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Developers using Console can employ VT/ANSI APIs (eg to use embedded color codes) #44513

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Developers using Console can employ VT/ANSI APIs (eg to use embedded color codes)#44513
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jeffhandleyadamsitnik
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Cost:MWork that requires one engineer up to 2 weeksPriority:3Work that is nice to haveTeam:LibrariesUser StoryA single user-facing feature. Can be grouped under an epic.area-System.Console
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Future

Description

@maryamariyan
maryamariyan
opened on Nov 11, 2020

Usage in Microsoft.Extensions.Logging.Console

Console Formatters introduced in .NET 5.0 allow for the built-in SimpleConsoleFormatter to embed color codes to each log message. But this implementation required knowledge about hardcoding a mapping between VT100 color codes and different background/foreground color changes.

Instead of typing colors to the formatter, we should decouple this by exposing a generic VT100 builder for colors (maybe even a parser) into System.Console. This way, we can simplify the architecture in Microsoft.Extensions.Logging.Console by making ConsoleFormatters's job purely about building up string of log messages structured in a specific format when having colors involved.

Usage in System.CommandLine.Rendering

cc: @eerhardt

Activity

  1. maryamariyan
    added
    area-System.Console
    untriagedNew issue has not been triaged by the area owner
    User StoryA single user-facing feature. Can be grouped under an epic.
    on Nov 11, 2020
  2. maryamariyan
    added this to the 6.0.0 milestone on Nov 11, 2020
  4. maryamariyan
    changed the title [-]ANSI Rendering support: Add general VT/ANSI APIs to the System.Console[/-] [+]Add general VT/ANSI APIs to the System.Console[/+] on Nov 11, 2020

  5. eerhardt commented on Nov 11, 2020

    @eerhardt
    eerhardt
    on Nov 11, 2020
    Member

    System.CommandLine.Rendering/Ansi.cs shows similar logic being duplicated in dotnet/command-line-api as well.

    Another useful part of System.CommandLine.Rendering that we may want to pull into the BCL is the ConsoleFormatInfo class. This allows for ANSI control codes to be included or omitted dynamically depending on the current environment, or explicitly configured by a caller. (The design follows the same design as formatting a number or a date in the rest of .NET.)
    See dotnet/command-line-api#966 for more info.

  6. danmoseley
    changed the title [-]Add general VT/ANSI APIs to the System.Console[/-] [+]System.Console offers general VT/ANSI APIs [/+] on Nov 16, 2020

  7. SteveL-MSFT commented on Nov 24, 2020

    @SteveL-MSFT
    SteveL-MSFT
    on Nov 24, 2020
    Contributor

    I think the biggest help to PowerShell is a .NET API that returns the plain text version of a string (removing all ANSI decoration).

  8. iSazonov commented on Nov 24, 2020

    @iSazonov
    iSazonov
    on Nov 24, 2020
    Contributor

    If we look not PowerShell itself but PowerShell module PSReadline - I believe we can find some other methods which could be great candidates for System.Console VT/ANSI APIs.
    I hope @daxian-dbw could add more info.

  9. danmoseley
    added
    Bottom Up WorkNot part of a theme, epic, or user story
    on Nov 25, 2020
  10. danmoseley
    changed the title [-]System.Console offers general VT/ANSI APIs [/-] [+]Developers using Console can employ VT/ANSI APIs (eg to use embedded color codes)[/+] on Nov 29, 2020

  11. iSazonov commented on Dec 8, 2020

    @iSazonov
    iSazonov
    on Dec 8, 2020
    Contributor

    In short:

    1. Transparent support more terminals by utilizing TermInfo (on Windows too). This allows an application turn on/off coloring (and other feature) on the fly and to work on any terminal without recompile.
    2. Support modern coloring 24/32bits Discussion: PowerShell needs to support 24bit color. Where? How? PowerShell/PowerShell#2381
    3. API for calculating string length with and without escape codes.
    4. API for calculating string length for cells to support fullwidth forms. PSReadline workaround
    5. Maybe a rendering engine based on TermInfo entities. This could significantly reduce allocations in custom code, add formattings in resource strings and so on.
    6. API for managing cursor position, getting info about a terminal sizing and resizing.
    7. Supporting alternative terminal buffers.
    8. Supporting scrolling
    9. Supporting clearing screen and whole buffer.
    10. Full featured cross-platform line editor. Enhance Console.ReadLine() to return at Tab #800

    /cc @DHowett

  12. danmoseley
    added
    Team:Libraries
    on Dec 9, 2020
  13. jeffhandley
    added
    Priority:3Work that is nice to have
    on Jan 14, 2021

  14. 1 remaining item

  15. jeffhandley
    self-assigned this
    on Jan 14, 2021
  16. adamsitnik
    added
    Cost:SWork that requires one engineer up to 1 week
    on Jan 14, 2021
  17. carlossanlop
    removed
    untriagedNew issue has not been triaged by the area owner
    on Jan 21, 2021

  18. jeffhandley commented on Jul 7, 2021

    @jeffhandley
    jeffhandley
    on Jul 7, 2021
    Member

    Moving this issue to .NET 7. We will consider this as part of a potential effort for a System.Console redesign as described in #52374.

  19. jeffhandley
    modified the milestones: 6.0.0, 7.0.0 on Jul 7, 2021
  20. jeffhandley
    added
    Cost:MWork that requires one engineer up to 2 weeks
    and removed
    Cost:SWork that requires one engineer up to 1 week
    Bottom Up WorkNot part of a theme, epic, or user story
    on Jan 9, 2022
  21. adamsitnik
    modified the milestones: 7.0.0, 8.0.0 on Aug 9, 2022
  22. adamsitnik
    modified the milestones: 8.0.0, 9.0.0 on Jul 28, 2023
  23. adamsitnik
    modified the milestones: 9.0.0, Future on Jul 18, 2024
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