Multiseat Ubuntu

Chances are you have prefered method of indentation for any script or program code you may write, be it X number of spaces, or tabs with a defined width. However, depending on the type of file you are working on, be it a shell script, a make file, php, html, C/C++ source, etc, certain scripts interpreters or compilers require a specific method for indentation, where others simply don't care. However, because of this hard indentation requirement, it is nice to be able to visually see with a quick glance, what indentation method was used in this file or that file. Enter the list characters configuration settings of VIM. List characters allow you to define special characters to be displayed on the screen when you type a tab, a newline, or have trailing spaces at the end of a line. By default, list chars are defined as a ^I with a series of spaces for tabs, a $ as an end of line marker, and trailing spaces are shown as spaces. To turn on list characters, type :set list. The list characters themselves can be defined using :set listchars= and using tab: to specify the character for tab, eol: for end of lines, and trail: for trailing spaces. For example, try set listchars=tab:\|-,eol:⏎,trail:☠. Tabs will start with a | (vertical bar), and any subsequent character spaces of the tab will be filled with a -, so |— would display for a tab that is 4 characters wide. The ⏎ character will mark the end of each line. Lastly, one or more ☠ characters will display all of the trailing spaces between the last no space character, and the ⏎ signifying the end of the line. Furthermore, you can change the color of list chars, by setting the highlight color for NonText, and SpecialKey. NotText would change the colorization of end of line characters, and SpecialKey is used for tabs & trailing spaces. As an example, highlight NonText ctermbg=234 ctermfg=238 cterm=none, would give the eol character a dark greyish color, on a darker grey background.

See the known problems section of Multiseat Ubuntu.

As I find the time, I would like to seize the opportunity to combine: http://lab46.corning-cc.edu/documentation/vim, http://lab46.corning-cc.edu/user/bh011695/start/vimtutorial, the above list chars information, and more .vimrc hacks into a single, well-styled, useable VIM resource.

The Multiseat USB configuration as it currently is works well, but suffers from a few limitations, this would be a perfect area to spend some time improving what is already there, so as to resolve some of the known issues, or implement some of the “it would be cool, if…” ideas that have been coming from peoples mouths since it placed under beta testing.

The multiseat stuff is without a doubt some of the most meaningful stuff I've done in my time here at CCC. Yes, the original displaylink project was cool, and the touchscreen stuff showed some promise, but multiseat is infinitely more pertinent to the overall scope of HPC in general, and it's a great enhancement to the LAIR.

The only unfavorable thing I have to take away from the course is not having found adequate time to play with some of the other toys in the LAIR. So many things can could be done, and there just wasn't enough time in my schedule to play.

Fact: I'd like to have an “A” on my transcript. Do I really deserve it? It's hard for me to say. Between school, work, and family, I was over-committed, and as a result, I really did not have the opportunity to allocate as much time to my school work as a student who didn't have the added responsibilities of work and family to contend with. What time I did use, I felt like I made some useful contributions to the LAIR, that others will have the potential to benefit from for a while to come. But, I also feel that I could have done a whole lot more, if daily life would have allowed it. In short, I learned some very useful things, and made some positive contributions. Is it “A” worthy? I'd like to hope so.