Cdk Readme Guide
Copyright Mike Glover, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Overview:
---------
Cdk stands for 'Curses Development Kit' and it currently contains 21 ready
to use widgets which facilitate the speedy development of full screen
curses programs. This little project of mine started as a test to see how
compatible my Linux machine was to other UNIX breeds. While doing this I
discovered Ncurses, and played with it. These widgets are the result of
over a years worth of playing. The current complement of widgets are:
Widget Type Quick Description
===========================================================================
Alphalist Allows a user to select from a list of words, with
the ability to narrow the search list by typing in a
few characters of the desired word.
Buttonbox This creates a multiple button widget.
Calendar Creates a little simple calendar widget.
Dialog Prompts the user with a message, and the user
can pick an answer from the buttons provided.
Entry Allows the user to enter various types of information.
File Selector A file selector built from Cdk base widgets. This
example shows how to create more complicated widgets
using the Cdk widget library.
Graph Draws a graph.
Histogram Draws a histogram.
Item List Creates a pop up field which allows the user to select
one of several choices in a small field. Very useful
for things like days of the week or month names.
Label Displays messages in a pop up box, or the label can be
considered part of the screen.
Marquee Displays a message in a scrolling marquee.
Matrix Creates a complex matrix with lots of options.
Menu Creates a pull-down menu interface.
Multiple Line Entry A multiple line entry field. Very useful
for long fields. (like a description
field)
Radio List Creates a radio button list.
Scale Creates a numeric scale. Used for allowing a user to
pick a numeric value and restrict them to a range of
values.
Scrolling List Creates a scrolling list/menu list.
Scrolling Window Creates a scrolling log file viewer. Can add
information into the window while its running.
A good widget for displaying the progress of
something. (akin to a console window)
Selection List Creates a multiple option selection list.
Slider Akin to the scale widget, this widget provides a
visual slide bar to represent the numeric value.
Template Creates a entry field with character sensitive
positions. Used for pre-formatted fields like
dates and phone numbers.
Viewer This is a file/information viewer. Very useful
when you need to display loads of information.
===========================================================================
Each widget has the ability to display color, or other character attributes.
Cdk comes with a attribute/color format command set which allows a programmer
to add colors and characters attributes simply.
The code has been cleaned using both Purify(TM) and Sun's Testcenter(TM),
so it is as clean as a babies butt. :) Any leaks I have seen are in the curses
libraries; there is nothing I can do about that, sorry. There should be no
memory leaks within the code, it shouldn't core dump, and it shouldn't do
anything unexpected. Unfortunately this probably is not the case. If you do
see something like this tell me after you read the BUGS file.
Distribution:
-------------
This distribution has a full complement of manual pages, so any specifics to
the widgets will not be addressed in this read me. If you want to get right in
there, nroff the cdk.3 file in the man directory. It is the starting point
for all the manual pages.
There are some other files to look at if you want to get anywhere. They are:
INSTALL - This will show you how to build Cdk and install it on your system.
If there are any personal modifications that you think may be
needed, read this file. In fact read it regardless. :)
COPYING - The legal stuff to protect my butt and all of the hard work that I
have put into this library.
EXPANDING - You feel creative enough to add a widget, here are my requirements
that you have to follow to make the integration of a new widget
seamless.
BUGS - What to do when you find a bug. It also lists all of the bugs found,
who found them, who fixed them, and when they were fixed. If you think
you have found a bug look at this file. If you do not think you have
the most up to date version of Cdk, go get it and try to replicate the
problem. Then look at the BUGS file again. If it is NOT there, then you
can mail me notifying me of a possible bug. I will try my hardest to get
back to you, but I have a pretty busy schedule so don't expect an instant
reply. This file will also explain how I would like any bug fixes sent to
me.
NOTES - Misc babblings of myself somewhat related to this distribution.
TODO - A list of things I plan to do in the future. (sleep)
CHANGES - A list of changes from one release to another.
If you want to get a hold of me mail me at one of the following:
glover@credit.erin.utoronto.ca
mike@vexus.ca
The CDK Web page has several homes. They are:
http://www.vexus.ca/CDK.html (official)
http://www.datasoft.on.ca/~cdk (Sponsored by the nice folks at Datasoft)
ttfn,
Mike
PS: There is also a Perl5 extension of this library for you Perl5 fans.
Look under any CPAN site under the directory CPAN/authors/id/GLOVER.
b4371d47f5