Watcher's Shadow Shell System (SHSH) ==================================== File : /obj/shells/shsh.c Version : 4.5 (Completed : 04/14/1993) Creator : Glenn Ferguson (Watcher@TMI, GateWay) Description ----------- The Shadow Shell system (shsh) is a user environmental overlay which allows a user to reformat what they see on the screen into separate windows through the use of ANSI code manipulation. As a result, to make full use of the shell's abilities, the user must be using an ANSI compatible terminal emulation (ie: vt100, ANSI, etc). Without this emulation, a user may still make use of some shell functions, but not the core output manipulation set. The shell is constructed as to divide a user's screen into a number of sub windows. These windows can be classified in one of two categories: system window or user window. The system window may only receive and display information to the user, and cannot be used by the user. While a user window are windows in which the user interacts, and can receive and send communications. There are only two system class windows: the status window which displays status information about the user and their environment, and the communication window which receives and displays all incoming information. Both of these windows are optional, and may be enabled/disabled in the shell configuration process. The shell makes use of the MudOS message efun which passes all communcation going through it with a tag to receive_message() within the user object. Within receive_message() is a catch which passes the incoming communcation to the shell where it can be reformated with respect to screen positioning, colour, highlighting, etc and then passed back to receive_message() where it completes the path to the user's screen. It is this interlinking between the shell and the mudlib that allows the shell's powerful communication manipulation capabilities. Shell Window Commands --------------------- Before the shell can be used in window mode, it must be first configured. This is done with the "configure shell" command, which enters the user into the shadow shell's configuration menu system. This allows the user to designate whether the shell will have a status window and/or a communication window, any change in the shell's default colours, as well as the shell's default system settings. If the user has a home directory, they will have the option of saving this configuration in a .ssrc file. Alternatively, the shell will maintain this configuration through the autoload system. However, the autoload system is limited in what it will maintain over logout, and the use of .ssrc file allows alot more flexibility in the shell's save system. The main shsh command is used to enter and exit from the shell's window mode. The arguments for this command are simply [on/off]. If shell window mode activation is selected, it will only continue if the shell has been configured, and the shell has been properly selected with the mudlib's chsh command. The shsh off command will remove all subwindows, and clear the user's screen, for standard interactive use. If the shell layout has been disrupted by external ANSI interferance, or the configuration has been adjusted since the shell window system has been activated, it can be redrawn with the "refresh shell" command. This command will also blank out all interactive windows. Additional interactive shell windows may be added to the screen layout through the use of the "add window" command. The command will also accept an argument which refers to the new windows line length (ie: add window 5 will open a new window five lines in size). The command will fail if the new window request will not fit into the present window screen configuration. The "remove window" command will remove the latest window opened by the user (ie: the window closest to the bottom of the screen), and use the remaining area for the window directly above it. The command will fail if the user attempts to remove the main interactive window (window 1) as this window may not be removed. The window user may also move between user windows through use of the change window command, or its shortcut command, /go. The change window command will prompt the user to input the destination window, while the /go command accepts the new window designation as an argument (ie: /go 2 to move to window two). Of course, this command will fail if the designated window doesn't exist. The final window system command is the "cls" command. This command allows the user to clear the present interactive window, or another specified active window. For example, by simply typing "cls", the user can clean the present active window. Conversely, the user may clean window 2 by typing cls 2. Lastly the communication window can be cleared by typing cls 0 or cls comm. Message Manipulation Commands ----------------------------- A specific communication string may be gagged (ie: blocked from output to the user) through the use of the shell's gag command. For example, if the user dislikes a talkative mobile called "Harry", they can do "/gag Harry says", which will cause any incoming communication with "Harry says" in it to be discarded before it reaches the user. Stored gag strings may be removed with the use of the shell's ungag command. Conversely to the shell's gag capabilities are its hilite capability. This will cause the shell to hilight any incoming communication which has the selected string within it. For example, if the user wants to make sure they don't miss any "tell"s from Buddha, they can "/hilite Buddha tells you" and it hilight the communication for easy use if Buddha ever tells them anything. If they decide not to emphasize what Buddha tells them anymore, they can remove it from their hilite field with the unhilite command. Closely related to the hilite command is the shell's page command. Instead of hilighting the incoming labelled communication, it will issue a beep along with the message to signal the user. Once again, it can be removed through the use of the unpage command. Each incoming message has been class labelled by the mudlib to reference that particular message type. For example, all messages