Console

The Console module provides comprehensive console output, logging, and formatting capabilities for Soul. It offers a JavaScript-style API for handling console operations including logging at different levels, reading user input, and managing console display.

Logging Methods

log - General purpose logging

Log messages to the console with automatic formatting:

Console.log("Hello, World!")
// Output: Hello, World!

Console.log("User:", username, "Score:", score)
// Output: User: John Score: 100

Console.log("Processing", items.length, "items...")
// Output: Processing 25 items...

print - Output without newline

Print messages without adding a newline character:

Console.print("Loading")
for i in range(3) {
    Time.sleep(500)
    Console.print(".")
}
Console.newLine()
// Output: Loading...

info - Information messages

Log informational messages:

Console.info("Server started on port 3000")
Console.info("Connected to database:", dbName)
Console.info("User", userId, "logged in successfully")

warn - Warning messages

Log warning messages:

Console.warn("Deprecated function used:", functionName)
Console.warn("Low memory:", memoryUsage, "MB remaining")
Console.warn("API rate limit approaching:", remainingCalls, "calls left")

error - Error messages

Log error messages:

Console.error("Failed to connect to database")
Console.error("Invalid user input:", userInput)
Console.error("Error code:", errorCode, "Message:", errorMessage)

Input Operations

read - Read user input

Read a line of input from the user:

// Simple read
userInput = Console.read()
Console.log("You entered:", userInput)

// Read with prompt
name = Console.read("Enter your name: ")
Console.log("Hello,", name)

// Read password-like input
password = Console.read("Enter password: ")
// Note: Input is visible in terminal

Display Management

clear - Clear console screen

Clear the console screen:

Console.clear()
Console.log("Fresh start!")

// Clear before displaying menu
Console.clear()
Console.log("=== Main Menu ===")
Console.log("1. Start Game")
Console.log("2. Options")
Console.log("3. Exit")

newLine - Print newline character

Print a newline character for spacing:

Console.log("First paragraph...")
Console.newLine()
Console.log("Second paragraph...")

// Multiple newlines for spacing
for i in range(3) {
    Console.newLine()
}
Console.log("After some space")

Practical Examples

Interactive Console Application

soul interactiveApp() {
    Console.clear()
    Console.log("=== Welcome to Soul Calculator ===")
    Console.newLine()
    
    while true {
        Console.print("Enter first number: ")
        num1 = parseFloat(Console.read())
        
        Console.print("Enter operator (+, -, *, /): ")
        operator = Console.read()
        
        Console.print("Enter second number: ")
        num2 = parseFloat(Console.read())
        
        result = calculateResult(num1, operator, num2)
        
        if result != null {
            Console.info("Result:", result)
        } else {
            Console.error("Invalid operation")
        }
        
        Console.newLine()
        continue = Console.read("Continue? (y/n): ")
        
        if continue.toLowerCase() != "y" {
            break
        }
        
        Console.clear()
    }
    
    Console.log("Thank you for using Soul Calculator!")
}

soul calculateResult(num1, operator, num2) {
    switch operator {
        case "+":
            return num1 + num2
        case "-":
            return num1 - num2
        case "*":
            return num1 * num2
        case "/":
            if num2 == 0 {
                Console.warn("Division by zero!")
                return null
            }
            return num1 / num2
        default:
            return null
    }
}

Progress Indicator

soul showProgress(total) {
    Console.log("Processing items...")
    
    for i in range(total) {
        // Clear line and show progress
        Console.print("\rProgress: [")
        
        // Draw progress bar
        completed = (i + 1) * 20 / total
        for j in range(20) {
            if j < completed {
                Console.print("=")
            } else {
                Console.print(" ")
            }
        }
        
        Console.print("] ")
        Console.print(((i + 1) * 100 / total).toFixed(0))
        Console.print("%")
        
        // Simulate work
        Time.sleep(100)
    }
    
    Console.newLine()
    Console.info("Processing complete!")
}

showProgress(50)

Logging System

soul Logger {
    init(level) {
        this.level = level  // "debug", "info", "warn", "error"
        this.timestamp = true
    }
    
    soul getTimestamp() {
        if this.timestamp {
            return "[" + Time.now().format("HH:mm:ss") + "] "
        }
        return ""
    }
    
    soul debug(messages...) {
        if this.level == "debug" {
            Console.log(this.getTimestamp() + "[DEBUG]", messages...)
        }
    }
    
    soul info(messages...) {
        if this.level in ["debug", "info"] {
            Console.info(this.getTimestamp() + "[INFO]", messages...)
        }
    }
    
    soul warn(messages...) {
        if this.level in ["debug", "info", "warn"] {
            Console.warn(this.getTimestamp() + "[WARN]", messages...)
        }
    }
    
    soul error(messages...) {
        Console.error(this.getTimestamp() + "[ERROR]", messages...)
    }
}

// Usage
logger = Logger("info")
logger.debug("This won't show")  // Below threshold
logger.info("Application started")
logger.warn("Configuration missing, using defaults")
logger.error("Failed to load resource")

soul displayMenu(title, options) {
    Console.clear()
    Console.log("=".repeat(40))
    Console.log(title.center(40))
    Console.log("=".repeat(40))
    Console.newLine()
    
    for i, option in enumerate(options) {
        Console.log((i + 1) + ".", option)
    }
    
