Text UI

Rational

Why a Text UI

• lots of servers don't have X11 installed
• serial console
• can't drop support (where there is one)

Requirements

• Python or Python bindings
• Unicode/UTF-8 support
• similar look and feel to the current (snack) UIs
• Managed Widgets
• Must cope with changing screen size (xterm)
• Must be simple to program
• must match paradigms found in the Gtk UIs

Urwid

We've looked at Urwid which

• has Unicode/UTF-8 support
• copes with changing screen size

Problems

• Constructor driven API makes dynamic interfaces difficult
• Some Callbacks are missing
• API is awkward and difficult to use
• Constructor driven
• Not all widgets fit into each other - needs a lot of care by the programmer
• Spacing is done in separate widgets (widget bloat)
• Lots of parameters needed to build widgets
• No sensitive default - because widgets are not smart enough to know
• Widgets are only partially managed
• Missing widget attributes
• sensitive
• visible (set_no_show_all?)
• No theming - only per widget colors (recursive)
• Some important widgets are missing (see below)
• Internal workflow is -- interesting

Widgets needed

• --- Not needed
• XXX missing/needs work

Other Text UIs

Other stuff we looked at

• Turbo Vision
• No Python bindings
• No unicode
• Not managed
• Snack
• Not Unicode capable
• Not managed
• Not much