jq-console

A jQuery terminal plugin written in CoffeeScript.

This project was spawned because of our need for a simple web terminal plugin for the repl.it project. It tries to simulate a low level terminal by providing (almost) raw input/output streams as well as input and output states.

Version 2.0 adds baked-in support for rich multi-line prompting and operation queueing.

Tested Browsers

The plugin has been tested on the following browsers:

• IE 9+
• Chrome
• Firefox
• Opera
• iOS Safari and Chrome
• Android Chrome

Getting Started

Echo example

    /* The console container element */
    #console {
      position: absolute;
      width: 400px;
      height: 500px;
      background-color:black;
    }
    /* The inner console element. */
    .jqconsole {
        padding: 10px;
    }
    /* The cursor. */
    .jqconsole-cursor {
        background-color: gray;
    }
    /* The cursor color when the console looses focus. */
    .jqconsole-blurred .jqconsole-cursor {
        background-color: #666;
    }
    /* The current prompt text color */
    .jqconsole-prompt {
        color: #0d0;
    }
    /* The command history */
    .jqconsole-old-prompt {
        color: #0b0;
        font-weight: normal;
    }
    /* The text color when in input mode. */
    .jqconsole-input {
        color: #dd0;
    }
    /* Previously entered input. */
    .jqconsole-old-input {
        color: #bb0;
        font-weight: normal;
    }
    /* The text color of the output. */
    .jqconsole-output {
        color: white;
    }

    <div id="console"></div>
    <script src="jquery.js" type="text/javascript" charset="utf-8"></script>
    <script src="jqconsole.js" type="text/javascript" charset="utf-8"></script>
    <script>
      $(function () {
        var jqconsole = $('#console').jqconsole('Hi\n', '>>>');
        var startPrompt = function () {
          // Start the prompt with history enabled.
          jqconsole.Prompt(true, function (input) {
            // Output input with the class jqconsole-output.
            jqconsole.Write(input + '\n', 'jqconsole-output');
            // Restart the prompt.
            startPrompt();
          });
        };
        startPrompt();
      });
    </script>

Instantiating

    $(div).jqconsole(welcomeString, promptLabel, continueLabel, disableAutoFocus);

• div is the div element or selector. Note that this element must be explicity sized and positioned absolute or relative.
• welcomeString is the string to be shown when the terminal is first rendered.
• promptLabel is the label to be shown before the input when using Prompt().
• continueLabel is the label to be shown before the continued lines of the input when using Prompt().
• disableAutoFocus is a boolean indicating whether we should disable the default auto-focus behavior.

Configuration

There isn't much initial configuration needed, because the user must supply options and callbacks with each state change. There are a few config methods provided to create custom shortcuts and change indentation width:

jqconsole.RegisterShortcut

Registers a callback for a keyboard shortcut. Takes two arguments:

• (int|string) keyCode: The code of the key pressing which (when Ctrl is held) will trigger this shortcut. If a string is provided, the ASCII code of the first character is taken.

• function callback: A function called when the shortcut is pressed; "this" will point to the JQConsole object.

Example:

    // Ctrl+R: resets the console.
    jqconsole.RegisterShortcut('R', function() {
      this.Reset();
    });

jqconsole.SetIndentWidth

Sets the number of spaces inserted when indenting and removed when unindenting. Takes one argument:

• int width: The number of spaces in each indentation level.

Example:

    // Sets the indent width to 4 spaces.
    jqconsole.SetIndentWidth(4);

jqconsole.RegisterMatching

Registers an opening and closing characters to match and wraps each of the opening and closing characters with a span with the specified class. Takes one parameters:

• char open: The opening character of a "block".
• char close: The closing character of a "block".
• string class: The css class that is applied to the matched characters.

Example:

    jqconsole.RegisterMatching('{', '}', 'brackets');

Usage

Unlike most terminal plugins, jq-console gives you complete low-level control over the execution; you have to call the appropriate methods to start input or output:

jqconsole.Input:

Asks user for input. If another input or prompt operation is currently underway, the new input operation is enqueued and will be called when the current operation and all previously enqueued operations finish. Takes one argument:

• function input_callback: A function called with the user's input when the user presses Enter and the input operation is complete.

Example:

    // Echo the input.
    jqconsole.Input(function(input) {
      jqconsole.Write(input);
    });

jqconsole.Prompt

Asks user for input. If another input or prompt operation is currently underway the new prompt operation is enqueued and will be called when the current peration and all previously enqueued operations finish. Takes four arguments:

• bool history_enabled: Whether this input should use history. If true, the user can select the input from history, and their input will also be added as a new history item.

