stamen

Static menu generator written in C++20

Description

This project allows for a creation of static menus, to be used in C or C++, on the fly. The stamen library acts as a framework for linking and keeping track of the menus, whilst allowing a custom display function to be used for maximum flexibility. In dynamic mode configuration file can be read on the fly without recompilation.

The main goal of this project is experimentation. I have been toying with menus for a while and I've noticed a lot of boilerplate code emerging. That's why I decided to automate the task by generating menus on the fly.

The main advantage of stamen is two modes it can operate in:

1. Static mode, where the menus are pregenerated and linked together with zero cost.
2. Dynamic mode, where menus are generated on the fly (possibly in runtime) without recompilation.

Dependencies

• CMake 3.25.2 or latter
• Compiler with C++20 support (tested: clang 16.0.5, gcc 13.2.0)
• Poafloc 1.1

Building and installing

See the BUILDING document.

Usage

Please reference example folder for relevant usage example.

Refer to example/CMakeLists.txt to see how to integrate stamen into build system

There are a few things needed before you begin.

• All types and functions with prefixes stamen_ and stamen_menu_ are also available in namespaces stamen:: and stamen::menu:: in C++ for easier use.
• Panel and item codes must be one word. In addition they must be valid C/C++ function names if static menu is to be build correctly.
• Each free function must have int name(int); signature as prescribed by stamen_callback_f. Passed int it is intended to detonate the position of an item in the previous panel which is essential for dynamic menu implementation, but it is not required to be used like that.

Configuration

In order to generate the desired menu, a configuration file needs to be written. Here is an example:

+ menu_main Main Menu
- submenu_1 Enter Submenu 1
- submenu_2 Enter Submenu 2
- finish Quit

+ submenu_1 Submenu 1
- operation1 Operation 1
- operation2 Operation 2

+ submenu_2 Submenu 2
- operation1 Operation 1
- operation2 Operation 2

Configuration file consists of 2 types of entities: panels and items. Empty lines are ignored.

Panel is detonated by + sign at the start of the line and consists of two parts: code(one word) and title(rest of the line).

Item entity is detonated by - sign at the start of the line and consists of two parts: code(one word) and prompt(rest of the line).

Panel entity creates a new panel, and each subsequent menu item is added as an option to the panel, until new panel is created.

Panel code is an unique reference to the panel, whilst item code can be a reference to another panel or any other function (from now on referred to as free function).

Static menu

Please refer to stamen --help for list of all options

After writing a configuration file, run stamen <config file> which will create source file and include file in the current directory with the name as the configuration file but with extensions .cpp and .hpp respectively. You can create files with extensions .c and .h by appending adding --c flag to the command line arguments.

Include file will contain declarations for all of the menu functions. You should include this file in your code.

Source file contains definitions for the menu functions. It also includes shared.h file which should contain declarations for all of the free functions you have specified in the configuration. The name of the file with free functions can be changed with --header NAME flag;

Custom display function to be used can be set with -d FUNC flag. Specified function will be forward-declared according to stamen_display_f, so you don't have to worry about doing it yourself.

Generated source file should be compiled with the rest of your code. If stamen_builtin_display is not used, there is no need to link with the stamen library.

You can call any function to display the menu starting from that specific pane.

Custom display function

Please refer to the implementation of stamen_builtin_display to get a general idea of the direction.

A display function should have int name(const char*, const stamen_item_t[], int) signature as prescribed by stamen_display_f.

After prompting user to select one of the items all you have to do is call a function pointed to by the callback field on selected item to invoke the next panel or free function. The return type of int is intended to be used as a measure how many panels back should be backtracked after a free function terminates, but you can use in any way you see fit.

Dynamic menu

In dynamic mode, configuration file is read every time the program is run. In order to invoke the menu you need to add the following snippet to your C program:

#include <stamen.h>

// read the configuration
stamen_menu_read("path to config");

// register free functions
stamen_menu_insert("free function code", some_free_function);
...

// start the menu on specific panel
stamen_menu_dynamic("panel code", display_function);

For C++ there is a namespaced version of the functions:

#include <stamen.h>

// read the configuration
stamen::menu::read("path to config");

// register free functions
stamen::menu::insert("free function code", some_free_function);
...

// start the menu on specific panel
stamen::menu::dynamic("panel code", display_function);

For the dynamic mode the work, you program needs to be linked with the stamen library with C++ compiler as the last step, regardless whether the program was written in C or C++.

Version History

• 1.2

  • Modernize CMake project
  • Modernize codebase

• 1.1

  • Separate C and C++ interfaces
  • Separate dynamic mode into menu namespace
  • Improve functionality of code generation
  • Get rid of unnecessary moving parts (stamen_display, ...)
  • Clean up implementation

• 1.0

  • Initial Release

Contributing

See the CONTRIBUTING document.

License

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