coming through a tell_object have been labelled "tell_object" by the mudlib, as has those from the say, write, etc functions. This class labelling allows the shell to manipulate where it wishes to place these message types. This is primarily done with the shell's "assign" command. With this command, the user may assign a specific class of communication to a specific window. For example, by doing "/assign channel to 2", the shell will then display all "channel" labelled messages in window two (if it doesn't exist, it will default back to the communication window). A specific class of communication can also be automatically discarded by the shell by assigning that class to "nul" (ie: "/assign channel to nul" will prevent any channel messages to be blocked from being displayed). Any window assignments may be removed by the user through the use of the "unassign" command. Socket Control Commands ----------------------- The Shadow Shell has a base window socket support builtin, which can allow authorized users to connect a specific window to a specific remote mud. A connection to a remote mud is created with the shell's "open" command. Thus a user may connect the active window to TMI-2 by typing "/open" followed by TMI-2's present address (either numeric or alphabetic address format are allowed). The shell also interfaces with the mudlib's name server, so a user may alternatively connect to TMI-2 by typing "/open tmi-2". The user may also close an open socket connection through the shell's "close" command. Admins should be wary about opening access to the shell's socket system to just any wizards. Socket telnet use provides the user with an anonymous identity (all ip addresses for the remote user will point to the originating mudlib), and could open the door to abuse. Use of the mudlib's telnet daemon to restrict where the shell may connect to is one solution. Another is to make use of the shell's socket permission system to restrict the socket use to trusted users. Miscellaneous Shell Commands ---------------------------- The information display given by the shell's status window also displays the current time. By default, it is displayed according the the mud's local time. The user may user the "/time" command to set the shell's timezone difference value so that the time value will represent their local time. The "/beep" command may be used to signal a player (ie: if they are idling and not noticing tell messages). This will send a beep to the requested player and tell them who is signalling them. Be warned...overuse/misuse of this command is a quick way to get oneself destructed or removed. The "/fc" command toggles the shell's file completion mode on and off. The shell allows for a limited form of filename completion, in that if a "*" is placed*" at the end of the filename the user is trying to reference, the shell will try to complete the filename for them. For example, if one wished to goto a room called death_valley.c, one could do goto death*, and if it was the only file in the current directory that matched that pattern, the shell would complete the filename, and initiate the action. This ability only works for filename pattern's terminating with the "*". It will not work if the "*" is any other position but the last in the filename. The "/status" command produces a printout of the shell's present status, including save method, and stored gags, hilites, and pages. The shell "/history" command prints out the user's last 20 actions with a corresponding number from 1 to 20. These can then be referenced and repeated with the shell's "/do" command. For example, if the "/history" command listed "finger @tmi-2" as my 15th action, I could repeat it by typing "/do 15". These two commands have become slightly redundent as the mudlib's history system has increased in sophistication, however I have left them in the shell as they can be easier to use with their 1-20 listing. Perhaps the most unpredictable command within the shell is the "/buffer" command. It uses the get_char() efun to produce an interactive back scroll buffer effect, and unfortunately some telnet clients do not agree with it resulting in very unsavory results. For those that have clients that like the get_char() efun, the "/buffer" command allows one to scroll back through the past received communcations, in an interactive manner. The "u" key will move one back up the scroll buffer, while "d" will move one back down. The "q" or ESC key will close the buffer and return one to standard interactive window mode. Better support for those with get_char()-hating clients will be offered in the next release. The shell also has a builtin alarm system, in that the user can request the shell alert them with a preset message and signalling beeps after a preset time period in minutes has passed. For example, if the user realized they had to leave to catch a bus in 20 minutes, and didn't want to forget about it while mudding, they could simply do "/alarm 20 Go catch the Bus!". Thus, after 20 minutes, the shell will signal the user with the appropriate message. The shell can save up to 5 alarm notifications at one time. Quick Start Procedure --------------------- To begin using the Shadow Shell, the first thing one must do is to select the shell as their interactive shell environment. This is achieved with the mudlib's "chsh" command, and by typing "chsh [shell filename]". Generally the filename is "/obj/shells/shsh.c", but this may be different on the local mud. One can obtain a full list of available environment shells by typing "chsh ?". Once the shell has been selected, it may then be configured with the "configure shell" command. Once done, the user can activate the shell's interactive window mode with the "shsh on" command. With this command, the screen should be reformated, and the user is ready to explore the world in the new shell environment. If the shell ever becomes lost for some reason, it can be retrieved with the mudlib's "shell" command. The "help shell" command will also provide the user with a brief help listing. Relate Commands --------------- Refer to the mudlib's chsh and shell commands for shell related systems.
