User friendly shells for UNIX

[Doug Gwyn]

In article <811 at nisca.ircc.ohio-state.edu> bobd at hpuxa.ircc.ohio-state.edu writes:
-... who want to know if there are any "user friendly" shells for UNIX ...

These days you find that mostly in Graphical User Interfaces;
previously there has been at least one commercial "visual shell"
for character-cell CRTs, under the name "vsh" as I recall.

Amazingly, I've been told that some users actually like to use
the "Adventure shell" that I published some years ago.  If you
want a copy send me e-mail <Gwyn at BRL.MIL>.  Here is a sample session:

Script started on Mon Feb 26 17:31:42 1990
$ ash
You found a discarded empty knapsack.
Welcome to the Adventure shell!  Do you need instructions? yes

		Instructions for the Adventure shell

Welcome to the Adventure shell!  In this exploration of the UNIX file
system, I will act as your eyes and hands.  As you move around, I will
describe whatever is visible and will carry out your commands.  The
general form of a command is
	Verb Object Extra_stuff.
Most commands pay no attention to the "Extra_stuff", and many do not
need an "Object".  A typical command is
	get all
which picks up all files in the current "room" (directory).  You can
find out what you are carrying by typing the command
	inventory
The command "help" results in a full description of all commands that I
understand.  To quit the Adventure shell, type
	quit

There are UNIX monsters lurking in the background.  These are also
known as "commands with arguments".

Good luck!

Type a newline to continue: 
You are in your own home.  This room contains:
typescript
There are exits labeled:
News	       bin
as well as a passage overhead.
There are shadowy figures in the corner.
> help
I understand the following commands (synonyms in parentheses):

change OBJECT to NEW_NAME	changes the name of the object
clone OBJECT as NEW_NAME	duplicates the object
drop OBJECTS			leaves the objects in the room
enter (go) PASSAGE		takes the labeled passage
examine OBJECTS			describes the objects in detail
feed OBJECT to MONSTER		stuffs the object into a UNIX monster
get (take) OBJECTS		picks up the specified objects
gripe (bug)			report a problem with the Adventure shell
help				prints this summary
inventory (i)			tells what you are carrying
kill (destroy) OBJECTS		destroys the objects
look (l)			describes the room, including hidden objects
open (read) OBJECT		shows the contents of an object
quit (exit)			leaves the Adventure shell
resurrect OBJECTS		attempts to restore dead objects
steal OBJECT from MONSTER	obtains the object from a UNIX monster
throw OBJECT at daemon		feeds the object to the printer daemon
up				takes the overhead passage
wake MONSTER			awakens a UNIX monster
where (w)			tells you where you are
xyzzy				moves you to your home
> look
The room contains:
typescript     .envX	      .logout	     .oldnewsrc	    .rnlast
..funcs	       .funcs	      .mpxrc	     .pnewsexpert   .rnlock
..newsrc       .history	      .myxban	     .profile	    .rnsoft
.article       .joverc	      .myxstart	     .rhosts	    .sendrc
.dmdrc	       .layers	      .newsrc	     .rnhead	    .shbind
.env	       .layersrc
There are exits plainly labeled:
News	       bin	      .knapsack	     .limbo
and a passage directly overhead.
> examine .rnhead
Upon close inspection of the .rnhead, you see:
-rw-r--r--   1 gwyn     vld         1187 Feb 26 17:23 .rnhead
> steal data from echo ok mac
The echo monster drops the data.
> open data
Opening the data reveals:
ok mac
> get data
data: taken.
> enter News
You squeeze through the passage.
You have entered /vld/gwyn/News.  The room looks empty.
There is a passage overhead.
> drop data
data: dropped.
> clone data as foo
Poof!  When the smoke clears, you see the new foo.
> get all
data: taken.
foo: taken.
> inventory
Your knapsack contains:
foo	       data
> drop foo
foo: dropped.
> kill foo
The foo cannot defend himself; he dies.
> look
The room is empty.
The only exit is directly overhead.
> resurrect foo
The foo staggers to his feet.
> look
The room contains:
foo
The only exit is directly overhead.
> clone foo as bar
Poof!  When the smoke clears, you see the new bar.
> throw foo at daemon
The daemon catches the foo, turns it into paper,
and leaves it in the basket.
> feed foo to wc -l
I see no foo here.
> feed bar to wc -l
     27
The wc monster devours your bar.
> up
You pull yourself up a level.
You are in your own home.  This room contains:
typescript
There are exits labeled:
News	       bin
as well as a passage overhead.
There are shadowy figures in the corner.
> quit
Do you really want to quit now? y
The contents of your knapsack will still be there next time.
See you later!
$ exit
script done on Mon Feb 26 17:36:04 1990