[zsh] [SOLVED] Update variable as it changes, for use in shell prompt?

Sara · 2011-10-07 19:09:16

I have a computer battery life script that I'm using in my zsh prompt, but the problem is that it does not update when the battery life changes, only if I
run `source .zshrc` or spawn a new shell. I googled extensively for a solution, and the best I came up with was
this thread in the forums, post #95, where Xiong writes:

if you use %D{} to get your date, then it won't be stuck. Using $(date) gets the value, then substitutes it into the string that you set.

Unfortunately, there are no builtins for battery life so I need to use my script. Here is how I'm calling it (my rprompt has been truncated for the purpose
of this example):

local BATTPRCNT="$(batt.sh)"
RPROMPT="${dgray}Battery:%f ${PR_BATTERY}%f"

The script:

acpi | awk 'NR==1 {print $4}' | sed 's/,//g' | sed 's/%//g'

What can I do to make zsh auto-run the script, say, at least every minute, so that my prompt updates? I appreciate the help anyone can offer.

Last edited by Sara (2011-10-07 20:35:05)

jakobm · 2011-10-07 20:20:51

You can use one of the hook functions to set your prompt, see the zshmisc manpage:

periodic
       If the parameter PERIOD is set, this function is executed  every
       $PERIOD  seconds,  just  before a prompt.  Note that if multiple
       functions are defined using the  array  periodic_functions  only
       one  period is applied to the complete set of functions, and the
       scheduled time is not reset if the list of functions is altered.
       Hence the set of functions is always called together.

precmd Executed before each prompt.  Note that precommand functions are
       not re-executed simply because the command line is  redrawn,  as
       happens,  for  example, when a notification about an exiting job
       is displayed.

Sara · 2011-10-07 20:39:31

jakobm wrote:

You can use one of the hook functions to set your prompt, see the zshmisc manpage

Thank you so much! I chose to use the precmd function, and copied the code for BATTPRCNT and RPROMPT into the precmd() function, so that it now remains
updated .

Last edited by Sara (2011-10-07 20:40:44)

Arch Linux

#1 2011-10-07 19:09:16

[zsh] [SOLVED] Update variable as it changes, for use in shell prompt?

#2 2011-10-07 20:20:51

Re: [zsh] [SOLVED] Update variable as it changes, for use in shell prompt?

#3 2011-10-07 20:39:31

Re: [zsh] [SOLVED] Update variable as it changes, for use in shell prompt?

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