A simple "google forms"-style question and answer framework for BASH.

example-database.tsv

kirch	What type of bear is best?	Brown Bear
kirch	Where is the fish?	right
kirch	How many fish can you eat?	as many fish as fit in my mouth
bob	What type of bear is best?	Polar Bear
bob	Where is the fish?	left
bob	How many fish can you eat?	3
larry What type of bear is best?	Black Bear
larry	Where is the fish?	up
larry	How many fish can you eat?	999999999

example-survey.bash

#! /bin/bash

source ./QA-framework.bash

database="$HOME/qa.tsv"

ask "What type of bear is best?" "Black Bear" "Brown Bear" "Polar Bear" "Panda Bear"
ask "Where is the fish?" "up" "down" "left" "right"
ask "How many fish can you eat?"

write

QA-framework.bash

#! /bin/bash
#
# QA-framework.bash
# Copyright (C) 2019 jkirchartz <me@jkirchartz.com>
#
# Distributed under terms of the NPL (Necessary Public License) license.
#
# A simple "google forms"-style way to survey people via bash
#
# usage:
# #! /bin/bash
# database="path/to/db.tsv"
# source /path/to/QA-framework
# ask "a multiple choice question:" "A" "B" "C"
# ask "an open-ended question"
# write

questions=()
results=()

function write() {
  # ensure db exists
  if [ ! -e "$database" ]; then
    db_dir=`dirname $database`
    [ ! -d $db_dir ] && mkdir -p $db_dir
    touch "$database"
  fi
  # write results to db
  printf "%s\n" "${results[@]}" >> $database
}

function ask() {
  question="$1"
  shift;
  answers=("$@")

  if [ "$#" -le 2 ]; then
    echo "$question"
    read -p "?> " answer
    results+=("$USER	$question	$answer")
    return
  else
    echo $question
    select answer in "${answers[@]}"
    do
      results+=("$USER	$question	$answer")
      return
    done
  fi
}