From 01b34872943ff45d7e47d687f0c534559d7ad33f Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Mitja Felicijan Date: Thu, 26 Jan 2023 12:30:34 +0100 Subject: Added a new post --- ...ing-to-build-a-new-kind-of-terminal-emulator.md | 47 ------ ...ing-to-build-a-new-kind-of-terminal-emulator.md | 172 +++++++++++++++++++++ 2 files changed, 172 insertions(+), 47 deletions(-) delete mode 100644 content/posts/2022-12-20-trying-to-build-a-new-kind-of-terminal-emulator.md create mode 100644 content/posts/2023-01-26-trying-to-build-a-new-kind-of-terminal-emulator.md (limited to 'content') diff --git a/content/posts/2022-12-20-trying-to-build-a-new-kind-of-terminal-emulator.md b/content/posts/2022-12-20-trying-to-build-a-new-kind-of-terminal-emulator.md deleted file mode 100644 index 89caa0c..0000000 --- a/content/posts/2022-12-20-trying-to-build-a-new-kind-of-terminal-emulator.md +++ /dev/null @@ -1,47 +0,0 @@ ---- -title: Trying to build a New kind of terminal emulator for the modern age -url: trying-to-build-a-new-kind-of-terminal-emulator.html -date: 2022-12-20 -draft: true ---- - -```c -// Create the window -SDL_Window *window = SDL_CreateWindow( - WINDOW_TITLE, SDL_WINDOWPOS_UNDEFINED, SDL_WINDOWPOS_UNDEFINED, - WINDOW_WIDTH, WINDOW_HEIGHT, - SDL_WINDOW_RESIZABLE | SDL_WINDOW_OPENGL | SDL_WINDOW_SHOWN); -``` - -Over the past weeks, I have been really thinking about terminal emulators, how we interact with computers, the separation of text-based programs and GUI ones. To be perfectly honest, I got pissed off one evening when I was cleaning up files on my computer. Normally, I go into console and do `ncdu` and check where the junk is. Then I start deleting stuff. Without any discrimination, usually. But when it comes to screenshots, I have learned that it's good to keep them somewhere near if I need to refer to something that I was doing. I am an avid screenshot taker. So at that point I checked Pictures folder and also did a basic search `find . -type f -name "*.jpg"` for all the JPEG files in my home directory and immediately got pissed off. Why can’t I see thumbnails in my terminal? I know why, but why in the year of 2022 this is still a problem. I am used to traversing my disk via terminal. I am faster and I am more comfortable this way. But when it comes to visualization, I then need to revert to GUI applications and again find the same file to see it. I know that programs like `fex` and `sxiv` are available, but I would just like to see the preview. Like [Jupyter notebook](https://jupyter.org/) or something similar. Just having it inline. Part of a result. - -It also didn’t help that I was spending some time with the [Plan 9](https://plan9.io/plan9/) Operating system. More specifically [9FRONT](http://9front.org/). The way that [ACME editor](http://acme.cat-v.org/) handles text editing is just wonderful. Different and fresh somehow, even though it’s super old. - -So, I went on a lookout for an interesting way of visualizing results of some query. I found these applications to be outstanding examples of how not to be a captive of a predetermined way of doing things. - -- [Wolfram Mathematica](https://www.wolfram.com/mathematica/) -- [Jupyter notebooks](https://jupyter.org/) -- [Plan 9 / 9FRONT](http://www.9front.org) -- [Temple OS](https://templeos.org/) -- [Emacs](https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/) - -My idea is not as out there as ACME is, but it is a spin on the terminal emulators. I like the modes that Vi/Vim provides you with. I like the way the Emacs does its own `M-x` `M-c`. Furthermore, I really like how Mathematica and Jupyter present the data in a free flowing form. And I love how Temple OS is basically a C interpreter on some level. - -So I started. I knew that I wanted to have the couple of modes, but I didn’t like the repetition of keystrokes, so the only option was to have some sort of toggle and indicate to the user that they are in a special mode. Like Vi does for Normal and Visual mode. - -These modes would for the first version be: - -- *Preview mode* (toggle with Ctrl + P) - - When this mode would be enabled, the `ls` command would try to find images from the results and display thumbnails from them in the terminal itself. No ASCII art. Proper images. In a grid! -- *Detach mode* (toggle with Ctrl + D) - - When this mode would be enabled, every command would open a new window and execute that command in it. This would be useful for starting `htop` in a separate window. - -The reason for having these modes tooglable is to not ask for previews every time. You enable a mode and until you disable it, it behaves that way. Purely out of ergonomic reasons. - -I would like to treat every terminal I open as a session mentally. When I start using the terminal, I start digging deeper into the issue I am trying to resolve. And while I am doing this, I would like to open detached windows etc. A lot of these things can be done easily with something like [i3](https://i3wm.org/), but also that pull you out of the context of what you were doing. I would like to orchestrate everything from one single point. - -In planning for this project, I knew that I would need to use a language like C and a library such as [SDL2](https://www.libsdl.org/) in order to achieve the desired results. I had considered other options, but ultimately determined that [SDL2](https://www.libsdl.org/) was the best fit based on its capabilities and reputation in the programming community. - -At first, I thought the idea of a hardware accelerated terminal was a bit of a joke. It seemed like such a niche and unnecessary feature, especially given the fact that terminal emulators have been around for decades and have always relied on software rendering. But to be fair, [Alacritty](https://alacritty.org/) is doing the same thing. - - diff --git a/content/posts/2023-01-26-trying-to-build-a-new-kind-of-terminal-emulator.md b/content/posts/2023-01-26-trying-to-build-a-new-kind-of-terminal-emulator.