XSHELL(1) UNIX Programmer's Manual XSHELL(1) NAME xshell - X Window System, key/button command exec SYNOPSIS xshell [ _o_p_t_i_o_n_s ] [ _h_o_s_t:_d_i_s_p_l_a_y ] ... DESCRIPTION _X_s_h_e_l_l is a program for starting up X applications with a single key or button stroke. It displays a scallop shell icon in which button and key presses stand for different commands. The user can bind a command string to any key or button by inserting a line like the following in his or her xshell.action.keyname: command to be exec'ed Keynames are simply letters, numbers, and symbols as they appear on the keyboard (e.g. a, $, 9), or one of the follow- ing special names (taken from the X keyboard definitions): KEYPAD0 FUNC1 E1 KEYPAD. FUNC2 E2 ENTER FUNC3 E3 KEYPAD1 FUNC4 E4 KEYPAD2 FUNC5 E5 KEYPAD3 FUNC6 E6 KEYPAD4 FUNC7 LEFTARROW KEYPAD5 FUNC8 RIGHTARROW KEYPAD6 FUNC9 DOWNARROW KEYPAD, FUNC10 UPARROW KEYPAD7 FUNC11 SHIFT KEYPAD8 FUNC12 CONTROL KEYPAD9 FUNC13 LOCK KEYPAD- FUNC14 SYMBOL PF1 FUNC15 PF2 FUNC16 PF3 FUNC17 PF4 FUNC18 LEFTBUTTON FUNC19 MIDDLEBUTTON FUNC29 RIGHTBUTTON Thus, the following `.Xdefaults' definitions specify that the Left Button will spawn a terminal window, the Middle Button an editor, the Right Button a calculator, $ a Bourne shell, and # a superuser shell: xshell.action.LeftButton: xterm =80x65-0+0 -fn 6x10 xshell.action.MiddleButton: xted =80x65+0-0 xshell.action.RightButton: xterm =20x20-0-0 -fn 6x10 -e dc xshell.action.$: xterm =80x65+0+0 -fn 6x10 -e sh xshell.action.#: xterm =80x65+0+0 -fn 6x10 -e su Printed 1/10/87 31 October 1985 1 XSHELL(1) UNIX Programmer's Manual XSHELL(1) _X_s_h_e_l_l breaks the command string up into words by removing all white space (i.e. tabs and spaces) and uses the vfork() and execvp() system calls to spawn off the command. A more complicated parsing algorithm could easily be added, but the current method is adequate (and fast and memory efficient). One thing to keep in mind is that _x_s_h_e_l_l is NOT a window manager. It was written to make popping up frequently used utilities as painless as possible (how many times have you found that you need just 1 more window....). It might make a nice addition to some of the more verbose window managers, but it runs quite nicely as a separate program. ARGUMENTS _X_s_h_e_l_l is designed to be somewhat compatible with _x_c_l_o_c_k in the arguments that it takes. However, _x_s_h_e_l_l will allow you to abbreviate its longer flags to any length you chose. Thus, the -reverse flag can be spelled out, given as -rev, or even just -r: -fg _c_o_l_o_r On color displays, determines the color of the foreground. -bg _c_o_l_o_r On color displays, determines the color of the background. -bd _c_o_l_o_r On color displays, determines the color of the border. -bw _p_i_x_e_l_s Specify the width in pixels of the border around the _x_s_h_e_l_l window. -v[olume] _n Volume for calls to _X_F_e_e_p, used when errors (such as unbound key) are found. -f[lash] _n Number of times to flash the shell window to ack- nowledge a button or key press. -d[elay] _n One-hundredths of a second to wait between flashs (default is 5). -r[everse] Reverse video (swap foreground and background). -q[uiet] Do not `feep' on errors (see volume). Printed 1/10/87 31 October 1985 2 XSHELL(1) UNIX Programmer's Manual XSHELL(1) -s[mall] Use a smaller (48x48) version of the shell icon. The default icon is 96x96. =_g_e_o_m_e_t_r_y By default _x_s_h_e_l_l will create a window the size of whatever icon you select; the standard X window geometry argument will override this. See _X(_1) for details. _h_o_s_t:_d_i_s_p_l_a_y specifies the display on which to put the _x_s_h_e_l_l window. This overrides the DISPLAY environment variable. X DEFAULTS To make invoking _x_s_h_e_l_l easier, each of the flags listed above may be specified in the user's Foreground gives the foreground color. Background gives the background color. Border gives the border color. BorderWidth gives the border width. ReverseVideo if "on", the shell icon should be white on black instead of black on white. Volume gives the volume to use in calls to XFeep(). Flash gives the number of times to flash the shell win- dow to acknowledge key or button presses. Delay gives hundredths of a second to wait in between flashes. Quiet prevents _x_s_h_e_l_l from feeping at you when you mis- type. IconSize if "small", a halfsize (48x48) version of the scallopshell is used. WindowGeometry gives the shell window size using standard X =WxH+X+Y notation. Printed 1/10/87 31 October 1985 3 XSHELL(1) UNIX Programmer's Manual XSHELL(1) ENVIRONMENT DISPLAY To get the default host and display number. SEE ALSO xwm(1), xnwm(1), X(1), execl(3), vfork(2) DIAGNOSTICS If -quiet is not given on the command line or ``xshell.Quiet: on'' does not appear in the user's ._X_d_e_- _f_a_u_l_t_s, _x_s_h_e_l_l will `feep' if a key or button is pressed for which there is no definition in the ._X_d_e_f_a_u_l_t_s file. AUTHOR Copyright 1985, Cognition Inc. Jim Fulton (Cognition Inc.) BUGS _X_s_h_e_l_l uses the XGetDefault call to fetch the command string for a given key. Thus, you cannot bind the colon (``:'') character to a command. A more `user-friendly' interface could include dialog boxes that the user could pop up to type in a command directly so that a full shell doesn't have to be started. Then again, it is nice and compact now and if you really need to do that more than once you should use a real shell. This program along with _x_w_m(_1) and _x_n_w_m have been mostly superceded by _u_w_m(_1). Printed 1/10/87 31 October 1985 4