dave@lsuc.UUCP (David Sherman) (01/14/85)
I've found that using the shell's prompt string (PS1) can be
a really easy way of giving computer-naive users a menu of
available commands, if the command set they need is very limited.
The bare "$ " of the shell can be intimidating, after all. Our
Director of Education has this in his .profile, for example:
PS1='Type "mail", "notes", "learntax" or "bye": '
--
{utzoo pesnta nrcaero utcs}!lsuc!dave
{allegra decvax ihnp4 linus}!utcsrgv!lsuc!daverpw3@redwood.UUCP (Rob Warnock) (01/17/85)
+--------------- | I've found that using the shell's prompt string (PS1) can be | a really easy way of giving computer-naive users a menu of | available commands, if the command set they need is very limited. | ... | PS1='Type "mail", "notes", "learntax" or "bye": ' | ...!lsuc!dave | ...!utcsrgv!lsuc!dave +--------------- (All of this set up in the poor user's ".profile", of course, or in /etc/profile for post-Sys-III.) You can go one farther: Many terminals have programmable function keys or at least function keys that can emit a legal UNIX filename with a <cr>, such as the Fortune System's <^A><letter><CR> ("letter" is "a" for f1, etc.), which is also the default for the Televideo terminals. You can make UNIX commands whose names are (say) "<^A>c" which can be run by hitting function key 3. ("Hey, don't be mean...") Then PS1 can have a clear-screen sequence in it, and cursor positioning stuff, and you can REALLY get a "menu" from a plain Bourne shell!!! And the function-key-commands can be shell scripts that do "read"s and interpret more function keys as sub-commands... And the user "escapes" to UNIX by typing UNIX commands! Amazing! (Try it... you'll gag! You may even use it!) Rob Warnock Systems Architecture Consultant UUCP: {ihnp4,ucbvax!dual}!fortune!redwood!rpw3 DDD: (415)572-2607 USPS: 510 Trinidad Lane, Foster City, CA 94404