#Geek tools shell script examples how to#

The -date-format option must be followed by a format specifier. We can also customize the format of the date string returned when a selection is made. The date is set to our chosen start date rather than todayвЂ™s date. Now, the calendar displays our prompt and our window title. ChosenDate=$(zenity - calendar -text 'Choose a date' -title 'How-To Geek Rota' -day 1 - month 9 -year 2019) echo $ChosenDate In the previous example, it was printed and forgotten. Yes, we achieved the same result in the previous example, but here, we have the selected date stored in a variable. And weвЂ™re using echo $ChosenDate to print that date to the terminal window. WeвЂ™re using a variable called ChosenDate to capture the date returned from the calendar. вЂ“year: Sets the year thatвЂ™s selected when the calendar opens.вЂ“month : Sets the month thatвЂ™s selected when the calendar opens.вЂ“day: Sets the day thatвЂ™s selected when the calendar opens.вЂ“title: Sets the title of the calendar dialog window.It replaces the default, вЂњSelect a date from below.вЂќ вЂ“text: Specifies a string of text to display in the calendar.They must all be used with the double-dash вЂњвЂ“вЂќ flag: WeвЂ™ll use the following options with the calendar. WeвЂ™ll also customize the calendar slightly.

If weвЂ™re going to call this calendar from one of our scripts, we need to capture the selected date value so we can do something useful with it in our script. Printing the date to the terminal doesnвЂ™t do a lot for us. The GTK engine is warning the authors of zenityВ that theyвЂ™ve used a GTK component in a nonstandard way. Typically, such scripts donвЂ™t need much (if any) user interaction. If the only person whoвЂ™ll ever use the script is its author, the interface probably isnвЂ™t that important.В Nor does it matter for scripts that perform background and batch type processing. Of course, sometimes the interface doesnвЂ™t matter. The second complaint people have with Bash scripts is the user interface-itвЂ™s a terminal window. You can often knock together a quick script and use it to perform a task much more quickly than developing a solution in a compiled language, such as C. However, this is like complaining that a tractor isnвЂ™t as fast as a car theyвЂ™re meant for different things. Because the Bash shell interprets the commands in the script, they donвЂ™t execute as quickly as compiled code. There are two main complaints people have with Bash scripts, and the first is speed. This makes the coding, running, and debugging cycle quite efficient. As soon as youвЂ™ve edited the script file and made it executable, you can run it. Because itвЂ™s interpreted, you donвЂ™t need to compile your scripts. ItвЂ™s an easy language to start programming in. WeвЂ™ll show you how.Д«ash scripting is a powerful programming language and, because itвЂ™s built into the Bash shell, itвЂ™s readily available to everyone.

#Geek tools shell script examples how to#

Learn how to use the zenity toolkit and give your Bash scripts a facelift. You can use GUI windows, sliders, radio buttons, progress bars, and more in your Bash scripts.