6 # Copyright (C) 2010 Red Hat Inc.
8 # This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
9 # it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
10 # the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or
11 # (at your option) any later version.
13 # This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
14 # but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
15 # MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the
16 # GNU General Public License for more details.
18 # You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
19 # along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software
20 # Foundation, Inc., 675 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
29 use Cwd qw(getcwd abs_path);
30 use Glib qw(TRUE FALSE);
38 techtalk-pse - superior technical demonstration software
42 cd /path/to/talk/; techtalk-pse
44 techtalk-pse /path/to/talk/
48 Tech Talk "Platinum Supreme Edition" (PSE) is Linux Presentation
49 Software designed by technical people to give technical software
50 demonstrations to other technical people. It is designed to be simple
51 to use (for people who know how to use an editor and the command line)
52 and powerful, so that you can create informative, technically accurate
53 and entertaining talks and demonstrations.
55 Tech Talk PSE is good at opening editors at the right place, opening
56 shell prompts with preloaded history, compiling and running things
57 during the demonstration, displaying text, photos, figures and video.
59 Tech Talk PSE is I<bad> at slide effects, chart junk and bullet
62 This manual page covers all the documentation you will need to use
63 Tech Talk PSE. The next section covers running the tool from the
64 command line. After that there is a L</TUTORIAL> section to get you
65 started. Then there is a detailed L</REFERENCE> section. Finally
66 there is a discussion on L<WHAT MAKES A GOOD TALK>.
68 =head1 RUNNING THE TOOL FROM THE COMMAND LINE
70 A Tech Talk PSE talk is not a single file, but a directory full of
71 files. (If you want to start a new talk, see the L</TUTORIAL> section
72 below). To display or run the talk, change into the directory
73 containing all those files and run the C<techtalk-pse> command:
75 cd /path/to/talk/; techtalk-pse
77 You can also run C<techtalk-pse> without changing directory, instead
78 specifying the path to the talk:
80 techtalk-pse /path/to/talk/
92 Display brief help and exit.
100 Start at the last slide.
102 You cannot use this with the B<-n> / B<--start> option.
108 =item B<-n SLIDE> | B<--start SLIDE>
110 Start at the named slide. I<SLIDE> is the shortest unique prefix of
111 the slide name, so to start at a slide named
112 I<00010-introduction.html>, you could use I<-n 00010> or I<-n 00010-intro>,
113 or give the full filename I<-n 00010-introduction.html>.
115 The default is to start at the first slide in the talk.
123 Don't display the initial "splash" screen which advertises Tech Talk
124 PSE to your audience. Just go straight into the talk.
132 Display verbose messages, useful for debugging or tracing
133 what the program is doing.
141 Display version number and exit.
149 GetOptions ("help|?" => \$help,
151 "mozembed" => \$mozembed,
152 "mozembed-first" => \$mozembed_first,
153 "mozembed-last" => \$mozembed_last,
155 "splash!" => \$splash,
156 "start=s" => \$start,
157 "verbose" => \$verbose,
158 "version" => \$version,
165 pod2usage (1) if $help;
167 print "@PACKAGE@ @VERSION@\n";
170 die "techtalk-pse: cannot use --start and --last options together\n"
171 if defined $last && defined $start;
173 # Run with --mozembed: see below.
174 run_mozembed () if $mozembed;
176 # Normal run of the program.
177 die "techtalk-pse: too many arguments\n" if @ARGV >= 2;
179 # Get the true name of the program.
186 chdir $d or die "techtalk-pse: chdir: $d: $!";
188 # XXX In future allow people to specify an archive and unpack
190 die "techtalk-pse: argument is not a directory"
194 # Get the talk directory and set environment variable $talkdir
195 # which is inherited by all the scripts.
