GongFox

Once there was a project team, which always had lunch together. A genuine Chinese gong called for meal and occasionally also for spontaneous team meetings. A moving and some structural changes later the gong rusted on another floor. But some clever colleagues discovered the Windows messenger service and called from now on by batch file and net send to glut themselves. Using a small VB script one could also comfortably edit a text line:


text = InputBox ("GONG message text?")

Set wshShell = WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Shell")

command = "cmd /k X:\gong.bat " & """" & text & """"

return = wshShell.Run(command, 1, true)

Even this was too uncomfortable for me sometimes and I tinkered myself a small program containing one check box for each team member.

Requirements

GongFox runs best on Windows. On other platforms there's only a part of GongFox usable. GongFox requires the interpreter for the Ruby programming language and the library FXRuby, both are integrated in the Rubyinstaller.

Download

GongFox ist Open-Source (LGPL). You can find installation instructions and downloads at Rubyforge.

Documentation

Screenshot

Assuming a correct Ruby installation the application will start by doubleclick on gongfox.rb, you'll be able to send messages only if transmitter and receiver got the Windows messaging service started. Private individuals without firewall shouldn't enable this service because otherwise you'll get spammed with messages from the net. Instructions how to deactivate the messaging service can be found in the workaround section of this Microsoft security bulletin (If you know how to deactivate it you'll manage activation, too.) More on this topic, see Kill the Messenger.

You might notice frome the screenshot, one must register the user names of the message receiver, whereby also user groups are permitted. When you terminate the application it writes a text file gong.yaml into the directory you've started GongFox in. This file is where GongFox stores its settings.

I think, GongFox is a good example of how one can automate a small dayly task with Ruby. I wish you much fun with it!

Still another word to the radio switches System, Pipe, etc. GongFox is only a simple user interface for the messaging service already mentioned above. The application simply sends 'net send' commands. The radio switch specifies, how the call is technically realized.

System is very stable but you need to wait a while for the results
Pipe will send the messages to every person all at once, but doesn't give you feedback about success with some versions of FXRuby
API uses the Windows programming interface and therefore should be your first choice
DRb is totally independent of 'net send' but requires further installation steps
Silent is for trying out, at whom the message would be sent

Mode 'Pipe' will not obtain the expected results with certain Ruby or FXRuby versions. Occasionally particular calls fail for reasons I don't know (this behaviour is not unique to GongFox, it was the same with the VB script above). GongFox recognizes the failure and starts a second attempt. Another kind of failure is due to the absence of the addressee. This is also recognized and announced as such. If a message does not arrive nevertheless, that can be because of the fact that the addressee logged itself in on several computers. That has something to do with the messaging service itself and not directly with GongFox.