Tim Mcd wrote: > Nit Khair wrote: >> Tim Mcd wrote: >>> Matthew Moss wrote: > Yeah, it's tough finding proper ruby documentation on Ncurses. I've just > been using the Ncurses book linked at the ruby-ncurses site. That is > written for C coding tho, so it's a bit hard porting it over. Panels? > Enlighten me please! 1. The only documentation on ncurses-ruby is the README file the author gives. 2. The only documentation on ncurses is a large file with sample C program by one Pradeep Padala which comes up on searching google. It is pretty comprehensive but mainly examples - no real-world stuff. 3. Usually, I just grep thru the source, esp form_wrap.c and ncurses.rb. 4. Another useful source is "man" (if you are using *nix). This can give you explanations of methods. I use it quite a bit. Forgive my cut-pasting from "man panel" - will explain after: ---- Panels are curses(3X) windows with the added feature of depth. Panel functions allow the use of stacked windows and ensure the proper portions of each window and the curses stdscr window are hidden or displayed when panels are added, moved, modified or removed. The set of currently visible panels is the stack of panels. The stdscr window is beneath all panels, and is not considered part of the stack. A window is associated with every panel. The panel routines enable you to create, move, hide, and show panels, as well as position a panel at any desired location in the stack. Panel routines are a functional layer added to curses(3X), make only high-level curses calls, and work anywhere terminfo curses does. ---- Basically, in my app i have a main menu, which calls various programs and when you return from any program, you come back to the main menu - its precisely like "alpine". So when Menu calls Contracts, and you return from Contracts, you want your Menu screen like it was, not with stuff from Contracts all over. This is best done using panels. A window gives you a panel. When you remove the panel whats below is automatically there without your repainting etc. Pretty neat and efficient compared to many apps I have seen recently that used windows or stdscr and had to do all this jugglery themselves. Here's some snips of code to make it clear: my_form_win = WINDOW.new(rows_to_show,0,startrow ,0) my_panel = my_form_win.new_panel Ncurses::Panel.update_panels In line 2, I create a panel from my window. Pls note that these will go into instance variables so the caller can destroy them later - V IMP. Finally, I have a method "free_all" which frees the fields etc. It also has: Ncurses::Panel.del_panel(@panel) if !@panel.nil? @window.delwin if !@window.nil? The rest of the time, you actually can forget you created a panel, and just keep writing on the window. ==== Now in your game, i can guess when you jump levels you really don't want the user to come back (like a stack). However, you could be popping up a help screen, or a screen where the user can select weapons ... and then come back to the main screen. So its best to wrap those windows in panels as shown above. The freeing can be put/called in an ensure block. Also, you may have some side or bottom panels showing scores, weapons, time, lives etc. These are best implemented by putting a panel at the bottom or side. The snakes game i made was based on the sample code from the Pickaxe and used only stdscr -- quite ugly if you ask me and it was only one screen anyway. However, some folks have actually managed to build an entire app using stdscr only ("sup", iirc). "raggle" otoh uses windows but not panels, so he has to implement some kind of global array of windows, so he can pop and push. I don't know their experience in implementing it - was it clean or did they lose a lot of hair. i can tell you panels *are* a clean way to implement layered windows. -- Posted via http://www.ruby-forum.com/.