Dialog (software)

{{distinguish|dialog box}}

{{Infobox software

| name = dialog

| screenshot = Dialog-editbox.png

| caption = Dialog - editbox widget

| author = Savio Lam

| developer = Thomas Dickey

| latest release version = {{wikidata|property|preferred|references|edit|P348|P548=Q2804309}}

| latest release date = {{Start date and age|{{wikidata|qualifier|preferred|single|P348|P548=Q2804309|P577}}|df=yes}}

| released = 1994

| operating system = Unix, Linux, POSIX

| genre = Shell scripts

| license = LGPL

| website = {{Official URL}}

}}

Dialog is an application used in shell scripts which displays text user interface widgets. It uses the curses or ncurses library. The latter provides users with the ability to use a mouse, e.g., in an xterm.

Dialog was created by Savio Lam (first reported version 0.3 was in 1994).{{cite web

|url=http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/2750

|title=Interview with Patrick Volkerding

|author=Phil Hughes

|publisher=Linux Journal

|date=April 1994}}{{cite web

|url=http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/2807

|title=Dialog: An Introductory Tutorial

|author=Jeff Tranter

|publisher=Linux Journal

|date=September 1994

}}{{cite web

|url=http://www.ugcs.caltech.edu/manuals/manpages/man1/dialog.1/dialog.html

|title=Dialog 0.3 manual page

|date=1994-01-10

|access-date=2007-09-07

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060922093255/http://www.ugcs.caltech.edu/manuals/manpages/man1/dialog.1/dialog.html

|archive-date=2006-09-22

|url-status=dead

}}

It was further modified by several people.

Since 1999 it has been maintained (and rewritten) by Thomas Dickey.{{cite web

|url=http://invisible-island.net/dialog/CHANGES

|title=Dialog Change Log

}}

At least one fork exists,

a FreeBSD-only split into application and library in late 1994.{{cite web

|url=http://www.freebsd.org/cgi/cvsweb.cgi/src/gnu/usr.bin/dialog/

|title=FreeBSD CVS src/gnu/usr.bin/dialog/

}}{{cite web

|url=http://www.unix.com/man-page/FreeBSD/3/DIALOG/

|title=FreeBSD library manual for dialog

}} One might also consider lxdialog (part of menuconfig), except that it has been reduced to fragments that can no longer run dialog scripts.

There are several programs inspired by dialog; not all read the same scripts.

The most well-known are Xdialog and whiptail.