debian-lenny[text]

1. F12: boot up menu
2. Integrated NIC
3. 32-bit (i386)
4. Debian/i386 Netboot
5. Install Lenny/stable [text]

1. language: English
2. Country: United States
3. Keyboard layout: American English
4. Host Name: Unicorn
5. Domain Name: offbyone.lan
6. Debian archive mirror hostname: mirror (for this scroll to the top and enter manually)
7. Use default settings and continue until you can select a time zome.
8. Time zone: Eastern
9. Partitioning Method: Guided - use entire disk
10. Then select the drive you want. In my case IDE1 master (hda) - 80GB Maxtor 6Y080L0 is the only one available.

Since this is my first time ever doing this, the partitioning scheme I chose was all files in one partition. Once that is selected continue a couple times until it installs the base system stuff.

1. Root password: password (pretty much the best pw out there, no one would ever think of this!)
2. verify pw
3. Full name for the new user: Jesse Short
4. User account name: ender
5. User account password: god (Pretty much the second best pw out there, for the same reason stated above)
6. verify pw

1. Participate in package usage survey?: No (can change this later on by running: “dpkg-reconfigurepopularity-contest”)
2. software to install: none in our case since its all server stuff but one (web, print, DNS, file, mail, SQL, and the odd one, laptop)

1. Install GRUB boot loader to master boot record: Yes
2. Continue

Now it will boot up a login screen. Enter the created user account name earlier (ender) and then the password (god).

1. After logging in for our purposes we will check the window size and its color depth. To do this: Applications → Accessories → Terminal:

xwininfo → click on the desktop. The size and color are correct for our case: w:1280, H:1020, Depth:24.

1. To log into lab46: Applications → Accessories → Terminal: ssh jshort6@lab46

+++Additional+++

• Dual-head Accelerated graphics with Compiz Desktop effects

System → Administration → Add/Remove Applications → System Tools → scroll down until you find: Compiz Fusion Icon or you can search for it. Click the box so an 'X' appears and hit Apply. After quite a bit of time with Matt, he said to switch to Ubuntu. Therefore, the debian-lenny install is no more.

1. F12
2. Integrated NIC
3. 32-bit (i368)
4. Ubuntu/i386 Netboot
5. Install Jaunty “9.04” [text]

1. language: English
2. Country: United States
3. Detect keyboard layout: no
4. Origin of keyboard: USA
5. keyboard layout: USA
6. Hostname: Unicorn
7. mirror: Go to the top and enter manually: mirror
8. continue
9. continue
10. Time Zone: Eastern
11. Partitioning Method: Guided - use entire disk
12. In our case: SCSI1 (0,0,0) (sda) - 40GB ATA WDC WD400BB-75FJ
13. write changes to disk: Yes

1. User name: Jesse Short
2. Username: ender
3. User password: god
4. Verificate
5. In our case: it's a weak pw and it yelled at me, but I continued anyway :)
6. Encrypt home directory: no
7. Manage upgrades: no automatic updates
8. Choose software to install: Ubuntu desktop
9. Is system clock set to UTC: Yes
10. Continue

1. log in: ender
2. pw: god

Should be a pop-up about drivers - click on it and enter your password. Let it install, close when done, and restart.

1. Check display settings: System → Preferences → Display → Yes → X Screen 0
2. Internets works → Firefox

Terminal: Applications → Accessories → Terminal → ssh jshort6@lab46 → yes → password

+++Additional+++

• Dual-head Accelerated graphics with Compiz Desktop effects

With the pop-up earlier the driver for advanced graphics should be installed. Right click on desktop → Change desktop background → visual effects (tab) → Extra

1. f12: boot up menu
2. Integrated NIC
3. 32 bit
4. Debian/i386 Netboot
5. lenny/stable [text]
6. language: English
7. territory: United States
8. key map: American English
9. hostname: vmserver01
10. domain name: student.lab
11. mirror: scroll up to enter manually: mirror
12. continue
13. continue
14. time zone: eastern
15. partitioning method: use entire disk
16. select a hard drive
17. all files in one partition
18. finish
19. yes
20. root password: bob
21. verificate
22. full name of user: RHINO
23. user name: rhino
24. user password: bob
25. verificate
26. participate in survey: no
27. software to install: none (uncheck everything)
28. Install GRUB boot loader: yes
29. continue
30. restart computer (automatic)
31. log in: root pw: bob
32. command: cd /etc/apt
33. command: wget http://10.80.2.6/files/student/sources.list
34. command: aptitude update
35. command: aptitude upgrade (not required but a good habit to do after updating)
36. command: aptitude install openssh-client openssh-server
37. access remotely

To access remotely: Terminal → ssh root@vmserver01.student.lab → pw: bob

1. aptitude install xen-linux-system-2.6.26-2-xen-686 and xen-tools
2. continue: y
3. command: vi/etc/modules (to add loop support module)

• max_loop=255

network-script network-bridge setting in xend-config.sxp

1. command: cd /etc/xen
2. command: vi xend-config.sxp (uncomment: (network-script network-bridge) comment: (network-script network-dummy) (# = comment)

ensure vif-script is vif-bridge, same file

1. command: cd /etc/xen
2. command: vi xend-config.sxp (search for vif-script and make sure it is uncommented and accompanied with vif-bridge)

configure the grub boot entry accordingly (allow for the host to have 256MB)

1. command: cd /boot/grub
2. command: vi menu.lst
3. Go to the bottom and remove the second and third entries (in our case).
4. Go to:

• title Xen 3.2-1-i386 / Debian GNU/Linux, kernel 2.6.26-2-xen-686
• root (hd0,0)
• kernel /boot/xen-3.2-1-i386.gz
• module /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.26-2-xen-686 root=/dev/hda1 ro console=tty0
• module /boot/initrd.img-2.6.26-2-xen-686

And where it says:

• kernel /boot/xen-3.2-1-i386.gz

Add at the end of line: dom0_mem=262144 For this to take affect, reboot.

configure Xen-tools (/etc/xen-tools/xen-tools.conf) with some useful defaults:

1. command: cd /etc/xen-tools/
2. vi xen-tools.conf

• Make the adjustments specified at: http://lab46.corning-cc.edu/haas/hpc0/projects/vm_server_install

Create the following directories: /xen, /xen/images, /xen/boot, /xen/conf, /xen/save

1. command: mkdir and the paths specified above

FINAL PROCESS:
command: reboot

1. network-script network-bridge setting in xend-config.sxp (uncommented in vm server install; make sure there is no space before that line)
2. xen-create-image –hostname=vm07 - -mac=00:16:3E:2E:C0:07 - -role=udev - -dhcp - -force (after xen-create-image there are actually two hyphens(- - force will overwrite an existing vm as well))
3. Enter new password: bob
4. verificate

• log file created: /var/log/xen-tools/vm07.log

1. xm create -c /xen/conf/vm07.cfg
2. login: root
3. password: bob

• detach: ^] (ctrl closing square bracket)
• reattach command: xm console vm07 (hit enter again)
• command: xm list (lists virtual machines; run from vmserver01)
• command: xm shutdown vm# (run from vmserver01)

1. from vmserver01 → command: xm shutdown vm09
2. xm list to verificate
3. command: cd /xen/domains/vm09
4. command: dd if=/dev/zero of=disk1.img bs=1M count=1024
5. repeat previous step 5 times BUT replacing disk with an incremented count up to 5
6. mkfs.ext3 -v disk1.img (formats disk)
7. proceed (for previous step)
8. cd /xen/conf
9. vi vm09.cfg
10. copy/paste the line with 'file:/xen/domains/vm09/disk.img,xvda2,w', 5 times and put int the count of numbers after disk as well as after xvda
11. xm create -c /xen/conf/vm09.cfg (- -force if overwriting an existing vm)
12. aptitude search mdadm
13. aptitude install mdadm (if discovered via the search from the previous step, this one can be skipped)
14. yes (for previous step)

• RAID (redundant array of inexpensive disks) information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAID#RAID_0
• mdadm commands for raiding: http://www.sanitarium.net/golug/Linux_Software_RAID.html

Raid 0 (striped raid)

1. mdadm - -create - -verbose /dev/md0 - -level=0 - -raid-device=5 /dev/xvda3 /dev/xvda4 /dev/xvda5 /dev/xvda6 /dev/xvda7
2. cat /proc/mdstat
3. mkfs.ext3 -v /dev/md0 (formats md0 found from previous step)
4. command: mount /dev/md0 /mnt

• for details:
  • command: df or df -h or mdadm - -detail /dev/md0

Raid 1 (mirroring)

1. mdadm - -create /dev/md0 - -level=1 - -raid-devices=4 - -spare-devices=1 /dev/xvda3 /dev/xvda4 /dev/xvda5 /dev/xvda6 /dev/xvda7
2. cat /proc/mdstat
3. mkfs.ext3 -v /dev/md0
4. mount /dev/md0 /mnt

Raid 5

1. mdadm - -create - -verbose /dev/md0 - -chunk=64 - -level=5 - -raid-devices=5 /dev/xvda3 /dev/xvda4 /dev/xvda5 /dev/xvda6 /dev/xvda7
2. mkfs.ext3 -v /dev/md0 (formats md0 found from previous step)
3. command: mount /dev/md0 /mnt

• Good info here: http://www.sucka.net/2009/08/how-to-install-ltsp-on-ubuntu-9-04/

1. eth1 (the second networking card: dhcp)
2. sudo apt-get install dhcp3-server

1. cd /etc/default/
2. sudo vi dhcp3-server
3. change: INTERFACES=“” … TO … INTERFACES=“eth1”
4. sudo vi /etc/network/default/interfaces
5. uncomment iface eth0 inet dhcp
6. ADD:

• auto eth1
• iface eth1 inet static
  • address 10.5.5.1 (will be different for you)
  • netmask 255.255.255.0 (will be different for you)

1. Concerning the 2 previous steps: sudo vi /etc/dhcp3/dhcpd.conf → scroll down until you find: # A slightly different configuration for an internal subnet. → use that subnet and netmask right under the comment
2. reboot computer
3. command: ifconfig → check to see if the ip address and mask took to eth1

determine which eth# will be used for the interface within the file: vi dhcp3-server (command to edit: sudo vi dhcp3-server) to determine this - command: ifconfig → and whichever eth# has an ip address thats the one to currently use. We use eth1.

1. sudo apt-get install openssh-server
2. sudo apt-get install ltsp-server-standalone
3. Run LTSP build client - command: sudo ltsp-build-client - -mirror “http://mirror/ubuntu” (had to give it the mirror because it yelled without it)
4. In case of having to repeat the previous step make sure to - command: rm -rf /opt/ltsp/i386/ -before you rerun the command

1. Command: sudo vi /etc/ltsp/dhcpd.conf

• Change subnet, range, option routers, option domain-name, option domain-name-server, option broadcast-address
  • Subnet: 10.5.5.0
  • Range: 10.5.5.10 - 10.5.5.60;
  • Option Domain-Name: ubuntu.pegasus.lan;
  • Option Domain-Name-Server: ns1.pegasus.lan;
  • Option Broadcast-address: 10.5.5.255;
  • Option Routers: 10.5.5.1;

1. Command: sudo vi /etc/default/tftp-hpa

• Change: RUN DEAMON=“no” … to … RUN DEAMON=“yes”

1. Command: sudo /etc/init.d/dhcp3-server restart

• Get another computer → Connect new computer's ethernet port to ltsp server's second ethernet port → turn on new computer → log on with an existing account within the server

1. Open a Terminal

• Right click → terminal

1. basic command: xwit -root -warp # # (# is user's choice of any number within the pixel range of the monitor; col - row)
2. For more info - command: man xte OR http://titotheman.wordpress.com/2010/01/16/generate-fake-keyboard-and-mouse-input-in-linux/
3. To make the script:

• #!/bin/bash (first line of file)
• then bash goodness
• chmod +x 'filename' (when you have written your script, saved, and exited, run this command to make it an executable)

The following code is very basic and really only works if there is a browser up and the terminal window is small and under the BLANK url of a webpage. The code will move the mouse, ask for the enter key to move on, loop through mouse movements, ask for enter to key move on, and then it clicks off of the terminal in the url box of a webpage, inputs lab46.corning-cc.edu and launches the page.