196 my $talkdir = getcwd;
197 $ENV{talkdir} = $talkdir;
207 foreach (glob ("*")) {
208 if (/^(\d+)(?:-.*)\.(html|sh)$/) {
209 print STDERR "reading $_\n" if $verbose;
213 warn "techtalk-pse: $_: command file is not executable (+x)\n"
214 if $ext eq "sh" && ! -x $_;
216 my $h = { name => $_, seq => $1, ext => $2, i => $i };
221 print STDERR "ignoring $_\n" if $verbose;
226 $files[0]->{first} = 1;
227 $files[$#files]->{last} = 1;
231 print STDERR "read ", 0+@files, " files\n" if $verbose;
233 warn "techtalk-pse: no files found, continuing anyway ...\n"
236 # Work out what slide we're starting on.
238 if (defined $current) {
239 die "start slide not implemented yet XXX"
242 $current = $files[0];
244 # else $current is undefined
247 my $w = Gtk2::AboutDialog->new;
248 $w->set_authors ("Richard W.M. Jones");
250 "Superior technical demonstration software\n"
252 $w->set_program_name ("Tech Talk Platinum Supreme Edition (PSE)");
253 $w->set_version ("@VERSION@");
254 $w->set_website ("http://people.redhat.com/~rjones");
255 $w->set_license ("GNU General Public License v2 or above");
257 print STDERR "calling \$w->destroy on about dialog\n" if $verbose;
260 # The dialog doesn't really get destroyed here. We have
261 # to add this hack to really destroy it.
262 Glib::Idle->add (sub { Gtk2->main_quit; return FALSE; });
267 if (defined $current) {
268 my $go = show_slide ($current);
270 print STDERR "go = $go\n" if $verbose;
271 last MAIN if $go eq "QUIT";
273 my $i = $current->{i};
274 print STDERR "i = $i\n" if $verbose;
275 $i-- if $go eq "PREV" && $i > 0;
276 $i++ if $go eq "NEXT" && $i+1 < @files;
277 $current = $files[$i];
280 print "No slides found. Press any key to reload directory ...\n";
284 # Reread directory between slides.
287 if (defined $current && !exists $files{$current->{name}}) {
288 # Current slide was deleted.
290 $current = $files[0] if @files;
298 # Display an HTML page.
299 if ($slide->{ext} eq "html") {
300 # MozEmbed is incredibly crashy, so we run ourself as a
301 # subprocess, so when it segfaults we don't care. If all goes
302 # well and it doesn't crash, it should print a line 'RESULT FOO'
303 # where 'FOO' is the instruction (eg. 'NEXT', 'PREV', 'QUIT' etc).
304 my @cmd = ($0, "--mozembed");
305 push @cmd, "--mozembed-first" if exists $slide->{first};
306 push @cmd, "--mozembed-last" if exists $slide->{last};
307 my $url = "file://$talkdir/" . $slide->{name};
309 print STDERR "running subcommand: ", join (" ", @cmd), "\n"
312 or die "failed to execute subcommand: ", join(" ", @cmd), ": $!\n";
315 if (/^RESULT ([A-Z]+.*)/) {
317 print STDERR "subcommand result: $r\n" if $verbose;
321 # No RESULT line? Subcommand probably segfaulted, just
322 # continue to next slide.
326 # Run a shell command.
