Announcing the LacMenuLauncher utility

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Announcing the Linux Air Combat Menu Launcher

In late Sep2023 we developed a new companion program, named "LacMenuLauncher", that will accompany Linux Air Combat hereafter. It is a menu-based tool that automates editing LAC's hidden ~home/.LAC/LacConfig.txt file and then launches LAC for you. Here is a description, taken directly from its own "help" facility:

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This is the Linux Air Combat Menu Launcher, written in 2023-24 by Robert J. Bosen,
publisher of the AskMisterWizard.com web site.

It is needed by Linux Air Combat users whose desktop LINUX systems are incompatible
with the menus that are built into Linux Air Combat (LAC).

It expects to find a copy of LAC (version 8.49 or later) installed according to the
usual pattern at /usr/bin/lac.

It also expects to have regular access to the well-known firefox web browser.

This program displays simple, text-based menus that are similar to LAC's built-in
menus and which allow you to specify all of the same details to configure the way
LAC works on your hardware and to designate your choice of aircraft, realm, team,
mission, launch location, and CommunityHandle.

Selection of a mission is of PARTICULAR IMPORTANCE because it automates traversal of
the menu logic that is unresponsive within LAC's built-in menus. This is the primary
purpose for which this LacMenuLauncher was created. Until a default mission is
designated, there is no easy way to overcome LAC's failure to respond to mouse clicks
on its built-in menu buttons.

As you make menu decisions, this program gradually builds up a command line matching
your choices, according to the command line arguments described when you invoke lac
without this menu launcher, through a bash shell, with the -help argument.

It is commonplace to make several passes through the menus, gradually building up
your command line, with one or more options to be applied when you run LAC.

As the new command line is built, it is displayed for examination. When you are
happy with it, you can use main menu item e to execute it. LAC will immediately
start up, configured according to your choices.

When you finish your LAC session, you are returned back to this LAC Menu Launcher,
which you can continue to use to manage LAC according to the manner that others use
through its built-in menus.

Note that LAC remembers your configuration. Once set up to your liking, you can re-
launch it with a command line that simply designates: lac

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As you can see from the above description, the new "LacMenuLauncher" is a sofware utility that essentially duplicates LAC's internal menus. Install LAC first. If LAC's menus respond to your mouse clicks properly, you don't need the LacMenuLauncher.

If you need it, you will find it compatible! As a small, simple, text-based, external program relying only on foundational tools that have always been at the core of LINUX, it does not suffer from the mysterious incompatibilities that have sometimes rendered LAC's legacy menus useless.

Here is what LacMenuLauncher's main menu looks like:



   Linux Air Combat Menu Launcher


   Here is the command line at present:

   ==================================================
   lac 
   ==================================================


   MAIN MENU:

   a   HELP (WHAT IS THIS MENU LAUNCHER?)
   b   SETUP OPTIONS
   c   CHOOSE YOUR AIRCRAFT
   d   MISSION OPTIONS
   e   RUN LAC BY EXECUTING COMMAND LINE WITH OPTIONS SHOWN ABOVE
   f   RESET COMMAND LINE (ERASE ALL OPTIONS)
   g   ONLINE DOCUMENTATION

   h   EXIT

   Designate your choice from a, b, c, d, e, f, g, or h: 

As you can see, the functionality is similar to the familiar menus that have long been offered by Linux Air Combat. Anybody having trouble activating any of those internal menu facilities will be able to use the LacMenuLauncher instead.

Download it from our SourceForge download pages according to the usual pattern. Here's a direct link to the latest production version:

https://sourceforge.net/projects/linuxaircombat/files/Choose%20Your%20Platform/LacMenuLauncher/

You will probably need to compile this LacMenuLauncher program from source code. Fortunately this is VERY easy because there is only one source code file, named "main.c", and there are no external dependencies beyond those found in ordinary desktop LINUX distros.

Of course, the first step is to ensure that your desktop LINUX setup is equipped with the usual and customary "C" compiler and associated, basic development tools. If your distro doesn't automatically come with these tools, you can usually get them all by installing the free, well-known "build-essential" package. On Ubuntu desktop LINUX, the following command line, issued from a bash shell, should suffice:

sudo apt update && sudo apt install build-essential -y

If you can compile ANYTHING (even the classic "helloworld.c" training example), you're ready!

