[ipxe-devel] menu commands

[Levente LEVAI]

> I'm glad you're all happy about this new feature. I've been thinking
> about it for a long time, but using echo/read/prompt always seemed like
> such a poor man's choice.
>

Now this is something that was missing from ipxe for quite a while.
I have created (hacked up really) a menu system and basic info boxes
using some black magic with settings about a year ago. I may send
the source if anybody is interested, but this solution is way cleaner.
What I miss is colors/attributes, submenus  and some control over
where the menu should appear but it seems to me a simple task to
add these.

I have been kicking around a general idea of adding some sort of
scriptable user interface to ipxe (something in the way of dialog in bash)
ever since the scripting engine got a boost by Michael adding features
like goto and labels. My question to the knowledgeable is: adding commands
to the core is the way or should there be an API to add extensions (or maybe
there but I do know about it)? After all ipxe is primarily a boot rom 
striving to
be small to fit into the space allocated for pxe roms. There is a second 
way we
(I myself for sure, but I think there are a good number of other people, 
too)
use it: kickstarting it from an existing (and, in my experience often 
defective)
bios pxe stack. In the second scenario size does not really matter but 
in the
first it may very well do. Adding commands to the core only may leave people
out of the game who wish to use the first scenario. For example in grub4dos
there seems to be a possibility to add "external" commands. My knowledge
of grub4dos source code is limited to the horror of trying to get DMI info
printed and must confess it took me quite a while to find my way through
a network of if-defs to the spot. The basic idea may, however worth
considering.

/levente