=head1 NAME UI::Dialog::Backend - simply a collection of primarily internal methods. =head1 SYNOPSIS use UI::Dialog::Backend; BEGIN { use vars qw( @ISA ); @ISA = qw( UI::Dialog::Backend ); } =head1 ABSTRACT UI::Dialog::Backend is simply a collection of primarily internal methods. =head1 DESCRIPTION While this module is inherited by all UI::Dialog backend modules, this module itself is not meant for direct usage. The "STATE METHODS" and "UTILITY METHODS" documentation is applicable to all backends thus rendering the POD for this class more important to the end-programmer than the usage of the class itself. =head1 EXPORT =over 2 None =back =head1 INHERITS =over 2 None =back =head1 BACKEND EXTENSIONS =head2 nautilus =over 4 =item EXAMPLE =over 6 my @paths = $d->nautilus->paths(); =back =item DESCRIPTION =over 6 This method gives access to the UI::Dialog::Backend::Nautilus class. This will automagically try to load the UI::Dialog::Backend::Nautilus module or it will silently fail. =back =back =head2 xosd =over 4 =item EXAMPLE =over 6 $d->xosd->line( "a line of text on your screen" ); =back =item DESCRIPTION =over 6 This method gives access to the UI::Dialog::Backend::XOSD class. This will automagically try to load the UI::Dialog::Backend::XOSD module or it will silently fail. =back =back =head2 notify_send =over 4 =item EXAMPLE =over 6 $d->notify_send->notify_send( "a line of text on your screen" ); =back =item DESCRIPTION =over 6 This method gives access to the UI::Dialog::Backend::NotifySend class. This will automagically try to load the UI::Dialog::Backend::NotifySend module or it will silently fail. =back =back =head1 STATE METHODS =head2 attr( ) =over 4 =item EXAMPLE =over 6 my $value = $self->attr('listheight'); my $new_value = $d->attr('listheight',5); =back =item DESCRIPTION =over 6 Either sets and returns the value of the desired attribute, or just returns the value of the desired attribute. =back =item RETURNS =over 6 a single SCALAR. =back =back =head2 state( ) =over 4 =item EXAMPLE =over 6 if ($d->state() eq "OK") { # the last user response was "OK" } else { # something other than an "OK" response } =back =item DESCRIPTION =over 6 Returns the state of the last dialog widget command. The value can be one of "OK", "CANCEL" or "ESC". The return data is based on the exit codes (return value) of the last widget displayed. Some backends also support other exit values than the standard few and these are represented as "EXTRA" (3), "HELP" (2), and "ERROR" (255). =back =item RETURNS =over 6 a single SCALAR. =back =back =head2 ra( ) =over 4 =item EXAMPLE =over 6 my @array = $d->ra(); =back =item DESCRIPTION =over 6 Returns the last widget's data as an array. =back =item RETURNS =over 6 an ARRAY. =back =back =head2 rs( ) =over 4 =item EXAMPLE =over 6 my $string = $d->rs(); =back =item DESCRIPTION =over 6 Returns the last widget's data as a (possibly multiline) string. =back =item RETURNS =over 6 a SCALAR. =back =back =head2 rv( ) =over 4 =item EXAMPLE =over 6 my $string = $d->rv(); =back =item DESCRIPTION =over 6 Returns the last widget's exit status, aka: return value. This is the value used when determining the state() of a widget. =back =item RETURNS =over 6 a SCALAR. =back =back =head1 CALLBACK FUNCTIONS =head2 PRE =over 4 =item EXAMPLE =over 6 sub CB_PRE { my $widget_args = shift(); print "Caller: ".$args->{'caller'}."\n"; } my $d = new UI::Dialog ( callbacks => { PRE => \&CB_PRE } ); =back =item DESCRIPTION =over 6 This function recieves a hasref of the current argument values and is called before any widget performs any operations. =back =back =head2 POST =over 4 =item EXAMPLE =over 6 sub CB_POST { my $widget_args = shift(); my $state = shift(); print "Caller: ".$args->{'caller'}.", State: ".$state."\n"; } my $d = new UI::Dialog ( callbacks => { POST => \&CB_POST } ); =back =item DESCRIPTION =over 6 This function recieves a hasref of the current argument values and the one word state indicator (as reported by state()) and is called after all widget operations have been performed (including other callback functions). =back =back =head2 OK =over 4 =item EXAMPLE =over 6 sub CB_OK_FUNC { my $widget_args = shift(); print "Widget caller: ".