Re: ANNOUCE: gTrouble - New project

["Matt Greenfield" <matthewg clear net nz>]

Sounds like an excellent plan to me :)  Maybe then I'd be able to contribute
to gnome by writing some trouble shooters, rather than just posting
opinionated rants in here...

FWIW, I think Micros~1 actually did quite a nice job with their trouble
shooter in Win98 etc, so stealing some interface ideas from there probably
couldn't hurt..

Matt

----- Original Message -----
From: Tom Gilbert <gilbertt@tomgilbert.freeserve.co.uk>
To: Gnome list <gnome-list@gnome.org>
Sent: Thursday, September 23, 1999 9:35 AM
Subject: ANNOUCE: gTrouble - New project


> Hi folks,
>
> Screen-shooter's going v1.0 after another day of testing, so I thought
> I'd start something new.
>
> gTrouble will be a flexible extensible trouble-shooting application,
> reading guides from sgml files, and walking users through the
> contents. An example sgml file is included at the bottom of this mail
> to show the kind of thing I hope to achieve.
>
> I wanted to check noone was doing anything similar, and to get some
> feedback/suggestions _before_ I started, to save me re-doing stuff
> later.
>
> I'm going for sgml as its easy to create a nice structure, and structure
> is going to be important in these things. Also, I figured i18n wouldn't be
> too hard, as sed is our friend ;)
>
> However, I am by no means an sgml guru, and so would like some help
> nailing this side of things down.
>
> The plan is that gTrouble will be called with the name of the guide to
> be loaded. If it is not, it will present a list of all guides
> installed.
>
> Guides would be self contained sgml files, installed into
> /usr/share/gnome/help/guides or something like that. Although they
> would be self contained, they would be able to reference external
> files, such as html help.
>
> gTrouble would provide a library of test routines for use in guides,
> so (as in the example below) tests such as file existence /
> permissions / program versions etc could be implemented in addition
> to asking the user questions.
>
> So, an application writer could write a single guide file for his app,
> install it with his Makefile, and gTrouble would do the rest.
> Non-programmers would be able to contribute by writing guides, etc.
>
> Guides will be able to link to other guides, will be multi-level
> capable, going back and forwards as necessary. The sgml syntax must be
> able to cope with this...
>
> I want the sgml syntax to be _crystal_ clear, so the example below is
> not set in stone. I'm not even sure its any good at all.
> I want suggestions for additions/changes/removals before I start any
> parsing code. (I'll get going on the ui in the meantime). The idea is
> to minimise work for people _writing_ guides, I don't care if it means
> extra work for me...
>
> So, once you've read the example below, let me know what you think,
> and most of all, tell me if you think there's any point. I'd hate to
> waste my time on this...
>
> btw. If you think the gTrouble name sucks, you know the routine. Send
> me a better one, and I'll use it ;)
>
> Tom.
>
> <!--
> - This is a short example of the sgml syntax I propose
> - Purely to inspire feedback/contribution
> - This is a "I can't connect using gnome-ppp" guide
> -->
>
> <guide app="gnome-ppp" name="Trouble connecting using gnome-ppp"
> ref="gnome-ppp-connect">
>
> <intro>
> <para>This guide will talk you through problems connecting using
gnome-ppp</para>
> </intro>
>
> <page ref="modem">
>    <question ref="is_modem_connected">
>    <qtext>
>        <para>Is your modem correctly connected?</para>
>    </qtext>
>    <choice label="Yes" action="Q_next"></choice>
>    <choice label="No" action="goto_page" target="connect_modem"></choice>
>    <tellmehow>
>        <para>Test this by examining the connections at the back of your
>        modem (if it is external). This is a simple example, so that's
>        as far as I go</para>
>    </tellmehow>
>    </question>
> </page>
>
> <page ref="modem_type2">
>     <question ref="modem_type">
>         <qtext>
>             <para>What kind of modem is installed in your machine?</para>
>         </qtext>
>         <choice label="Internal ISA" action="Q_next"></choice>
>         <choice label="Internal PCI" action="goto_page"
target="UhOh-Winmodem"></choice>
>         <choice label="External Serial" action="Q_next"></choice>
>         <choice label="Internal PCMIA" action="goto_page"
target="PCMIA_modem"></choice>
>        <choice label="Other" action="Q_next"></choice>
>         <tellmehow>
>             <para>How to tell what type of modem you have .....</para>
>         </tellmehow>
>     </question>
> </page>
>
>
> <page ref="pppd">
>     <question ref="is_pppd_installed">
>         <qtext>
>             <para>Is pppd installed on your machine?</para>
>         </qtext>
>         <choice label="Yes" action="Q_next"></choice>
>         <choice label="No" action="goto_page"
target="install_pppd"></choice>
>         <tellmehow>
>            <para>Type pppd --version, and see if you get any output. If
you
>            have a redhat system, you can query the ppp rpm using rpm -V
ppp</para>
>         </tellmehow>
>         <test type="executable" target="pppd" ifposchoice="Yes"
ifnegchoice="No">
>           <testtext>
>              <para>This can be automatically tested for you if you
wish</para>
>           </testtext>
>         </test>
>     </question>
> </page>
>
>
> <page ref="PCMIA_modem">
>     <question ref="pcmia_probs">
>         <para>Do you have any problems with other PCMIA devices? </para>
>     </question>
>     <!-- Continues -->
> </page>
>
> <!-- Lots more pages, lots more questions -->
> <!-- Now some answers -->
>
> <page ref="connect_modem">
>     <answer terminal="true">
>        <para>So plug it in!</para>
>     </answer>
> </page>
>
> <page ref="install_pppd">
>     <answer terminal="true">
>         <para>pppd can be downloaded from {link to html}, instructions for
>         installing it can be found here {link to another guide}</para>
>     </answer>
> </page>
>
> </guide>
>
> --
>             .-------------------------------------------------------.
>     .^.     | Tom Gilbert, England | tom@tomgilbert.freeserve.co.uk |
>     /V\     |----------------------| www.tomgilbert.freeserve.co.uk |
>    // \\    | Sites I recommend:   `--------------------------------|
>   /(   )\   | www.freshmeat.net www.enlightenment.org www.gnome.org |
>    ^^-^^    `-------------------------------------------------------'
>
>
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