• Just playing

   #!/bin/bash
 
echo "Moving mouse to - x: 500 y: 500"
xte 'mousemove 500 500'
 
echo "return to continue"
read cont
 
echo "Loop moving mouse - x: 200 - 220 AND y: 200 - 220"
for (( x=200; x<=220; x++ ))
do
    for (( y=200; y<=220; y++ ))
    do
        xte "mousemove $x $y"
    done
done        
 
echo "return to continue"
read cont
 
echo "Clicking mouse"
xte 'mousemove 250 60'
xte 'mouseclick 1'
 
echo "Inputing lab46 url"
xte 'str lab46.corning-cc.edu'
xte 'mousemove 980 60'
xte 'mouseclick 1'                        

• The following code will move the mouse horizontally, vertically, and diagonally. -adMousemove.sh

#!/bin/bash
 
for (( x=0; x<=400; x++ ))
do
    xte "mousemove $x 400"
done
 
for (( y=0; y<=400; y++ ))
do
    xte "mousemove 400 $y"
done
 
x=400
y=400
while [ $y -ne 200 ]
do
    xte "mousemove $x $y"
    let x=$x+1
    let y=$y-1
done
 
x=400
y=400
while [ $y -ne 600 ]
do
    xte "mousemove $x $y"
    let x=$x+1
    let y=$y+1
done
 
x=400
y=400
while [ $x -ne 200 ]
do
    xte "mousemove $x $y"
    let x=$x-1
    let y=$y+1
done
 
x=400
y=400
while [ $x -ne 200 ]
do
    xte "mousemove $x $y"
    let x=$x-1
    let y=$y-1
done
 
exit 0              

• The following code will move the mouse around the screen in a clockwise motion. -adBox1.sh

#!/bin/bash                                                                                                                                  
 
for (( x=0; x<=1280; x=$x+5 ))
do
    xte "mousemove $x 0"
done
 
for (( y=0; y<=1024; y=$y+5 ))
do
    xte "mousemove $x $y"
done
 
for (( x=$x; x>=0; x=$x-5 ))
do
    xte "mousemove $x $y"
done
 
for (( y+$y; y>=0; y=$y-5 ))
do
    xte "mousemove $x $y"
done
 
exit 0

• The following code will move the mouse in a counter clockwise motion. -adBox2.sh

#!/bin/bash
 
for (( y=0; y<=1024; y=$y+10 ))
do
    xte "mousemove 0 $y"
done
 
for (( x=0; x<=1280; x=$x+10 ))
do
    xte "mousemove $x $y"
done
 
for (( y=$y; y>=0; y=$y-10 ))
do
    xte "mousemove $x $y"
done
 
for (( x=$x; x>=0; x=$x-10 ))
do
    xte "mousemove $x $y"
done
 
exit 0                     

• The following code will find the Process ID number for xeyes. -adFindingIdNum.sh

#!/bin/bash                                                                                                                                  
 
xwit -print -all | grep xeyes > check
procCheck=`wc -l < check`
 
if [ $procCheck -eq 0 ]; then
    xeyes &
fi
 
winId=`xwit -print -all | grep xeyes | cut -d":" -f1`
echo "winId: $winId"
 
pkill xeyes
rm check
 
exit 0

• The following code will move and resize xeyes. -adresizing_moving.sh

#!/bin/bash                                                                                                                                  
 
pkill xeyes
 
xwit -print -all | grep xeyes > check
procCheck=`wc -l < check`
 
if [ $procCheck -eq 0 ]; then
    xeyes &
fi
 
sleep 2
 
winId=`xwit -print -all | grep xeyes | cut -d":" -f1`
echo "winId: $winId"
 
xwit -id $winId -move 0 0 -resize 500 650
 
sleep 3
 
rm check
 
exit 0

• The following code will implement screen size awareness logic so a program will operate on any window size. -adSSAL.sh

#!/bin/bash                                                                                                                                  
 
xwininfo -root | grep geometry > check
cat check | cut -d" " -f4 | cut -d"+" -f1 > check
maxX=`cat check | cut -d"x" -f1`
maxY=`cat check | cut -d"x" -f2`
echo "$maxX $maxY"
rm check
exit 0

• The following code will draw a circle. -circle.sh

#!/bin/bash                                                                                                                                  
 
#screen awareness
maxX=`xwininfo -root | grep Width | cut -d" " -f4`
maxY=`xwininfo -root | grep Height | cut -d" " -f4`
 
pkill xpaint
sleep 2
 
let x=$maxX-135 #124 is the width of the xpaint tool panel
 
xpaint -size "$x"x"$maxY" &
sleep 3
 
winId=`xwit -print -all | grep -i xpaint | cut -d":" -f1`
toolBoxSize=`xwininfo -id $winId | grep Width | cut -d" " -f4` #This will get the width of the toolbox for xpaint
let canvasSize=$maxX-$toolBoxSize                               #This will find the max width of the canvas 
sleep 3
 
xwit -id $winId -move 0 0
sleep 4
 
#opens a new canvas
xte 'mousemove 40 40'
xte 'mousedown 1'
xte 'mousemove 30 70'
xte 'mousedown 1'
xte 'mouseup 1'
sleep 3
 
winId=`xwit -print -all | grep -i untitled | cut -d":" -f1`
sleep 3
 
xwit -id $winId -move $toolBoxSize 0
sleep 3
 
pi=3.14
rad=$pi/180
radius=200
for (( deg=0; deg<=360; deg++ ))
do
    #convert degree to radians
    theta=`echo "$deg*$rad" | bc -lq | sed 's/^\./0./'`
    #coordinates    
    y=`echo "400+$radius*s($theta)" | bc -lq | sed 's/^\./0./' | sed 's/-//' | cut -c1-3`
    x=`echo "400+$radius*c($theta)" | bc -lq | sed 's/^\./0./' | sed 's/-//' | cut -c1-3`
    xte "mousemove $x $y"
    xte 'mousedown 1'
done
xte 'mouseup 1'
 
 
exit 0

#!/bin/bash
 
#screen awareness
maxX=`xwininfo -root | grep Width | cut -d" " -f4`
maxY=`xwininfo -root | grep Height | cut -d" " -f4`
 
pkill xpaint
sleep 2
 
let x=$maxX-135 #124 is the width of the xpaint tool panel
 
xpaint -size "$x"x"$maxY" &
sleep 3
 
winId=`xwit -print -all | grep -i xpaint | cut -d":" -f1`
toolBoxSize=`xwininfo -id $winId | grep Width | cut -d" " -f4` #This will get the width of the toolbox for xpaint
let canvasSize=$maxX-$toolBoxSize                                                        #This will find the max width of the canvas 
sleep 3                                                                                  
 
xwit -id $winId -move 0 0
sleep 4
 
#open new canvas
xte 'mousemove 40 40'
xte 'mousedown 1'
xte 'mousemove 30 70'
xte 'mousedown 1'
xte 'mouseup 1'
sleep 3
 
winId=`xwit -print -all | grep -i untitled | cut -d":" -f1`
sleep 3
xwit -id $winId -move $toolBoxSize 0
sleep 3
 
#SHAPES - Squares & Circles
#Squares - 0
#Circles - 1
 
shape=`echo $(($RANDOM % 2))` #0 - 1
 
finish=0
sqr=0
cir=0
while [ $finish -ne 1 ]
do
        if [ $shape -eq 0 ]; then 
                ./randomSquare.sh
                sqr=1
        else
                ./randomCircle.sh
                cir=1
        fi
 
        if [ $shape -eq 0 ]; then
                shape=1
        else
                shape=0
        fi
 
        if [ $sqr -eq 1 ] && [ $cir -eq 1 ]; then
                finish=1
        fi
done
 
#top left hand corner of canvas
canvasStartX=135
canvasStartY=90
 
./colors.sh
xte "mousemove $canvasStartX $canvasStartY"
xte 'mousedown 1'
xte 'mouseup 1'
./pencil.sh
exit 0

#!/bin/bash
 
canvasId=`xwit -print -all | grep -i untitled | cut -d":" -f1`
 
width=`xwininfo -id $canvasId | grep Width | cut -d" " -f4`
height=`xwininfo -id $canvasId | grep Height | cut -d" " -f4`
 
#top left hand corner of canvas
canvasStartX=135
canvasStartY=90
 
count=`echo $(($RANDOM % 15))` #0 - 15
while [ $count -eq 0 ]
do
        count=`echo $(($RANDOM % 15))` #0 - 15
done
 
#box size
#used in xend, yend, w2, and h2
xBox=100
yBox=100
 
let w2=$width-$xBox             #box boundary
let h2=$height-$yBox    #box boundary
 
while [ $count -ne 0 ]
do
                xstart=`echo "($RANDOM % $w2 + $canvasStartX)" | bc -q`
                ystart=`echo "($RANDOM % $h2 + $canvasStartY)" | bc -q`
                let xend=$xstart+$xBox
                let yend=$ystart+$yBox
                xte "mousemove $xstart $ystart"
                xte 'mousedown 1'
 
                xte "mousermove $(($xend-$xstart)) 0"
                xte "mousermove 0 $(($yend-$ystart))"
                xte "mousermove -$(($xend-$xstart)) 0"
                xte "mousermove 0 -$(($yend-$ystart))"
xte 'mouseup 1'
                ./colors.sh
                let inBoxX=$xstart+15
                let inBoxY=$ystart+15
                xte "mousemove $inBoxX $inBoxY"
                xte 'mousedown 1'
                xte 'mouseup 1'
                ./pencil.sh
 
        xte 'mouseup 1'
        let count=$count-1
done
 
exit 0

#!/bin/bash
 
canvasId=`xwit -print -all | grep -i untitled | cut -d":" -f1`
 
width=`xwininfo -id $canvasId | grep Width | cut -d" " -f4`
height=`xwininfo -id $canvasId | grep Height | cut -d" " -f4`
 
#top left hand corner of canvas
canvasStartX=135
canvasStartY=90
 
count=`echo $(($RANDOM % 15))` #0 - 15
while [ $count -eq 0 ]
do
        count=`echo $(($RANDOM % 15))` #0 - 15
done
 
