[ubuntu-za] Messageboard application

[Charl Wentzel]

Hi Guys

I've written a small ncurses application (schedule board) as part of a
more complex system which runs on a small eBox.  I've installed Ubuntu
server edition to keep the installation small and fast.  I've set it up
to launch the ncurses schedule board from rc.local so it startup
automatically.  All of this works well.

I would now like to give it a more professional appearance during
bootup, by getting rid of all the  boot messages.  I'm thinking of the
following:

1. During the boot up process automatically switch to the second virtual
terminal and show a basic boot message until the ncurses app starts up
in that terminal.  I know how to get the application to startup in a
different virtual terminal, but I still need to figure out how to switch
to another terminal during bootup and how to show something other than
the login prompt.

2. I would perfer to not to show any boot text and jump to a splash
screen during boot up and then the ncurses app after that.  Much like an
Ubuntu Desktop would start up.  I guess I could do a desktop install and
switch to the ncurses app instead of the login manager, which I'll have
to figure out.  But a full desktop install is a really big overkill for
what I'm trying to do.

I would love to know if anyone has any experience with this that could
give me some advise or even alternative/better suggestions.  I don't
expect anybody to give me step-by-step instructions (I'm not afraid of
Google), but I would like to draw on some experience before a pick a
path.

Regards
Charl