Intro(1fmli)

Intro -- introduction to Form and Menu Language Interface (FMLI) commands

Description

The Form and Menu Language is a programming language for writing scripts that define how an application will be presented to users. The syntax of the Form and Menu Language is similar to that of the UNIX system shell programming language, and includes the following: variable setting and evaluation, built-in commands and functions, use of and escape from special characters, redirection of input and output, conditional statements, interrupt signal handling, and the ability to set various terminal attributes. The Form and Menu Language also includes sets of ``descriptors'' that are used to define or customize attributes of frames and other features of your application.

The Form and Menu Language Interpreter, fmli(1), is a command interpreter that operates similarly to the command interpreter sh(1). It sets up and controls the video display screen on a terminal, using instructions from your scripts to supplement FMLI's terminal-independent screen control mechanisms. It controls many aspects of screen management for you, and lets you quickly define an application interface that uses menus and forms. FMLI scripts can also invoke other programs, either in the background or in full screen mode. At run time it parses the scripts you have written, giving you the advantages of quick prototyping and easy maintenance.

References

``Introduction to the Form and Menu Language Interpreter (FMLI)'' in Character user interface programming

Standards conformance

The FMLI commands are not part of any currently supported standard.