#start circle stuff
winId=`xwit -print -all | grep -i untitled | cut -d":" -f1`
w=`xwininfo -id $winId | grep Width | cut -d" " -f4`
h=`xwininfo -id $winId | grep Height | cut -d" " -f4`
 
let w=$w/2
let h=$h/2
let w=$w+100
 
pi=3.14
rad=$pi/180
radius=50
#end circle stuff
 
while [ $count -ne 0 ]
do
        xstart=`echo "($RANDOM % $w + $canvasStartX)" | bc -q`
        ystart=`echo "($RANDOM % $h + $canvasStartY)" | bc -q`
for (( deg=0; deg<=360; deg+=2 ))
        do
                #convert degree to radians
                theta=`echo "$deg*$rad" | bc -lq | sed 's/^\./0./'`
                #coordinates    
                y=`echo "$ystart+$radius*s($theta)" | bc -lq | sed 's/^\./0./' | sed 's/-//' | cut -c1-3`
                x=`echo "$xstart+$radius*c($theta)" | bc -lq | sed 's/^\./0./' | sed 's/-//' | cut -c1-3`
                xte "mousemove $x $y"
                xte 'mousedown 1'
        done
 
        xte 'mouseup 1'
        ./colors.sh
        let inCirX=$xstart-15
        xte "mousemove $inCirX $ystart"
        xte 'mousedown 1'
        xte 'mouseup 1'
        ./pencil.sh
        let count=$count-1
done
 
exit 0

#!/bin/bash
#28 colors
#170 60 starting point in 1st row 180 will be used however, so white cannot be chosen
#170 70 starting point in 2nd row
 
row1=60
row2=70
 
colorRow=`echo $(($RANDOM % 2))` #0-1
color=`echo $(($RANDOM % 28))` #0-28
 
if [ $colorRow -eq 0 ]; then
        let y=$row1
        col=180
else
        let y=$row2
        col=170
fi      
 
colCnt=10
for (( z=0; z<=28; z++ ))
do
        if [ $z -eq 0 ]; then
                let colorArr[$z]=$col
        else
                let     colorArr[$z]=$col+$colCnt
                let colCnt=$colCnt+10
        fi
done
 
xte "mousemove ${colorArr[$color]} $y" #color
xte 'mousedown 1'
xte 'mouseup 1'
xte 'mousemove 30 400' #bucket
xte 'mousedown 1'
xte 'mouseup 1'
 
exit 0

#!/bin/bash
 
xte 'mousemove 30 80'
xte 'mousedown 1'
xte 'mouseup 1'
 
exit 0

• Virtual Network Computing

1. In case if server is not up:
2. ssh root@vmserver01.student.lab
3. pw: bob
4. command: xm list
5. command: xm create -c /xen/conf/vm07.cfg
6. login: root
7. pw: bob
8. detach: ^]
9. ssh root@vm07.student.lab
10. pw
11. command: aptitude update
12. command: aptitude install vnc-server
13. command: aptitude install vnc4server
14. command: aptitude install xautomation xwit rxvt fluxbox xpaint
15. command: vnc4server -geometry 1280×1024
16. pw: bobbob
17. verificate

1. open putty
2. click: load lab46
3. Category: ssh → tunnels
4. check: local ports accept connections from other hosts
5. source port: 5901
6. Destination: vm07.student.lab:5901
7. add
8. Category: session → save

1. Internet: download tightvnc portable
2. Home page: http://www.tightvnc.com/
3. Portable: http://www.tightvnc.com/download/tightvnc-portable-1.3.10.exe
4. extract
5. run
6. Host name or IP address: localhost:5901
7. connect
8. pw: bobbob

This tutorial will teach the fundamentals of dialog and the majority of the boxes it offers. At the end there will be a full blown example of a coin tracking script using dialog and a script in dialog showing each unique box. So what is dialog? Dialog is a utility for building console like front ends in a unix environment. Dialog comes with most gnu/linux distributions so you shouldn't have to worry about installing it. However, there is another version called xdialog which in my opinion looks better but you have to install it (more on this later). Dialog boxes are mouse click sensitive and key stroke sensitive. So lets get started.

This tutorial will cover the fundamentals of:

• Menu
• Input Box
• Message Box
• Yes/No Box
• Text Box
• Check List
• Radio List
• Info Box
• Gauge
• Calendar
• Time Box
• File Selection
• Pause Box
• Password Box

Menu

Menu's have a hot key and a description. They also store the user's input in a temp file. Many dialog boxes use a temp file and I suggest you create one that they all use. For example: tempfile=`tempfile` (note these are back ticks). And make that statement global. If done this way, you dont have to create one for every box that needs it. The syntax for a menu is:

dialog --title "Menu Example" --backtitle "$backtitle"\
    --menu "Choose one" 30 50 2\
    "1" "Hi"\
    "2" "Bye" 2>$tempfile
    case $? in
        0)  choice=`cat $tempfile`
        ;;
 
        1)  cancel
            return
        ;;
 
        255)    esc
                return
        ;;
    esac
 
    case $choice in
        1)  dialog --title "msg box" --backtitle "$backtitle"\
            --msgbox "You selected Hi" 10 30
        ;;
 
        2)  dialog --title "msg box" --backtitle "$backtitle"\
            --msgbox "You selected Bye" 10 30
        ;;
    esac

Disecting this snippet we see that the line begins with dialog. This says hey, I'm using dialog. Then the - -title “…” is what will be displayed on the top of the dialog box (center aligned). The - -backtitle “…” is not needed, however it offers a cool effect that I would suggest using for author identification. Then the \. This is important. Pay attention where they go because this is most likely where mistakes will occur (forgetting or placing in the wrong spot).

The second line says - -menu that signifies what kind of dialog box we are using. The double quotes next to it is the main text of the box that will be seen (left aligned). The following numbers are sizes and list count. The first number is the width, second is the height, and the third is the number of items in the list. The third number doesn't have to match the total amount of items in the list. It will automatically give a scroll bar if there are more items than the number specifies. Finally, the backslash.

The third line says “1” “Hi”\. The first set of double quotes represents the hot key. In other words, the letter/number/string represents the keyboard shortcut. Push what it says and it will teleport your cursor to that selection (if a string is used the first character is the hot key). This is where I suggest you don't go passed 10 because it will use 1 as its hot key. So, if you push 1 on the keyboard it will take you to 1. But if you push it again it will then take you to 10. I suggest switching to the alphabet once you reach 9. Also, you can just use your mouse and click on one that you want.

The fourth line says “2” “Bye” 2>$tempfile. You know what the “2” “Bye” is doing but what about this 2>$tempfile. Like I mentioned earlier. User input is stored in a file for menus. This file will contain whatever the hot key sequence is. So if you want “1” then '1' is stored in that file. From here you see a case structure. 0) is the user input. As in, you chose something from the list. 1) is the cancel button being selected. Note that cancel in this case is another function. Therefore, that function is being called real quick executing then returning back to the callee. 255) is escape being pressed on the keyboard. Note that esc in this case is another function. Therefore, that function is being called real quick executing then returning back to the callee. Both the cancel and esc functions are defined by me. The whole code where these examples were taken from will be posted at the end.

Finally, you see another case structure. This one is dealing with what the user chose from the list on the menu. The msgbox will be explained later.

Input Box

Input boxes are for trapping user input and storing it in a tempfile. With one of these dialogs the user can enter anything they wish. An example of the input box:

dialog --title "Input Box Example" --backtitle "$backtitle"\
    --inputbox "Enter something" 20 40 2>$tempfile
    case $? in
        0)  input=`cat $tempfile`
        ;;
 
        1)  cancel
            return
        ;;
 
        255)    esc
                return
        ;;
    esac
 
    dialog --title "msg box" --backtitle "$backtitle"\
    --msgbox "Your entry: $input" 10 50

If you haven't read menu yet I recommend you do so now because that is the only spot where I will explain the first line. With that said lets skip to the new parts of this code. The - - input says were using the input box from dialog. The following double quotes is the heading of the box (left aligned) and the two numbers again represent the width and height. Everything else was covered in the menu section.

Message Box

Message boxes are the simplest kind of box to write in dialog. They represent an echo to the screen. An example of a message box:

dialog --title "Message Box Example" --backtitle "$backtitle"\
    --msgbox "This is a Message Box" 10 30

If you haven't read menu yet I recommend you do so now because that is the only spot where I will explain the first line. With that said lets skip to the new parts of this code. The - - msgbox says were using the message box from dialog. The content of the following double quotes is what will be displayed. The numbers again represent width and height.

Yes/No Box

One of the most important boxes. This does store the user's input in tempfile but you don't actually need to access it with cat like you have been on the previous examples. An example of Yes/No box:

dialog --title "Yes/No Box Example" --backtitle "$backtitle"\
    --yesno "Do you like unicorns?" 10 30 2>$tempfile
    case $? in
        0)  answer="yes"
        ;;
 
        1)  answer="no"
        ;;
 
        255)    esc
                return
        ;;
    esac
 
    dialog --title "msg box" --backtitle "$backtitle"\
    --msgbox "Your answer: $answer" 10 30

If you haven't read menu yet I recommend you do so now because that is the only spot where I will explain the first line. With that said lets skip to the new parts of this code. The - - yesno says were using the yes/no box of dialog. The following content of the double quotes is what will be displayed (left aligned). The following numbers again represent width and height.

Now, in this case structure 0) and 1) is user input. Since you can only have yes or no these are the only two options.

Text Box

The text box is used to view a file. These are really cool because they are somewhat intelligent. Although you can specify the size of the box, the content doesn't necessarily have to fit. It will provide with a scroll bar. An example of a text box:

dialog --title "Text Box Example" --backtitle "$backtitle"\
    --textbox ./dialogExamples.sh 40 150

If you haven't read menu yet I recommend you do so now because that is the only spot where I will explain the first line. With that said lets skip to the new parts of this code. The - -textbox says were using the text box of dialog. The following ./“filename.extension” tells text box what to open. The following numbers are width and height.

Check List

A check list is very similar to the menu in structure (even with the hot keys and description method). If you have yet to read the menu section I suggest you do so now because some parts of this example will not be covered because they were already covered in the menu section. An example of the Check List:

 #toggle on/off with spacebar when running
 
    dialog --title "Check List Example" --backtitle "$backtitle"\
    --checklist "Select your favorite Star Wars character - toggle with the space bar" 20 75 8\
    "Luke Skywalker" "Mark Hamill" off\
    "Han Solo" "Harrison Ford" off\
    "Princess Leia Organa" "Carrie Fisher" off\
    "Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi" "Alec Guinness" off\
    "C-3PO" "Anthony Daniels" off\
    "R2-D2" "Kenny Baker" off\
    "Chewbacca" "Peter Mayhew" off\
    "Darth Vader" "David Prowse" off 2>$tempfile
    case $? in
        0)  fav=`cat $tempfile`
            echo "$fav" > tmp
        ;;
 
        1)  cancel
            return
        ;;
 
        255)    esc
                return
        ;;
    esac
 
    #if sed didn't strip out \ and " it would look like: "Luke\ Skywalker"
    #   Now it looks like: Luke Skywalker
    cat tmp | sed 's/\\//g' | sed 's/"//g' > tmp2
    mv tmp2 tmphhhhhhhhh
 
    dialog --title "txt box" --backtitle "$backtitle"\
    --textbox ./tmp 30 50
 
    rm tmp

Starting on the second line the - -checklist says were using the check list of dialog. The following content of the double quotes is what will be displayed (left aligned). Then the numbers are width, height, and the number of elements in the list (so far, just like the menu). However, we see something new on the third line and the following lines until we get to Darth Vader. This is “off” which is at the end of each line. This is significant because it tells dialog to not check this box automatically. If you did want one or more of them checked all you have to do is replace “off” with “on”. Which ever one(s) you choose, they will be stored in the tempfile. This is my work around so this doesn't mean it's the best or prettiest, it only means I did what I knew I could do. I throw the contents of the tempfile into a variable so I can work some sed goodness on it. The comments in the code snippet show you why I did this.