    Console.newLine()
    choice = Console.read("Enter your choice: ")
    
    return parseInt(choice)
}

soul mainMenu() {
    options = [
        "Start New Game",
        "Load Game",
        "Options",
        "Exit"
    ]
    
    while true {
        choice = displayMenu("Main Menu", options)
        
        switch choice {
            case 1:
                Console.info("Starting new game...")
                // Game logic here
                break
            case 2:
                Console.info("Loading saved games...")
                // Load logic here
                break
            case 3:
                Console.info("Opening options...")
                // Options logic here
                break
            case 4:
                Console.log("Thanks for playing!")
                return
            default:
                Console.error("Invalid choice. Please try again.")
                Time.sleep(1000)
        }
    }
}

Formatted Output

soul printTable(headers, rows) {
    // Calculate column widths
    widths = []
    for i, header in enumerate(headers) {
        maxWidth = header.length
        for row in rows {
            if row[i].toString().length > maxWidth {
                maxWidth = row[i].toString().length
            }
        }
        widths.push(maxWidth + 2)
    }
    
    // Print headers
    Console.print("|")
    for i, header in enumerate(headers) {
        Console.print(" " + header.padEnd(widths[i] - 1) + "|")
    }
    Console.newLine()
    
    // Print separator
    Console.print("|")
    for width in widths {
        Console.print("-".repeat(width) + "|")
    }
    Console.newLine()
    
    // Print rows
    for row in rows {
        Console.print("|")
        for i, cell in enumerate(row) {
            Console.print(" " + cell.toString().padEnd(widths[i] - 1) + "|")
        }
        Console.newLine()
    }
}

// Example usage
headers = ["Name", "Age", "City"]
data = [
    ["Alice", 25, "New York"],
    ["Bob", 30, "London"],
    ["Charlie", 35, "Tokyo"]
]

printTable(headers, data)

Error Handling with Console

soul safeOperation(operation) {
    try {
        Console.info("Starting operation:", operation)
        
        // Simulate operation
        result = performOperation(operation)
        
        Console.info("Operation completed successfully")
        return result
        
    } catch error {
        Console.error("Operation failed:", error.message)
        Console.warn("Attempting recovery...")
        
        // Log detailed error info
        Console.error("Stack trace:", error.stack)
        
        return null
    }
}

soul debugMode() {
    Console.clear()
    Console.log("=== DEBUG MODE ===")
    Console.warn("Debug mode enabled - verbose logging active")
    Console.newLine()
    
    // Show system info
    Console.info("System Information:")
    Console.log("- Platform:", System.platform)
    Console.log("- Memory:", System.memory.used, "/", System.memory.total)
    Console.log("- CPU Cores:", System.cpuCount)
    Console.newLine()
    
    // Start debug session
    while true {
        command = Console.read("debug> ")
        
        if command == "exit" {
            break
        }
        
        try {
            result = eval(command)
            Console.log("Result:", result)
        } catch error {
            Console.error("Error:", error.message)
        }
    }
    
    Console.info("Exiting debug mode")
}

Best Practices

Use appropriate log levels: Choose the right logging method for your message type
Clear console judiciously: Only clear when it improves user experience
Format output clearly: Use spacing and separators for readability
Handle input validation: Always validate user input from Console.read()
Provide feedback: Keep users informed about what’s happening

// Good - appropriate log levels
Console.info("Server started successfully")
Console.warn("Using default configuration")
Console.error("Failed to connect to database")

// Good - clear output formatting
Console.log("=" * 50)
Console.log("RESULTS".center(50))
Console.log("=" * 50)

// Good - input validation
soul getValidNumber(prompt) {
    while true {
        input = Console.read(prompt)
        
        if input.match(/^-?\d+(\.\d+)?$/) {
            return parseFloat(input)
        }
        
        Console.error("Invalid number. Please try again.")
    }
}

// Good - progress feedback
soul processItems(items) {
    total = items.length
    
    for i, item in enumerate(items) {
        Console.print("\rProcessing: " + (i + 1) + "/" + total)
        processItem(item)
    }
    
    Console.newLine()
    Console.info("All items processed successfully")
}

// Good - interactive prompts
soul confirm(message) {
    while true {
        response = Console.read(message + " (yes/no): ").toLowerCase()
        
        if response in ["yes", "y"] {
            return true
        } else if response in ["no", "n"] {
            return false
        }
        
        Console.warn("Please answer 'yes' or 'no'")
    }
}

The Console module provides essential tools for creating interactive command-line applications in Soul, with support for various logging levels, user input, and display management features that enable rich console experiences.

CLI Usage

Modules

Syntaxes

Console

Console

Logging Methods

log - General purpose logging

print - Output without newline

info - Information messages

warn - Warning messages

error - Error messages

Input Operations

read - Read user input

Display Management

clear - Clear console screen

newLine - Print newline character

Practical Examples

Interactive Console Application

Progress Indicator

Logging System

Menu System

Formatted Output

Error Handling with Console

Best Practices

​Console

​Logging Methods

​log - General purpose logging

​print - Output without newline

​info - Information messages

​warn - Warning messages

​error - Error messages

​Input Operations

​read - Read user input

​Display Management

​clear - Clear console screen

​newLine - Print newline character

​Practical Examples

​Interactive Console Application

​Progress Indicator

​Logging System

​Menu System

​Formatted Output

​Error Handling with Console

​Best Practices

Console

Logging Methods

log - General purpose logging

print - Output without newline

info - Information messages

warn - Warning messages

error - Error messages

Input Operations

read - Read user input

Display Management

clear - Clear console screen

newLine - Print newline character

Practical Examples

Interactive Console Application

Progress Indicator

Logging System

Menu System

Formatted Output

Error Handling with Console

Best Practices