Dynamic dialog --menu box in bash - bash

Question

I'm searching for good explanation about making dynamic dialog --menu box in bash. I'm trying to load a list of users from a file that have structure like this:
------ user ------
/rw412 0.2 /rx511 23.1 /sgo23 9.2
/fs352 1.4 /...
------ another_user ------
/rw412 0.3 / and so on...
of course the user name is between ------
i don't really know how to use loops inside dialog. I'm also trying to avoid creating additional files.
Please help

Answer 1

Here's an example of one way to use dialog. The options array can be built up in a variety of ways (see below).
#!/bin/bash
cmd=(dialog --keep-tite --menu "Select options:" 22 76 16)
options=(1 "Option 1"
2 "Option 2"
3 "Option 3"
4 "Option 4")
choices=$("${cmd[#]}" "${options[#]}" 2>&1 >/dev/tty)
for choice in $choices
do
case $choice in
1)
echo "First Option"
;;
2)
echo "Second Option"
;;
3)
echo "Third Option"
;;
4)
echo "Fourth Option"
;;
esac
done
Here's one way to build the options array:
count=0
while read -r dashes1 username dashes2
do
if [[ $dashes1 == --*-- && $dashes2 == --*-- ]]
then
options+=($((++count)) "$username")
fi
done < inputfile

Answer 2

following the above clues and having my own ideas as well; here is another way:
#!/bin/bash
MENU_OPTIONS=
COUNT=0
for i in `ls`
do
COUNT=$[COUNT+1]
MENU_OPTIONS="${MENU_OPTIONS} ${COUNT} $i off "
done
cmd=(dialog --separate-output --checklist "Select options:" 22 76 16)
options=(${MENU_OPTIONS})
choices=$("${cmd[#]}" "${options[#]}" 2>&1 >/dev/tty)
for choice in $choices
do
" WHATEVER from HERE"
done

Answer 3

Ok
Following Dennis Williamson clues and my own ideas i came to something like this
#!/bin/bash
c=0
while read -r dashes1 username dashes2
do
if [[ $dashes1 == --*-- && $dashes2 == --*-- ]]
then
options=("${options[#]}" "$((++c))" "$username")
fi
done < inputfile
cmd=(dialog --backtitle "title" --menu "Select_user:" 22 38 2) #2 becouse
i know there will be 2 options
command=`echo "${cmd[#]}" "${options[#]}" "2>file"`
$command
Now, there is an error like this:
Error: Expected 2 arguments, found only 1.
Why is that??

Answer 4

This is a repost of my answer from a very similar question. I arrived at this answer with the help of a cohort but couldn't find it in the wild; I think adding it here might help others.
The ${options[#]} array required the following (rather strange) structure in order to work. This was tested on bash in Ubuntu 18.04:
#Dynamic dialogs require an array that has a staggered structure
#array[1]=1
#array[2]=First_Menu_Option
#array[3]=2
#array[4]=Second_Menu_Option
Here is bash code that reads in a directory listing from an argument and creates a dynamic menu from it:
#! /bin/bash
#usage: Dynamic_Menu.bash /home/user/target_directory
declare -a array
i=1 #Index counter for adding to array
j=1 #Option menu value generator
while read line
do
array[ $i ]=$j
(( j++ ))
array[ ($i + 1) ]=$line
(( i=($i+2) ))
done < <(find $1 -type f) #consume file path provided as argument
#Define parameters for menu
TERMINAL=$(tty) #Gather current terminal session for appropriate redirection
HEIGHT=20
WIDTH=76
CHOICE_HEIGHT=16
BACKTITLE="Back_Title"
TITLE="Dynamic Dialog"
MENU="Choose a file:"
#Build the menu with variables & dynamic content
CHOICE=$(dialog --clear \
--backtitle "$BACKTITLE" \
--title "$TITLE" \
--menu "$MENU" \
$HEIGHT $WIDTH $CHOICE_HEIGHT \
"${array[#]}" \
2>&1 >$TERMINAL)