$args->{'caller'}."\n"; } my $d = new UI::Dialog ( callbacks => { OK => \&CB_OK_FUNC } ); =back =item DESCRIPTION =over 6 This function recieves a hasref of the current argument values and is called when any widget finishes with a state() of "OK" but before the POST callback. =back =back =head2 CANCEL =over 4 =item EXAMPLE =over 6 sub CB_CANCEL { my $widget_args = shift(); print "Caller: ".$args->{'caller'}."\n"; } my $d = new UI::Dialog ( callbacks => { CANCEL => \&CB_CANCEL } ); =back =item DESCRIPTION =over 6 This function recieves a hasref of the current argument values and is called when any widget finishes with a state() of "CANCEL" but before the POST callback. Be forewarned that with respect to the yesno() type widgets, a user response of "NO" is interpreted as "CANCEL" and will execute this function. =back =back =head2 ESC =over 4 =item EXAMPLE =over 6 sub CB_ESC { my $widget_args = shift(); print "Caller: ".$args->{'caller'}."\n"; } my $d = new UI::Dialog ( callbacks => { ESC => \&CB_ESC } ); =back =item DESCRIPTION =over 6 This function recieves a hasref of the current argument values and is called when any widget finishes with a state() of "ESC" but before the POST callback. =back =back =head2 HELP =over 4 =item EXAMPLE =over 6 sub CB_HELP { my $widget_args = shift(); print "Caller: ".$args->{'caller'}."\n"; } my $d = new UI::Dialog ( callbacks => { HELP => \&CB_HELP } ); =back =item DESCRIPTION =over 6 This function recieves a hasref of the current argument values and is called when any widget finishes with a state() of "HELP" but before the POST callback. The user response of "HELP" is not supported by all backends. =back =back =head2 EXTRA =over 4 =item EXAMPLE =over 6 sub CB_EXTRA { my $widget_args = shift(); print "Caller: ".$args->{'caller'}."\n"; } my $d = new UI::Dialog ( callbacks => { EXTRA => \&CB_EXTRA } ); =back =item DESCRIPTION =over 6 This function recieves a hasref of the current argument values and is called when any widget finishes with a state() of "EXTRA" but before the POST callback. The user response of "EXTRA" is not supported by all backends. =back =back =head1 UTILITY METHODS =head2 beep( ) =over 4 =item EXAMPLE =over 6 $d->beep(); =back =item DESCRIPTION =over 6 If the beep(1) application can be found, use it to make a beep sound. Otherwise print "\a" to STDERR which normally is good enough to make some noise. =back =item RETURNS =over 6 TRUE (1) regardless of result. =back =back =head2 clear( ) =over 4 =item EXAMPLE =over 6 $d->clear(); =back =item DESCRIPTION =over 6 Clear the terminal screen via STDOUT and the `clear` command. This method is technically useless for any GUI based dialog variants. =back =item RETURNS =over 6 TRUE (1) regardless of result. =back =back =head2 word_wrap( ) =over 4 =item EXAMPLE =over 6 my @wrapped_text = $d->word_wrap($cols,$indent,$sub_indent,@text); =back =item DESCRIPTION =over 6 Using the Text::Wrap::wrap function, wrap the words in a string (or array of strings). This is primarily used within the _organize_text() method but may be of use to the end-programmer. =back =item RETURNS =over 6 A word-wrapped version of the given text data. =back =back =head2 gen_tempfile_name( ) =over 4 =item EXAMPLE =over 6 my $tempfile = $d->gen_tempfile_name(); =back =item DESCRIPTION =over 6 This method returns a temporary file name generated using one of the following (in order): the File::Temp perl module if detected, the program "mktemp" or an extremely simplistic built-in name generator. =back =item RETURNS =over 6 A temporary file name. =back =back =head2 gen_random_string( ) =over 4 =item EXAMPLE =over 6 my $random_string = $d->gen_random_string(5); =back =item DESCRIPTION =over 6 This will return a string of random (printable) characters of an arbitrary user-definable length (defaults to 5); =back =item RETURNS =over 6 A string of random ASCII characters. =back =back =head1 WIDGET WRAPPER METHODS