Battery script

Riveri · Posted: Tue Nov 23, 2004 4:22 pm Post subject: Battery script

Ok, my problem is this: Im using laptop to run gentoo and its quite usual that my laptop shutdowns several times every week cause im forgetting to plug power cable back and the battery runs out.

I though that if there would be a script (or littleprogram) which checks battery's state and changes the wallpaper to something else (to bright red one for example) when it goes below 5%, it would help me to notice it.

My knowhow is too little on these things that i could do that kind of prog/script, but if someone has little sparetime or knows a program which can do the above one, i really would appreciate that.

Archangel1 · Veteran Joined: 20 Apr 2004 Posts: 1212 Location: Work

Interesting one... why not have a little battery monitor in some system tray type area?
Ala klaptopdaemon, no doubt XFCE has some similar dockapp thing, or you could use gkrellm/gdesklets or something along those lines to monitor it?

Riveri · Posted: Tue Nov 23, 2004 4:50 pm Post subject:

yep... tried those (torsmo, gdesklet and gkrellm for example)... just too small...

and those usually goes under other windows

but if the whole wallpaper would change i think i would notice that

dont want anykind of sound alarms... cause i dont keep my sounds on always

oh... and im using acpi...

mangaf · n00b Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 6

with klaptop you have options to launch a command and some options more, at two leves of battery charge

Riveri · Posted: Tue Nov 23, 2004 5:26 pm Post subject:

klaptop is kde program ?

im using fvwm

denstark · l33t Joined: 02 Jun 2003 Posts: 647 Location: bos.ma.us

BlackEdder · Posted: Tue Nov 23, 2004 5:29 pm Post subject:

The info about your battery status is somewhere in /proc/acpi. I've no laptop so cn't check where precisely, but it should be super easy to write a script that checks the battery every minute and based on output sets your background. Info that is needed for that is mainly which program you are using to set your background now.. and where the info in acpi precisely is.

Riveri · Posted: Tue Nov 23, 2004 5:36 pm Post subject:

AFAIK needed info is in two places
remaining capacity and design capacity

Riveri · Posted: Tue Nov 23, 2004 5:42 pm Post subject:

denstark · l33t Joined: 02 Jun 2003 Posts: 647 Location: bos.ma.us

Seems very easy to do, but i don't know the proper way to cut the numbers from the text sring and then convert it to a numeric variable (i think I could be wrong)....

other than that, it should be very easy.
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BlackEdder · Posted: Tue Nov 23, 2004 5:54 pm Post subject:

I can do it for you in a ruby script.. don't know enough about bash scripting to do it easy in there

Or you can use (battery part) of this script:
http://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic.php?t=80077&highlight=battery+bash

InfinityX · Guru Joined: 31 Jan 2004 Posts: 385

This seems to work well on my laptop:

Riveri · Posted: Tue Nov 23, 2004 7:05 pm Post subject:

/usr/bin/battery

nightm4re · Posted: Wed Nov 24, 2004 8:03 am Post subject:

Riveri · Posted: Wed Nov 24, 2004 1:50 pm Post subject:

if [[ "$battery" < "5" ]] -> if [[ "$battery" < "05" ]]

and it works right....

anyway, thanks to all who bothered to help me!

aerandir · n00b Joined: 09 Jan 2004 Posts: 13 Location: Denmark

if you are using gkrellm - you can define some extra alarms in the battery options - just set lower/alarm limit and any annoying little proggy youd like to get startet when the time comes :twisted:

but gotto go back playing with my freshly installed compaq armada