::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::Mar/99 ::: The Discordant Opposition Journal ::: Issue 3 - File 4 ::: :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :the adventure shell: Rue-the-Day Frightened of the command line? Bored with bash, tired of tcsh? You need a new shell! A shell with features. A friendly shell. The 'Adventure Shell'. I've done a bit of research into this, it's a subject that I've been curious about since I first heard of it. So what is the 'adventure shell'? Basically it's a shell that has a 'text based game' interface, kind of like 'Paranoia' or any of those games.. It was originally a hoax, a practical joke pulled on gullible users. Eventually it became something of a myth, it does exist though. The myth was around for so long that over the years a few people have actually taken the time to write versions of adsh. For instance here's what happened when I set /bin/adsh as my shell on my 'rue' account: ph33r login: rue Password: You are in a directory called "rue". To the north is a directory called "home". > examine Examine what? > examine icmplog.c I see no icmplog.c here. > move /home/rueful You are in a directory called "/home/rueful" > look You are in a directory called "rueful". To the north is a directory called "home". > alias cd move up north q exit quit exit inv inventory inventory echo "You are carrying:" ; >exit You died by committing suicide. You scored a total of 15 points. The above extract is from an older implementation of the Adventure Shell, I'm trying to find a more up to date one that actually works, it's not easy. The Adventure Shell can supposedly be used as an easier way to use the unix command line for those who don't like the impersonalness of csh or even bash. I'm a little skeptical as to whether it could actually be used seriously or not myself though. Here's a notification of mail from another version: A disembodied voice says: "You have mail." You are in /usr/src. $ open mailbox There are 5 letters here: 1 from frank dated Feb 2, 1999 about netnews 2 sally Feb 14, 1999 Valentine's Day Is it all a joke? Nope, the Adventure Shell really does exist, it can be quite buggy but it certainly is of some vague interest. Give it a look, at http://kipper.york.ac.uk and see what you think. Tune in next time when I begin to find adsh irritating and 'commit suicide' some more.