GraphTerm toolchain and features — GraphTerm 0.57.0 documentation

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# GraphTerm toolchain and features

Contents

- GraphTerm toolchain and features
  - Command Toolchain
  - Using the terminal
    - Visual cues
    - Navigating folders/opening files
    - Image and Icon display
    - Menu shortcuts
    - Command recall
    - Copy/paste
    - Drag and drop
    - Themes
    - Preferences
    - Choosing the terminal type
  - Slideshows, tracing etc.
    - Slideshows
    - Code tracing using Python Tutor
  - Webcasting, embedding, wildcards etc.
    - Webcasting
    - Embedding and remote terminal commands
    - Wildcard sessions and multiplexing
    - Multiple hosts

## Command Toolchain

GraphTerm is bundled with a command toolchain that allow access to many graphical features from the command line.

The toolchain commands can communicate with each other using pipes and may be written any language, e.g., Bash shell script, Python etc. The commands reside in the directory `$GTERM_DIR/bin` and include the following:

> `d3cloud [file]` Display file (or stdin) content as a word cloud (see Inline word cloud using d3.js)

> `gbrowse [filename|URL]` View files/URLs in a separate browser window

> `gcp source dest` Copy command supporting drag-and-drop for source/destination

> `gdownload filename(s)` Download piped data and files from terminal to desktop

> `gfeed` Display stdin input lines as a “feed”

> `gframe [-f] [filename|URL]` View files/URLs (or HTML from stdin) within an inline iframe (see Inline word cloud using d3.js)

> `gimage [-f] [filenames]` View images inline, or as a fullpage slideshow (with `-f` option)

> `gjs javascript command` Execute Javascript in the client browser

> `glandslide [options] file.md` A GraphTerm-aware version of Landslide, a web-based slideshow program (see Web slideshows using Landslide)

> `gload terminal_name` Load a new terminal in the current window

> `gls [-i] [filenames]` Generate clickable directory listing

> `gmatplot.py` An inline `matplotlib` plotting package (see Simple inline animation using matplotlib)

> `gmenu item subitem` To access the menubar from the command line

> `gncplot --variable=air --lon=0 --time=0 --lev=1000,0 air.mon.ltm.nc` 2-D visualization of variables from a netCDF file

> `gopen filename` To open a file using the OS-specific `open` command

> `gqrcode URL|text` Display inline QR code

> `greveal [options] file.md` A GraphTerm-aware interface to reveal.js, a web-based slideshow program

> `gsh terminal_name command args` Execute command in the specified terminal (all output appears in terminal_name

> `gsnowflake.py` An inline plotting demo for the SVG module `svgwrite`

> `gterm` Launch new GraphTerm windows (from outside browser)

> `gtutor [...] example.py` A command-line version of the Online Python Tutorial at pythontutor.com (see Code tracing using online version of Python Tutor)

> `gtweet [-s keywords] | tweet` To send, search, or receive tweets (see Live tweet stream using gtweet)

> `gupload [filename|directory]` Upload files from desktop into the terminal

> `gvi filename` Open file using a browser-based visual editor

> `hello_gterm.sh` Hello World program that displays inline HTML text and image

> `ystock stock_symbol` To view a graph of stock price history

> `yweather [location]` To view weather forecasts (see Graphical weather forecast using Yahoo Weather API)

## Using the terminal

### Visual cues

In the default theme, blue color denotes text that can be clicked or tapped (see ls vs. gls). The action triggered by clicking depends upon two factors, whether there is text in the current command line, and whether the Control modifier in the Footer menu is active. Click on the last displayed prompt to toggle display of the Footer menu. Clicking on other prompts toggles display of the command output (unless the Control modifier is used, in which case the entire command line is copied and pasted.)

### Navigating folders/opening files

You can navigate folders in GraphTerm just like you would do in a GUI, while retaining the ability to drop back to the CLI at any time. If the current command line is empty, clicking on a folder or filename displayed by the `gls` command will change the current directory to the folder, or cause the file to be opened. If you have typed anything at all in the current command line, even if it is just a space, the clicking action will cause text to be pasted into the command line, without any command being executed. You can edit the pasted text, then press the Enter key to execute it.

### Image and Icon display

To display images inline, use the `gimage` command. To activate icon display for commands like `gls`, select `view/icons` in the menubar. By default, `gls` does not display thumbnail icons of image files. (You can use `gls -i` to force thumbnail icon display, but it can be a bit slow if there are a large number of images.)

