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Text File | 1996-03-16 | 10.7 KB | 289 lines

sysline -- status-line display utility for Linux 1. INTRO -------- This is a Linux port of the BSD sysline utility. I don't know how it happened, but it sort of became my adopted child. The original sources are included here in ./BSD. 2. SPARE ME THE DETAILS ----------------------- cat QuickStart 3. INSTALL ---------- The program requires presence of the /proc file-system; if you don't have it, you might consider recompiling your kernel (if you don't have a kernel, consider getting an other kind of OS first). Run ./Configure to create Makefile and config.h. It shouldn't really be necessary to edit these any further, though there may eventually be some things you want to modify or customize. Running `make' will compile sysline, `make install' will install sysline and sysline.1 in the paths as per the Makefile (if you install by hand, run strip on the binary first). If you want to have `cs' installed as well (see below), edit the Makefile accordingly. If `make' fails with an error like: ``*** commands commence before first target. Stop.'' you prob. need to remove tabs from empty lines in the Makefile (either that or get GNU make version 3.73 or later). After having installed sysline, run the make.termcap-entry or the make.terminfo-entry script (whichever sysline was compiled for), and add the output to the relevant database (see below). 4. TERMCAP/TERMINFO REQUIREMENTS -------------------------------- Your termcap file or terminfo file --whichever applies-- might be lacking some capabilities that sysline needs or appreciates. Here's an overview. The following capabilities are absolutely 100% essential: termcap capability terminfo equiv. meaning ------------------ --------------- ------- hs hs terminal has status-line es eslok escapes in status-line ok ts tsl move to status-line fs fsl move from status-line ds dsl clear status-line The next capabilities are prob. already defined some place, and can be left unchanged; just check if you have them: termcap capability terminfo equiv. meaning ------------------ --------------- ------- so smso begin standout (reverse) mode se rmso end standout (reverse) mode ce el clear to end-of-line bl bel audible signal (bell) These too are capabilities which prob. are already defined some place, but which might need modifications: termcap capability terminfo equiv. meaning ------------------ --------------- ------- cs csr set scroll-region cl clear clear screen and home cursor cd ed clear to end-of-screen (* cm cup move cursor to row, column (** ho home home cursor (** (* only for a top status-line (** only for a bottom status-line The following capabilities are also used, if they are defined; i2 better be present when you're not using the `cs' script (see below); ws#80 can usually be omitted, unless you want to specify a shorter status-line than the screen-width: termcap capability terminfo equiv. meaning ------------------ --------------- ------- i2 is2 initialization string ws#80 wsl width of status-line The most convenient way of modifying termcap (or the terminfo database file) is to paste a referring entry somewhere into that file. The make.termcap-entry and make.terminfo-entry scripts allow you to create such an entry with minimal effort. The invocation of one of these scripts will in fact output two entries: one for a status-line on the bottom line and one for a status-line on the top line of the screen. This output is supposed to be directed to a file, which can then be pasted into the database-file at an appropriate place. Cinch. One note about the 'cd' capability-string. This should really clear from the cursor to the end-of-screen (\E[J), however, what these scripts generate (\E[K) clears only to the end-of-line. The former would temporarily erase the status-line, the latter leaves it alone, but has the side-effect that other programs may occasionally clear too little. Remedy that by commenting out this modified 'cd' (by placing a period in front of it: .cd), depending on which annoys you more. If only there were a way we could clear from the cursor to a specific position; I'm convinced there is none, but am open to suggestions, even the less elegant or more exotic ones. Also note that the entries produced by these scripts refer to entry 'con-unk' only as an example; change to whatever is appropriate for you. 5. COLORIZING THE STATUS-LINE ----------------------------- The status-line can be given most any color of choice by setting an environment variable SYSLINE_COLORS (or, if that's Greek to you, SYSLINE_COLOURS). This variable is expected to contain the values of attributes and colors of both the normal and the reversed status-line. The format of its value is "rv=aa[;bb[;cc...]]:nm=zz[;yy[;xx...]]" where aa, bb, ... and zz, yy, ... each represent a color-attribute or a foreground/background-color, separated from one another by a semi-colon. Those following "rv=" are for the reversed status-line (which it is 4 out of 5 times), those following "nm=" are for the normal un-reversed status-line (every 5th display; is this counterintuitive or what). For clarity, the "rv=" part may be separated from the "nm=" part with any character like a blank or a colon, or... -- your