327 elsif ($slide->{ext} eq "sh") {
329 # http://docstore.mik.ua/orelly/perl/cookbook/ch10_17.htm
330 local *run_process = sub {
332 die "fork: $!" unless defined $pid;
336 exec ("./".$slide->{name});
337 die "failed to execute command: ", $slide->{name}, ": $!";
341 local *kill_process = sub {
342 print STDERR "sending TERM signal to process group $pid\n"
350 my $w = Gtk2::Window->new ();
352 my $s = $w->get_screen;
353 $w->set_default_size ($s->get_width, -1);
355 $w->set_decorated (0);
357 my $bbox = Gtk2::HButtonBox->new ();
358 $bbox->set_layout ('start');
360 my $bnext = Gtk2::Button->new ("Next slide");
361 $bnext->signal_connect (clicked => sub { $r = "NEXT"; $w->destroy });
362 $bnext->set_sensitive (!(exists $slide->{last}));
365 my $bback = Gtk2::Button->new ("Back");
366 $bback->signal_connect (clicked => sub { $r = "PREV"; $w->destroy });
367 $bback->set_sensitive (!(exists $slide->{first}));
370 my $brestart = Gtk2::Button->new ("Kill & restart");
371 $brestart->signal_connect (clicked => sub {
375 $bbox->add ($brestart);
377 my $bquit = Gtk2::Button->new ("Quit");
378 $bquit->signal_connect (clicked => sub { $r = "QUIT"; $w->destroy });
380 $bbox->set_child_secondary ($bquit, 1);
384 $w->signal_connect (destroy => sub {
393 print STDERR "returning r=$r\n" if $verbose;
398 # If invoked with the --mozembed parameter then we just display a
399 # single page. This is just to prevent crashes in MozEmbed from
400 # killing the whole program.
403 my $w = Gtk2::Window->new ();
404 my $vbox = Gtk2::VBox->new ();
405 my $moz = Gtk2::MozEmbed->new ();
407 my $bbox = Gtk2::HButtonBox->new ();
408 $bbox->set_layout ('start');
410 $vbox->pack_start ($bbox, 0, 0, 0);
413 #$w->set_default_size (640, 480);
416 my $bnext = Gtk2::Button->new ("Next slide");
417 $bnext->signal_connect (clicked =>
418 sub { print "RESULT NEXT\n"; $w->destroy });
419 $bnext->set_sensitive (!$mozembed_last);
422 my $bback = Gtk2::Button->new ("Back");
423 $bback->signal_connect (clicked =>
424 sub { print "RESULT PREV\n"; $w->destroy });
425 $bback->set_sensitive (!$mozembed_first);
428 my $bquit = Gtk2::Button->new ("Quit");
429 $bquit->signal_connect (clicked =>
430 sub { print "RESULT QUIT\n"; $w->destroy });
432 $bbox->set_child_secondary ($bquit, 1);
434 $w->signal_connect (destroy => sub {
440 $moz->load_url ($ARGV[0]);
450 =head2 START WRITING A TALK
452 [Before you start writing your real talk, I urge you to read
453 L</WHAT MAKES A GOOD TALK> below].
455 To start your talk, all you have to do is to make a new directory
461 A tech talk consists of HTML files ("slides") and shell scripts. The
462 filenames must start with a number, followed optionally by a
463 description, followed by the extension (C<.html> or C<.sh>). So to
464 start our talk with two slides:
466 echo "This is the introduction" > 0010-introduction.html
467 echo "This is the second slide" > 0020-second.html
469 To run it, run the command from within the talk directory:
473 Any other file in the directory is ignored, so if you want to add
474 Makefiles, version control files etc, just go ahead.
476 =head2 TIPS FOR WRITING HTML
478 You may have your own techniques and tools for writing HTML, so
479 this section is just to share my ideas. I start every
480 HTML file with a standard stylesheet and Javascript header:
482 <link rel="stylesheet" href="style.css" type="text/css"/>
483 <script src="code.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
485 That just ensures that I can put common styling instructions for all
486 my slides in a single file (C<style.css>), and I have one place where
487 I can add all Javascript, if I need to use any (C<code.js>).
489 =head3 BACKGROUNDS, FONTS AND LOGOS
491 To add a common background and font size to all slides, put this in
496 background: url(background-image.jpg) no-repeat;
499 To add a logo in one corner:
502 background: url(logo.jpg) top right no-repeat;
505 =head3 SCALING AND CENTERING
507 Scaling slide text and images so that they appear at the same
508 proportionate size for any screen resolution can be done using
510 L<https://developer.mozilla.org/En/DOM/window.innerHeight>).
512 If you want to center text horizontally, use CSS, eg:
518 To center text vertically, CSS3 is supposed to offer a solution some
519 time, but while you're waiting for that try
520 L<http://www.w3.org/Style/Examples/007/center#vertical>.
522 =head3 PREVIEWING HTML
524 I find it helpful to have Firefox open to display the HTML files and
525 styles as I edit them. Just start firefox in the talk directory:
527 firefox file://$(pwd) &
529 When you edit an HTML file, click the Firefox reload button to
530 immediately see your changes.
