当你在linux环境下setup软件的时候就会有相应的对话框让你输入。虽然我们已经习惯了这种交互的方法，但是如果有一种直观的界面来输入是不是会更加友好和方便呢，在shell脚本中你可以使用-whiptail指令来完成。
消息框
语法：
whiptail --title "<message box title>" --msgbox "<text to show>" <height> <width>
实例：
whiptail --title "Message box title" --msgbox " Choose Ok to continue." 10 60
yes/no对话框
语法：
whiptail --title "<dialog box title>" --yesno "<text to show>" <height> <width>
实例：
#!/bin/bash
if (whiptail --title "Yes/No Box" --yesno "Choose between Yes and No." 10 60) then
echo "You chose Yes. Exit status was $?."
else
echo "You chose No. Exit status was $?."
fi
或者也可以是自定义的选项，实例如下：
#!/bin/bash
if (whiptail --title "Yes/No Box" --yes-button "Man" --no-button "Woman" --yesno "What is your gender?" 10 60) then
echo "You chose Man Exit status was $?."
else
echo "You chose Woman. Exit status was $?."
fi
当选择左边选项的时候输出的是0，选择右边选项的时候输出的是1。
表单输入框
语法：
whiptail --title "<input box title>" --inputbox "<text to show>" <height> <width> <default-text>
实例：
#!/bin/bash
NAME=$(whiptail --title "Free-form Input Box" --inputbox "What is your pet's name?" 10 60 Peter 3>&1 1>&2 2>&3)
exitstatus=$?
if [ $exitstatus = 0 ]; then
echo "Your name is:" $NAME
else
echo "You chose Cancel."
fi
密码输入框
语法：
whiptail --title "<password box title>" --passwordbox "<text to show>" <height> <width>
实例：
#!/bin/bash
PASSWORD=$(whiptail --title "Password Box" --passwordbox "Enter your password and choose Ok to continue." 10 60 3>&1 1>&2 2>&3)
exitstatus=$?
if [ $exitstatus = 0 ]; then
echo "Your password is:" $PASSWORD
else
echo "You chose Cancel."
fi
菜单栏
提供一个单项选择的菜单栏
语法：
whiptail --title "<menu title>" --menu "<text to show>" <height> <width> <menu height> [ <tag> <item> ] . . .
实例：
#!/bin/bash
OPTION=$(whiptail --title "Menu Dialog" --menu "Choose your favorite programming language." 15 60 4 \
"1" "Python" \
"2" "Java" \
"3" "C" \
"4" "PHP" 3>&1 1>&2 2>&3)
exitstatus=$?
if [ $exitstatus = 0 ]; then
echo "Your favorite programming language is:" $OPTION
else
echo "You chose Cancel."
fi
此处的选择输出的内容为你选择的标签的‘tag’位置，上面实例中的‘1’、‘2’、‘3’、‘4’
radiolist对话框
该对话框是单选对话框，你可以控制默认的选择位置，即使你在脚本中默认选择多个，他也只会输出一个结果
语法：
whiptail --title "<radiolist title>" --radiolist "<text to show>" <height> <width> <list height> [ <tag> <item> <status> ] . . .
实例：
#!/bin/bash
DISTROS=$(whiptail --title "Test Checklist Dialog" --radiolist \
"What is the Linux distro of your choice?" 15 60 4 \
"debian" "Venerable Debian" ON \
"ubuntu" "Popular Ubuntu" OFF \
"centos" "Stable CentOS" OFF \
"mint" "Rising Star Mint" OFF 3>&1 1>&2 2>&3)
exitstatus=$?
if [ $exitstatus = 0 ]; then
echo "The chosen distro is:" $DISTROS
else
echo "You chose Cancel."
fi
多选对话框
语法：
whiptail --title "<checklist title>" --checklist "<text to show>" <height> <width> <list height> [ <tag> <item> <status> ] . . .
实例：
#!/bin/bash
DISTROS=$(whiptail --title "Checklist Dialog" --checklist \
"Choose preferred Linux distros" 15 60 4 \
"debian" "Venerable Debian" ON \
"ubuntu" "Popular Ubuntu" OFF \
"centos" "Stable CentOS" ON \
"mint" "Rising Star Mint" OFF 3>&1 1>&2 2>&3)
exitstatus=$?
if [ $exitstatus = 0 ]; then
echo "Your favorite distros are:" $DISTROS
else
echo "You chose Cancel."
fi
进度条
语法：
whiptail --gauge "<test to show>" <height> <width> <inital percent>
实例：
#!/bin/bash
{
for ((i = 0 ; i <= 100 ; i+=20)); do
sleep 1
echo $i
done
} | whiptail --gauge "Please wait while installing" 6 60 0