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..03fcc59 --- /dev/null +++ b/content/posts/2023-01-26-trying-to-build-a-new-kind-of-terminal-emulator.md @@ -0,0 +1,172 @@ +--- +title: Trying to build a New kind of terminal emulator for the modern age +url: trying-to-build-a-new-kind-of-terminal-emulator.html +date: 2023-01-26 +draft: false +--- + +Over the past few weeks, I have been really thinking about terminal emulators, how we interact with computers, the separation of text-based programs and GUI ones. To be perfectly honest, I got pissed off one evening when I was cleaning up files on my computer. Normally, I go into console and do `ncdu` and check where the junk is. Then I start deleting stuff. Without any discrimination, usually. But when it comes to screenshots, I have learned that it's good to keep them somewhere near if I need to refer to something that I was doing. I am an avid screenshot taker. So at that point I checked Pictures folder and also did a basic search `find . -type f -name "*.jpg"` for all the JPEG files in my home directory and immediately got pissed off. Why can’t I see thumbnails in my terminal? I know why, but why in the year of 2022 this is still a problem. I am used to traversing my disk via terminal. I am faster, and I am more comfortable this way. But when it comes to visualization, I then need to revert to GUI applications and again find the same file to see it. I know that programs like `feh` and `sxiv` are available, but I would just like to see the preview. Like [Jupyter notebook](https://jupyter.org/) or something similar. Just having it inline. Part of a result. + +It also didn’t help that I was spending some time with the [Plan 9](https://plan9.io/plan9/) Operating system. More specifically [9FRONT](http://9front.org/). The way that [ACME editor](http://acme.cat-v.org/) handles text editing is just wonderful. Different and fresh somehow, even though it’s super old. + +So, I went on a lookout for an interesting way of visualizing results of some query. I found these applications to be outstanding examples of how not to be a captive of a predetermined way of doing things. + +- [Wolfram Mathematica](https://www.wolfram.com/mathematica/) +- [Jupyter notebooks](https://jupyter.org/) +- [Plan 9 / 9FRONT](http://www.9front.org) +- [Temple OS](https://templeos.org/) +- [Emacs](https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/) + +My idea is not as out there as ACME is, but it is a spin on the terminal emulators. I like the modes that Vi/Vim provides you with. I like the way the Emacs does its own `M-x` `M-c`. Furthermore, I really like how Mathematica and Jupyter present the data in a free flowing form. And I love how Temple OS is basically a C interpreter on some level. + +> **Note:** This is part 1 of the journey. Nowhere finished yet. I am just tinkering with this at the moment. This whole thing can easily spectacularly fail. +> + +So I started. I knew that I wanted to have the couple of modes, but I didn’t like the repetition of keystrokes, so the only option was to have some sort of toggle and indicate to the user that they are in a special mode. Like Vi does for Normal and Visual mode. + +These modes would for the first version be: + +- *Preview mode* (toggle with Ctrl + P) + - When this mode would be enabled, the `ls` command would try to find images from the results and display thumbnails from them in the terminal itself. No ASCII art. Proper images. In a grid! +- *Detach mode* (toggle with Ctrl + D) + - When this mode would be enabled, every command would open a new window and execute that command in it. This would be useful for starting `htop` in a separate window. + +The reason for having these modes togglable is to not ask for previews every time. You enable a mode and until you disable it, it behaves that way. Purely out of ergonomic reasons. + +I would like to treat every terminal I open as a session mentally. When I start using the terminal, I start digging deeper into the issue I am trying to resolve. And while I am doing this, I would like to open detached windows etc. A lot of these things can be done easily with something like [i3](https://i3wm.org/), but also that pull you out of the context of what you were doing. I would like to orchestrate everything from one single point. + +In planning for this project, I knew that I would need to use a language like C and a library such as [SDL2](https://www.libsdl.org/) in order to achieve the desired results. I had considered other options, but ultimately determined that [SDL2](https://www.libsdl.org/) was the best fit based on its capabilities and reputation in the programming community. + +At first, I thought the idea of a hardware accelerated terminal was a bit of a joke. It seemed like such a niche and unnecessary feature, especially given the fact that terminal emulators have been around for decades and have always relied on software rendering. But to be fair, [Alacritty](https://alacritty.org/) is doing the same thing. Well, they are doing a remarkable job at it. + +So, I embarked on a journey. Everything has to start somewhere. For me, it started with creating a window! It has to start somewhere. 