Radio List

Radio Lists are just like check lists except for one difference. You can only check one at a time. For this reason, I will only show the code snippet and not disect it because you should have read menu and check list before coming to this one. However, I will point out, the only difference from this and check list is the - -radiolist. Example of the Radio List:

dialog --title "Check List Example" --backtitle "$backtitle"\
    --radiolist "Choose your favorite Star Wars Character - toggle with the space bar" 20 50 8\
    "Luke Skywalker" "Mark Hamill" off\
    "Han Solo" "Harrison For" off\
    "Princess Leia Organa" "Carrie Fisher" off\
    "Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi" "Alec Guinness" off\
    "C-3PO" "Anthony Daniels" off\
    "R2-D2" "Kenny Baker" off\
    "Chewbacca" "Peter Mayhew" off\
    "Darth Vader" "David Prowse" off 2>$tempfile
    case $? in
        0)  fav=`cat $tempfile`
            echo "$fav" > tmp
        ;;
 
        1)  cancel
            return
        ;;
 
        255)    esc
                return
        ;;
    esac
 
    dialog --title "msg box" --backtitle "$backtitle"\
    --msgbox "Your favorite Character: $fav" 10 50
 
    rm tmp

Info Box

Info boxes will probably not be used that often. I for one don't really think they're necessary but then again I've never written anything process intensive that would make them worthy. They're used to display things while commands or calculations or whatever goes on in the background. An example of the Info Box:

 dialog --title "Info Box example" --backtitle "$backtitle"\
    --infobox "`vmstat; echo ;free`" 20 80
 
    sleep 5 #w/o it you would see nothing because an info box is used when something is 
            #being worked on

The double quote backtick vmstat; echo; free backtick double quote is just a command that I used as an example for this. The sleep is there because it computes it so quickly you don't even see the dialog box. So I made it sleep for 5 seconds so that you could see what it did.

Gauge

This is pretty cool. Gauges are used to depict something being downloaded, transfered, or anything that is taking time and you want the user to know that something is happening. Essentially it's a progress bar. An example of a Gauge:

count=10
    max=100
    (
        while test $count != $max
        do
            echo $count
            echo "XXX"
            echo "($count% of $max%)"
            echo "XXX"
            count=`expr $count + 10`
            sleep 1
        done
    ) |
    dialog --title "Gauge Example" --backtitle "$backtitle"\
    --guage "Gauge" 20 50 0
    #~NOTE~ the echo "($count% of $max%)" is what will be printed on the gauge box.  
     #It MUST be between the: echo "XXX"
    #increments by 10 every other second

count is the variable that holds the value of which the gauge will increment by. max is the value which the gauge will fill up to and finish when reached. Jump into the loop and test to see if count is not equal to max (if it is then exit). Print count to the screen. Now comes the magic. Notice two echo “XXX”. This is the bar. Take count mod max which gives the remainder. This is the number that will be used to show the percentage of completion. Then increment count by its self, then sleep for 1 second. Sleep is there so it takes more time to fill the gauge. Call dialog like we have been except use - - guage. The numbers in this case are height, width, and the number to start at in the loading box.

Calendar

The calendar does exactly what it sounds like it should. It displays a calendar.

dialog --title "Calendar Example" --backtitle "$backtitle"\                                                                
    --calendar "Use tab/arrow keys to navigate - tab: switch topics - arrows: cycle" 0 0 0 0 0 2>$tempfile
 
    #first two numbers are height and width: 0 0 #defaults the size next three are: month/day/year 
    #   month/day/year can be 0 and it will use current date
 
    case $? in
        0)  date=`cat $tempfile`
        ;;
 
        1)  cancel
            return
        ;;
 
        255)    esc
                return
        ;;
    esac
 
    dialog --title "msg box" --backtitle "$backtitle"\
    --msgbox "Your date: $date" 10 40

Using - -calendar dialog will display a calendar of your choice. Notice where the size is specified. There are now a few more numbers to work with. The first two are height and width. The following three are month, day, and year respectively. Zeroes can be used in all places. What this is does is set a default size and sets the calendar to the current month and year. Navigation is controlled by tab and arrow keys. Tab will cycle through the headings. So, month, year, days, and the buttons. The arrow keys can do the same but it can be confusing. I suggest using them only inside of headings. The user can choose a date and this will be stored in the tempfile.

Time Box

The time box allows the user to choose a time down to the second.

dialog --title "Time Box Example" --backtitle "$backtitle"\
    --timebox "Please enter the time:" 0 0 0 0 0 2>$tempfile
    #Again the first two numbers are height and width, the other three are hour/minute/second again, all 0s means to use defaults                                                                                                                             
    case $? in
        0)  userTime=`cat $tempfile`
        ;;
 
        1)  cancel
            return
        ;;
 
        255)    esc
                return
        ;;
    esac
 
    dialog --title "msg box" --backtitle "$backtitle"\
    --msgbox "Your time: $userTime" 10 40

Please note the use of - -timebox. Similar to the calendar, the places for hieght and width controls are the first two places. The following three are hours, minutes, and seconds respectively. The same navigation from calendar applies here too. Tab will cycle through hours, minutes, seconds, and the buttons while the arrow keys can be used to alter the headings contents.

File Selection

Have a directory you want to display in a dialog box, well now you can (new dialog box smell not included)! For this example the home directory is used.

dialog --title "File Selection Example" --backtitle "$backtitle"\                                                          
    --fselect $HOME 15 50 2>$tempfile
    case $? in
        0)  file=`cat $tempfile`
        ;;
 
        1)  cancel
            return
        ;;
 
        255)    esc
                return
        ;;
    esac
 
    #$HOME is your home directory
 
    dialog --title "msg box" --backtitle "$backtitle"\
    --msgbox "Your file: $file" 10 40

Note the use of - -fselect. Following fselect is an environment variable. That is the home directory. Directories are on the left hand side of the box while its contents are on the right. If the user selects a path that path is stored in the temp file. Also the numbers following the environment variable represent the height and width.

Pause Box

Essentially pause is sleep but in graphic form.

dialog --title "Pause Box Example" --backtitle "$backtitle"\
    --pause "Pause" 10 30 5                                                                                                    
 
    #3rd number '5' is time in seconds to be paused
 
    case $? in
        0)  input=`cat $tempfile`
        ;;
 
        1)  cancel
            return
        ;;
 
        255)    esc
                return
        ;;
    esac
</bash>
Note the use of - -pause. The following numbers are height, width, and the seconds to be paused. When executed a progress bar will be displayed and it will count backwards until 0 is reached meaning the amount of time spent to be sleeping has completed.
 
  Password Box
I recommend you read the input box section because this function is the same except that the user's input is not displayed when typed.
<file bash>
#password boxes are just like input boxes except the user's entry is not displayed
    dialog --title "Pasword box Example" --backtitle "$backtitle"\
    --passwordbox "Enter something:" 10 30 2>$tempfile
    case $? in
        0)  input=`cat $tempfile`
        ;;
 
        1)  cancel
            return
        ;;
 
        255)    esc
                return                                                                                                         
        ;;
    esac
 
    dialog --title "msb box" --backtitle "$backtitle"\
    --msgbox "Your entry: $input" 10 30

Note the use of - -passwordbox. The following numbers represent the height and width. Although the user's input is not being displayed, what they type can still be stored in the temp file and used.

• So now you know what it takes to make several dialog boxes. Here is the code where the snippets were taken from. You can run it and see what they look like.

#!/bin/bash                                                                                                                    
 
###
#
#   Written by: Jesse Short 
#
#   Purpose: To explain and give in depth examples of dialog.  Dialog is a command that enables the use of window boxes in a shell script to make them more
#       user friendly and interactive.  Dialog is easy, simple, and quite flexible.  This script will use dialog to show and explain it.
#
#   Executable: dialogExample.sh
#
#       chmod +x dialogExample.sh
#
#   Execute: ./dialogExample.sh 
#
#   References/Sources:
#
#       http://linuxgazette.net/101/sunil.html
#
#       http://unstableme.blogspot.com/2009/12/linux-dialog-utility-short-tutorial.html
#
###
 
###
#
# ~NOTE~ do not put comments within dialog syntax. It will break. Also, Menus be wary when you go past 9.  It will display but '1' will take you to 1, 10, 
#   11, etc. 
###
 
function cancel()
{
    dialog --title "msg box" --backtitle "$backtitle"\
    --msgbox "$cancel" 10 30
 
return
}
 
function esc()
{
    dialog --title "msg box" --backtitle "$backtitle"\
    --msgbox "$esc" 10 30
 
return
}
 
function mainMenu()
{
    option=0
    while [[ $option -ne 10 || "$option" != "10" ]]
    do
        dialog --title "Main Menu" --backtitle "$backtitle"\
        --menu "$menu" 30 50 16\
        "1" "Menu"\
        "2" "Input Box"\
        "3" "Message Box"\
        "4" "Yes/No"\
        "5" "Text Box"\
        "6" "Check List"\
        "7" "Radio List"\
        "8" "Info Box"\
        "9" "Gauge"\
        "A" "Calendar"\
        "B" "Time Box"\
        "C" "File Selection"\
        "D" "Pause Box"\
        "E" "Password Box"\
        "F" "Exit" 2>$tempfile
        case $? in      #$? is the number picked from the menu and stored in tempfile
            0)  option=`cat $tempfile`
            ;;
 
            1)  cancel
                return  #cancel is pressed
            ;;
 
            255)    esc
                    return  #esc key is pressed
            ;;
        esac
 
        #height width menuItemCnt IF 3rd number is less than number of items in list, list will scroll
        case $option in
            1)  menu
            ;;
 
            2)  inputBox
            ;;
 
            3)  msgBox
            ;;
 
            4)  yesNoBox
            ;;
 
            5)  txtBox
            ;;
 
            6)  chkList
            ;;
 
            7)  radList
            ;;
 
            8)  infoBox
            ;;
 
            9)  gauge
            ;;
 
            A)  calendar
            ;;
 
            B)  timeBox
            ;;
 
            C)  fileSelect
            ;;
 
            D)  pause
            ;;
 
            E)  pw
            ;;
 
            F) option=10
                #break      #does not require break but can have it
            ;;
        esac
    done
 
return
}
 
function menu()
{
    dialog --title "Menu Example" --backtitle "$backtitle"\
    --menu "Choose one" 30 50 2\
    "1" "Hi"\
    "2" "Bye" 2>$tempfile
    case $? in
        0)  choice=`cat $tempfile`
        ;;
 
        1)  cancel
            return
        ;;
 
        255)    esc
                return
        ;;
    esac
 
    case $choice in
        1)  dialog --title "msg box" --backtitle "$backtitle"\
            --msgbox "You selected Hi" 10 30
        ;;
 
        2)  dialog --title "msg box" --backtitle "$backtitle"\
            --msgbox "You selected Bye" 10 30
        ;;
    esac
 
return
}
 
function inputBox()
{
    dialog --title "Input Box Example" --backtitle "$backtitle"\
    --inputbox "Enter something" 20 40 2>$tempfile
    case $? in
        0)  input=`cat $tempfile`
        ;;
 
        1)  cancel
            return
        ;;
 
        255)    esc
                return
        ;;
    esac
 
    dialog --title "msg box" --backtitle "$backtitle"\
    --msgbox "Your entry: $input" 10 50
 
return
}
 
function msgBox()
{
    dialog --title "Message Box Example" --backtitle "$backtitle"\
    --msgbox "This is a Message Box" 10 30
 
return
}
 
function yesNoBox()
{
    dialog --title "Yes/No Box Example" --backtitle "$backtitle"\
    --yesno "Do you like unicorns?" 10 30 2>$tempfile
    case $? in
        0)  answer="yes"
        ;;
 
        1)  answer="no"
        ;;
 
