From mboxrd@z Thu Jan  1 00:00:00 1970
Message-ID: <389246c56d6a78a742491c7538382d3d@9srv.net>
To: 9fans@9fans.net
Date: Wed, 16 Jul 2008 02:11:34 -0400
From: a@9srv.net
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Subject: [9fans] web plumbing on OS X drawterm
Topicbox-Message-UUID: e77c593e-ead3-11e9-9d60-3106f5b1d025

OS X has this command 'open', which I'm told exists or is
available on other unixes. It's about as close as you get to
'plumb' when in foreign lands. You call it like 'open
http://9fans.net' or 'open /etc/passwd' and it does more
or less what you'd expect, finding (usually) the right app.

I mostly get to my Plan 9 cpu servers via drawterm from
my OS X laptop these days (9vx soon, once I get a
comfortable environment there). I have a script that
calls drawterm with the right arguments. I just added
this to the script:
	mkfifo /tmp/open.fifo
	while () {open `{cat open.fifo}}
I also have a srcipt on the Plan 9 side, 'web':
	#!/bin/rc

	fifoname=/mnt/term/tmp/open.fifo

	if (test -e $fifoname)
		echo $* > $fifoname
	if not
		lynx2txt $*
(for those unfamiliar, lynx2txt is like wurl2txt, but using
fgb's lynx port instead of hget to get things like tables).
So now 'web http://9fans.net' on my Plan 9 box opens up
a Safari window. Stick that in a plumbing rule and I can
now click on urls in my drawterm'd acme and have a
Safari window come up.

It's pretty nice, and took all of about two minutes. Maybe
useful for others.
Anthony