🙂 + +```c +// Oh, Hi Mark! +// Create the window, obviously. +SDL_Window *window = SDL_CreateWindow( + WINDOW_TITLE, SDL_WINDOWPOS_UNDEFINED, SDL_WINDOWPOS_UNDEFINED, + WINDOW_WIDTH, WINDOW_HEIGHT, + SDL_WINDOW_RESIZABLE | SDL_WINDOW_OPENGL | SDL_WINDOW_SHOWN); +``` + +I continued like this to get some text displayed on the screen. + +I noted that [`TTF_RenderText_Solid`](https://wiki.libsdl.org/SDL_ttf/TTF_RenderText_Solid) rendered text really poorly. There were no antialiasing at all. In my wisdom, I never checked the documentation. Well, that was a fail. To uneducated like me: `TTF_RenderText_Solid` renders Latin1 text at fast quality to a new 8-bit surface. So, that's why the texts looked like shit. No wonder. + +Remarks on `TTF_RenderText_Solid`: This function will allocate a new 8-bit, palettized surface. The surface's 0 pixel will be the colorkey, giving a transparent background. The 1 pixel will be set to the text color. + +After I replaced it with [`TTF_RenderText_LCD`](https://wiki.libsdl.org/SDL_ttf/TTF_RenderText_LCD) which renders Latin1 text at LCD subpixel quality to a new ARGB surface, the text started looking good. Really make sure you read the documentation. It’s actually good. As a side note, you can find all the documentation regarding [SDL2 on their Wiki](https://wiki.libsdl.org/). + +After that was done, I started working on displaying other things like `Preview` and `Detach` modes. This wasn’t really that hard. In SDL2 you can check all the available events with `while (SDL_PollEvent(&event) > 0)` and have a bunch of switch statements to determine which key is currently being pressed. More about keys, [SDLKey](https://documentation.help/SDL/sdlkey.html) and mroe about pooling the events on [SDL_PollEvent](https://documentation.help/SDL/sdlpollevent.html). + +```c +while (SDL_PollEvent(&event) > 0) +{ + switch (event.type) + { + case SDL_QUIT: + running = false; + break; + + case SDL_TEXTINPUT: + if (!meta_key_pressed) + { + strncat(input_prompt_text, event.text.text, 1); + update_input_prompt = true; + } + break; + } +} +``` + +After that was somewhat working correctly, I started creating a struct that would hold all the commands and results and I call them Cells. Yes, I stole that naming idea from Jupyter. + +```c +typedef struct +{ + char *command; + char *result; + SDL_Surface *surface; + SDL_Texture *texture; + SDL_Rect rect; +} Cell; +``` + +I am at a place now where I am starting to implement scrolling. This will for sure be fun to code. Memory management in C is super easy. 😂 + +I have also added a simple [INI file like configuration](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/INI_file) support. It is done in an [STB style of header](https://github.com/nothings/stb/blob/master/docs/stb_howto.txt) and maps to specific options supported by the terminal. It is not universal, and the code below demonstrates how I will use it in the future. + +```c +#ifndef CONFIG_H +#define CONFIG_H + +/* +# This is a comment + +# This is the first configuration option +dettach=value11111 + +# This is the second configuration option +preview=value22222 + +# This is the third configuration option +debug=value33333 +*/ + +// Define a struct to hold the configuration options +typedef struct +{ + char dettach[256]; + char preview[256]; + char debug[256]; +} Config; + +// Read the configuration file and return the options as a struct +extern Config read_config_file(const char *filename) +{ + // Create a struct to hold the configuration options + Config config = {0}; + + // Open the configuration file + FILE *file = fopen(filename, "r"); + + // Read each line from the file + char line[256]; + while (fgets(line, sizeof(line), file)) + { + // Check if this line is a comment or empty + if (line[0] == '#' || line[0] == '\n') + continue; + + // Parse the line to get the option and value + char option[128], value[128]; + if (sscanf(line, "%[^=]=%s", option, value) != 2) + continue; + + // Set the value of the appropriate option in the config struct + if (strcmp(option, "dettach") == 0) + { + strncpy(config.option1, value, sizeof(config.option1)); + } + else if (strcmp(option, "preview") == 0) + { + strncpy(config.option2, value, sizeof(config.option2)); + } + else if (strcmp(option, "debug") == 0) + { + strncpy(config.option3, value, sizeof(config.option3)); + } + } + + // Close the configuration file + fclose(file); + + // Return the configuration options + return config; +} + +#endif +``` + +This is as far as I managed to get for now. I have a daily job and this prohibits me to work on these things full time. But I should probably get back and finish this. At least have a simple version working out, so I can start testing it on my machines. Fingers crossed. 🕵️‍♂️ \ No newline at end of file -- cgit v1.2.3