        255)    esc
                return
        ;;
    esac
 
    dialog --title "msg box" --backtitle "$backtitle"\
    --msgbox "Your answer: $answer" 10 30
 
return
}
 
function txtBox()
{
    dialog --title "Text Box Example" --backtitle "$backtitle"\
    --textbox ./dialogExamples.sh 40 150
 
return
}
 
function chkList()
{
    #toggle on/off with spacebar when running
 
    dialog --title "Check List Example" --backtitle $backtitle"\
    --checklist "Select your favorite Star Wars character - toggle with the space bar" 20 75 8\
    "Luke Skywalker" "Mark Hamill" off\
    "Han Solo" "Harrison For" off\
    "Princess Leia Organa" "Carrie Fisher" off\
    "Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi" "Alec Guinness" off\
    "C-3PO" "Anthony Daniels" off\
    "R2-D2" "Kenny Baker" off\
    "Chewbacca" "Peter Mayhew" off\
    "Darth Vader" "David Prowse" off 2>$tempfile
    case $? in
        0)  fav=`cat $tempfile`
            echo "$fav" > tmp
        ;;
 
        1)  cancel
            return
        ;;
 
        255)    esc
                return
        ;;
    esac
 
    #if sed didn't strip out \ and " it would look like: "Luke\ Skywalker"
    #   Not it looks like: Luke Skywalker
    cat tmp | sed 's/\\//g' | sed 's/"//g' > tmp2
    mv tmp2 tmp
 
    dialog --title "txt box" --backtitle "$backtitle"\
    --textbox ./tmp 30 50
 
    rm tmp
 
return
}
 
function radList()
{
    dialog --title "Check List Example" --backtitle "$backtitle"\
    --radiolist "Choose your favorite Star Wars Character - toggle with the space bar" 20 50 8\
    "Luke Skywalker" "Mark Hamill" off\
    "Han Solo" "Harrison For" off\
    "Princess Leia Organa" "Carrie Fisher" off\
    "Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi" "Alec Guinness" off\
    "C-3PO" "Anthony Daniels" off\
    "R2-D2" "Kenny Baker" off\
    "Chewbacca" "Peter Mayhew" off\
    "Darth Vader" "David Prowse" off 2>$tempfile
    case $? in
        0)  fav=`cat $tempfile`
            echo "$fav" > tmp
        ;;
 
        1)  cancel
            return
        ;;
 
        255)    esc
                return
        ;;
    esac
 
    dialog --title "msg box" --backtitle "$backtitle"\
    --msgbox "Your favorite Character: $fav" 10 50
 
    rm tmp
 
return
}
 
function infoBox()
{
    dialog --title "Info Box example" --backtitle "$backtitle"\
    --infobox "`vmstat; echo ;free`" 20 80
 
    sleep 5 #w/o it you would see nothing because an info box is used when something is being worked on
 
return
}
 
function gauge()
{
    count=10
    max=100
    (
        while test $count != $max
        do
            echo $count
            echo "XXX"
            echo "($count% of $max%)"
            echo "XXX"
            count=`expr $count + 10`
            sleep 1
        done
      ) |
    dialog --title "Gauge Example" --backtitle "$backtitle"\
    --guage "Gauge" 20 50 0
    #~NOTE~ the echo "($count% of $max%)" is what will be printed on the gauge box.  It MUST be between the: echo "XXX"
    #increments by 10 every other second
return
}
 
function calendar()
{
    dialog --title "Calendar Example" --backtitle "$backtitle"\
    --calendar "Use tab/arrow keys to navigate - tab: switch topics - arrows: cycle" 0 0 0 0 0 2>$tempfile
 
    #first two numbers are height and width: 0 0 #defaults the size next three are: month/day/year 
    #   month/day/year can be 0 and it will use current date
 
    case $? in
        0)  date=`cat $tempfile`
        ;;
 
        1)  cancel
            return
        ;;
 
        255)    esc
                return
        ;;
    esac
 
    dialog --title "msg box" --backtitle "$backtitle"\
    --msgbox "Your date: $date" 10 40
 
return
}
 
function timeBox()
{
    dialog --title "Time Box Example" --backtitle "$backtitle"\
    --timebox "Please enter the time:" 0 0 0 0 0 2>$tempfile
    #Again the first two numbers are height and width, the other three are hour/minute/second again, all 0s means to use defaults
    case $? in
        0)  userTime=`cat $tempfile`
        ;;
 
        1)  cancel
            return
        ;;
 
        255)    esc
                return
        ;;
    esac
 
    dialog --title "msg box" --backtitle "$backtitle"\
    --msgbox "Your time: $userTime" 10 40
 
return
}
 
function fileSelect()
{
    dialog --title "File Selection Example" --backtitle "$backtitle"\
    --fselect $HOME 15 50 2>$tempfile
    case $? in
        0)  file=`cat $tempfile`
        ;;
 
        1)  cancel
            return
        ;;
 
        255)    esc
                return
        ;;
    esac
 
    #$HOME is your home directory
 
    dialog --title "msg box" --backtitle "$backtitle"\
    --msgbox "Your file: $file" 10 40
 
return
}
 
function pause()
{
    dialog --title "Pause Box Example" --backtitle "$backtitle"\
    --pause "Pause" 10 30 5
 
    #3rd number '5' is time in seconds to be paused
 
    case $? in
        0)  input=`cat $tempfile`
        ;;
 
        1)  cancel
            return
        ;;
 
        255)    esc
                return
        ;;
    esac
 
return
}
 
function pw()
{
    #password boxes are just like input boxes except the user's entry is not displayed
    dialog --title "Pasword box Example" --backtitle "$backtitle"\
    --passwordbox "Enter something:" 10 30 2>$tempfile
    case $? in
        0)  input=`cat $tempfile`
        ;;
 
        1)  cancel
            return
        ;;
 
        255)    esc
                return
        ;;
    esac
 
    dialog --title "msb box" --backtitle "$backtitle"\
    --msgbox "Your entry: $input" 10 30
 
 
return
}
 
tempfile=`tempfile` #most dialog require a file for their input to be directed to
backtitle="Obsidian Shield: Dialog Examples"
menu="Chose the corresponding number for the desired action"
cancel="You pressed cancel"
esc="You pressed the escape key"  
 
mainMenu
 
exit 0                                                                 

If you are learning or know java then this will be your friend if you're using an ssh client. Java can manipulate dialog boxes that Xming will display. Xming is from the X window system and will work on Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Vista, and 7.

• You can download it here: http://sourceforge.net/projects/xming/

1. Download
2. Install
3. Open Putty
4. Load Lab46
5. (Left hand side of box) Go to: SSH; sub-menu: X11
6. Click the check box for: Enable X11 Forwarding
7. Go back to session (The main screen; left hand side of box at the top) and click save

That's it :)

• Get a disk of win xp
• Press f12 during bootup when the option is allowed
• Choose CD/DVD from the boot menu
• Press any key
• It will then begin installing drivers and such
• Enter to continue
• f8 to agree
• Now it will ask how you want to partition the hard drive (you can do whatever you want just make sure adequate space is used for both os's)
• Enter to install
• Formatting partition: Format the partition using the NTFS file system (don't use the one that has (Quick) at the end of it)
• Enter to continue install (Formatting will probably take 30 minutes)
• Next (Assuming you want the defaults)
• Name/Organization (Just do your name)
• Enter product key (If it says invalid scroll down to Invalid Product Key)
• Enter admin password
• Verificate password
• Next
• Choose date/Time settings and Time Zone
• Network settings: Typical settings
• No computer is not on a network or is on a network without a domain: Next (unless you wan't something else)
• Allow windows to change screen resolution
• Next
• Click: Help protect my PC by turning on Automatic Updates
• Next
• Enter the names of users if any
• Next
• Finish

Ubuntu: Install over network

• f12 upon startup when allowed
• choose lan
• 32-bit (i386)
• Ubuntu/i386/ Netboot
• Install Lucid “10.04”
• Engrish
• US
• No: Detect keyboard layout
• USA: origin of keyboard
• Keyboard layout: USA
• Hostname: JesseShort
• Ubuntu archive mirror: scroll up to - enter info manually - mirror (Use whatever mirror you should)
• continue
• continue
• If given time zone is correct: yes
• Partitioning: scroll down to the line that says FREE SPACE
• Create new partition
• Take 2 gigs away from it
• Primary
• Done
• Scroll down to the line that says FREE SPACE
• Create new partition
• Primary
• Edit the first line - swap area (Virtual Memory)
• Finish partitioning
• Yes
• Full name: Jesse Short
• Username for account: jesse
• pw: what ever
• verificate: what ever
• If password is too weak (ie: under 8 characters): yes use weak pw
• No
• Install security updates automatically (your choice)
• Ubuntu desktop
• Yes: install GRUB boot loader to master boot record
• Continue

Configuring OS to auto boot os of your choice:

• Log in to ubuntu
• Open terminal
• cd /boot/grub
• sudo vi grub.cfg
• cut out the block of text that starts with: menuentry “Microsoft Windows XP Professional… and ends with ### END /etc/grub.d/30_os-prober ### and paste it on the top of the list
• sudo reboot
• An option screen will load up and you can choose which os to boot into or let it boot into the first of the list: windows xp
• ~~~Further Configurations (Time duration to display list of bootables)~~~
• within ubuntu open a terminal
• cd /boot/grub
• sudo vi grub.cfg
• search for: set timeout
• change: set timeout=10 to whatever you want ie: set timeout=5

Changing the mirror:

• sudo vi /etc/apt/sources.list
• :%s/mirror/us.archive.ubuntu.com/g
• Above searches for the string mirror and replaces it with us.archive.ubuntu.com and do it globally.

So we all remember this childhood game. Often sending brothers into a furry of rage, or is this only my experience? Anyway, I thought it would be a good challenge to write this game. A simple ascii art display, some arrays, and you're good to go! So without further adue, I shall explain what each function does, however, I will be doing them in a custom order just for this documentation. That means, they will not match in the actual program (since I worked bottom to top). Also note, This is a salvo based battleship. That means each player gets as many attacks as they have ships. For example, player 1 has 4 ships, therefore, he has 4 attacks.

• Firstly Include these header files:
  • <cstdio>
  • <cstdlib>
  • <unistd.h> used for sleep function
  • <time.h> used for random

• Next: prototypes, With the order my functions lie, I only needed one

//prototypes
int *nextAtkPos(int, int, int);	//so medium can use it

• After that declare and initialize some constants. These constants are the sizes of the board

const int ROWS = 10;
const int COLS = 10;

• Then make the struct (This will hold each player's information)

struct Player
{
	char posXY[ROWS][COLS];		//positions of ships
	char attackXY[ROWS][COLS];	//positions bombed on Y axis and X axis
	int carrier;
	int battleship;
	int destroyer;
	int submarine;
	int patrol;
	int turns;			//how many moves the player gets (equal to number of battleships)
};
 
typedef struct Player Player;

• Once all of that is done, declare the pointers that will be used to point to this struct. I've learned to always have one point to it, but to have another use operations, Therefore, I have 4 pointers, but only 2 are actually required.

Player *head1, *current1;
Player *head2, *current2;

• The Main function

int main()
{
	int menuOption = -1;
	while ( menuOption != 5 )
	{
		while ( menuOption < 0 || menuOption > 5 )
		{
			printf("\n\nWelcome to the salvo based battleship game v1.17\n");
			printf("Choose your type:\n");
			printf("1. PvP\n2. Easy\n3. Medium\n4. Hard\n5. Exit\n");
			scanf("%d", &menuOption);
		}
		switch (menuOption)
		{
			case 1: pvp();
					cleanUp();
					break;
			case 2: easy();
					cleanUp();
					break;
			case 3: medium();
					cleanUp();
					break;
			case 4: hard();
					cleanUp();
					break;
			case 5: break;
		}
		if ( menuOption != 5 )
			menuOption = -1;
	}
 
return 0;
}

As you can see there are 5 options total. The first is PvP. This pits two real players in head to head lethal naval combat! Then there is Easy. This is a real player versus the computer with an easy level of AI (more on this in the easy section). Next is Medium. This is a real player versus the computer with a medium level of AI (more on this in the medium section). After that is Hard. This is a real player versus the computer with a hard level of AI (more on this in the hard section). Lastly, is Exit. Note the cleanUp function. This is used to free the pointers pointing to the structs once control is back in the main function.

