kibitz
KIBITZ(1) KIBITZ(1)
NAME
kibitz - allow two people to interact with one shell
SYNOPSIS
kibitz [ kibitz-args ] user [ program program-args... ]
kibitz [ kibitz-args ] user@host [ program program-args... ]
INTRODUCTION
kibitz allows two (or more) people to interact with one shell (or any
arbitrary program). Uses include:
· A novice user can ask an expert user for help. Using kib-
itz, the expert can see what the user is doing, and offer
advice or show how to do it right.
· By running kibitz and then starting a full-screen editor,
people may carry out a conversation, retaining the ability
to scroll backwards, save the entire conversation, or even
edit it while in progress.
· People can team up on games, document editing, or other
cooperative tasks where each person has strengths and weak-
nesses that complement one another.
USAGE
To start kibitz, user1 runs kibitz with the argument of the user to
kibitz. For example:
kibitz user2
kibitz starts a new shell (or another program, if given on the command
line), while prompting user2 to run kibitz. If user2 runs kibitz as
directed, the keystrokes of both users become the input of the shell.
Similarly, both users receive the output from the shell.
To terminate kibitz it suffices to terminate the shell itself. For
example, if either user types ^D (and the shell accepts this to be
EOF), the shell terminates followed by kibitz.
Normally, all characters are passed uninterpreted. However, if the
escape character (described when kibitz starts) is issued, the user
may talk directly to the kibitz interpreter. Any Expect(1) or Tcl(3)
commands may be given. Also, job control may be used while in the
interpreter, to, for example, suspend or restart kibitz.
Various processes can provide various effects. For example, you can
emulate a two-way write(1) session with the command:
kibitz user2 sleep 1000000
ARGUMENTS
kibitz takes arguments, these should also be separated by whitespace.
The -noproc flag runs kibitz with no process underneath. Characters
are passed to the other kibitz. This is particularly useful for con-
necting multiple interactive processes together. In this mode, char-
acters are not echoed back to the typist.
-noescape disables the escape character.
-escape char sets the escape character. The default escape character
is ^].
-silent turns off informational messages describing what kibitz is
doing to initiate a connection.
-tty ttyname defines the tty to which the invitation should be sent.
If you start kibitz to user2 on a remote computer, kibitz performs a
rlogin to the remote computer with your current username. The flag
-proxy username causes rlogin to use username for the remote login
(e.g. if your account on the remote computer has a different user-
name). If the -proxy flag is not given, kibitz tries to determine your
current username by (in that order) inspecting the environment vari-
ables USER and LOGNAME, then by using the commands whoami and logname.
The arguments -noescape and -escape can also be given by user2 when
prompted to run kibitz.
MORE THAN TWO USERS
The current implementation of kibitz explicitly understands only two
users, however, it is nonetheless possible to have a three (or more)
-way kibitz, by kibitzing another kibitz. For example, the following
command runs kibitz with the current user, user2, and user3:
% kibitz user2 kibitz user3
Additional users may be added by simply appending more "kibitz user"
commands.
The xkibitz script is similar to kibitz but supports the ability to
add additional users (and drop them) dynamically.
CAVEATS
kibitz assumes the 2nd user has the same terminal type and size as the
1st user. If this assumption is incorrect, graphical programs may
display oddly.
kibitz handles character graphics, but cannot handle bitmapped graph-
ics. Thus,
% xterm -e kibitz will work
% kibitz xterm will not work
However, you can get the effect of the latter command by using xkibitz
(see SEE ALSO below). kibitz uses the same permissions as used by
rlogin, rsh, etc. Thus, you can only kibitz to users at hosts for
which you can rlogin. Similarly, kibitz will prompt for a password on
the remote host if rlogin would.
If you kibitz to users at remote hosts, kibitz needs to distinguish
your prompt from other things that may precede it during login. (Ide-
ally, the end of it is preferred but any part should suffice.) If you
have an unusual prompt, set the environment variable EXPECT_PROMPT to
an egrep(1)-style regular expression. Brackets should be preceded
with one backslash in ranges, and three backslashes for literal brack-
ets. The default prompt r.e. is "($|%|#) ".
kibitz requires the kibitz program on both hosts. kibitz requires
expect(1).
By comparison, the xkibitz script uses the X authorization mechanism
for inter-host communication so it does not need to login, recognize
your prompt, or require kibitz on the remote host. It does however
need permission to access the other X servers.
BUGS
An early version of Sun’s tmpfs had a bug in it that causes kibitz to
blow up. If kibitz reports "error flushing ...: Is a directory" ask
Sun for patch #100174.
If your Expect is not compiled with multiple-process support (i.e.,
you do not have a working select or poll), you will not be able to run
kibitz.
ENVIRONMENT
The environment variable SHELL is used to determine the shell to
start, if no other program is given on the command line.
If the environment variable EXPECT_PROMPT exists, it is taken as a
regular expression which matches the end of your login prompt (but
does not otherwise occur while logging in). See also CAVEATS above.
If the environment variables USER or LOGNAME are defined, they are
used to determine the current user name for a kibitz to a remote com-
puter. See description of the -proxy option in ARGUMENTS above.
SEE ALSO
Tcl(3), libexpect(3), xkibitz(1)
"Exploring Expect: A Tcl-Based Toolkit for Automating Interactive Pro-
grams" by Don Libes, O’Reilly and Associates, January 1995.
"Kibitz - Connecting Multiple Interactive Programs Together", by Don
Libes, Software - Practice & Experience, John Wiley & Sons, West Sus-
sex, England, Vol. 23, No. 5, May, 1993.
AUTHOR
Don Libes, National Institute of Standards and Technology
kibitz is in the public domain. NIST and I would appreciate credit if
this program or parts of it are used.
19 October 1994 KIBITZ(1)