• function result_callback: A function called with the user's input when the user presses Enter and the prompt operation is complete.

• function multiline_callback: If specified, this function is called when the user presses Enter to check whether the input should continue to the next line. The function must return one of the following values:

  • false: the input operation is completed.

  • 0: the input continues to the next line with the current indent.

  • N (int): the input continues to the next line, and the current indent is adjusted by N, e.g. -2 to unindent two levels.

• bool async_multiline: Whether the multiline callback function should be treated as an asynchronous operation and be passed a continuation function that should be called with one of the return values mentioned above: false/0/N.

Example:

    jqconsole.Prompt(true, function(input) {
      // Alert the user with the command.
      alert(input);
    }, function (input) {
      // Continue if the last character is a backslash.
      return /\\$/.test(input);
    });

jqconsole.AbortPrompt

Aborts the current prompt operation and returns to output mode or the next queued input/prompt operation. Takes no arguments.

Example:

    jqconsole.Prompt(true, function(input) {
      alert(input);
    });
    // Give the user 2 seconds to enter the command.
    setTimeout(function() {
      jqconsole.AbortPrompt();
    }, 2000);

jqconsole.Write

Writes the given text to the console in a <span>, with an optional class. If a prompt is currently being shown, the text is inserted before it. Takes two arguments:

• string text: The text to write.

• string cls: The class to give the span containing the text. Optional.

• bool escape: Whether the text to write should be html escaped. Optional, defaults to true.

Examples:

    jqconsole.Write(output, 'my-output-class')
    jqconsole.Write(err.message, 'my-error-class')

jqconsole.Append

Append the given node to the DOM. If a prompt is currently being shown, the text is inserted before it. Takes a single argument:

• (string|Element) node: The DOM Element or html string to append to the console just before the prompt.

Example:

    // Add a div with the text 'hello' on a red background using jquery
    jqconsole.Append($('<div>hello</div>').css('background-color', 'red'));

    // We can also use document.createElement
    node = document.createElement("div");
    content = document.createTextNode("hello");
    node.appendChild(content);
    jqconsole.Append(node);

jqconsole.SetPromptText

Sets the text currently in the input prompt. Takes one parameter:

• string text: The text to put in the prompt.

Examples:

    jqconsole.SetPromptText('ls')
    jqconsole.SetPromptText('print [i ** 2 for i in range(10)]')

jqconsole.SetPromptLabel

Replaces the main prompt label. Takes two parameters:

• string main_label: String to replace the main prompt label.
• string continuation_label: String to replace the continuation prompt label. Optional.

Examples:

    jqconsole.SetPromptLabel('$')
    jqconsole.SetPromptLabel(' $','..')

jqconsole.ClearPromptText

Clears all the text currently in the input prompt. Takes one parameter:

• bool clear_label: If specified and true, also clears the main prompt label (e.g. ">>>").

Example:

    jqconsole.ClearPromptText()

jqconsole.GetPromptText

Returns the contents of the prompt. Takes one parameter:

• bool full: If specified and true, also includes the prompt labels (e.g. ">>>").

Examples:

    var currentCommand = jqconsole.GetPromptText()
    var logEntry = jqconsole.GetPromptText(true)

jqconsole.Reset

Resets the console to its initial state, cancelling all current and pending operations. Takes no parameters.

Example:

    jqconsole.Reset()

jqconsole.SetKeyPressHandler

Sets a custom key press handler to be executed before the internal jqconsole handler. If it returns false then jqconsole will ignore the event. This gives you control over what events jqconsole can handle and for you to do your custom work.

• function handler: An event handler function returning true or false.

Example:

      // Don't allow the character 'x' for no reason :P
      jqconsole.SetKeyPressHanlder(function(e) {
        if (String.fromCharCode(e.which) === 'x') {
          return false;
        }
      });

jqconsole.SetControlKeyHandler

Allows you to handle key events that are not characters (keydown events). You can return false to prevent the default. See demo for full example.

• function handler: An event handler function returning true or false.

Example:

      // Show auto-complete on tab keys
      jqconsole.SetKeyPressHanlder(function(e) {
        if (e.which === 9) {
          $('.suggestions').show();
          return false;
        }
      });

jqconsole.GetColumn

Returns the 0-based number of the column on which the cursor currently is. Takes no parameters.

Example:

    // Show the current line and column in a status area.
    $('#status').text(jqconsole.GetLine() + ', ' + jqconsole.GetColumn())

jqconsole.GetLine

Returns the 0-based number of the line on which the cursor currently is. Takes no parameters.

Example:

    // Show the current line and column in a status area.
    $('#status').text(jqconsole.GetLine() + ', ' + jqconsole.GetColumn())

jqconsole.Focus

Forces the focus onto the console so events can be captured. Takes no parameters.

