libftreadline

Line editing library for 42 projects

This is a small C library that implements 2 functions:

ft_readline() reads a line from stdin with editing functionalities
ft_confirm() displays a message and asks for user confirmation

It uses termcaps and passes norminette, so it can be used for 42 projects.

Compiling

To compile your project with libftreadline, ensure your Makefile compiles the lib before. Because it is a static library, it is not required to be alongside your compiled binary.

You must add these flags to the linker:
-L/path/to/libft -L/path/to/libftreadline -lftreadline -lft -ltermcap

Manpages

The lib includes manpages for each function. To view them with man(1), you can issue (assuming $PWD is the repo dir):
$> man -M man ft_readline
or
$> man -M man ft_confirm
or even
$> man -M man libftreadline

If you want to view them all in a row, issue:
$> man man/man3/*

Autocompletion

ft_readline() has its own autocompletion routine. It calls 2 functions passed in the func ptrs in the t_rl_opts struct. If a ptr is NULL, ft_readline() will use its builtin version.

By default, ft_readline() will search the current directory or the directory in the line for similar starting entries. If there are multiple entries, ft_readline() displays the list.

History

ft_readline() can browse a line history, via the third argument you pass to it. It is your resposability to create the ptr, add the returned lines to the history via the lib functions, pass it to ft_readline() and free it when you're done with it.

Copy/Cut/Paste

ft_readline() has a copy/cut/paste feature. By using the Shift+Left or Shift+Right keys, you can select text. With Shift+Up you can copy or cut if you double-press it. With Shift+Down, you paste the copied text. If nothing is copied, nothing happens.

Bell

When a key fails, but not because of an internal error, ft_readline() makes the terminal ring a bell.

Dumb mode

ft_readline() implements a ``dumb mode''. It is used when the terminal is not known to provide line-editing. In dumb mode, there is only one line that flicks through multiples ``pages''. Copy/Cut/Paste, history and autocompletion features are still available although with some limitations:

No bell suppport.
When scrolling thru history, lines containing the \ncharacter will be ignored.
ac_show_result func ptr is ignored. Use ac_show_result_dumb instead.
Copy/Paste selection is made by making the characters uppercase (the copied characters are untouched of course).
Your prompt's xterm colors are automatically disabled. If the shell is too small, ``$> '' is used instead.

Considerations

If line is NULL, the function will segv on press of the return key. The t_rl_opts struct is optional. Passing NULL will make ft_readline() allocate the struct and set default values.

MLforAll/libftreadline