532 Tech Talk PSE uses Mozilla embedding to display HTML, which uses the
533 same Mozilla engine as Firefox, so what you should see in Firefox
534 should be identical to what Tech Talk PSE displays.
536 =head2 CREATING FIGURES
538 Use your favorite tool to draw the figure, convert it to an image (in
539 any format that the Mozilla engine can display) and include it using
540 an C<E<lt>imgE<gt>> tag, eg:
544 Suitable tools include: XFig, GnuPlot, GraphViz, and many TeX tools
545 such as PicTex and in particular TikZ.
547 =head2 EMBEDDING VIDEOS, ANIMATIONS, ETC.
549 Using HTML 5, embedding videos in the browser is easy. See:
550 L<https://developer.mozilla.org/En/Using_audio_and_video_in_Firefox>
552 For animations, you could try L<Haxe|http://haxe.org/> which has a
553 Javascript back-end. There are many other possibilities.
555 If you are B<sure> that the venue will have an internet connection,
556 why not embed a YouTube video.
558 =head2 DISPLAYING EXISTING WEB PAGES
560 Obviously you could just have an HTML file that contains a redirect to
563 <meta http-equiv="Refresh" content="0; url=http://www.example.com/">
565 However if you want your talk to work offline, then it's better to
566 download the web page in advance, eg. using Firefox's "Save Page As
567 -E<gt> Web Page, complete" feature, into the talk directory, then
568 either rename or make a symbolic link to the slide name:
570 ln -s "haXe - Welcome to haXe.html" 0010-haxe-homepage.html
572 =head2 TIPS FOR WRITING SHELL SCRIPTS
574 Make sure each C<*.sh> file you write is executable, otherwise Tech
575 Talk PSE won't be able to run it. (The program gives a warning if you
578 A good idea is to start each script by sourcing some common functions.
579 All my scripts start with:
584 where C<functions> is another file (ignored by Tech Talk PSE) which
585 contains common functions for setting shell history and starting a
588 In C<functions>, I have:
590 # -*- shell-script -*-
592 # Place any local environment variables required in 'local'.
593 if [ -f local ]; then source local; fi
597 export HISTFILE=$talkdir/history
604 echo "$@" >> $HISTFILE
609 # Make $HISTFILE unwritable so the shell won't update it
613 # Run gnome-terminal.
617 --geometry=+100+100 \
620 -e '/bin/bash --norc' \
624 By initializing the shell history, during your talk you can rapidly
625 recall commands to start parts of the demonstration just by hitting
626 the Up arrow. A complete shell script from one of my talks would look
631 add_history guestfish -i debian.img
632 terminal --title="Examining a Debian guest image in guestfish"
634 This is just a starting point for your own scripts. You may want to
635 use a different terminal, such as xterm, and you may want to adjust
640 =head2 ORDER OF FILES
642 Tech Talk PSE displays the slides in the directory in lexicographic
643 order (the same order as C<LANG=C ls -1>). Only files matching the
644 following regexp are considered:
646 ^(\d+)(?:-.*)\.(html|sh)$
648 For future compatibility, you should ensure that every slide has a
649 unique numeric part (ie. I<don't> have C<0010-aaa.html> and
650 C<0010-bbb.html>). This is because in future we want to have the
651 ability to display multiple files side by side.
