Change Set:		automate.user.inputs-jrp
Date:			4 October 2004
Author:			John Pierce

When performing batch processing activities, like a configuration
script that I've worked up to auto-build my Squeak images with my
favorite programs, you will inevitably run into SqueakMap packages,
Monticello packages, and other programs that require user input during
their installation.

This changeset will add an enhancement to PopUpMenu and
FillInTheBlankMorph such that they can request answers to their
questions by signaling a ProvideAnswerNotification.  On BlockContext I
provide helpers to catch this notification and look for an appropriate
answer in one of the provided parameters.  The basic syntax looks
like:

	[self confirm: 'Install spyware?'] valueSupplyingAnswer: #('Install
spyware?' false)

There a few variants on this theme making it easy to provide a literal
list of answers for the block so that you can handle a bunch of
questions in a block with appropriate answers.

Additionally, I make it possible to suppress Object>>inform: modal
messages as these get in the way of automated batch scripts.  After
applying this changeset you should be able to tryout the following
code snippets to see the variants I made available.

Note:  I could be convinced that the 'helpers' should not be on
BlockContext, but I started there as it was the simplest syntax and,
thus, my first choice.  For advanced usage, check out my configuration
script that auto-builds a fresh 3.7 image at:
www.saltypickle.com/Home/xp and most definitely needs this sort of
automation.

Examples:

So you don't need any introduction here -- this one works like usual.
[self inform: 'hello'. #done] value.

Now lets suppress all inform: messages.
[self inform: 'hello'; inform: 'there'. #done] valueSuppressingAllMessages.

Here we can just suppress a single inform: message.
[self inform: 'hi'; inform: 'there'. #done] valueSuppressingMessages: #('there')

Here you see how you can suppress a list of messages.
[self inform: 'hi'; inform: 'there'; inform: 'bill'. #done]
valueSuppressingMessages: #('hi' 'there')

Enough about inform:, let's look at confirm:. As you see this one
works as expected.
[self confirm: 'You like Squeak?'] value

Let's supply answers to one of the questions -- check out the return value.
[{self confirm: 'You like Smalltalk?'. self confirm: 'You like Squeak?'}]
	valueSupplyingAnswer: #('You like Smalltalk?' true)

Here we supply answers using only substrings of the questions (for simplicity).
[{self confirm: 'You like Squeak?'. self confirm: 'You like MVC?'}]
	valueSupplyingAnswers: #( ('Squeak' true) ('MVC' false) )

This time let's answer all questions exactly the same way.
[{self confirm: 'You like Squeak?'. self confirm: 'You like Morphic?'}]
	valueSupplyingAnswer: true
	
And, of course, we can answer FillInTheBlank questions in the same manner.
[FillInTheBlank request: 'What day is it?']
	valueSupplyingAnswer: 'the first day of the rest of your life'
	
We can also return whatever the initialAnswer of the FillInTheBlank
was by using the #default answer.
[FillInTheBlank request: 'What day is it?' initialAnswer: DateAndTime
now dayOfWeekName]
	valueSupplyingAnswer: #default
	
Finally, I made it so you can also do regex matches on any of the
question text (or inform text).
[FillInTheBlank request: 'What day is it?']
	valueSupplyingAnswers: { {'What day.*\?'. DateAndTime now dayOfWeekName} }


Regards,

John

-- 
Three failures denote uncommon strength. A weakling has not enough
grit to fail thrice. -- Minna Thomas Antrim
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