[Maxlinux-devel] InceptionOS Setup and DialogML

[Kelledin <kel...@sk...>]

While scoping about for resources on programming setup dialogs, I 
came across the DialogML standard:

http://dialogml.sourceforge.net/

This looks like a big part of what we need for IOS setup--an 
XML-based markup language that takes a lot of the work out of 
setting up dialog boxes.  It's great for setup, and it's perfect 
for certain extra features I had envisioned for the IOS setup 
engine.

The catch?  DialogML just that--a markup language.  It needs an 
interpreter front-end to be of much use.  The default one that 
comes with it (STARTME awk script) is dreadfully ugly and rather 
non-intuitive.  The DialogML author is currently working on a 
better curses-based interpreter, but that's not even available 
in any form for public consumption.

In the end, I think that whatever we do for an installation tool, 
DialogML should be part of it.  If we proceed based on that, we 
hvae two choices: either wait for the author to finish the 
curses-based interpreter (and hope it's sufficient), or write 
our own interpreter.

-- 
Kelledin
"If a server crashes in a server farm and no one pings it, does 
it still cost four figures to fix?"