Accordingly, to compile and run LacMenuLauncher from a bash shell after downloading the free source code, just follow these five simple steps:

1- cd to the directory containing the source code.

2- Issue the following command:

cc main.c

3- Verify that it produced an executable named "a.out".

4- Rename a.out to "LacMenuLauncher" with this command:

mv a.out LacMenuLauncher

5- Execute LacMenuLauncher by typing its name, preceded by "./" according to longstanding LINUX/UNIX norms:

./LacMenuLauncher

We just published a new YouTube PlayList with detailed instructions on downloading, installing, and configuring the new version of LAC with this new LacMenuLauncher, including step-by-step instructions for the way we integrated both into the menus of our modern desktop LINUX distro for easy activation. Here's the link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H03frBW1YjQ&list=PL1IYes9MY6lIw1rq19ewc5siwHg8u8NX3

As you can see from those video clips, you will probably find it convenient to use "root" privileges to store a copy at /usr/bin/LacMenuLauncher, and you may also want to integrate it into your desktop LINUX main menu for easy access.

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We just upgraded version 08 of the LacMenuLauncher from "BETA TEST" to "PRODUCTION" status, and we just created a new production download folder for it. Accordingly, hereafter you will always be able to download the current production version here:

https://sourceforge.net/projects/linuxaircombat/files/Choose%20Your%20Platform/LacMenuLauncher/

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We just published new version 11 of the LacMenuLauncher for beta testing in conjuction with new beta-test version 9.49 of LAC. You can always find our latest beta-test software here:

https://sourceforge.net/projects/linuxaircombat/files/Choose%20Your%20Platform/BetaTestVersions/

As always, you can easily learn the details of these changes from our online ChangeLog page here:

https://askmisterwizard.com/2019/LinuxAirCombat/LinuxAirCombatChangeLog.htm

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Further details about the LacMenuLauncher can be found in FAQ #67 within our LacFAQ page. Here's a link to that page:

https://askmisterwizard.com/2019/LinuxAirCombat/LacFaq.htm

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We just created a new forum, entitled "LacMenuLauncher", to facilitate interactive discussion. Find it here:

https://sourceforge.net/p/linuxaircombat/discussion/lacmenulauncher/

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We just published new version 12 of the LacMenuLauncher. You can find it in our "Beta-Test" downloads page, according to the usual pattern, here:

https://sourceforge.net/projects/linuxaircombat/files/Choose%20Your%20Platform/BetaTestVersions/

As always, you can learn what has changed from our online ChangeLog page here:

http://askmisterwizard.com/2019/LinuxAirCombat/LinuxAirCombatChangeLog.htm

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It's ESSENTIAL to designate a default mission with LacMenuLauncher if your updated version of desktop LINUX is incompatible with LAC's built-in menus. This is done from main menu item "d".

All of the other features of LacMenuLauncher are secondary to this, because unless a "default mission" is designated, your copy of LAC will appear to be frozen and unresponsive to mouse clicks on menu buttons.

Designating a default mission solves this incompatibility because it automates LAC's traversal of menus so you will never need to click on any of LAC's built-in menu buttons.

Our LacMenuLauncher can handle many little LAC-related tasks, but the essential task is designation of a default mission through main menu item "d". Don't skip that step!

(Of course, once you designate a default mission as described above and run LAC at least once afterward, LAC will remember the default mission (and anything else you've designated) and re-use those same settings until you change them.)

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As of late Dec2023 we promoted LacMenuLauncher version 12 to "Production" status. Accordingly, it has been removed from the "Beta Test" download page. You can always find the latest production version of our LacMenuLauncher here:

https://sourceforge.net/projects/linuxaircombat/files/Choose%20Your%20Platform/LacMenuLauncher/

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We just released version 13 of the LacMenuLauncher for production use. It is identical to version 12 except for improved "help" text displayed when you use its main menu to select "HELP (WHAT IS THIS MENU LAUNCHER?)".