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getch Get a single character

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Cut and paste the following script into a file called "getch.ksh" on your system. Or click on getch.ksh to download a file containing the function.

#!/bin/ksh
################################################################
####    Korn Shell function to read one character from 
####    standard input (STDIN) without requiring a carriage 
####    return.  This function would typically be used in a 
####    shell script to detect a key press.
####
####    Load this file into your current environment as follows:
####    
####    . ./getch.sh
####    
####    Thats "dot-space-dot-slash-getch-dot-sh"
####
####    You will then be able to issue the command "getch"
####    from your current environment to retrieve one character.
####
####    SYNTAX: getch [quiet]
####
####                   quiet = no output
####
####
####    AUTHOR: Dana French
####    EMAIL: dfrench@mtxia.com
####
################################################################
getch()
{
    STAT_GETCH="0"
    stty raw
    TMP_GETCH=`dd bs=1 count=1 2> /dev/null`
    STAT_GETCH="${?}"
    stty -raw

    if [[ "_${1}" != "_quiet" ]]
    then
        print "${TMP_GETCH}"
    fi
    return ${STAT_GETCH}
}
################################################################

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