Quick-start

This library is developed to be small, dependency-free, and easy to install/use. Simply clone the project with git and install using CMake.

Installation

The library can be used as a CMake submodule by including it as a sub-project:

add_subdirectory(ansi)

target_link_libraries(<target> ansi)

The library can also be installed system-wide:

$ cmake -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release -B build -S . -G Ninja -DINSTALL_ANSI=ON -DBUILD_TESTING=OFF
$ cd build
$ sudo ninja install

There are a few options within the CMakeLists.txt file that can be configured:

• INSTALL_ANSI adds an install step to the build that installs the ansi lib system-wide

• BUILD_TESTING enables tests for the library, probably not something you want enabled if you’re using the library as a sub-project

• By default the library is built and linked with sanitizers, switching to the Release configuration does not build or link with sanitizers

Using the library

The library contains functions and classes for different codding styles, the ansi::manip namespace contains manipulator functions to be used with streaming outputs the same way std::endl and co. are used. The ansi::styling namespace is for a more “style-sheet” oriented workflow, styles can be instantiated and the text is pre-computed and can then be applied and reused. And for more printf oriented workflows the ansi::format_str (and subsequently the ANSI macro) can be used to create a format string from a small custom language.

An example of all 3 styles:

#include <Ansi>
#include <iostream>
#include <cstdio>

int main() {
    std::cout << ansi::manip::bold << ansi::manip::color(ansi::Red) << "Red text" << std::endl;

    ansi::styling::Style style1(ansi::StyleColor(240, 150, 30), { ansi::Bold, ansi::Underline });

    std::cout << style1.apply("Text") << std::endl;

    printf(ANSI("#[Underline, Strikethrough, 150:30:240]Text with a #$\n"), "variable");
}

For more details on the various functions and types, see ANSI API