Summary

Interactive shell scripts have a reputation for being dull and boring. You can change that by using a few different techniques and tools available on most Linux systems. First, you can create menu systems for your interactive scripts by using the case command and shell script functions.

The case command allows you to paint a menu, using the standard echo command, and read a response from the user, using the read command. The case command then selects the appropriate shell script function based on the value entered.

The dialog program provides several prebuilt text widgets for creating Windows-like objects on a text-based terminal emulator. You can create dialog boxes for displaying text, entering text, and choosing files and dates by using the dialog program. This helps bring even more life to your shell script.