ram, and 100 mb disk? I can do this
with Debian because X is not needed. The goal should be that 3 of my 6
brothers (who aren't listening) could easily do the same. They might know
how to use ae, but they don't know the first thing about what's in /etc.
Rather than totally reinvent the wheel, perhaps one of the gurus could
give me a starting point:
Step 1
Using Perl, I want to select the correct user interface for command-line,
ncurses, X, or WWW invocation. I want to check for an argument that will
force to command-line in case the user has problems(like he doesn't yet
know his TERM type). Then I will invoke wrapper functions which will use
the correct user interface.
Step 2
I will write a simple useradmin menu with a few choices such as
configuring ~/.bash* stuff on it. EDITOR and PAGER are a good start.
Step 3
I will make it work with pretty color, arrow keys, and such toys.
Step 4
I will add mouse support.
Step 5
True X version (not xterm)
Step 6
WWW - install Apache. Using a local or remote browser, perform the same
task. It should be designed to work with most browsers including lynx.
If this was done properly, you could then write programs such as
"netconfig" which would even work with an old printing teletype.I still
remember writing and using such programs. When you typed ? for help, it
printed a list of options. It wasn't elegant, but it got the mission
accomplished! I even had "progress meters" that printed a line at
appropriate intervals. Control-c input would print a confirmation prompt.
This needs to be implemented in such a way that the basic functionality is
available in the absence of libraries/support for the higher level user
interfaces. A limited dselect tool would be a good example - it would work
on any tty and allow spacebar paging for long lists. You could use it to
install the support needed for a higher-level user interface.
I chose Perl as a starting point. That doesn't mean I would't build an
equivalent C version (or maybe the Perl compiler will be ready soon).
Paul Wade - Greenbush Technologies Corporation
http://www.greenbush.com/cds.html
Linux CD's sent worldwide
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