These methods are common methods to most backends as they do not have native support for the functionality, yet the functionality is achievable by utilizing existing compatible methods. =head2 fselect( ) =over 4 =item EXAMPLE =over 6 my $path = $self->fselect( path => $start_path ); =back =item DESCRIPTION =over 6 Using the menu() and msgbox() widgets we can simulate a file browser interface. Note: to select a directory, go into it and then pick the '.' entry. =back =item RETURNS =over 6 a SCALAR for positive results and FALSE (0) for everything else. =back =back =head2 dselect( ) =over 4 =item EXAMPLE =over 6 my $path = $self->dselect( path => $start_path ); =back =item DESCRIPTION =over 6 Using the fselect() widget we can simulate a directory browser interface. Note: to select a directory, go into it and then pick the '.' entry. =back =item RETURNS =over 6 a SCALAR for positive results and FALSE (0) for everything else. =back =back =head1 BACKEND METHODS These methods are only necessary for someone wishing to create more UI::Dialog::Backend:: Modules. These are never needed to be directly used but are none the less documented here for reference purposes. =head2 command_state( ) =over 4 =item EXAMPLE =over 6 if ($self->command_state("/some/shell/command")) { #: command succeeded } else { #: command failed } =back =item DESCRIPTION =over 6 This will execute the given command and send STDOUT and STDERR to /dev/null then analyse the exit code and return accordingly. =back =item RETURNS =over 6 TRUE (1) for positive results and FALSE (0) for anything else. =back =back =head2 command_string( ) =over 4 =item EXAMPLE =over 6 my ($rv,$scalar) = $self->command_string("/some/shell/command"); if ($rv >= 1) { #: command failed } else { #: command succeeded print "The command results: ".$scalar."\n"; } =back =item DESCRIPTION =over 6 This will execute the given command, catch STDOUT and STDERR, then return the SCALAR data. =back =item RETURNS =over 6 a SCALAR for positive results and FALSE (0) for anything else. =back =back =head2 command_array( ) =over 4 =item EXAMPLE =over 6 my ($rv,@array) = $self->command_array("/some/shell/command"); if ($rv >= 1) { #: command failed } else { #: command succeeded foreach my $line_of_output (@array) { print "The command results: ".$line_of_output."\n"; } } =back =item DESCRIPTION =over 6 This will execute the given command, catch STDOUT and STDERR, then return the data, split by newlines, as an ARRAY. =back =item RETURNS =over 6 an ARRAY for positive results and FALSE (0) for anything else. =back =back =head2 _pre( ) =over 4 =item EXAMPLE =over 6 my $args = $self->_pre(@_); =back =item DESCRIPTION =over 6 This will use _merge_attrs(), perform any pre-widget-exec things and then return the current argument list as a hashref. This is used in every widget before anything is actually done in the widget and is responsible for running the optional callback function labelled "PRE". =back =item RETURNS =over 6 a HASHREF. =back =back =head2 _post( ) =over 4 =item EXAMPLE =over 6 $self->_post( $args ); =back =item DESCRIPTION =over 6 This method is used in every widget after all operations (for the immediate widget call) are complete but before the widget actually returns anything. This method is responsible for running the optional callback funcions labelled "OK", "ESC", "CANCEL" and "POST" with "POST" being executed absolutely last. =back =item RETURNS =over 6 Nothing. =back =back =head2 _merge_attrs( ) =over 4 =item EXAMPLE =over 6 my $args = $self->_merge_attrs(@_); =back =item DESCRIPTION =over 6 This will apply the arguments passed in with the defaults stored in $self->{'_opts'} (which was instantiated upon object construction). The return result is the "current" options as defined by the defaults with the argument options overriding them. =back =item RETURNS =over 6 a HASHREF. =back =back =head2 _find_bin( ) =over 4 =item EXAMPLE =over 6 my $ZenityBinaryPath = $self->_find_bin('zenity'); =back =item DESCRIPTION =over 6 This will look in the default path directories for the