• Next is the initPlayer function. This function is called by pvp, easy, medium, and hard.

void initPlayers()
{
	int x, y;
 
	head1 = (Player *) malloc (sizeof(Player));
	current1 = head1;
	current1 -> carrier = 5;
	current1 -> battleship = 4;
	current1 -> destroyer = 3;
	current1 -> submarine = 3;
	current1 -> patrol = 2;
	current1 -> turns = 5;
 
	head2 = (Player *) malloc (sizeof(Player));
	current2 = head2;
	current2 -> carrier = 5;
	current2 -> battleship = 4;
	current2 -> destroyer = 3;
	current2 -> submarine = 3;
	current2 -> patrol = 2;
	current2 -> turns = 5;
 
	for ( x = 0; x < ROWS; x++ )
	{
		for ( y = 0; y < COLS; y++ )
		{
			current1 -> posXY[x][y]='o';
			current1 -> attackXY[x][y] = '-';
			current2 -> posXY[x][y]='o';
			current2 -> attackXY[x][y] = '-';
		}
	}
 
return;
}

This function initializes the struct. It allocates memory for two pointers (head1 and head2) which will represent player 1 and player 2. It then initializes the ships sizes and the turn count. After that, it fills the arrays with initial values. This is done for comparing in other functions. The 'o' in posXY represents an open space while the '-' in attackXY represents a space that has yet to be attacked.

• Next up is the info function. Every function from the main menu (pvp, easy, medium, and hard) will invoke this function at least once.

void info()
{
	printf("There are 5 total ships.\n");
	printf("Ship\t\tSize\tLetter\n");
	printf("====\t\t====\t======\n");
	printf("Carrier\t\t5\tC\n");
	printf("Battleship\t4\tB\n");
	printf("Destroyer\t3\tD\n");
	printf("Submarine\t3\tS\n");
	printf("Patrol Boat\t2\tB\n\n\n");
 
	printf("Each player starts off with 5 turns.\nTurns are based on the amount of ships you have.\nTurns are represented at the highest value and count down to zero\n");
	printf("An X on the attack board indicates one of your strikes.\nAn H on the attack board indicates one your hits.\n");
	printf("A lowever case of a ship letter represents that part of the ship being damaged. As in your opponent hit the ship at that spot.\n");
 
return;
}

The purpose of this function is to give the player the rules and an idea on how the game works. As you can see a list of each ship size and their representative character is shown. Then it goes on to explain turns and what other characters mean. Such as an 'X' on the attack board represents an attack but it missed while an 'H' represents an attack that hit. Also, if a ships character is in lower case, then that means it was hit.

• The PvP method

void pvp()
{
	int player = 1, winner = 0, turnCnt, x, y, go = 0;
	int ai = 0;
 
	initPlayers();
 
	printf("Welcome to the PvP section.\n");
	printf("Play nicely and no cheating!\n");
	printf("Player 1 please set your battleships.\n\n");
	info();
	setShips(player, ai);
	printf("\n\nPlayer 2 please set your battleships.\n\n");
	player++;
	info();
	setShips(player, ai);
	player--;
	turnCnt = current1 -> turns;
 
	while ( winner == 0 )
	{
		while ( turnCnt != 0 )
		{
			while ( go == 0 )
			{
				printBoard(player);
				printAtkBoard(player);
				printf("Player %d's turn\nTurn: %d\n\n", player, turnCnt);
 
				printf("Enter attack coordinate y: ");
				scanf("%d", &y);
 
				while ( y < 0 || y > 9 )
				{
					printf("Enter attack coordinate y: ");
					scanf("%d", &y);
				}
 
				printf("Enter attack coordinate x: ");
				scanf("%d", &x);
 
				while ( x < 0 || x > 9 )
					{
					printf("Enter attack coordinate x: ");
					scanf("%d", &x);
				}
 
				go = checkAtk(player, x, y);
			}
			winner = checkWin(player);
			if ( winner == 1 )
				break;
			turnCnt--;
			go--;
		}
		if ( player == 1 )
		{
			player++;
			turnCnt = current2 -> turns;
		}
		else
		{
			player--;
			turnCnt = current1 -> turns;
		}
	}
 
return;
}

1 Variables

So now its time for some friendly competition. Lets declare and initialize some variables. The player variable is set to 1 so that when it is passed to other functions they know which player called it. Winner is set to 0 because no one has one yet. It will be set to 1 when someone wins. It is also the external loop control variable. All other loops reside in this one. After all, once there is a winner there is no reason to keep playing. TurnCnt is a variable that will keep track of the players turns. It compares itself to the players turn that it points to at the struct. TurnCnt automatically starts at the player's turn (ie: current1 → turns) and counts down to 0. Thus, when its the players last turn (in this case 1) it will give control to the other player. X and y are coordinate variables. The user defines these. Go is another loop control variable. This variable controls when a successful hit has been made. If go is set to 0 then there was some kind of problem. As in, the attack has already been made, therefore, no reason to make that attack again. Once it is set to 1 another turn may be had. Ai is for other functions purposes. If it is 0 then it is a real player. If it is not 0 then it is the computer.

2 body

The setShips function will be covered in its own section later. All you need to know now is that it will ultimately have placed each users ships wherever they wanted. So lets jump inside these loops. Each player gets to choose an attack coordinate during their turn. Y is selected first, then the x. Both are combined and sent to the checkAtk function. This function will be covered later in its own section. All you need to know right now is that it checks if the attack is a repeat or not. If it is not then control is given back to pvp and checkWin is called. This function will also be covered in its own section. All you need to know is that it checks for a winner. If no winner, then keep repeating until winner is found. So player 1 takes his/her turns then its player 2's turn. This repeats until a winner. To switch players it checks if its player 1 or not and adjusts the player variable accordingly. Remember, 1 represents the first player and 2 represents the second player. Then it resets the turnCnt variable to the appropriate players turn held in the struct.

• setShips function is the starting block for placing a ship

void setShips(int player, int ai)
{
	int x, y, shipSize; //shipType is the number of spots the ship can have. ie: carrier - 5, patrol - 2
	char shipChar;	//used so other functions know what to fill the board with given the ships starting char
	int go = 0;		//control loops
 
	if ( player == 1 )
	{
		while ( go == 0 ) //set carrier
		{
			printf("Setting Carrier - %d blocks in length\n", current1 -> carrier);
			printBoard(player);
			printf("Choose the starting y location of your carrier: ");
			scanf("%d", &y);
			while ( y < 0 || y > 9 )
			{
				printf("\nChoose the starting y location of your carrier: ");
				scanf("%d", &y);
			}
 
			printf("\nChoose the starting x location of your carrier: ");
			scanf("%d", &x);
			while ( x < 0 || x > 9 )
			{
				printf("\nChoose the starting x location of your carrier: ");
				scanf("%d", &x);
			}
 
			if ( current1 -> posXY[y][x] == 'o' )
			{
				shipChar = 'C';				//placeShip uses this when checkSet() calls it
				current1 -> posXY[y][x] = shipChar;
 
				shipSize = current1 -> carrier;				//checkSet() uses this number for bounds
				go = checkSet(x, y, shipSize, player, shipChar, ai);	//check to see if space is open and within bounds of board
                                if ( go == 0 )
                                        current1 -> posXY[y][x] = 'o';
			}
 
			printBoard(player);
		}
 
		go = 0;
 
		while ( go == 0 )	//set battleship
		{
			printf("Setting Battleship - %d blocks in length\n", current1 -> battleship);
			printBoard(player);
			printf("Choose the starting y location of your battleship: ");
			scanf("%d", &y);
			while ( y < 0 || y > 9 )
			{
				printf("\nChoose the starting y location of your battleship: ");
				scanf("%d", &y);
			}
 
			printf("\nChoose the starting x location of your battleship: ");
			scanf("%d", &x);
			while ( x < 0 || x > 9 )
			{
				printf("\nChoose the starting y location of your battleship: ");
				scanf("%d", &x);
			}
 
			if ( current1 -> posXY[y][x] == 'o' )
			{
				shipChar = 'B';
				current1 -> posXY[y][x] = shipChar;
 
				shipSize = current1 -> battleship;
				go = checkSet(x, y, shipSize, player, shipChar, ai);
                                if ( go == 0 )
                                        current1 -> posXY[y][x] = 'o';
			}
 
			printBoard(player);
		}
 
		go = 0;
 
		while ( go == 0 )	//set destroyer
		{
			printf("Setting Destroyer - %d blocks in length\n", current1 -> destroyer);
			printBoard(player);
			printf("Choose the starting y location of your destroyer: ");
			scanf("%d", &y);
			while ( y < 0 || y > 9 )
			{
				printf("\nChoose the starting y location of your destroyer: ");
				scanf("%d", &y);
			}
 
			printf("\nChoose the starting x location of your destroyer: ");
			scanf("%d", &x);
			while ( x < 0 || x > 9 )
			{
				printf("\nChoose the starting y location of your destroyer: ");
				scanf("%d", &x);
			}
 
			if ( current1 -> posXY[y][x] == 'o' )
			{
				shipChar = 'D';
				current1 -> posXY[y][x] = shipChar;
 
				shipSize = current1 -> destroyer;
				go = checkSet(x, y, shipSize, player, shipChar, ai);
                                if ( go == 0 )
                                        current1 -> posXY[y][x] = 'o';
			}
 
			printBoard(player);
		}
 
		go = 0;
 
		while ( go == 0 ) //set submarine
		{
			printf("Setting Submarine - %d blocks in length\n", current1 -> submarine);
			printBoard(player);
			printf("Choose the starting y location of your submarine: ");
			scanf("%d", &y);
			while ( y < 0 || y > 9 )
			{
				printf("\nChoose the starting y location of your submarine: ");
				scanf("%d", &y);
			}
 
			printf("\nChoose the starting x location of your submarine: ");
			scanf("%d", &x);
			while ( x < 0 || x > 9 )
			{
				printf("\nChoose the starting x location of your submarine: ");
				scanf("%d", &x);
			}
 
			if ( current1 -> posXY[y][x] == 'o' )
			{
				shipChar = 'S';				//placeShip uses this when checkSet() calls it
				current1 -> posXY[y][x] = shipChar;
 
				shipSize = current1 -> submarine;				//checkSet() uses this number for bounds
				go = checkSet(x, y, shipSize, player, shipChar, ai);	//check to see if space is open and within bounds of board
                                if ( go == 0 )
                                        current1 -> posXY[y][x] = 'o';
			}
 
			printBoard(player);
		}
 
		go = 0;
 
		while ( go == 0 ) //set patrol
		{
			printf("Setting Patrol Boat - %d blocks in length\n", current1 -> patrol);
			printBoard(player);
			printf("Choose the starting y location of your patrol boat: ");
			scanf("%d", &y);
			while ( y < 0 || y > 9 )
			{
				printf("\nChoose the starting y location of your patrol boat: ");
				scanf("%d", &y);
			}
 
			printf("\nChoose the starting x location of your patrol boat: ");
			scanf("%d", &x);
			while ( x < 0 || x > 9 )
			{
				printf("\nChoose the starting x location of your patrol boat: ");
				scanf("%d", &x);
			}
 
			if ( current1 -> posXY[y][x] == 'o' )
			{
				shipChar = 'P';				//placeShip uses this when checkSet() calls it
				current1 -> posXY[y][x] = shipChar;
 
