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I want to boot Linux directly to an HTML menu that I have prepared for
the users of the machine. Is this possible?

Thanks,

mark

L. Mark Bruffey wrote:

> I want to boot Linux directly to an HTML menu that I have prepared for
> the users of the machine. Is this possible?

Yes, but it won't be easy. How familiar are you with system programming?

--
Paul Lutus
http://www.arachnoid.com

On 25 Aug 2004 18:09:39 -0700, L. Mark Bruffey <mbruffey@centralseminary.edu> wrote:
>
>
> I want to boot Linux directly to an HTML menu that I have prepared for
> the users of the machine. Is this possible?
>
> Thanks,
>
> mark

Off the top of my head, you'd need to install a cgi-enabled webserver and have
bash --> X call a browser with your webpage, and the links there would run
cgi scripts through the server.

There are better ways to do this. I'm a console guy, so I use text scripts,
but I think you need to look into Tcl/Tk or some similar graphical object/
widget language to write pretty X applications.

AC

On 25 Aug 2004 18:09:39 -0700, L. Mark Bruffey wrote:
> I want to boot Linux directly to an HTML menu that I have prepared for
> the users of the machine. Is this possible?

Then put
mozilla file:///your/dir/torun/index.html
exit
in each users .bash_profile

Bit Twister <BitTwister@localhost.localdomain> wrote in message news:<slrnciqo5e.67a.BitTwister@wb.home.invalid>.. .
> On 25 Aug 2004 18:09:39 -0700, L. Mark Bruffey wrote:
> > I want to boot Linux directly to an HTML menu that I have prepared for
> > the users of the machine. Is this possible?
>
> Then put
> mozilla file:///your/dir/torun/index.html
> exit
> in each users .bash_profile

This option is probably what I will have to resort to, because I am
not at all a programmer. I'll probably use firefox if I can figure out
how to lock it down sufficiently.

Thanks sincerely for all help.

mark

mbruffey@centralseminary.edu (L. Mark Bruffey) wrote in message news:<49faa831.0408251709.677feaaa@posting.google. com>...
> I want to boot Linux directly to an HTML menu that I have prepared for
> the users of the machine. Is this possible?
>
> Thanks,
>
> mark

Do you mean an html based _login_ menu? A menu that users see _after_
they have logged in?

I can think of no good reason to do the first -- you would have to
hook into the login code and/or display manager code if users will be
using X -- both are very tricky to get right.

If you want to offer up a list of users for a point and click login --
bad idea! Everyone will see who has an account on the machine ...
Other security problems too numerous to mention -- it's just not worth
it.

If the second, that's a different story. Bit Twister gave you the
basic idea you need.

BTW, I assume this is for:
http://www.centralseminary.edu/
If you could relate "why" you want to do this, we might be able to
provide a suitable approach -- or maybe not ;-)

regards,
prg
email above disabled

On 26 Aug 2004 08:20:51 -0700, L. Mark Bruffey <mbruffey@centralseminary.edu> wrote:
>
>
> Bit Twister <BitTwister@localhost.localdomain> wrote in message news:<slrnciqo5e.67a.BitTwister@wb.home.invalid>.. .
>> On 25 Aug 2004 18:09:39 -0700, L. Mark Bruffey wrote:
>> > I want to boot Linux directly to an HTML menu that I have prepared for
>> > the users of the machine. Is this possible?
>>
>> Then put
>> mozilla file:///your/dir/torun/index.html
>> exit
>> in each users .bash_profile
>
> This option is probably what I will have to resort to, because I am
> not at all a programmer. I'll probably use firefox if I can figure out
> how to lock it down sufficiently.
>
> Thanks sincerely for all help.
>
> mark

All you want to do is display an HTML menu that doesn't *do* anything?

Whatever for?

That isn't even a menu, it's a *list*.

AC

On Thu, 26 Aug 2004 17:14:11 GMT, Alan Connor <zzzzzz@xxx.yyy> wrote:
>
>
> On 26 Aug 2004 08:20:51 -0700, L. Mark Bruffey <mbruffey@centralseminary.edu> wrote:
>>
>>
>> Bit Twister <BitTwister@localhost.localdomain> wrote in message news:<slrnciqo5e.67a.BitTwister@wb.home.invalid>.. .
>>> On 25 Aug 2004 18:09:39 -0700, L. Mark Bruffey wrote:
>>> > I want to boot Linux directly to an HTML menu that I have prepared for
>>> > the users of the machine. Is this possible?
>>>
>>> Then put
>>> mozilla file:///your/dir/torun/index.html
>>> exit
>>> in each users .bash_profile
>>
>> This option is probably what I will have to resort to, because I am
>> not at all a programmer. I'll probably use firefox if I can figure out
>> how to lock it down sufficiently.
>>
>> Thanks sincerely for all help.
>>
>> mark
>
> All you want to do is display an HTML menu that doesn't *do* anything?
>
> Whatever for?
>
> That isn't even a menu, it's a *list*.
>
> AC
>
>

I just thought of a way that you could make that a real menu.

Let's say that you had a link on your menu.html that read "Connect to
Internet"

When your user clicked on that link they would get a new web page
that would say "Now Connecting to the Internet"

In the background you have a bash script looping over the output
of ps and when it spotted "mozilla file:///your/dir/torun/connect.html"
it would run your connect script and have mozilla re-display the menu.

Hey! It would be simple enough to write and would *work*.

:-)

AC

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In comp.os.linux.setup L. Mark Bruffey <mbruffey@centralseminary.edu> suggested:
> I want to boot Linux directly to an HTML menu that I have prepared for
> the users of the machine. Is this possible?

Sounds like the Kiosk-HOWTO (www.tldp.org) is what you want.

Good luck

--
Michael Heiming (GPG-Key ID: 0xEDD27B94)
mail: echo zvpunry@urvzvat.qr | perl -pe 'y/a-z/n-za-m/'
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>
> BTW, I assume this is for:
> http://www.centralseminary.edu/
> If you could relate "why" you want to do this, we might be able to
> provide a suitable approach -- or maybe not ;-)
>
> regards,
> prg
> email above disabled

Didn't mean to ignore that question, but have been extremely busy. I
want to set up a stand alone kiosk terminal to which students may
come, primarily for accessing indexing/bibliographic/opac information
at the circulation desk.

I actually have it configured to fetch web pages and also wine our M$
OPAC. (I'm testing a Linux/MySQL based OPAC called KOHA, but cannot
yet implement it fully.)

I figure a "blank" html page with just a bunch of links will do the
trick. I just need to eliminate the menu bar and the possibility fo
switching to other applications, etc.

I have discovered that KDE offers a KIOSK mode and intend to explore
that option. To date, I have created the html page as I want it and am
using Firefox Kiosk extension on the test platform.

Thank you again for your comments and suggestions.

Mark