program of the given name. The default PATH list is: /bin, /usr/bin, /usr/local/bin, /opt/bin. =back =item RETURNS =over 6 a SCALAR. =back =back =head2 _esc_text( ) =over 4 =item EXAMPLE =over 6 my $escaped_text = $self->_esc_text( $raw_text ); =back =item DESCRIPTION =over 6 This will escape the following with a prefixing '\' character: Character -> Escaped " \" ` \` ( \( ) \) [ \[ ] \] { \} } \} $ \$ < \< > \> =back =item RETURNS =over 6 an SCALAR for positive results and FALSE (0) for anything else. =back =back =head2 _strip_text( ) =over 4 =item EXAMPLE =over 6 my $clean_text = $self->_strip_text( $text_with_markup ); =back =item DESCRIPTION =over 6 This will strip various markup sequences from within the given argument data. =back =item RETURNS =over 6 an SCALAR for positive results and FALSE (0) for anything else. =back =back =head2 _organize_text( ) =over 4 =item EXAMPLE =over 6 my $final_text1 = $self->_organize_text( $text_with_markup ); my $final_text2 = $self->_organize_text( \@text_with_markup ); =back =item DESCRIPTION =over 6 This will strip various markup sequences from within the given argument data. =back =item RETURNS =over 6 a SCALAR for positive results and FALSE (0) for anything else. =back =back =head2 _is_bsd( ) =over 4 =item EXAMPLE =over 6 if ($self->_is_bsd()) { # do something with BSD specific characteristics } else { # do something with general perl characteristics } =back =item DESCRIPTION =over 6 This simply checks (case-insensitively) the perlvar $^0 for the string "bsd". =back =item RETURNS =over 6 TRUE (1) for positive results and FALSE (0) for anything else. =back =back =head2 _list_dir( ) =over 4 =item EXAMPLE =over 6 my $menu_list = $self->_list_dir( '/some/path/to/a/directory', [ 'optional', 'prefix', 'items' ] ); =back =item DESCRIPTION =over 6 Gather a list of the contents of a directory and forumlate a list suitable for use with most (if not all) file/path selection dialog variant widgets. An optional array reference will have all elements prefixing the directory list. =back =item RETURNS =over 6 an ARRAYREF for positive results and FALSE (0) for anything else. =back =back =head2 _debug( ) =over 4 =item EXAMPLE =over 6 $self->_debug( $debuging_message_string, $debuging_level ); =back =item DESCRIPTION =over 6 This method will print to STDERR the debugging message provided if and only if the debuging level is greater than or equal to the $debuging_level. The debugging level argument is optional and defaults to a level of 1. =back =item RETURNS =over 6 TRUE (1) for positive results and FALSE (0) for anything else. =back =back =head2 _error( ) =over 4 =item EXAMPLE =over 6 $self->_error( $error_message_string ); =back =item DESCRIPTION =over 6 This method will print to STDERR the error message provided regardless of debugging level. =back =item RETURNS =over 6 TRUE (1) for positive results and FALSE (0) for anything else. =back =back =head1 SEE ALSO =over 2 =item PERLDOC UI::Dialog UI::Dialog::Console UI::Dialog::GNOME UI::Dialog::KDE UI::Dialog::Backend::ASCII UI::Dialog::Backend::CDialog UI::Dialog::Backend::GDialog UI::Dialog::Backend::KDialog UI::Dialog::Backend::Nautilus UI::Dialog::Backend::Whiptail UI::Dialog::Backend::XDialog UI::Dialog::Backend::XOSD UI::Dialog::Backend::Zenity =back =over 2 =item MAN FILES dialog(1), whiptail(1), zenity(1), gdialog(1), Xdialog(1), kdialog(1), nautilus(1) and osd_cat(1). =back =head1 BUGS Please email the author with any bug reports. Include the name of the module in the subject line. =head1 AUTHOR Kevin C. Krinke, Ekevin@krinke.caE =head1 COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE Copyright (C) 2004-2016 Kevin C. Krinke This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2.1 of the License, or (at your option) any later version. This library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU Lesser General Public License for more details. You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public License along with this library; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307 USA =cut