linux access point association is too manual.
You want to use an access point. Open an xterm. Do you know the essid? Yes go to a1. No go to b1.
==Physical Layer== I know the essid of the access point I want to use. a1) set the essid to the essid of the access point go to step c1
I dont know the essid of the access point I want to use. b1) use iwconfig to set the essid to any. this is usually already the case b2) see which AP your driver/card has picked up on. shold be the strongest signal. go to step c1
c1) is the signal strength is adequate? yes - go to step d1. no - you are screwed.
==Network Layer== d1) aquire an IP address by running a dhcp client such as pump. wait for an answer.
d2) ping the gateway, test the DNS service. good - go to step e1. no - you are screwed.
==Authentication Layer== e1) send a broadcast request for the authenticaton server on this segment. Used to locate a nocat or metanet "gateway access service". e2) send an xml-rpc authentication request to the server, if no broadcast answer, use the ip of the default gateway.
Other
Once you're connected. Keep a constant monitor of the associated AP. My cisco card has the very annoying habbit of switching to a stronger AP, even with a different essid, whenever it feels the need. Also keep a constant monitor of the access points in range. OS X is a great example of how this should work.