How to run cmatrix without error using '-l' option in Terminal (not console)?

Question

I have installed cmatrix using the command:

sudo apt-get install cmatrix

And when running the command:

cmatrix -l

In console (the ttys) I get a very cool looking font with matrix like symbols. But when I run it with that option in gnome-terminal I just get this output:

Couldn't get a file descriptor referring to the console

Although it works without the -l in gnome-terminal, it does not give me the special font, so is there any way of running it in gnome-terminal and also getting the same font that running it with the -l option in the console would result in?

OS Information:

No LSB modules are available.
Distributor ID: Ubuntu
Description:    Ubuntu 15.10
Release:    15.10
Codename:   wily
Flavour: GNOME
GNOME Version: 3.18

Package Information:

cmatrix:
  Installed: 1.2a-5build1
  Candidate: 1.2a-5build1
  Version table:
 *** 1.2a-5build1 0
        500 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ wily/universe amd64 Packages
        100 /var/lib/dpkg/status

@muru: I tried executing that command but got the same error, unless you don't mean just to execute it? — , Dec 08 '15 at 14:58

score 4 · Answer 1 · edited Jul 19 '15 at 14:19

4

It's -l mode, quoting from the manual page:

  -l    Linux mode (sets "matrix.fnt" font in console)

It requires that you run it on one of the Linux consoles (the ones Ctrl+Alt+F1 ... Ctrl+Alt+F6 switch to).

In a graphical terminal emulator it has no way of changing the font of the terminal. You can still use it there without the -l flag.

edited Jul 19 '15 at 14:19

answered May 13 '15 at 20:17

egmont

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Yes, I know, I have edited my question to better express what I meant. – May 13 '15 at 20:22
1

You should avoid referring to a "normal terminal". There's the Linux console, and there are graphical terminal apps. For some people the former is the "normal", for some it's the latter. – egmont May 13 '15 at 20:27
You can probably take the console font shipped by cmatrix and somehow convert it to an X font (I don't know how to do it), but then you'd still have to configure your graphical terminal to use this font by some means outside of cmatrix's scope (e.g. define another profile in gnome-terminal and switch to that). Ideally cmatrix would use Unicode glyphs. Given that its homepage says "I wrote one evening", its manual doesn't say anything about such feature, and it's linked against ncurses rather than ncursesw, I don't think it supports Unicode. – egmont May 13 '15 at 20:30

How to run cmatrix without error using '-l' option in Terminal (not console)?

1 Answers1