emuxevans / ciscli

Cisco-like CLI for *NIX systems

Cisco Command Line Interface

A modular framework for implementing a Cisco-like CLI on a *NIX system. Arbitrary command trees can be defined using a simple syntax.

Key Design Points

• Provides a modular CLI configuration using multiple tree definition files.
• Handles auto-completion of commands when pressing the TAB key.
• Provides context-sensitive help by pressing the ? key.
• Provides a secure interface to the environment. User will not get access to execute arbitrary commands on the system, but only those commands permitted by the privilege and group.
• Ability to be driven non-interactively.

Implementation Mechanics

• Implemented as a dynamic library, allowing the system designer a method to dynamically build the interface programatically.
• The interface can also be built from a compiled description file, thereby obviating the need to recompile the executable every time the interface changes.