Dialog Utility

• User interface usually includes, menus, different type of boxes like info box, message box, Input box etc.
• In Linux shell (i.e. bash) there is no built-in facility available to create such user interface, But there is one utility supplied with Red Hat Linux version 6.0 called dialog, which is used to create different type of boxes like info box, message box, menu box, Input box etc.
• To show some information on screen; http://siber.cankaya.edu.tr/SystemsProgramming/cfiles/dialdial.

  #!/bin/sh
  #
  # Script to show some information on screen
  #
  dialog --title "Linux Dialog Utility Infobox" --backtitle "Linux
  Shell Script Tutorial" --infobox "This is dialog box called infobox,
  which is used\
  to show some information on screen, Press any key. . . " 7 50 ;
  read
  

  • Here 7 and 50 are height-of-box and width-of-box respectively.
  • "Linux Shell Script Tutorial" is the backtitle of dialog show on upper left side of screen and below that line is drawn.
  Use dialog utility to Display dialog boxes from shell scripts. Syntax:

  dialog --title {title} --backtitle {backtitle} {Box options}
  where Box options can be any one of following
  --yesno {text} {height} {width}
  --msgbox {text} {height} {width}
  --infobox {text} {height} {width}
  --inputbox {text} {height} {width} [{init}]
  --textbox {file} {height} {width}
  --menu {text} {height} {width} {menu} {height} {tag1} item1}...
  

• To show some information on screen which has also Ok button; http://siber.cankaya.edu.tr/SystemsProgramming/cfiles/dial2dial2.

  !/bin/sh
  #
  # Script to show some information on screen which has also Ok button
  #
  dialog --title "Linux Dialog Utility Msgbox" --backtitle "Linux Shell
  Script Tutorial" --msgbox "This is dialog box called msgbox, which is
  used\ to show some information on screen which has also Ok button,
  Press any key. . . " 9 50
  

• yesno box using dialog utility; http://siber.cankaya.edu.tr/SystemsProgramming/cfiles/dial3dial3.
• Input Box (inputbox) using dialog utility; http://siber.cankaya.edu.tr/SystemsProgramming/cfiles/dial4dial4.
• Putting it all together. Its time to write script to create menus using dialog utility, following are menu items
  • Date/time
  • Calendar
  • Editor