u0date

A terminal-based text editor built using the ncurses library in C. u0date provides fundamental text editing capabilities, including a robust undo and redo system implemented using the Command design pattern.

Features

u0date currently supports the following features:

• File Reading: Load content from a specified file upon startup.
• File Writing: Save the current buffer content back to the file.
• Text Insertion: Add new characters at the cursor position and insert new lines (via the Enter key).
• Text Deletion: Remove characters (via Backspace) and join lines.
• Cursor Navigation: Move the cursor through the text using arrow keys (Up, Down, Left, Right).
• Editing Modes: Switch between Normal (for navigation and commands) and Insert Mode (for typing and text entry).
• Undo Functionality: Reverse the last performed change (u).
• Redo Functionality: Re-apply the last undone change (Ctrl + R).
• Basic Status Display: A status line at the bottom shows the current editing mode (on the left) and messages like "Saved!", "Undo!", "Redo!" (on the right).
• Bounds Checking: Prevents the cursor from moving or operations from writing outside the valid text boundaries within the buffer structure.

Prerequisites

To build and run u0date, you need:

• A C compiler (like GCC or Clang).
• The ncurses library and its development headers.

You can typically install ncurses development headers using your system's package manager:

• Debian/Ubuntu: sudo apt-get install libncurses-dev
• Fedora/RHEL: sudo dnf install ncurses-devel
• macOS (using Homebrew): brew install ncurses

Getting Started

First, clone the repository to your local machine:

git clone https://github.com/3akare/u0date.git

Navigate into the cloned repository directory:

cd u0date

Now, build the project using make:

make

This will compile the source files and create the executable u0date inside the build/ directory.

Usage

You can run u0date in a couple of ways after building:

1. Directly using the compiled executable:

   ./build/u0date <name_of_the_file>

   Replace <name_of_the_file> with the path to the file you want to edit. This command requires a filename argument. If the file does not exist, it will be created upon saving.

2. Using the build script:

   ./build.sh <name_of_the_file> [<-flag>]

   Replace <name_of_the_file> with the path to the file you want to edit. The optional [<-flag>] can be any additional argument (the specific content of the flag doesn't matter; its presence simply indicates a behavior flag to the script), which according to the script's logic, means the file should be deleted upon application exit. Consult the build.sh script for its exact implementation details. If <name_of_the_file> is not specified when running ./build.sh, the script will typically create a default file (like file.txt) for editing.

Key Bindings

• Normal Mode:
  • h, j, k, l or Arrow Keys: Move cursor Left, Down, Up, Right.
  • i: Enter Insert Mode.
  • Ctrl + S: Save the file.
  • u: Undo the last action.
  • Ctrl + R: Redo the last undone action.
  • q: Quit the editor.
• Insert Mode:
  • Typing any character: Inserts the character at the cursor position.
  • Enter: Splits the current line at the cursor position, creating a new line below.
  • Backspace: Deletes the character before the cursor. If at the beginning of a line (and not the first line), joins the current line with the previous one.
  • Esc: Exit Insert Mode and return to Normal Mode.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE.md file for details.