### Menu shortcuts

All the items in the top menubar can be accessed by typing Control-J followed by a single letter for each level of menu selection. The letter to be typed will be highlighted when you type Control-J and is usually, but not always, the first letter of the item name. For example, the sequence Control-J t c will select the menu item terminal/clear

The menubar can also be accessed from the command line, using the `gmenu` command, e.g.:

    gmenu terminal clear

A single-word menu name is typed to select each menu level, and preceding level names may be omitted, as long as there is no ambiguity, e.g.:

    gmenu clear

### Command recall

If the command line is empty, up/down arrows will use the underlying shell for command recall (like Control-P and Control-N). If the command line contains any text, including whitespace, up/down arrows will cause GraphTerm to search for matching previous commands that begin with the text already typed (ignoring any leading whitespace). You can use the right arrow to complete the recalled command (for editing) or use the Enter key to execute it. Typing any other key, including the left arrow, will cancel the command recall process.

### Copy/paste

For certain browsers (e.g., desktop Chrome/Firefox), the usual Command-V or Control-V key sequence should directly paste text from the clipboard. Alternatively, for some browsers, you can click on the cursor before beginning the paste operation and then paste the text directly. This second technique may not always work well for text copied from non-plain text sources, such as a web page. A workaround for this case is to paste the text into a temporary location as plain text (such as in a plain text editor), and then copy/paste it from there to GraphTerm.

If the above do not work, you can use the keyboard shortcut Control-O to open a popup window, paste the text into the popup window using the browser’s paste menu command or a keyboard shortcut, such as Command/Control-V, and then type Control-O again to insert the text at the GraphTerm cursor location. (The popup paste window can also be accessed using the terminal/paste special menu item.)

### Drag and drop

Sort of works! You can drag a filename (grabbing the icon does not work) and drop it on a folder, an executable, or even the command line in the same terminal or a different terminal. Graphical feedback for this operation is not properly implemented at this time. Just center the dragged filename over the icon for the destination folder/executable and let go! (Use the `gmenu icons` command to toggle icon display.) Look at the command line to see if the action completed properly. For drag-and-drop between two GraphTerm terminals running on the same host, the file will be moved to the destination folder. For terminals on two different hosts, the file will be copied. You can also drag files from your desktop and drop into GraphTerm terminal folders to upload files. (To download files, you need to click on a link generated by the `gdownload` command, or the `gls --download` option.)

### Themes

Themes, selected using the menubar, are a work in progress. There is a simple dark theme available, which can be modified by editing the file `graphterm/www/themes.dark.css`. The 3-D perspective theme is a very primitive implementation which only works on Chrome/Safari (see stars3d theme, with icons enabled).

### Preferences

Default terminal preferences, such as font size and themes, are stored in the file `gterm_prefs.json` in your home directory. The view/save menu option can be used to save the current terminal configuration as the default preference.

### Choosing the terminal type

The default terminal type is set to `xterm`, but it may not always work properly. You can also try out the terminal types `screen` or `linux`, which may work better for some purposes. You can use the `--term_type` option when running the server to set the default terminal type, or use the `export TERM=screen` command. (Fully supporting these terminal types is a work in progress.)

## Slideshows, tracing etc.

### Slideshows

The `glandslide` command, which is a slightly modified version of the web-based slideshow program Landslide, can be used to create a slideshow from Markdown (.md) or reStructured Text (.rst) files (see Web slideshows using Landslide). A few sample `.md` files are provided in the `$GTERM_DIR/bin/landslide` directory of the distribution. To view a slideshow about GraphTerm, type:

    glandslide -o $GTERM_DIR/bin/landslide/graphterm-talk1.md | gframe -f

Type `h` for help and `q` to quit the slideshow. (The unmodified Landslide program can also be used, but remote sharing will not work.)

The `greveal` command can be used to display Markdown files as slideshows using reveal.js:

    greveal $GTERM_DIR/bin/landslide/graphterm-talk1.md | gframe -f

Type `b` three times in quick succession to exit the slideshow.