653 Also for future compatibility, I<don't> use file names that have an
654 uppercase letter immediately after the numeric part. This is because
655 in future we want to allow placement hints using filenames like
656 C<0010L-on-the-left.html> and C<0010R-on-the-right.html>.
658 =head2 BASE URL AND CURRENT DIRECTORY
660 The base URL is set to the be the directory containing the talk files.
661 Thus you should use relative paths, eg:
665 You can also place assets into subdirectories, because subdirectories
666 are ignored by Tech Talk PSE, eg:
668 <img src="images/fig1.gif">
670 When running shell scripts, the current directory is also set to be
671 the directory containing the talk files, so the same rules about using
672 relative paths apply there too.
674 The environment variable C<$talkdir> is exported to scripts and it
675 contains the absolute path of the directory containing the talk files.
676 When a script is run, the current directory is the same as
677 C<$talkdir>, but if your script changes directory (eg. into a
678 subdirectory containing supporting files) then it can be useful to use
679 C<$talkdir> to refer back to the original directory.
681 =head1 WHAT MAKES A GOOD TALK
683 I like what Edward Tufte writes, for example his evisceration of
684 PowerPoint use at NASA here:
685 L<http://www.edwardtufte.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=0001yB>
687 However it is sometimes hard to translate his ideas into clear
688 presentations, and not all of that is the fault of the tools. Here
689 are my thoughts and rules on how to deliver a good talk.
691 B<First, most important rule:> Before you start drawing any slides at
692 all, write your talk as a short essay.
694 This is the number one mistake that presenters make, and it is partly
695 a tool fault, because PowerPoint, OpenOffice, even Tech Talk PSE, all
696 open up on an initial blank slide, inviting you to write a title and
697 some bullet points. If you start that way, you will end up using the
698 program as a kind of clumsy outlining tool, and then reading that
699 outline to your audience. That's boring and a waste of time for you
700 and your audience. (It would be quicker for them just to download the
701 talk and read it at home).
703 B<Secondly:> How long do you want to spend preparing the talk? A good
704 talk, with a sound essay behind it, well thought out diagrams and
705 figures, and interesting demonstrations, takes many hours to prepare.
706 How many hours? I would suggest thinking about how many hours of
707 effort your audience are putting in. Even just 20 people sitting
708 there for half an hour is 10 man-hours of attention, and that is a
709 very small talk, and doesn't include all the extra time and hassle
710 that it took to get them all in one place.
712 I don't think you can get away with spending less than two full days
713 preparing a talk, if you want to master the topic and draw up accurate
714 slides. Steve Jobs is reputed to spend weeks preparing his annual
715 sales talk to the Apple faithful.
717 B<Thirdly:> Now that you're going to write your talk as an essay, what
718 should go in the slides? I would say that you should consider
719 delivering the essay, I<not> the slides, to people who don't make the
720 talk. An essay can be turned into an article or blog posting, whereas
721 even "read-out-the-bullet-point" slides have a low information
722 density, large size, and end-user compatibility problems (*.pptx
725 What, then, goes on the slides? Anything you cannot just say:
726 diagrams, graphs, videos, animations, and of course (only with Tech
727 Talk PSE!) demonstrations.
729 B<Lastly:> Once you've got your talk as an essay and slides, practice,
730 practice and practice again. Deliver the talk to yourself in the
731 mirror, to your colleagues. Practice going backwards and forwards
732 through the slides, using your actual laptop and the software so you
733 know what to click and what keys to press. Partly memorize what you
734 are going to say (but use short notes written on paper if you need
739 The Cognitive Style of PowerPoint, Tufte, Edward R.
743 Richard W.M. Jones L<http://people.redhat.com/~rjones/>
747 Copyright (C) 2010 Red Hat Inc.
749 This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
750 it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
751 the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or
752 (at your option) any later version.
754 This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
755 but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
756 MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the
757 GNU General Public License for more details.
759 You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
760 along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software
761 Foundation, Inc., 675 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.