LineReader - A C++ Library For Line Editing

About

LineReader is a C++ library that provides line-editing, and history capabilities for interactive command line programs.

Usage

Include the linereader.hpp file, and compile the linereader.cpp file together with your project.

To use LineReader in you project,

#include "linereader.hpp"
#include <iostream>

int main(int argc, char **argv) {
  auto lr = LineReader(".history_file");
  
  const char *prompt = "> ";
  while (lr) {
    auto cmd = lr.readline(prompt);
    if (!cmd.empty()) {
      // parse and execute the command string.
      // ...
    }
  }
  std::cout << '\n' << "Bye!" << std::endl;

  return 0;
}

Key Bindings

• C-f is for Ctrl + f
• M-f is for Alt + f

Key	Action
C-f or Right Arrow	move forward one character
C-b or Left Arrow	move backward one character
M-f	move forward one word
M-b	move backward one word
C-d or Delete	delete one character
M-d	delete one word
C-p or Up Arrow	edit previous line in history
C-n or Down Arrow	edit next line in history
M-l	lowercase word
M-u	uppercase word
M-c	capitalize word
C-t	swap current character with previous character
M-t	swap words
C-u	kill (cut) text from cursor position to the beginning of the line
C-k	kill (cut) text from cursor position to the end of the line
C-y	yank (paste) text from kill ring
M-y	(after C-y) cycle through kill ring

Notes

• Terminal escape sequences have been tested on xterm only.