
                                 perlmenu.pm
                              PerlMenu Package
                                 Version 4.0
                              February 17, 1997

                               Steven L. Kunz
                           Networked Applications
                  Iowa State University Computation Center
                            Iowa State University
                                 Ames,  Iowa
                  

PerlMenu - Perl library module for curses-based menus & data-entry templates
Copyright (C) 1992-97  Iowa State University Computation Center                        Ames, Iowa  (USA)

   This Perl library module is free software; you can redistribute it
   and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU Library General Public
   License (as published by the Free Software Foundation) or the
   Artistic License.

   This library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
   but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of 
   MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU
   Library General Public License for more details.

   You should have received a copy of the GNU Library General Public
   License along with this library; if not, write to the Free
   Software Foundation, Inc., 675 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.


--------
Overview
--------

  The "perlmenu.pm" package is a Perl5 package (built into your Perl program
  with a "use perlmenu.pm" command) that automates curses-based full screen
  menus and data entry.  It also functions under Perl4/curseperl.

  Using three simple calls, any number of items may be selected from a
  single or multiple-page menu by moving an arrow to the desired item (or
  directly entering the selection number displayed on the screen).  In
  addition to simple "single one-shot selection menus", "radio button" style
  menus and "multiple-item-selection" menus are provided.  Paging through
  multiple-page menus is handled automatically.  Menu titles, sub-titles,
  prompts, "single column", and "multiple column" menus are supported.

  Using two simple calls a full-screen data entry template may be loaded
  and a fully-titled data entry input screen may be created.  Defaults,
  maximum field lengths, and numeric-only data are supported.

  The "perlmenu.pm" package uses curses interface routine calls supplied by
  the Curses extension for Perl5 (you should be running AT LEAST Perl
  5.001).  A "menu.pl" package can be created which uses curses interface
  routine calls supplied by the "curseperl" package for Perl4.  All
  functions and features are identical whether you are using Perl4 or Perl5. 


------------------------------------
The Official PerlMenu WWW home page:
------------------------------------

  The official PerlMenu WWW home page (maintained by the author) is at:

      http://www.cc.iastate.edu/perlmenu/


----------------------------
Official Distribution Points
----------------------------

  The PerlMenu package is distributed via "CPAN" (the "Comprehensive Perl 
  Archive Network").  Pick a CPAN site near you with a WWW browser pointed
  at "http://www.perl.com/perl/CPAN/CPAN.html" and go into the
  "authors/Steven L Kunz" folder.  You should find "perlmenu.v4.0.tar.Z" in
  there.

  The author's official distribution is alos available via anonymous FTP
  from: 

      ftp://ftp.iastate.edu/pub/perl/perlmenu.v4.0.tar.Z

  New releases are announced in the Usenet newsgroups
  "comp.lang.perl.announce" and "comp.lang.perl.modules".  


----------------------
Distribution Contents
----------------------

This is "perlmenu.pm" - a set of perl routines that will perform full screen
menu functions using Perl5+Curses.  What you should have after unpacking
this package is the following:  

  ARTISTIC          Artistic License

  COPYING           Library GNU Public License

  FAQ               Frequently Asked Questions

  INSTALLATION      Guide to installing PerlMenus

  MENU_DOC          A user's guide to the perlmenu.pm routines.

  MENU_DOC          A user's guide to the menuutil.pl routines.

  README            (this file)

  RELEASE_NOTES     Differences between this version and previous versions.

  TO_DO             List of things on my "to do" sheet.

  create_menu.pl    Create a Perl4-style "menu.pl" module from the
                    Perl5-style "perlmenu.pm" module.  Used for legacy
                    applications under Perl4 or Perl5. 

  demo              A simple menu demo showing all several types of menu
                    selection capabilities (simple single-page, simple
                    multiple-page, radio-button, and multiple-selection). 

  demo_getstr       A simple menu demo using the "menu_getstr" routine.

  demo_template     A demo using the "menu_load_template" and
                    "menu_display_template" routines.

  demo_top          A simple menu demo with "top" menus.

  demo_util         A simple demo of the routines in "menuutil.pl".

  ezpasswd          A more involved demo showing how menu_getstr, menuutil.pl,
                    and templates can be used to display full-screen formatted
                    entries from a BSD-style /etc/password file.

  ezreg             A more involved demo showing how menu template routines 
                    can be used in a full-screen user registration panel
                    that a multiple required fields. 

  ezview            A more involved demo showing how menus can be used to call
                    routines, select files, etc.

  install_hints.pl  A small Perl5 program that helps you decide how to tweek
                    "perlmenu.pm" for use on your system (with your flavor
                    of termcap or terminfo).

  perlmenu.pm       The PerlMenu subroutines in a Perl5-style package (usually 
                    placed somewhere like /usr/local/lib/perl/perlmenu.pm). 
                    See also "create_menu.pl". 

  menuutil.pl       Some curses subroutines useful in constructing curseperl
                    transactions which use "perlmenu.pm".  These are purely
                    optional and are not needed for using PerlMenus
                    ("perlmenu.pm").  Shows some examples of "curses" 
                    programming techniques. 

  paint_text        A sample file used by "demo" to display bottom-titles
                    loaded from a file.

  template_data     A sample full-screen input template used by "demo_template"
                    to input name/address/phone data records.

  template_ezp      The display template used by ezpasswd.

  template_reg      The display template used by ezreg.

---
Steven L. Kunz
Networked Applications
Iowa State University Computation Center, Iowa State University, Ames  IA
INET: skunz@iastate.edu
