Steeph's Web Site

Go To Navigation
Show/Hide Navigation

Entries tagged 'cat:Software' (Page 6)

My Atrocities to Vintage Hardware and Software

I've thrown away a lot of stuff over the time that I mourn now. This is just to say: I'm sorry!

I feel bad when I think back and remember some things that I had collected, didn't value back then, but miss now. I had a lot of computer hardware that wasn't worth anything at the time. (Like 386 and 486 stuff in the 2000s.) I'd love to play with some of the stuff today sometimes. I think it was a waste to throw them out knowing that nobody will ever use them again. There was also an IBM PS/1 in good condition. That would be a very nice thing to own for a retro computer fan today. (It already was back then.) I also had years worth of c't magazines that I had a subscription for for a while. I had my reasons. I didn't have room to store so much stuff. But still. Maybe I could have kept just a few more things.

Even worse is that I've thrown away quite a few floppy disks with very rare software. The things I wrote back then are one thing. Nobody has a copy of these programmes I'm sure. The collection of Prologue OS software is another. Prologue was a French UNIX-like (yes, I said UNIX-like) OS for industrial applications. As far as I know there is no successor in development or still supported. It's a piece of computer history that, due to the relatively small regional spread, is not at the forefront of vintage software archives. In fact I've never seen any software for Prologue nor a version of the OS itself anywhere on the internet. The collection contained multiple versions of the OS from I don't know how long of a time span and a range of applications. The source code for many applications was also there (because of a familial connection to the author). At least some of the floppies likely contained the last copy in existence of software that was once very important in the daily work of some people.

I'm sorry!

SBWG 0.8.9

Lately I'm making only slow progress with SBWG. I'm determined to make this something that I'm comfortable with sharing as 1.0.0 online. Something that works and could arguably be called a somewhat finished peace of software. That doesn't mean that the todo list won't be huge at the point I change the version number to 1.0.0. But it should be in a relatively good state for what I've decided it will encompass at version 1.0.0. "Relatively" because it's still also a learning project and I would write many things differently if I started over, which means I'll have to rewrite them at some point to be satisfied with SBWG.

So, the goal and roadmap is set for v0.9.0 and v1.0.0 and a large part of what is still to be done is documentation and other things I don't enjoy doing as much as starting to implement new features. I'm holding back on working on things that are not on that roadmap so that I don't introduce new bugs and the need of further testing. First I want to improve what SBWG can already do.

That means that there won't be many interesting changes in the coming weeks (or maybe even months). Today I've decided to call what I've currently got version 0.8.9 and publish it on the project page.

SBWG update - version 1.0 takes shape slowly

I rarely wrote updates on SBWG before now. I just worked on it whenever I had time and felt like it. And that was quite often. But this is my website where I want to feel fine with pretending that what I'm posting is of any real interest to anybody. So I may post more updates on what I did to approach my goals for SBWG 1.0 from now on. It is rare for me that I invest so much time in a single project. And since I'm starting this blog at the same time and want to fill it with a lot of content, it is time to combine the two.

Some things that I did and changed but didn't report on so far: The header format of entry and page source files has been changed completely (simplified), the generated HTML became more complete, the idea of a sourced settings file came (first to me, then reality), new tag types have been formed, the sorting of blog entries is much more mature now, many more customisation possibilities cropped up and I developed an overall vision of what SBWG will become.

The code grew so much over the time. But it was mostly for very good reasons. I'm feeling overall quite content with how clean the code became and how many contingencies I took into account. It's probably still not "professional" code. But it is a new level of professionalism for me and my Bash scripts. Should I ever come close to getting through all the tiny, small, irrelevant, important, stupid, huge, new and old to-dos, it would probably be quite presentable. So many small features have been added that I hadn't thought of when I startet to write SBWG. Multi-author blogs are supported now, tags can be substituted for icons, a basic RSS feed works, ...

SBWG - Topic Tagpage Sorting

The way tagpages of topic (top:) tags are displayed is pretty much complete and the way I intended it to look when I first thought of splitting blog entry tags into two tag types. Basically, categories (cat: tags) are like classic tags in blogs: a way to add keywords to entries and list all entries that are tagged with that keyword. Topic tags on the other hand are meant to tag entries that talk about a certain topic about which a visitor might want to read up regardless of when individual entries on the topic have been posted. A topic tapage represents an index on a topic. It lists all the entries that are relevant to the topic in a structured way. You could write a book, one chapter per blog entry and have it simultaniously presented as a weblog (with category tags) and as a orderly indexed book in which visitors up a certain chapter. I still have to make up my mind on how I want to structure my own blog entries. But the fuctionality in the software is there. I will very likely also add another feature that enables structuring entries and pages into custom menues. So the options for web site builders will be grand with this weird took.

Displaying Images In The Teminal

18.04.2021 11:27:01 steeph@fatty:~ 0 $ viu /mnt/happy/B/pony/pinkie.gif -h 37
▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄

I had a look around recently for a way to display images on a linux command line, e.g. to check image files over ssh quickly. Turns out there are several prominent projects. I shouldn't be surprised by that. But now I feel a bit stupid that that's apparently a pretty common idea that I could have had a lot sooner.

Anyway. I went with viu because it's easy to install and to use and doesn't require a graphics card or anything other than a terminal connection. It plays animated GIFs, supports more than 256 colours if the terminal does and is written in rust (for those who care, I guess). The image resolution isn't high (because it's actually text characters). But that's a trade-off I'm willing to take for the advantage that it works in a text-only terminal.

Simply install it with

cargo install viu

and use it like this:

viu image.jpg

or

viu /path/to/image/diretory/

(You may have to add your cargo bin directory to PATH first.)

Github: https://github.com/atanunq/viu

18.04.2021 11:38:59 steeph@fatty:~ 0 $ find /mnt/happy/B/dinge -iname *6*finger*hand*.jpg -exec viu -h 20 -t {} +
▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
▄▄▄▄▄
▄▄
▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄

There are other similar tools that use the framebuffer or aalib (ASCII art) to display images. But those aren't my first choice because I don't always have a framebuffer to write to and ASCII art in low resolution is a bit too little image quality sometimes.

But they have their advantages as well, so let me mention them at least.

img2sexel - Using sixels to accomplish higher resolution with text only. Sadly I don't always hava a terminal emulator that supports sixels.

fbvs (FrameBuffer Viewer Simple) - Also probably a very fine tool but not for my main use case. Maybe I would have used it if it had simply worked after installation.

FIM (fbi improved) - Supports framebuffer device method and several other graphical libraries as well as ASCII art.

lsix (Like "ls", but for images.) - I like that one a lot, too because it can display image thumbnails in a grid out of the box. But again, sixtel is not an option for me at the moment.

There are more, but those are the main ones I saw mentioned and recommended all over. fbi is an older one. There are implementations for some applications (w3m, mutt, VIM, ...) but I didn't look into those because I don't need them.