The `gimage` command, which displays images inline, can also be used for slideshows and simple presentations. Just `cd` to a directory that has the images for a slideshow, and type:

    gimage -f

To select a subset of images in the directory, you can use a wildcard pattern. For publicly webcasting a slideshow, use the `-b` option. The convenience command `pdf2png` can be used to convert a PDF file to a set of images for viewing as a slide show:

    pdf2png slides.pdf; gimage -f slides-*.png

### Code tracing using Python Tutor

The command `gtutor` implements a command-line version of the Online Python Tutorial from pythontutor.com. It produces HTML output that can be piped to `gframe` for inline display (see Code tracing using online version of Python Tutor). To trace the execution of a sample program `example.py`, use it as follows:

    gtutor example.py | gframe -f

More sample programs may be found in the directory `$GTERM_DIR/bin/pytutor/example-code`. Of course, you can use `gtutor` to trace any other (small) python program as well. Type `gtutor -h` to display the command line options. Note: By default, `gtutor` accesses the browser CSS/JS files from pythontutor.com. To use `gtutor` in an offline-mode, you will need to specify the `--offline` option and also download the Online Python Tutorial code from GitHub and copy/rename the main source directory (currently `v3`) as `$GTERM_DIR/www/pytutor` so that GraphTerm can serve the CSS/JS files locally.

Advanced usage: You can embed tutorials within a Landslide/Markdown presentation by including an `iframe` HTML element in the presentation file, with the `src` attribute set to a graphterm URL, such as `http://localhost:8900/local/tutorial`. This will open up a graphterm window where you can either run `gtutor` interactively or use `gframe -f` to display an HTML file created previously using `gtutor`.

## Webcasting, embedding, wildcards etc.

### Webcasting

If you enable the share/webcast in the menubar, anyone can use the session URL to view the session, without the need for authentication, but will not be able to steal it. This feature is somewhat experimental; use it with caution to avoid exposing sensitive data.

### Embedding and remote terminal commands

Additional GraphTerm terminals can be embedded within any GraphTerm terminal. For example, the following command:

    gframe --border --terminal terma termb

creates two terminals, `terma` and `termb` and embeds them within the current terminal. The demo script metro.sh illustrates the embedding of multiple terminals, each running a different command (see screenshot metro.sh). Clicking on the black-and-white GT logo of an embedded terminal, or selecting the terminal/full option (or typing the keyboard shortcut), will expand it to fill the browser window.

The `metro.sh` script also demonstrates the use of the `gsh` command to execute commands remotely on a terminal, e.g.:

    gsh terma yweather -f austin

The terminal name argument for `gsh` can be a wildcard expression, e.g. `'term*'`. Unlike `ssh`, the `gsh` command does not display the output of the remote command. You will need to view it in the remote terminal. To load a remote terminal in the current browser window, you can use:

    gload terma

### Wildcard sessions and multiplexing

A terminal session path is of the form `session_host/session_name`. You can use the shell wildcard patterns `*, ?, []` in the session path. For example, you can open a wildcard session for multiple hosts using the URL:

    http://localhost:8900/*/tty1/?qauth=code

For normal shell terminals, a wildcard session will open a “blank” window, but any input you type in it will be broadcast to all sessions matching the pattern. (To receive visual feedback, you will need to view one or more of the matching sessions at the same time.)

For `otrace` debugging sessions of the form `*/osh`, GraphTerm will multiplex the input and output in wildcard terminals. Your input will be echoed and broadcast, and output from each of the matching sessions will be displayed, preceded by an identifying header (with the special string `ditto` used to indicate repeated output). See the otrace integration section for more information.

NOTE: Multiplexed input/output display cannot be easily implemented for regular shell terminals.

### Multiple hosts

More than one host can connect to the GraphTerm server. The `localhost` is connected by default (but this can be disabled using the `--nolocal` option). To connect an additional host, run the following command on the computer you wish to connect:

    gtermhost --server_addr=<serveraddr> <hostname>

where `serveraddr` is the address or name of the computer where the GraphTerm server is running. You can use the `--daemon=start` option to run the `gtermhost` command in the background. By default, the Graphterm server listens for host connections on port 8899. The multiple host feature should only be used within a secure network, not on the public internet.

NOTE: Unlike the `sshd` server, the `gtermhost` command is designed to be run by a normal user, not a privileged user. So different users can connect to the GraphTerm server on `localhost` pretending to be different “hosts” on the same computer. (If you are running a Python server, it can connect directly to the GraphTerm server as a “host”, allowing it to be dynamically introspected and debugged using otrace.)

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