     FLIN(1)                                                             FLIN(1)
                                      13-Jul-95

     NAME
          flin - Flin's a Learners Interface to 'Nix Systems.

     SYNOPSIS
          flin [-hV] [-d delimiter] [-e escape]

     DESCRIPTION
          flin loads menu file and displays it. The menu is made up of any
          combination of token structures seperated by line breaks.

     OPTIONS
          -h   Print a help message and usage information.

          -V   Print version information and compile-time defaults.

          -d delimiter
               Set the delimiter character to delimiter.

          -e escape
               Set the escape character to escape.

          -c comment
               Set the comment character to comment.

          menu file
               Load menu from menu file.

     FILE FORMAT
          Note: I will be using `:' as the token delimiter, `\' as the escape
          character, and `#' as the comment character throughout this document.

          Flin files are made up of a series of token structures and directives.
          There is a limit of one token structure or directive per line.

          Lines beginning with `#' will be ignored by flin.
          Characters preceded by `\' will be treated literally by flin.

     Directives
          Directives tell flin how to interperet text. Currently flin only
          understands the Menu directive. Directives may not be nested.

          Menu name
               Starts a menu named name, all following lines will be
               interpereted as token structures until EndMenu is read.

                                        - 1 -           Formatted:  May 29, 2001

     FLIN(1)                                                             FLIN(1)
                                      13-Jul-95

     Token Structures
          Token structures are enclosed within a Menu directive, with one
          structure per line.  A token structure is made up of at least two
          fields separated by delimiters. The last field must end with a
          delimiter.  The format of the token structure is:

               Token:Name:Args:

          Where Token is the type of item to display, Name is the name of the
          item, and Args is the argument field. Not all tokens require the
          argument field, see the Tokens section for details.

          Tokens

               Title
                    Title inserts a non-selectable title line in the menu.
                         Title:Name:

               Nop  Nop inserts a non-selectable line in the menu, when blank
                    will display a line.
                         Nop:Name:
                         or
                         Nop::

               SubMenu
                    SubMenu creates a link to another menu named in the Args
                    field.
                         SubMenu:Name:Args:

               Exec Exec executes the Args field.
                         Exec:Name:Args:

               Args Args executes the Args field with user inputted command-line
                    arguments.  The optional Prompt field contains the prompt
                    for the dialog box.  Use with care! If you use this
                    improperly, you could open up a big security whole on your
                    system.
                         Args:Name:Args:Prompt:

               Exit Exit exits the current menu, returning to the previous menu.
                    If Exit is executed in the first menu loaded Flin will quit.
                         Exit:Name:

               Quit Exits flin.
                         Quit:Name:

                                        - 2 -           Formatted:  May 29, 2001

     FLIN(1)                                                             FLIN(1)
                                      13-Jul-95

     EXAMPLE MENU
          Here is an example menu (comment character is `#', delimiter is `:'):

               #
               #    test.menu - A sample menu for `flin'
               #             to try it out type:
               #             flin test.menu
               #

               # Startup Menu
               Menu Main
                   Title:Main Menu:
                   Nop::
                   SubMenu:File Utitities:File-Util:
                   SubMenu:Surf the 'Net:InterNet:
                   Exit:Logout:
               EndMenu

               # File utilities
               Menu File-Util
                   Title:File Menu:
                   Nop::
                   Exec:Directory listing:ls -F:
                   Exit:Back to Main Menu:
               EndMenu

               # Net `Surfing'
               Menu InterNet
                   Title:Internet:
                   Nop::
                   Exec:CyberMail:pine:
                   Nop:Anything's cooler if you prepend it with `cyber':
                   Exec:Telnet:telnet:
                   Exec:Ftp:ftp:
                   Exit:Back to Main Menu:
               EndMenu

     BUGS
          No! No! Never! Yes. A bit. She has got a wart.

     AUTHOR
          Brian Cully (shmit@kublai.com)

                                        - 3 -           Formatted:  May 29, 2001