Example:

    // Redirect focus to the console whenever the user clicks anywhere.
    $(window).click(function() {
      jqconsole.Focus();
    })

jqconsole.GetIndentWidth

Returns the number of spaces inserted when indenting. Takes no parameters.

Example:

    jqconsole.SetIndentWidth(4);
    console.assert(jqconsole.GetIndentWidth() == 4);

jqconsole.UnRegisterMatching

Deletes a certain matching settings set by jqconsole.RegisterMatching. Takes two paramaters:

• char open: The opening character of a "block".
• char close: The closing character of a "block".

Example:

    jqconsole.UnRegisterMatching('{', '}');

jqconsole.Dump

Returns the text content of the console.

jqconsole.GetState

Returns the current state of the console. Could be one of the following:

• Input: "input"
• Output: "output"
• Prompt: "prompt"

Example:

    jqconsole.GetState(); //output

jqconsole.MoveToStart

Moves the cursor to the start of the current line. Takes one parameter:

• bool all_lines: If true moves the cursor to the beginning of the first line in the current prompt. Defaults to false.

Example:

    // Move to line start Ctrl+A.
    jqconsole.RegisterShortcut('A', function() {
      jqconsole.MoveToStart();
      handler();
    });

jqconsole.MoveToEnd

Moves the cursor to the end of the current line. Takes one parameter:

• bool all_lines: If true moves the cursor to the end of the first line in the current prompt. Defaults to false.

Example:

    // Move to line end Ctrl+E.
    jqconsole.RegisterShortcut('E', function() {
      jqconsole.MoveToEnd();
      handler();
    });

jqconsole.Disable

Disables input and focus on the console.

jqconsole.Enable

Enables input and focus on the console.

jqconsole.IsDisabled

Returns true if the console is disabled.

jqconsole.GetHistory

Returns the contents of the history buffer.

jqconsole.SetHistory

Set the history buffer to the given array.

Takes one parameter:

• array history: The history buffer to use.

Example:

    jqconsole.SetHistory(['a = 3', 'a + 3']);

jqconsole.ResetHistory

Resets the console history.

jqconsole.ResetMatchings

Resets the character matching configuration.

jqconsole.ResetShortcuts

Resets the shortcut configuration.

jqconsole.Clear

Clears the console's content excluding the current prompt

Default Key Config

The console responds to the followind keys and key combinations by default:

• Delete: Delete the following character.
• Ctrl+Delete: Delete the following word.
• Backspace: Delete the preceding character.
• Ctrl+Backspace: Delete the preceding word.
• Ctrl+Left: Move one word to the left.
• Ctrl+Right: Move one word to the right.
• Home: Move to the beginning of the current line.
• Ctrl+Home: Move to the beginnig of the first line.
• End: Move to the end of the current line.
• Ctrl+End: Move to the end of the last line.
• Shift+Up, Ctrl+Up: Move cursor to the line above the current one.
• Shift+Down, Ctrl+Down: Move cursor to the line below the current one.
• Tab: Indent.
• Shift+Tab: Unindent.
• Up: Previous history item.
• Down: Next history item.
• Enter: Finish input/prompt operation. See Input() and Prompt() for details.
• Shift+Enter: New line.
• Page Up: Scroll console one page up.
• Page Down: Scroll console one page down.

ANSI escape code SGR support

jq-console implements a large subset of the ANSI escape code graphics. Using the .Write method you could add style to the console using the following syntax:

ASCII 27 (decimal) or 0x1b (hex) [ SGR code m

Example:

jqconsole.Write('\033[31mRed Text');

Note that the third parameter escape must be true which defaults to it.

You'll need to include the ansi.css file for default effects or create your own using the css classes from the table below.

SGR

Reference.

Colors

Reference.

CSS Classes

Several CSS classes are provided to help stylize the console:

• jqconsole: The main console container.
• jqconsole, jqconsole-blurred: The main console container, when not in focus.
• jqconsole-cursor: The cursor.
• jqconsole-header: The welcome message at the top of the console.
• jqconsole-input: The prompt area during input. May have multiple lines.
• jqconsole-old-input: Previously-entered inputs.
• jqconsole-prompt: The prompt area during prompting. May have multiple lines.
• jqconsole-old-prompt: Previously-entered prompts.
• jqconsole-composition: The div encapsulating the composition of multi-byte characters.
• jqconsole-prompt-text: the text entered in the current prompt

Of course, custom classes may be specified when using jqconsole.Write() for further customization.

Contributors

Max Shawabkeh Amjad Masad

License

MIT