Unlike GUI applications, system utilities are usually designed to run in the console. This allows you to run them from a remote terminal, use them for pipeline processing of information by redirecting data streams, etc. Therefore, any programmer should be able to create text programs.
Necessary
a compiler for the selected platform with a set of libraries
Instructions
Step 1
Develop a model of interaction of the future program with the user. Decide where your application will receive input and configuration settings from. Console utilities often accept all parameters from the command line and do not provide for interactive interaction with the operator. However, many text programs that implement advanced functionality use an integrated approach. They load some of the settings from configuration files, receive some as command line parameters, and ask the user for those that are missing.
If the program under development must carry out intensive interaction with the operator (for example, using text-based menus), build a dialog graph. It is a visualized representation of all stable states of the application and the transitions between them, corresponding to data processing operations.
Step 2
Determine the set of platforms on which the program should function. If there is only one platform, opportunities open up for the unhindered use of its specific capabilities. If it is necessary to create a cross-platform application, the requirements for the tools used will have to be toughened.
Step 3
Select the main means of implementing the program. Decide on the programming language, libraries used, IDE. Translators from the selected language must exist for the entire list of platforms selected in the second step.
The industry standard for software development today is the C ++ language. Free C ++ compilers and corresponding IDEs exist for all popular operating systems. The undoubted advantage of C ++ when developing console applications is the ability to use the Standard Template Library (STL).
Step 4
Develop or study algorithms for transforming the input information processed by the program. If necessary, consider using third-party libraries to implement complex functionality.
Step 5
Create a text program. Implement algorithms for input, processing and output of data in the selected programming language. For more convenience, use integrated development environments. Add code for interactive user interaction as needed.