chance to be creative! The order of rv or nm is unimportant. An example: to have a bold/blue-bg/yellow-fg status-line which becomes a bold/red-bg/white-fg status-line every fifth display do SYSLINE_COLORS="rv=1;44;33:nm=1;41;37" on that vt. Note that all this fancy colorization of the status-line defeats the purpose of displaying this status-line in normal video, which is to give the screen a rest every 5th display thereby preventing terminal illness. Attributes are as follows (incomplete): 0 = all attributes off 1 = intensity 2 (bold) 2 = intensity 0 (half-bright) 4 = underline on 5 = blink on 7 = reverse on Color codes are as follows: color foreground background ----- ---------- ---------- black 30 40 red 31 41 green 32 42 yellow 33 43 blue 34 44 magenta 35 45 cyan 36 46 white 37 47 6. OPERATION ------------ Each time before starting sysline you need to take some precautions to ensure that other programs don't interfere with the status-line. This may involve setting a scroll-region, but at least involves doing `stty rows N', where N is the number of rows (lines) in the scroll- region. If you have the 'i2/is2' capability in your termcap/terminfo entry, sysline will set the scroll-region itself upon startup. In this case the only thing you have to do before starting sysline is `stty rows N', N being 1 less than the number of lines on the terminal. If on the other hand you have chosen to leave out or comment out the 'i2/is2' capability from the termcap/terminfo database, you also need to set the scroll-region yourself, in addition to making the stty call before starting sysline. Enter my `cs' script: it will do both! As arguments give it the first and last line of the scroll-region. Note: if you're going to use `cs', you might want to modify its choice between GNU's termcap-based `tput', or ncurses' terminfo-based `tput', or none of the above; in the latter case it uses its own strings. Example for a 80x30 terminal: ------------------------------ to add status-line: 1. stty rows 29 (or `cs 1 30') 2. TERM=con80x30-s (for bash, zsh; for csh: "set term=con80x30-s") 3. sysline (will set scroll-region using the i2/is2 strings) to remove status-line: 1. kill -HUP <pid> (tidy up when exiting) 2. TERM=con80x30 (for bash, zsh; for csh: "set term=con80x30") 3. stty rows 30 \ (back to full-size tty) 4. tput csr 1 30 / (or `cs 1 30') (reset scroll-region to normal) 7. FURTHER NOTES AND HINTS -------------------------- * To run sysline in a 1-line xterm, your termcap/terminfo database file does not need any of the above mentioned capabilities; just start sysline with the -w flag and resize the window any way you like, preferably to 1 line. Running sysline without the -w flag in a larger xterm --which btw. would require all the capabilities to be present in the xterm entry-- doesn't make much sense, unless you never intend to resize that particular window. * If you compiled sysline for terminfo and you changed the contents of the terminfo database file, do not forget to run 'tic <terminfo_file>' to compile that file in order to make your changes take effect. Analogously, if you're using sysline for termcap, and have a TERMCAP environment variable set containing the full terminal description, you have to actually logout or do `eval `tset -s`' to make the changes take effect. * To clear the screen without removing --albeit temporarily-- the status-line, use the 'tput clear' command. A terminfo-based `tput' comes with the ncurses package; a termcap- based `tput' (which accepts the same _terminfo_ capability-names as the ncurses `tput') can be found in GNU's tput-1.0.tar.gz or the GNU termutils-2.0 package. * To reset the screen without it removing the status-line, you can use the `reset' script that comes with the util-linux package, which uses `tput' (since ncurses' terminfo-based `tput' and GNU's termcap-based `tput' accept the same capability-names, that reset script can be used for both). * Want to force an update of the status-line? Do `kill -ALRM <sysline-pid>'. * If you run sysline as root, it may continue to run after you log out (without the data on the status-line being updated anymore mind you). This happens to be the case getty_ps at least (2.0.7c and later), not with getty4.32 by Fred van Kempen; I don't know about other getty's, nor why they behave so differently and what would be standard -- your guess is as good as mine, probably better, which doesn't help. Anyway, to avoid this waste of resources, you could start it thus: sysline -i >~/sysline.pid and then have so: if [ -e ~/sysline.pid ] then kill -HUP `cat ~/sysline.pid` 2>/dev/null rm ~/sysline.pid cs 1 25 # example 25-line terminal fi in your ~/.logout file -- or something more elaborate. * Hardscroll (Shift-PgUp/Dn) does not work on vt's with a status-line. This is normal -- I never use it anyway. * If programs start behaving erratically, check you termcap file for trailing whitespace on lines which are part of an entry. Yes. * Individual capabilities in the termcap and terminfo databases can be commented out by placing a period just before the capability name. 8. FEEDBACK ----------- Questions, bugs, comments, suggestions, flames to yours truly. Did I say ``enjoy''? BJ ``in the software business since tuesday'' bjdouma@xs4all.nl (Bauke Jan Douma)