				shipSize = current1 -> patrol;				//checkSet() uses this number for bounds
				go = checkSet(x, y, shipSize, player, shipChar, ai);	//check to see if space is open and within bounds of board
                                if ( go == 0 )
                                        current1 -> posXY[y][x] = 'o';
			}
 
			printBoard(player);
		}
	}
	else if ( player == 2 && ai == 0 )
	{
		go = 0;
 
		while ( go == 0 ) //set carrier
		{
			printf("Setting Carrier - %d blocks in length\n", current2 -> carrier);
			printBoard(player);
			printf("Choose the starting y location of your carrier: ");
			scanf("%d", &y);
			while ( y < 0 || y > 9 )
			{
				printf("\nChoose the starting y location of your carrier: ");
				scanf("%d", &y);
			}
 
			printf("\nChoose the starting x location of your carrier: ");
			scanf("%d", &x);
			while ( x < 0 || x > 9 )
			{
				printf("\nChoose the starting x location of your carrier: ");
				scanf("%d", &x);
			}
 
			if ( current2 -> posXY[y][x] == 'o' )
			{
				shipChar = 'C';				//placeShip uses this when checkSet() calls it
				current2 -> posXY[y][x] = shipChar;
 
				shipSize = current2 -> carrier;				//checkSet() uses this number for bounds
				go = checkSet(x, y, shipSize, player, shipChar, ai);	//check to see if space is open and within bounds of board
                                if ( go == 0 )
                                        current2 -> posXY[y][x] = 'o';
			}
 
			printBoard(player);
		}
 
		go = 0;
 
		while ( go == 0 )	//set battleship
		{
			printf("Setting Battleship - %d blocks in length\n", current2 -> battleship);
			printBoard(player);
			printf("Choose the starting y location of your battleship: ");
			scanf("%d", &y);
			while ( y < 0 || y > 9 )
			{
				printf("\nChoose the starting y location of your battleship: ");
				scanf("%d", &y);
			}
 
			printf("\nChoose the starting x location of your battleship: ");
			scanf("%d", &x);
			while ( x < 0 || x > 9 )
			{
				printf("\nChoose the starting y location of your battleship: ");
				scanf("%d", &x);
			}
 
			if ( current2 -> posXY[y][x] == 'o' )
			{
				shipChar = 'B';
				current2 -> posXY[y][x] = shipChar;
 
				shipSize = current2 -> battleship;
				go = checkSet(x, y, shipSize, player, shipChar, ai);
                                if ( go == 0 )
                                        current2 -> posXY[y][x] = 'o';
			}
 
			printBoard(player);
		}
 
		go = 0;
 
		while ( go == 0 )	//set destroyer
		{
			printf("Setting Destroyer - %d blocks in length\n", current2 -> destroyer);
			printBoard(player);
			printf("Choose the starting y location of your destroyer: ");
			scanf("%d", &y);
			while ( y < 0 || y > 9 )
			{
				printf("\nChoose the starting y location of your destroyer: ");
				scanf("%d", &y);
			}
 
			printf("\nChoose the starting x location of your destroyer: ");
			scanf("%d", &x);
			while ( x < 0 || x > 9 )
			{
				printf("\nChoose the starting y location of your destroyer: ");
				scanf("%d", &x);
			}
 
			if ( current2 -> posXY[y][x] == 'o' )
			{
				shipChar = 'D';
				current2 -> posXY[y][x] = shipChar;
 
				shipSize = current2 -> destroyer;
				go = checkSet(x, y, shipSize, player, shipChar, ai);
                                if ( go == 0 )
                                        current2 -> posXY[y][x] = 'o';
			}
 
			printBoard(player);
		}
 
		go = 0;
 
		while ( go == 0 ) //set submarine
		{
			printf("Setting Submarine - %d blocks in length\n", current2 -> submarine);
			printBoard(player);
			printf("Choose the starting y location of your submarine: ");
			scanf("%d", &y);
			while ( y < 0 || y > 9 )
			{
				printf("\nChoose the starting y location of your submarine: ");
				scanf("%d", &y);
			}
 
			printf("\nChoose the starting x location of your submarine: ");
			scanf("%d", &x);
			while ( x < 0 || x > 9 )
			{
				printf("\nChoose the starting x location of your submarine: ");
				scanf("%d", &x);
			}
 
			if ( current2 -> posXY[y][x] == 'o' )
			{
				shipChar = 'S';				//placeShip uses this when checkSet() calls it
				current2 -> posXY[y][x] = shipChar;
 
				shipSize = current2 -> submarine;				//checkSet() uses this number for bounds
				go = checkSet(x, y, shipSize, player, shipChar, ai);	//check to see if space is open and within bounds of board
                                if ( go == 0 )
                                        current2 -> posXY[y][x] = 'o';
			}
 
			printBoard(player);
		}
 
		go = 0;
 
		while ( go == 0 ) //set patrol
		{
			printf("Setting Patrol Boat - %d blocks in length\n", current2 -> patrol);
			printBoard(player);
			printf("Choose the starting y location of your patrol boat: ");
			scanf("%d", &y);
			while ( y < 0 || y > 9 )
			{
				printf("\nChoose the starting y location of your patrol boat: ");
				scanf("%d", &y);
			}
 
			printf("\nChoose the starting x location of your patrol boat: ");
			scanf("%d", &x);
			while ( x < 0 || x > 9 )
			{
				printf("\nChoose the starting x location of your patrol boat: ");
				scanf("%d", &x);
			}
 
			if ( current2 -> posXY[y][x] == 'o' )
			{
				shipChar = 'P';				//placeShip uses this when checkSet() calls it
				current2 -> posXY[y][x] = shipChar;
 
				shipSize = current2 -> patrol;				//checkSet() uses this number for bounds
				go = checkSet(x, y, shipSize, player, shipChar, ai);	//check to see if space is open and within bounds of board
                                if ( go == 0 )
                                        current2 -> posXY[y][x] = 'o';
			}
 
			printBoard(player);
		}
	}
	else
	{
		srand(time(NULL));
		while ( go == 0 )	//set carrier
		{
			y = rand() % 10;
			x = rand() % 10;
 
			if ( current2 -> posXY[y][x] == 'o' )
			{
				shipChar = 'C';
				current2 -> posXY[y][x] = shipChar;
 
				shipSize = current2 -> carrier;
				go = checkSet(x, y, shipSize, player, shipChar, ai);
			}
		}
		//test
		go = 0;
 
		while ( go == 0 )	//set battleship
		{
			y = rand() % 10;
			x = rand() % 10;
 
			if ( current2 -> posXY[y][x] == 'o' )
			{
				shipChar = 'B';
				current2 -> posXY[y][x] = shipChar;
 
				shipSize = current2 -> battleship;
				go = checkSet(x, y, shipSize, player, shipChar, ai);
			}
		}
 
		go = 0;
 
		while ( go == 0 )	//set destroyer
		{
			x = rand() % 10;
			y = rand() % 10;
 
			if ( current2 -> posXY[y][x] == 'o' )
			{
				shipChar = 'D';
				current2 -> posXY[y][x] = shipChar;
 
				shipSize = current2 -> destroyer;
				go = checkSet(x, y, shipSize, player, shipChar, ai);
			}
		}
 
		go = 0;
 
		while ( go == 0 )	//set submarine
		{
			x = rand() % 10;
			y = rand() % 10;
 
			if ( current2 -> posXY[y][x] == 'o' )
			{
				shipChar = 'S';
				current2 -> posXY[y][x] = shipChar;
 
				shipSize = current2 -> submarine;
				go = checkSet(x, y, shipSize, player, shipChar, ai);
			}
		}
 
		go = 0;
 
		while ( go == 0 )	//set patrol boat
		{
			x = rand() % 10;
			y = rand() % 10;
 
			if ( current2 -> posXY[y][x] == 'o' )
			{
				shipChar = 'P';
				current2 -> posXY[y][x] = shipChar;
 
				shipSize = current2 -> patrol;
				go = checkSet(x, y, shipSize, player, shipChar, ai);
			}
		}
	}
 
return;
}

1 Parameters

Note there are parameters with this function. It receives two integers. The player variable is to allow the function to know which player to use. Without this it wouldn't know what current pointer to use. The ai variable is to allow the function to know if the ai called it. Because if it did, this is a special case. In part 3, the body section, this will be covered further.

2 Variables

The x and y variables are coordinates. These will hold the values at which you want to place the beginning of your ship. The shipSize variable holds the number which represents how many spaces the ship will take. For example: current1 → carrier is equal to 5. Therefore, shipSize = current1 → carrier. This variable (shipSize) is used to send to another function (checkSet). Next is the shipChar of data type char. This variable holds the character of which the ship will represent. In this case, I took the first character of each ship and that was the character for that ship (this worked because there were no repeats). Therfore, carrier is 'c', battleship is 'b', etc. Lastly, the variable go is a loop control variable.

3 Body

If a player called this function, then the if and else if of the selection structure are used. Within each loop (controlled by go) the player will select a y and an x coordinate at which they want their ship to start. Then, if the current position is open (if player 1 called it: current1 → posXY[y][x] == 'o') it will set the shipChar and set that position on the board to this character. Then the shipSize is calculated and checkSet function is called. This function is sent x, y, shipSize, player, shipChar, and ai. For now, all we need to know is that when control comes back to this function, a ship will have been placed. Then the next ship is started and the cycle repeats until the players last ship is set. The same goes for the other player. However, if the ai called this function there are some different methods to setting its ship. The ai portion is in the else part of the selection structure (towards the bottom). Note the srand(time(NULL)); line. This means random will be used. Which is why I had to include <time.h>. For each ship a y and an x is randomly selected. Other than that, this is the only difference.

• checkSet function checks the bounds of the ship and sets up the placement

int checkSet(int x, int y, int shipSize, int player, char shipChar, int ai)
{
	int right, left, up, down, a, z;
	int rightFlag = 1, leftFlag = 1, upFlag = 1, downFlag = 1; //1 if testable 0 if out of bounds
	int option;				//user input var
	int choice = -1;		//loop control var
	int available[4] = {0}; //used for condition statement (see bottom of if ( player == 1 ) for ex)
	int dirFlag;
 
	//calculating end position of ship
	right = (x + shipSize ) - 1;
	left = (x - shipSize ) + 1;
	up = (y - shipSize ) + 1;
	down = (y + shipSize ) - 1;
 
	if ( player == 1 )
	{
		//Checking for bounds and open spots - right
		if ( right < 0 || right > 9 )
			rightFlag = 0;
		else
		{
			z = x + 1;
			for ( a = 0; a < shipSize - 1; a++ )
			{
				if ( current1 -> posXY[y][z] != 'o' )
				{
					rightFlag = 0;
					break;
				}
				z++;
			}
		}
 
		//checking for bounds and open spots - left
		if ( left < 0 || left > 9 )
			leftFlag = 0;
		else
		{
			z = x - 1;
			for ( a = 0; a < shipSize - 1; a++ )
			{
				if ( current1 -> posXY[y][z] != 'o' )
				{
					leftFlag = 0;
					break;
				}
				z--;
			}
		}
 
		//checking for bounds and open spots - up
		if ( up < 0 || up > 9 )
			upFlag = 0;
		else
		{
			z = y - 1;
			for ( a = 0; a < shipSize - 1; a++ )
			{
				if ( current1 -> posXY[z][x] != 'o' )
				{
					upFlag = 0;
					break;
				}
				z--;
			}
		}
 
