Learning Linux Shell Scripting

Creating dialog boxes with the dialog utility

The dialog utility is used to create a basic level graphical user interface. We can use this in Shell script to create very useful programs.

To install the dialog utility in Debian or Ubuntu Linux, enter following command:

$ sudo apt-get update
$ sudo apt-get install l dialog

Similarly, enter the following command to install the utility dialog in CentOS or Red Hat Linux:

$ sudo yum install dialog

The typical syntax of the dialog command is as follows:

$ dialog --common-options --boxType "Text" Height Width \
                                  --box-specific-option

The common-options utility is used to set the background color, title, and so on in dialog boxes.

The option details are as follows:

• Text: The caption or contents of the box ...