From: root@candle.uucp (Bruce Momjian)
Subject: Testers Wanted: shm(shell layer manager) and condump/restore
Organization: a consultant's basement
Date: Fri, 21 Aug 1992 05:33:49 GMT
X-Newsreader: Tin 1.1 PL5

I am looking for testers for my programs.  All three are distributed in
one 45K shar file.  Please e-mail if you want to test this and I will
e-mail you a copy.  I am hoping for a public release to
comp.sources.misc/unix by mid-September.   

Here are the details:

                             *   *   *

	shm - shell layer manager
	condump/restore - dump/restore console screen contents

INTRODUCTION  

Shm allows a user at any terminal to create multiple shell sessions and
to switch between them.  It is designed as an improved 'shl'.
Specifically: 

	       1) shm allows quicker switching and layer creation, using
	          simple key sequence. Each sequence starts with your
	          swtch(switch) character, which is usually ^Z, but may 
	          be redefined using stty.

               2) when run from the console, shm saves the screen
                  contents of each layer between switches, like SCO's
                  multi-screens 

	       3) shm allows the specification of one or more programs
	          to be placed in separate layers upon startup.

	       4) shm starts up in a layer, not at an shm prompt.
	          In fact, there is no shm prompt, and all commands 
	          conclude by re-activating another layer.

	       5) shm clears the screen when switching layers, and
	          automatically exits when all layers have exited.


Condump/restore allows you to pipe the contents of the console screen
into a file, and print or restore it later.

PLATFORMS
Any system that has sxt devices, like System V and Xenix, should be able
to run this program.  It does not work under some SVr4 because of an sxt
bug. If your 'shl' command allows you to create shells and do 'ls'
commands, this program should work for you too.

INSTALLATION  
Edit the Makefile and config.h, type 'make', then  'make install'.  

If you desire to have shm without condump or restore, merely edit
config.h to undefine USE_CONDUMP, and remove the links to condump and
conrestore after installation.

If you desire condump and conrestore without shm, copy Make.con_only to
Makefile and tdo your 'make' and 'make install'.

DEBUGGING
I think you can possibly have three types of problems.  Here they are,
and here's how to deal with them.

- shm hangs - 
compile with DEBUG defined and look in a file called 'shm_debug.log' in
the current directory to see the last debug line it reached.  Add more
'DB;' calls to the code and try again until you have found the line it
is getting hung on.  Then, if you can't find the problem, e-mail me with
the source code line and I will try to figure it out.  Telling me the
line number probably wouldn't help because after you add all those DB's,
the line numbering is going to change.

- you exit shm but processes are still running on your sxt devices -
Let me know the circumstances of this.

- program works on console but not on dumb terminals -
- multi-screens broke -
- compile problems -
Let me know about these.

BUGS, COMMENTS
send to Bruce Momjian, root%candle.uucp@bts.com 

-- 
Bruce Momjian                      |  830 Blythe Avenue
root%candle.uucp@bts.com           |  Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania 19026 
                                   |  (215) 353-9879(w)  853-3000(h)