		//checking for bounds and open spots - down
		if ( down < 0 || down > 9 )
			downFlag = 0;
		else
		{
			z = y + 1;
			for ( a = 0; a < shipSize - 1; a++ )
			{
				if ( current1 -> posXY[z][x] != 'o' )
				{
					downFlag = 0;
					break;
				}
				z++;
			}
		}
 
		if ( upFlag == 0 && rightFlag == 0 && downFlag == 0 && leftFlag == 0 )
			return 0;	//0 is put into go var in setShip() if 0 don't go on and redo loop
	}
	else
	{
		//Checking for bounds and open spots - right
		if ( right < 0 || right > 9 )
			rightFlag = 0;
		else
		{
			z = x + 1;
			for ( a = 0; a < shipSize - 1; a++ )
			{
				if ( current2 -> posXY[y][z] != 'o' )
				{
					rightFlag = 0;
					break;
				}
				z++;
			}
		}
 
		//checking for bounds and open spots - left
		if ( left < 0 || left > 9 )
			leftFlag = 0;
		else
		{
			z = x - 1;
			for ( a = 0; a < shipSize - 1; a++ )
			{
				if ( current2 -> posXY[y][z] != 'o' )
				{
					leftFlag = 0;
					break;
				}
				z--;
			}
		}
 
		//checking for bounds and open spots - up
		if ( up < 0 || up > 9 )
			upFlag = 0;
		else
		{
			z = y - 1;
			for ( a = 0; a < shipSize - 1; a++ )
			{
				if ( current2 -> posXY[z][x] != 'o' )
				{
					upFlag = 0;
					break;
				}
				z--;
			}
		}
 
		//checking for bounds and open spots - down
		if ( down < 0 || down > 9 )
			downFlag = 0;
		else
		{
			z = y + 1;
			for ( a = 0; a < shipSize - 1; a++ )
			{
				if ( current2 -> posXY[z][x] != 'o' )
				{
					downFlag = 0;
					break;
				}
				z++;
			}
		}
 
		if ( upFlag == 0 && rightFlag == 0 && downFlag == 0 && leftFlag == 0 )
			return 0;	//0 is put into go var in setShip() if 0 don't go on and redo loop
	}
 
	if ( ai == 1 )
		option = rand() % 4;
 
	while ( choice != 0 )
	{
		if ( upFlag == 1 )
		{
			if ( ai == 0 )
				printf("0: End at: (%d, %d) - up\n", x, up);
			available[0] = 1;
		}
 
		if ( rightFlag == 1 )
		{
			if ( ai == 0 )
				printf("1: End at: (%d, %d) - right\n", right, y);
			available[1] = 1;
		}
 
		if ( downFlag == 1 )
		{
			if ( ai == 0 )
				printf("2: End at: (%d, %d) - down\n", x, down);
			available[2] = 1;
		}
 
		if ( leftFlag == 1 )
		{
			if ( ai == 0 )
				printf("3: End at: (%d, %d) - left\n", left, y);
			available[3] = 1;
		}
 
		if ( ai == 0 )
		{
			printf("Enter the corresponding number to place end of ship at: ");
			scanf("%d", &option);
 
			while ( option < 0 || option > 4 || available[option] == 0 )
			{
				printf("Enter the corresponding number to place end of ship at: ");
				scanf("%d", &option);
			}
		}
 
		if ( ai == 1 )
		{
			while ( available[option] == 0 )
				option = rand() % 3;
		}
 
		switch ( option )
		{
			case 0: dirFlag = 0;	//up
					placeShip(player, x, y, dirFlag, shipSize, shipChar);
					choice = 0;
					return 1;
 
			case 1: dirFlag = 1;	//right
					placeShip(player, x, y, dirFlag, shipSize, shipChar);
					choice = 0;
					return 1;
 
			case 2: dirFlag = 2;	//down
					placeShip(player, x, y, dirFlag, shipSize, shipChar);
					choice = 0;
					return 1;
 
			case 3: dirFlag = 3;	//left
					placeShip(player, x, y, dirFlag, shipSize, shipChar);
					choice = 0;
					return 1;
		}
	}
}

1 Parameters

The calling function (setShip) passed this function its x, y, shipSize, and shipChar. It also passes variables it was passed: player and ai (these two are unchanged).

2 Variables

The directional integer variables (right, left, up, down) will find the end of the ship. To explain this I'll give a mock y and x. Say I said y was 0 and x was 0 and I was trying to place the carrier (remember, the carrier is 5 blocks in length). the right variable would be 4, left would be -4, up would be -4 and down would be 4. Note the negative numbers. This case is tested for because if there is a negative number then we are out of bounds on the board. That leaves at least right and down. If there is no other ship in the way then these are two valid options. But more on this in the body. The variable a is a loop control variable and z is a coordinate. The directional integer variables that have “Flag” appended to them (ie: leftFlag, upFlag, etc) are variables that will hold 1 if the player can go in that direction and a 0 if they cannot. Option holds the user input (found at bottom). This input is for the direction they want to go. The choice variable is a loop control variable. The array of data type integer of 4 elements in size called available is used for the condition statement at the bottom. Each element represents the position that is available. It is initialized to 0 meaning none are available. However, when the rest of the code executes some or all of the elements will be set to 1. This is mainly used for the ai. The ai randomly chooses a number between 0 and 3 and that is the direction it will go. This direction is held in the dirFlag variable.

3 Body

The first steps are to calculate where the ship will end. That is what the first 4 lines are doing. They take the given x and y and add or subtract the shipSize and then add or subtract 1. The last addition/subtraction is done because the space at which the ship begins is included. If this was left out then every ship would be 1 block larger. After that It checks for bounds and open spots within these bounds. If the end position coordinate is out of the board then the directional flag (ie: rightFlag) is automatically set to 0 representing out of bounds. No further tests are made. However, if the number is within bounds, then it will search every element from the beginning to the end of the ship to make sure that it is open. If it is then the flag variable is set to 1 representing a valid direction. This is repeated for every ship and each player. If all of the flags are 0 then it returns control to the calling function, otherwise, it gives a menu of the available options. This is where you have to careful as a player using this. The options may not always count by 1. Just pay attention to the menu and you'll know what numbers are available to you. If the ai called this function then the option will be selected randomly with a number between 0 and 3. Once the player chooses their direction, the placeShip function is called and is passed player, x, y, dirFlag, shipSize, shipChar. Note, that option 4 will always be displayed and is the option to go back to selecting where you want your ship to start.

• placeShip function places the ship in the direction the user wanted

void placeShip(int player, int x, int y, int dirFlag, int shipSize, char shipChar)
{
	int a, z;
 
	if ( player == 1 )
	{
		if ( dirFlag == 0 ) //up
		{
			z = y - 1;
			for ( a = 0; a < shipSize - 1; a++ )
			{
				current1 -> posXY[z][x] = shipChar;
				z--;
			}
		}
 
		else if ( dirFlag == 1 ) //right
		{
			z = x + 1;
			for ( a = 0; a < shipSize - 1; a++ )
			{
				current1 -> posXY[y][z] = shipChar;
				z++;
			}
		}
 
		else if ( dirFlag == 2 ) //down
		{
			z = y + 1;
			for ( a = 0; a < shipSize - 1; a++ )
			{
				current1 -> posXY[z][x] = shipChar;
				z++;
			}
		}
 
		else //left
		{
			z = x - 1;
			for ( a = 0; a < shipSize - 1; a++ )
			{
				current1 -> posXY[y][z] = shipChar;
				z--;
			}
 
		}
	}
 
	else
	{
		if ( dirFlag == 0 ) //up
		{
			z = y - 1;
			for ( a = 0; a < shipSize - 1; a++ )
			{
				current2 -> posXY[z][x] = shipChar;
				z--;
			}
		}
 
		else if ( dirFlag == 1 ) //right
		{
			z = x + 1;
			for ( a = 0; a < shipSize - 1; a++ )
			{
				current2 -> posXY[y][z] = shipChar;
				z++;
			}
		}
 
		else if ( dirFlag == 2 ) //down
		{
			z = y + 1;
			for ( a = 0; a < shipSize - 1; a++ )
			{
				current2 -> posXY[z][x] = shipChar;
				z++;
			}
		}
 
		else //left
		{
			z = x - 1;
			for ( a = 0; a < shipSize - 1; a++ )
			{
				current2 -> posXY[y][z] = shipChar;
				z--;
			}
		}
	}
 
return;
}

1 Parameters

This function receives player, x, y, dirFlag, shipSize, and shipChar. Again player, x, and y are unchanged. The player represents who called it and x and y are the player's coordinates. The variable dirFlag represents the direction they chose, more on this in the body section. The shipSize is the number that represents the bounds of the ship (the ship's size). Finally, the shipChar is the character that represents the ship.

2 Variables

This function only has two variables and they are a and z of type integer. The variable a is a loop control variable and z is a place holder for a coordinate.

3 Body

Placing a ship is determined by the direction the player chose. Therefore, a nested selection structure represents each direction possible. If dirFlag is equal to 0, then the player went up, if 1 then right, if 2 then down, or 3 then left. This is repeated for both players. Z is the variable that is incremented or decremented depending on which way you went. For example, if you went up the z variable would go into the first bracket of posXY and be decremented after each iteration in the for loop. Since the board's origin is in the top left, you decrement the y to go up.

• printBoard prints the board where your ships are

void printBoard(int player)
{
	int x, y;
 
	if ( player == 1 )
	{
		for ( x = 0; x < ROWS; x++)
		{
			if ( x == 0 )
				printf("     0     1     2     3     4     5     6     7     8     9\n");
			printf("--------------------------------------------------------------\n");
			printf("%d |", x);
			for ( y = 0; y < COLS; y++ )
			{
				printf("  %c  |", current1 -> posXY[x][y]);
			}
				printf("\n");
		}
		printf("--------------------------------------------------------------\n");
	}
	else
	{
		for ( x = 0; x < ROWS; x++)
		{
			if ( x == 0 )
				printf("     0     1     2     3     4     5     6     7     8     9\n");
			printf("--------------------------------------------------------------\n");
			printf("%d |", x);
			for ( y = 0; y < COLS; y++ )
			{
				printf("  %c  |", current2 -> posXY[x][y]);
			}
				printf("\n");
		}
		printf("--------------------------------------------------------------\n");
	}
 
return;
}

1 Parameters

This function receives player as its only parameter. If it didn't receive this variable then it wouldn't know which board to print (player 1 or player 2's board).

2 Variables

This function only has two variables and they are x and y of the integer data type. These variables are loop control variables for the nested for loops that traverse the posXY two dimensional array current1 and current2 point to.

3 Body

Not much to say about this except to look at the code. It's pretty self explanatory. Within the outer for loop I test if x is equal to 0 because I want to print the column heading. Then it prints a dashed line and a pipe. Then in the inner for loop it displays a grid with each character and a row heading (the row's number).

• printAtkBoard prints where the player has attacked

void printAtkBoard(int player)
{
	int x, y;
 
	if ( player == 1 )
	{
		for ( x = 0; x < ROWS; x++)
		{
			if ( x == 0 )
				printf("     0     1     2     3     4     5     6     7     8     9\n");
			printf("--------------------------------------------------------------\n");
			printf("%d |", x);
			for ( y = 0; y < COLS; y++ )
			{
				printf("  %c  |", current1 -> attackXY[x][y]);
			}
				printf("\n");
		}
		printf("--------------------------------------------------------------\n");
	}
	else
	{
		for ( x = 0; x < ROWS; x++)
		{
			if ( x == 0 )
				printf("     0     1     2     3     4     5     6     7     8     9\n");
			printf("--------------------------------------------------------------\n");
			printf("%d |", x);
			for ( y = 0; y < COLS; y++ )
			{
				printf("  %c  |", current2 -> attackXY[x][y]);
			}
				printf("\n");
		}
		printf("--------------------------------------------------------------\n");
	}
 
return;
}