Kick Start

Kick Start is a tool that simplifies the process of starting new coding projects. With just a few steps, users can set up a fully functional project, complete with essential files, templates, and build scripts.

Features

Multi-Language Support: Kick Start comes with built-in templates for various programming languages, including C, Java, Python, C++, Rust, and more.
Build Script Generation: Automatically generates a Makefile or bash/batch script for supported projects. For Python projects, it creates a setup.py file.
Library Management: For languages like C, C++, and Rust, Kick Start creates a libs folder and offers a command-line interface to install packages similarly to pip. The installed libraries are tracked in a .json file and integrated into the Makefile for building.
Main File Creation: A simple main file is generated for each language, containing a default output statement: "Hello from Kick Start".
Custom Header File: Automatically adds a custom header file (or equivalent) with version information and a compile number, which is incremented by the Makefile with each build.
Project Structure: Creates a project directory structure, with separate folders for source code and build files. The project directory includes:
- A source code folder with the main file.
- A build folder where compiled files are stored.
- A .gitignore file.
- A README.md file.
File Header Comments: Automatically adds a header of comments to the main file, including the author's name, license information, copyright details, and project description.
Compiler Detection: Detects whether the correct compiler is installed on the system. If not, it provides a URL for downloading the appropriate compiler.
Custom Templates and Licenses: Users can create custom templates and licenses. Additional libraries can be added to projects, with each library stored on GitHub in a JSON file. The necessary files are downloaded into the libs directory and built into a language-specific library archive (.a or the equivalent on Windows).
Git Integration: If Git is installed, Kick Start will initialize a Git repository in the project directory. It will also create an initial commit with the generated files and offer the option to link to a remote repository (GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, etc.).
Project Configuration Files:
- project.json: This file stores project metadata, including dependencies, project type, license, and other configuration details. The format is compatible with major repository hosting services (e.g., GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket).
- package.json: For languages with package managers, this file includes dependencies and project metadata, similar to Node.js's package.json. It can be used by the software to automatically install necessary libraries.

Future Plans

Library Management Enhancements: The way libraries are managed may evolve, with potential changes to how they are stored, built, and integrated into projects.
Custom Build System: Develop a custom build system similar to npm or npx that allows for easy management of build scripts, running commands, and integrating dependencies across different languages.
Debugger Support: Include built-in debugger support for each language. For example:
- C/C++: Integration with GDB or LLDB.
- Python: Integration with pdb or other Python debuggers.
- Rust: Integration with gdb or rust-lldb.
Common Project Templates:
- Operating System Template: Creates a basic OS project structure, including a boot.asm file and support for bootloaders like GRUB or Limine.
- Web Browser/Chat App Templates: Provides starter templates for common project types like a web browser or chat application, influencing the main file structure and included dependencies.

Getting Started

Download

!! Warning !! Downloads may be out of date

To get started with Kick Start, simply run the tool and follow the on-screen prompts to create your project. The tool will guide you through the process of naming your project, providing a description, selecting a license, and more.

Build

Clone the repo

git clone https://github.com/KingVentrix007/KickStart.git

Enter KickStart dir
```
cd KickStart
```
run make or `make build

3.1. make builds the testing version
```
make
```
3.2. make build builds the release version
```
make build
```

Run

make run # for the testing version, will create a tests dir and build project in there

./kpm <init|template|install> # for release version

Follow the on screen prompts

!! Warning !!

The template code is INCOMPLETE and will remain so for sometime, please see one of the other lang.json file to learn from
./kpm install only works with C and languages with a built in package manger