NCFW (nCurses Framework)

NCFW is a C++ wrapper for ncurses that makes building terminal interfaces a lot less painful. Instead of managing window coordinates manually, it uses a parent-child system with relative positioning and Z-indexing.

Why use this?

• Relative Positioning: If you move a parent window, all children move with it automatically.
• Z-Indexing: You can layer windows on top of each other without worrying about the draw order.
• Text Alignment: No more calculating string lengths and offsets. Just use macros like ALIGN_CENTER to put text where it belongs.
• Easy Boxes: Adding a border to a sub-window is just one function call.

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Getting Started

1. Build and Install

You'll need cmake and ncurses headers installed on your system.

git clone https://github.com/DeTosis/ncfw
cd ncfw
mkdir build && cd build
cmake ..
make
sudo make install

2. Include ncfw.hpp to your project.

#include <ncfw.hpp>

3. Link your project with -lncfw -lncurses

Quick example

  // nterm's constructor handles initialization and
  // destructor exits from raw terminal state automaticly
	nterm nt;
	nwindow nw(&nt, {2,2}, {COLS - 4, LINES - 4});

	auto a = nw.add_child({4,4}, {20,20});
	a->add_box();
	a->add_text("So")->format(ALIGN_LEFT, ALIGN_TOP);
	a->add_text("now")->format(ALIGN_CENTER, ALIGN_TOP);
	a->add_text("we")->format(ALIGN_RIGHT, ALIGN_TOP);
	a->add_text("have")->format(ALIGN_LEFT, ALIGN_CENTER);
	a->add_text("some")->format(ALIGN_RIGHT, ALIGN_CENTER);
	a->add_text("fancy")->format(ALIGN_LEFT, ALIGN_BOTTOM);
	a->add_text("alignment")->format(ALIGN_RIGHT, ALIGN_BOTTOM);
	a->set_z_index(-1);
	
	auto b = nw.add_child({10, 10}, {30, 10});
	b->add_box();
	b->add_text("Box two")->format(ALIGN_RIGHT, 0);
	b->set_z_index(-2);

	nw.draw_all();

A bit more about how it works

nterm The core class that initializes the terminal. Think of it as the engine; you only need one instance to manage the entire console session.

nwindow A container window used to organize elements. Its main job is to act as a parent for other components, handling things like Z-index and relative layout so you don't have to.

add_child() Probably the method you'll use most. It creates a new sub-window or component inside the current window. Everything created this way stays relative to the parent’s position.

add_text()->format() A chained method for putting text on screen. add_text creates the string, and format lets you snap it to the edges or center of its parent container using alignment macros.

View render result

Roadmap

• Mouse support
• Dynamic resizing when terminal window changes
• Color support
• Keyboard support
• Free (Coordinate based) text positioning (Now only pre-defined macros are supported)
• Automatic cleanup managed by nterm's destructor